Zuzana Beránková: Everyone In His/Her Rabbit Hole

(jiří macek) Sculptor Zuzana Beránková has designed a laminated wing chair. Even though she has it at home, she does not sit in it.

“It is not an armchair. It is a statue,” she says, “When I was graduating, there was an intense discussion about whether it was furniture or a statue,” says Beránková. “They blamed me for daring into the field of design without knowing anything about it, stating that I did not know anything about ergonomics. However, I think it is an advantage for me not to know anything about design. I can approach it in my own way, without prejudice.”

Nevertheless, she does not consider the armchairs that she designed for her diploma project at the AAAD in Prague to be pure design. Apart from the wing chair, there are also orchids. However, their legs have not been solved very well. She adds, “I made them up when I was in a botanical garden. I wanted to design something that could serve as a statue and contain the function at the same time. All these armchairs are not determined for interiors. They should be placed in the landscape. I imagined them among bushes and flowers. For this reason, I have not solved the legs of the orchids. They should have been planted directly into a slope.”
So why does not she use the wing chair for sitting? “Well, because it is not possible. There is a hole in place of the seat, serving as a symbol of our connection with earth,” she answers.
It is a pity. It could have been a brilliant wing chair (not only because of its tail). However, creative production is creative production.

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