Black & White Past Forges Future Armchair by Markus Friedrich Staab

Self-taught artist and designer Markus Friedrich Staab was born 1964 in Aschaffenburg, Germany. With a practice encompassing sculpture and painting, he opened his eponymous studio, Atelier Staab, in Aschaffenburg in 1986, later moving it to Frankfurt in 1996.

In 2010, Staab started experimenting with design. In this arena, he paints and transforms existing furniture (all found pieces, many of them chairs) into unique pieces, thereby adding new value and a sense of life to otherwise overlooked everyday or even historical objects. According to Staab, “Chairs that once were mass produced and homogenous become singular and unique… It is these themes—chairs as sculptural objects and art as object of utility—that I am particularly fascinated by.”

Staab’s work is included in a variety of private collections. Notable design projects include participation in the 2014 London Design Festival exhibition at 19 Greek Street in London; a series of furniture pieces for the Wahaca restaurant chain in London (2014 and 2012); and the commission of 50 chairs for a pop-up restaurant for the Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK) in Frankfurt (2013).