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Zig Zag Stoel

Designer Gerrit Rietveld Dutch
ca. 1937–40
Not on view
Composed of four flat wood boards articulated end to end to form a Z-shape, Rietveld’s chair rejects conventional chair features: two arms, four legs, and a padded seat. Each board joins the next at mathematically precise angles with a bare minimum of supports and nuts and bolts. The piece asserts its inherently linear design and appears to be as much a sculpture as a utilitarian object. Rietveld’s interest in abstract design was rooted in his earlier participation in the avant-garde movement De Stijl, which espoused abstraction as the representation of pure spirit and universal appeal.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Zig Zag Stoel
  • Designer: Gerrit Rietveld (Dutch, Utrecht 1888–1964 Utrecht)
  • Date: ca. 1937–40
  • Medium: Elm
  • Dimensions: 28 7/8 × 14 × 18 in., 14 lb. (73.3 × 35.6 × 45.7 cm, 6.4 kg)
  • Classification: Furniture-Wood
  • Credit Line: Purchase, J. Stewart Johnson Gift, 2006
  • Object Number: 2007.11
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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