product and furniture designer, born 1965

 

His international reputation as the ultimate exponent of German thoroughness doesn't bother him at all. On the contrary, he thinks it points to the essence of his work. Take the "Ideal House" that Grcic conceived in 2002 for the Cologne Furniture Fair: This mighty cavernous structure consisting of stacked shelves is a massive symbol of rationality and systematization, while also demonstrating the diversity of design options available. His early tables, chairs, shelf units, cabinets and desksseem reserved and sober, but they always hold a few surprises – whether it be their unusual proportions or the materials used, such as compressed wood, corrugated iron or steel. It is no accident that some of the designs, like the secretary desk Orcus (for ClassiCon), evoke more than a hint of the English furniture tradition. In fact, Bavarian-born Grcic learnt cabinet-making atthe John Makepeace School in Devon, studied at London's RoyalCollege of Art, and then worked as an assistant to JasperMorrison. All in all, a very strong dose of English realism. Grcichas therefore been a conduit for those intercultural influencesthat have been invigorating German design ever since Henryvan de Velde. Notwithstanding his self-declared love affair with“ everyday and anonymous things”, the prestige designer hasshown a strong appreciation of the experimental – for instancein his folding coat stand Hut ab for Nils Holger Moormann.For the same manufacturer he has also designed other pieces ofingenious minimalism, like the shelf system Es, always leaningbut quite secure. Grcic is also interested in exploring theapplication of industrial processes, as seen in his Chair_One ( forMagis): Sitting on a cone-shaped pedestal, the entire seat wasmade in die-cast aluminium, something never done before. Forthis innovation he invented a novel skeletal shape which eventoday causes dismay in a positive sense. Designs like Diana andMar (for ClassiCon) work with variations on the principle ofgeometric interlocking. The German furniture designer has longgrown into an all-rounder. The everyday objects he has createdrange from drinking glasses (for Iittala) and kitchen appliances(for Krups) to items as inexpensive as mechanical pencils (forLamy). The table service Coup (for Rosenthal) grew from amodest tableware project into a whole system: a collection of 37porcelain and four glass pieces and a pot that integrates metaland porcelain. The multi-purpose concept is also applied here,where plates can serve as lids, recalling a functionalist tradition in German porcelain.