Robert & Trix Hausmann. HR-301 Armchairs for De Sede

ROBERT & TRIX HAUSMANN (Switzerland, 1931-2021) for DeSede.
Pair of RH-301 armchairs.
Steel and black and white leather.
The chairs are in excellent condition and have been recently upholstered in leather.
Measurements: 73 x 65 x 52 cm.

The RH-301 armchair is a clear homage to the design of Mies van der Rohe, reminiscent to a great extent of the Barcelona chair. This is attested to by the harmonious proportions and the elegant shape of the frame, seat and backrest. Particularly noteworthy is the checkering of the upholstery, which adds distinction and innovation in equal measure.

The outstanding artistic tandem Robert & Trix Hausmann had close ties to the avant-garde of their time by actively participating in the local scenes in Zurich and Bern. Together they founded the General Institute of Design (Allgemeine Entwurfsanstalt) in 1967. On the one hand, Robert Haussman studied with Gerrit Rietveld in Amsterdam and later in Zurich with Swiss designer Willy Guhl and Bauhaus member Johannes Itten. He was professor of architecture at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart until 1996. On the other hand, Trix Högl completed her architectural studies at the ETH Zurich with Werner Max Moser and Jacques Schader. She was an associate professor of architecture at the ETH Zurich until 2002. Her work has been part of exhibitions such as the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, the Gestaltung Museum Zurich and Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria and Nottingham Contemporary in the UK. In 2011 they were included in the V&A exhibition, 'Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990', which toured from London to Zurich. Their work is in the public collection of the Zurich Design Museum.