Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Zhipeng Tan creates provocative furniture with metal alloys that merges abstraction and Pop art with forms inspired by the natural world. The contemporary Chinese designer’s chairs and stools are topped with seats that mimic the shapes of flower petals, while the graceful legs of his audacious polished brass side tables and dining tables resemble molten gold.
Tan graduated from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou with a degree in industrial design. Enamored with the organic silhouettes that populate the great outdoors, he grew increasingly interested in sculpture and drew on natural forms in his work, with molded brass as his vehicle for expression. Tan employs the ancient technique of lost-wax casting, which sees metal objects and furnishings cast from wax models. He then trims, welds and polishes the parts to craft tables and seating that are distinctive and unconventional works of art-furniture that are wholly sculptural but serve a functional purpose in one’s living room. In 2015, Tan cofounded the Shanghai-based Mán-Mán Studio with Daishi Luo, a furniture designer and sculptor who studied metal art at Huafan University in Taiwan.
Tan is known for his brass 33 Step chair, which draws heavily on the human anatomy and is named for the 33 vertebrae found in the human spine. Many of his console and coffee tables appear as though the metal table top has reverted to its molten state, with a range of droplet-shaped brass forms at each corner serving as table legs, while smaller elements are “suspended” inches above the floor along the table's underside, creating a striking visual effect.
Many have suggested that Tan’s influences include English sculptor Henry Moore, Catalan artist Joan Miró and Japanese Pop artist Takashi Murakami. Notable firms such as Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Ingrao Inc. and David Scott Interiors have purchased his semi-abstract creations, and Tan’s work can be found in the collections of the Columbus Museum of Art, the HE Art Museum and the Centre Pompidou.
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21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Brass
2010s Canadian Modern Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Gold Leaf
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Steel
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Fabric, Upholstery
1990s American Modern Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Cut Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Textile
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Zhipeng Tan Sofas
Leather
