Cross Check armchair

Frank Gehry is an out-of-the box innovator in his architecture as well as his design, but his hockey-themed furniture for Knoll, including the Cross Check Chair, is an interesting twist-both literally and figuratively-on art, craft, and design traditions. A contemporary inheritor of the bentwood tradition started by the Thonet firm in the 1830s, Cross Check can be seen within the context of the work of modernist icons Alvar Aalto and Charles and Ray Eames. But its basket-woven seat connects it with traditional handcrafts (in this case Gehry's inspiration came from ordinary bushel baskets), while its energetic, ribbon-like tendrils interconnecting to form the back, legs, and arms are a human-size example of the complex, sculpturally flowing use of materials that characterizes Gehry's architecture. It is also his practical design solution, as the interwoven structure gives Cross Check a springiness that improves upon earlier bentwood chairs. Gehry's lifelong love of ice hockey influenced the lightweight wood structure of the series as well as the names of the pieces (which also include Power Play and Hat Trick).