Bel Air Chair

Bel Air Chair Peter Shire has many interesting works of art. The artwork that stuck out to me was the Bel Air Chair. Its interesting physic really caught my eye. The colors and shapes were so bright and different; it just jumped out at me. It was so unique and diverse from any of his other artwork; I had never seen anything like it before. With further research I discovered that this amazing work of art was created in 1982. This chair was one of the most important contributions to a design group called Memphis.

The chair became a signature object for the Memphis Collection and was used on many book covers and posters. Shire got a lot of his inspiration from Los Angeles while creating this piece of post modern art. To me, the main part of the chair is obviously the colors. The vibrancy and brightness are the first things that catch the eyes of admirers. He didn’t stick to one color. He used a dark, maroon, red color for the back of the chair as well as a green, yellow color for the cylindrical arm which establishes a contrast. He used an orange for the sphere on the back part of the chair.

My favorite color of the chair was the semi-pastel green on the bottom front of the chair. This color, along with the semi-pastel pink, makes it look classy and elegant. The materials used on this chair were wool and cotton. It brings the sense of warmth and comfort that makes you want to sit and curl up on the chair. Its inviting with the look of its bigness and comfort that makes it more attractive. Being an art teacher’s daughter, i’m drawn to this type of colorful extravagant art. It brings a spice and jazzy look to art. This chair was made of many different geometric shapes and materials.

A sphere was used for the bottom back of the chair to add some diversity to the chair and make it Peter Shire’s own creation. A cylinder was used for the arm rest which is only on one side of the chair which creates a distinct look while the other side of the chair is half of a cylinder which helps to create a sense of uniqueness. A square was used as the seat of the artwork which exaggerates the look of it being a chair. The back of the chair is a different and difficult shape to explain. This shape makes you think and really admire the artwork.

Trying to figure out what kind of creative mind could come up with such an extraordinary work of art puzzles me. Peter Shires inspirations came from many different objects. The sphere was inspired by a beach ball which he had used for the bottom back of the chair. The best part about the chair is the part where you lay your back when you sit. He got his inspiration from a beach wave or even a shark fin. An interesting part of this work of art is that it was named after a five-star luxury hotel in Beverly Hills California. The title that is on the Bel Air Chair was taken from the hotel and placed on his piece.

At first glance, the work of art is not perceived as wood. It looked like shiny plastic glazed in bright colors. With a closer look it was clear that it was wood. This extravagant work of art looked difficult to carve yet so perfected. His use of the variety of colors was complimenting both to the objects and the other colors. His chair has been duplicated into a special limited edition which is shown at museums all around. His work of art would have not nearly gained the popularity it accomplished if it weren’t for the colors. The pop of the chair made it a hit.