Mats Theselius
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an 'Hommage à Sigurd Lewerentz' armchair, ed. EA 2/6 Källemo, Sweden, post 2012.
Patinated copper, ebony and steel frame, woven textile, maker's mark: HOMMAGE A SIGURD LEWERENTZ MATS THESELIUS NO EA 2/6 KÄLLEMO SWEDEN 2012. Height 75 cm, seat height ca 42 cm.
The copper derives from the St Petri Church, Klippan Sweden by the architect Sigurd Lewerentz. The church was erected in 1962-1966. The limited amount of copper available made a limitation of 123 chairs.
More information
Mats Theselius designed this chair as a tribute to one of his favorite architects, Sigurd Lewerentz. The copper plate that the seat is covered in is taken from the St Petri church, in Klippan Sweden, designed by architect Sigurd Lewerentz and built in 1962-66. The church was one of Lewerentz's last assignments and one of his most appreciated church projects. Theselius created the chair with inspiration from the church's various materials and patterns. The fabric that adorns the seat is inspired by the pattern on the church floor. The armrests in ebony are an interpretation of the church window that lies on the outside of the church body. The whole structure is divided into different components, as a somewhat unfinished whole, something that Theselius saw as an important part of the church's design. The copper plate was only enough for 123 chairs.
Designer
Mats Theselius is a Swedish furniture designer, artist, and interior architect, born in 1954 in Stockholm. Theselius studied interior architecture at Konstfack from 1979 to 1984 and shortly after graduating, he made his breakthrough with the groundbreaking chair "Älgskinnsfåtöljen," a cylindrical armchair made of sheet iron and moose leather. This chair marked the beginning of a long and uninterrupted career, largely in collaboration with the legendary furniture producer Sven Lundh (who also launched Jonas Bohlin's concrete chair, Concrete) at Källemo in Värnamo. Following this, several renowned pieces were created, including the showcase cabinet National Geographic, distinguished by its characteristic yellow color and named after the magazine of the same title, as well as the chairs Rex, Ingo, and Bruno.
In addition to his prolific career in design, Mats Theselius served as a professor at the University of Gothenburg's School of Design and Crafts in the 1990s. In 1997, he was honored with both the Bruno Mathsson Prize and the Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Prize. Mats Theselius was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in 2011.