John Cederquist
2-D Thonet II, 1985

About this John Cederquist 2D Thonet II Chair

This chair is a stunning achievement in the mastery of dimension and illusion by John Cederquist, whose work has long centered these concepts. Cederquist’s body of work is one-of-a-kind, with the 2D Thonet II chair as a definitive example of his unique process and vision. His artist statement is as follows:

“The whole thing started with copying; and the first pieces, really, this whole 2D-3D thing was really interesting, and I didn’t want to design, so I was copying because I had no original source or original ideas related to it. I was just fascinated with being able to make these things look like they were two-dimensional. And people were amazed that you could take a picture of it, or you’d stand there and look at it. And as you walked around, the thing just started to warp and go crazy. I had people telling me they got sick walking around them and looking at them. So that’s what these were all about. These came out of Thonet’s catalog.”

John Cederquist: Play on Dimensions

The work of John Cederquist  can be distinguished by his unique ability to masterfully invert dimension. His trompe l’oeil artworks are illusions, which deceive the eye into seeing three dimensional works, yet a quick walk around his furniture pieces and sculptural objects reveals their flatness. In combination with his mastery of marquetry, John Cederquist’s works may be technically functional, but are known for their innovative challenging of the interplay of form and function. This technique is achieved by overlaying wooden forms with various puzzle-like inlays, further twisting the perspective of the observer by utilizing several different natural wood grains of varying types.

The movement and depth achieved through his unique technique and process sets John Cederquist pieces apart in the world of contemporary furniture. In the case of this 2-D Thonet II chair, the effect is achieved through the interplay of Baltic birch plywood with maple, alongside a stunning embuia inlay and rich aniline dyes. These vibrant dyes were invented by a British chemist in 1856 and are considered a triumphant invention still used today, particularly in fashion and woodworking.

About the Artist: John Cederquist

John Cederquist was born in Altadena, California in 1946 and studied at California State University, Long Beach, from which he earned his BFA in 1969 and MA in 1971. Cederquist maintained his own studio practice until 1979, when he began teaching design at Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, California. It was during his teaching career that he became fascinated with the illusionary potential of perspective and dimension, which drove his endeavor to blend trompe l’oeil illustration with furniture-making, the very crux of his distinguishment as a contemporary furniture artist.

His unique, mind-melding pieces blend thematics of comics, pop culture, and Japanese printmaking, and while usually two-dimensional, these pieces appear 3D. His unique vision and process encapsulate the craftsmanship, storytelling, and playful exploration of perception for which he is well-known.

John Cederquist’s pieces have been collected by major institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago. Cederquist received the 2010 Award of Distinction from the Furniture Society as well as multiple fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1975, 1986) and was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2002.

Designed and created by John Cederquist in 1985.