First Chair

In a playful manner, the First Chair utilizes geometric forms to mimic a sitter. A flat disc in black wood, edged in tubular metal, rests on four tubular metal legs. A circular hoop of tubular metal rises from the front legs, tilting backward at an acute angle and supporting both a turquoise disc at the top of the hoop, serving as a backrest, and two black balls that serve as armrests.


The First Chair is characteristic of the designs of the Memphis collective Michele De Lucchi co-founded with Ettore Sottsass. The Memphis designers incorporated geometric forms and color in　their response to the modernist philosophy, which they disdained for its rational, unemotional, functionalist approach to design. Together with Studio Alchymia, its predecessor in radical design, Memphis played an important role in both broadening perspectives on modern design beyond the strict precepts of the International Style and encouraging a younger group of designers to experiment with color, form, and materials.　 Balancing line, plane, and sphere, DeLucchi created a chair that is both post-modern sculpture and furniture. Unlike many Memphis designs, First Chair was mass produced and sold at a reasonable price.　Though seeming to be uncomfortable, it proved very popular.