Woman and Man Bench
Design Date 1960s
Designer John Risley (1919-2002, American)
Media steel rod
Dimensions 50 1/2 x 36 1/4 x 23 1/4 inches
John Risley created numerous variations on this wire bench, representing different people in a series of whimsical Pop Art chairs. Risley’s designs were built at his Connecticut studio. He also worked as a sculptor and a professor of art at Wesleyan College in Connecticut. Though metal furniture has been around since the 1700s, the second half of the 20th century offered new manufacturing processes that made thin wire strong enough to be used as the basis of furniture like Risley’s bench. Because wire was easier to bend and mold than cast or wrought iron, it made an ideal material for highly sculptural seating.
Not currently on view
Markings unmarked
Credit Line Collection Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
Accession Number 2001.0050
