Calella Bench

Jordi Vilanova i Bosch

Bench designed by Jordi Vilanova i Bosch in 1965, belonging to one of the most representative series of his production during the 1960s. The "Calella" model syntheterpretation of the Catalan artisanal tradition. Made of beech wood. Jordi Vilanova (Barcelona, 1925-1998) was a Catalan interior designer and cabinetmaker who entered the School of Work and Artistic Crafts at La Lonja in 1939. He completed his training in the Busquets workshop, and between 1940 and 1953 he collaborated in the studio of Lluís Gili. Jordi Vilanova was founder and promoter of the Catalan art magazine "Questions d'Art" (1967-74). In 1974 he opened premises with a permanent exhibition of furniture and upholstery of his own design, becoming part of the Official College of Decorators and Interior Designers of Barcelona and the SAD. His modern furniture and way of resolving spaces were initially aimed at a large public with limited economic resources and, consequently, homes with less living space. However, this great majority did not understand his proposal. Instead, it was the Catalan bourgeoisie eager to break with already outdated stylistic canons who embraced his work. His specialty was children's furniture, such as the Delta stool which won the Silver Delta Prize awarded by ADI/FAD in 1964. He held exhibitions of his works in the Scandinavian Countries. Among his most representative designs are the Tiracord and Billar chairs (1961), the Montseny MP bunk bed (1961), the Tartera (1966) and Petit (1978) rocking chairs, and the Z magazine rack (1987), the latter designed together with his son Pau Vilanova Vila-Abadal. He is currently represented in the Design Museum of Barcelona