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200 - Satoshi Itasaka Balloon Chair FRP seat, leather, steel, uret…
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Estimate €8,000 - €10,400
Sale commission
Description
Satoshi Itasaka Balloon Chair FRP seat, leather, steel, urethane, FRP balloons, cable Year of creation: 2014 H145 W50 D35 cm Satoshi Itasaka is a product and furniture designer working under the name studio H220430, an acronym for Heisei 22 (2010), 30 April, the official launch date of his new venture. He began his career in the more formal field of architecture, working at Kidosaki Architects. His most iconic work, the Balloon Bench—a whimsical and fanciful piece that captures the hearts of fans of the film *The Red Balloon*—perfectly illustrates the deliberate refusal of his work to conform to obvious criteria of functionality or marketability. In a society built on production, mass consumption and the rapid disposal of objects, there is something admirable in Itasaka’s ability to incorporate a concept into product design. Through each creation, he seeks to imbue a message, what he calls ‘secondary communication’: a meaning that is not immediately apparent, but which was decisive in the design process. His works feature in New York galleries, international art events and the collections of design museums. The Balloon Chair aims to recreate the sensation experienced by Pascal, the protagonist of the film *The Red Balloon*, when a cluster of balloons lifts him above Paris to save him from a gang of boys who are bullying him. Whereas the Balloon Bench was suspended from the ceiling by four concealed anchors to simulate flight, the Balloon Chair is mounted on the wall. The leather-upholstered seat is made of fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP), steel and urethane, whilst the balloons are made of FRP and cable, ensuring they can never deflate. Here they are permanent, eternally inflated, eternally destined for a flight that will never come—or rather, that is already here, suspended in time and matter.
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About the sale Sculptural furniture and functional art
Auction location
Auction time 06/25/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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