Charles Pollock (1930 – 2013) American industrial designer

Charles Pollock (1930 – 2013) was an American industrial designer known for creating sleek furniture, most notably the Pollock Chair, an office chair held together by a single aluminium band. Sadly, Pollock’s life came to a tragic end in 2013 when he died in a house fire at his home in New York at the age of 83. Major news outlets, including NY Daily News and ABC News, reported the fire incident, highlighting the significant loss to the design world.

Education

Pollock studied industrial design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, which later honoured him with the 1991 Excellence by Design Award.

Biography

Early in his career, Pollock worked at the industrial design office of George Nelson in New York, where he designed furniture with distinct features such as fibreglass construction and tapering tubular metal legs. In 1958, he established his design office, contributing significantly to the design landscape with creations like the 1960 657 sling chair and the 1965 fibreglass shell swivel office chair, both for Knoll.

Pollock Chair

The Pollock Chair, introduced in 1963 and held together by an innovative aluminium band, became an icon of mid-20th-century office design. Celebrated for its elegant form and functional design, the chair features buttoned upholstery and a distinctive “rim technology.” Its significance is underscored by its presence in prestigious collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre in Paris. Pollock’s design legacy continued with the 1981 Penelope metal mesh chair for Castelli and a commissioned collection of lounge chairs for Bernhardt Design in 2012.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

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