POR1 Armchair by Cesare Leonardi, 1984

“In the 1980s, as a reaction to the oil crisis that made fibreglass no longer sustainable, Leonardi began working with simple timber formwork. Decontextualized and combined according to increasingly complex patterns, the yellow boards became a series of furniture termed Solidi. These are veritable sculptures in which Leonardi explores the idea of an infinite permutation of the same element. Similarly, photography informed and played along Leonardi’s entire career, reflecting both his interest in abstract form and his analogic working method, which was always based on iterations and sequences. While retaining a highly original language, Leonardi entertained productive exchanges with important figures in the regional scene, such as photographer Luigi Ghirri and artist Claudio Parmiggiani; nonetheless, he always chose to shy away from publicity.”

The entire SOLIDI series is made up of multiple furnishing elements using a single material: fir wood painted yellow, 27 mm in thickness (usually used for concrete formwork) and of a single format: a board 50 cm wide and 150 cm long (or multiples and submultiples: 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 cm).

“The ‘rule’ he sets is the following: the wooden board must be traced and cut in such a way that all the pieces contribute to form the solid, without wasting material. What might look like a very restrictive condition actually paves the way to infinite and surprising configurations, as shown by the hundreds of pieces of furniture that Cesare was to produce in the studio’s carpentry workshop. Chairs, most of all, but also stools, tables, wardrobes, sofas and platform floors. A ‘global’ solution destined for the furnishing of living spaces, unitary and at the same time flexible. Also in terms of positioning, since most of the Solids are designed to have castors.”