Direct Rex, an auction of the famed Rex armchairs designed by members of the Slovenian Designers’ Society DOS, took place on Friday, 21 November, thin the scope of 25^th Liffe accompanying programme, in Foyer II at 19.00. The Rex chair was designed by one of Slovenia’s greatest designers, Niko Kralj, and the auction took inspiration from Kralj’s motto that there’s always room for improvement. Part of the proceeds goes to the Impakta Les company that sold the chairs to the designers at an advantageous price, and the rest to the Society.

The auction was moderated by photographer, designer and architect Marjan Paternoster, who stated exclusively for our website that he was “387 years old and was secretary of DOS for two terms.« He explained that the legendary Rex was born in the same year as himself, namely in 1952.

The first chair to be auctioned was the one designed by the current President of DOS, sculptor and designer Jurij Dobrila, titled From Slovenia with Love. He described the importance of his chair with a heart-shaped opening as “complex”, and the chair as suitable for domestic chores. Apart from which a carved-out heart is a traditional Slovenian motif. The next chair was also designed by Dobrila. Because the chair also had an English name, namely Be My Guest, Paternoster joked that “Jurij obviously lives in the outskirts of London”. The chair was adorned by a rope; apart from providing an optic sensation Be My Guest also affords tactile luxury; not only that sitting down or getting off are easier, the sitting also has the effect of a massage.

Danijela Grgić believes that Rex can become uncomfortable when you sit in the armchair for a longer spell of time, and has provided her Relax with cushions that can be browsed through like a newspaper. Both sides of each cushion feature her original photographs, taken on various occasions. Maja Gspan designed a series of six chairs with original lined pattern named after the predominant colour, from black to futuristically fluorescent shades. Irena Gubanc designed a special chair based on the ancient calculator, abacus. Her son demonstrated how to manually slide the green, red and grey counters on Rex’s rods. For his chair, architect Julijan Krapež also used a cushion but painted it, admitting that he has greater propensity towards painting than design. “I initially wanted to name the Colourful Softness chair In Anticipation of Spring or Waiting for May,” he explained.

Dedicated to filmmakers, the Silke chair by Barbara Prinčič was adorned by three ties. She found the inspiration in the statement by director James Cameron on receiving the Academy Award for Titanic, “I'm the king of the world.” She toyed with the idea of the tie, which a part of men’s wardrobe, and created a comfortable unisex chair. She got the ties from the Reuse Centre, washed and cut them up and then re-sewn them. The moderator commented that he remembered Mr Kralj as a gentleman of advanced age who wore abow tie. The imaginative Commissar Rex was created by industrial designer Maja Najdič who based her design on Niko Kralj’s dog and painted her own Rex dog on the chair cover. Renata Bedene designed the chair with a “structure that protects the seat” that she poetically named Growing from Cracks.

Another visual treat was Rexfiles by Dušan Grobovšek, densely covered by a structure that resembled fur or spines. Artistic tandem Hercogmartini had the misfortune of being robbed of the sculpture Miss Ruffle Diva that adorned their version of the chair, Croquis. Tjaša Učakar explained that she had drawn inspiration from Jacques Derrida’s contemplations on works of art that at a certain point start generating themselves and refuse to be controlled by the artist. The creators of the chair got the idea for the name from the notebook in which Liffe audiences can write (and draw) their impressions. According to Nina Hercog, the fleeting love affair between the chair and the kidnapped diva resembled a croquis.

The chair by designer Katja Keserič Markovič, Rex Back Pack, was interesting on account of its convenient purse that you can use to run errands. The Edvard Chair by Bojana Kovačič Zemljič features a design where one sits directly onto a heart. Referring to her Kiss Me Softly chair, Nataša Šušteršič Plotajs told an unusual anecdote about how she first saw the Rex chair in a dentist’s surgery and would start poking her fingers through the slots. She has now decided to paint stylised fingers in vivid colours on the chair. She got the inspiration for the title from Liffe’s films. Breda Pungaršek Žohar named her chair 4 Rex, and subtitled it Reduce/Recycle Rex – not coincidentally, as she reused and reshaped old socks into subtle knots that contrast finely with the chair’s smooth surface. The last auctioned chair was Perplexo by Lara Plajh.

The successful action during which four chairs were sold, From Slovenia with Love by Jurij Dobrile, Jeans by Maja Gspan, Abakus by Irena Gubanc and Kiss Me Softly by Nataša Šušteršič Plotajs, inspires hope for future events of this kind. The Liffe team congratulates the buyers on their purchase and wishes much future success to the designers.

Andraž Jež

Photo: Iztok Dimc

{rss uri=http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/109749061448260716122/albumid/6084455120030698225?alt=rss&kind=photo&hl=sl}