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Cabbage Chair

A fluffy-looking, crepey, cream-colored chair of many layers created from a roll of white pleated paper partially cut into and unfolded to create a central indentation for a seat.

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  • A fluffy-looking, crepey, cream-colored chair of many layers created from a roll of white pleated paper partially cut into and unfolded to create a central indentation for a seat.

Date:

2008

Artist:

Oki Sato (Japanese, born Canada, 1977)
Manufactured by Nendo (Japanese, founded 2002)

About this artwork

Oki Sato created Cabbage Chair in response to Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake’s request that he design a furniture piece out of the pleated paper produced in mass quantities during the process of making pleated fabric and usually abandoned as an unwanted by-product. Finding a new use for this waste material, Sato, with his design company, Nendo, transformed a roll of pleated paper into a small chair that appears naturally when peeled back one layer at a time. This simple design exploits the inherent qualities of the medium; resins added during the paper production process add strength and memory to the forms, and the pleats themselves give the chair elasticity and resilience. Sato’s design also incorporates the user in the design process; the chair is shipped as one compact roll for the user to cut open and peel back.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Architecture and Design

Artist

Oki Sato (Designer)

Title

Cabbage Chair

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

2008

Medium

Pleated paper

Dimensions

74 × 84 × 84 cm (29 × 33 × 33 in.)

Credit Line

Funds provided by the Architecture & Design Society

Reference Number

2011.276

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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