Vintage Pedro Friedeberg Butterfly and Foot Chair, Full-Size, Mexico City, 1973

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Vintage Pedro Friedeberg Butterfly and Foot Chair, Full-Size, Mexico City, 1973

About the Item

An early example of the Iconic Surrealist "Butterfly" chair (Silla-Mariposa). By Pedro Friedeberg, Mexico City, 1973. Carved mexican mahogany chair with polychrome and gold leaf details. Fully documented and signed. Pedro Friedeberg, Mexican (1936 - ) Friedeberg was born in Florence, Italy, on January 11, 1936, the son of German-Jewish parents, Friedeberg arrived in Mexico at the age of three. Having shown an early inclination for drawing and reading, he studied architecture at the Universidad Iberoamericana, where he was profoundly influenced by the teaching of Mathias Goeritz, a German-Mexican artist. Under Goeritz influence he created architectural models that fused diverse elements into single structures and were often designed to be non-fictional. His educational background ranged from medieval to Art Nouveau and his work anticipated postmodernism. In 1960, Friedeberg was invited to join a group based on Dadaist principles: the creation of anti-art for art's sake. Los Hartos (The Fed Up) was a rejection of political painting and provided an alternative to the social painting of the time. This organization led Friedeberg to part in another direction that would define his work - he believed in the autonomy of aestheticism. Apart from Friedeberg’s non-fictional architectural fantasies, he began producing furniture that rejected the predominantly International Style of architecture and design that was being taught in Mexico. After designing his first chair, Friedeberg went on to design tables, couches, and love seats. This body of work, along with Friedeberg's obsessively crowded and meticulously detailed canvases, often included references to Tantric scriptures, Aztec codices, Catholicism, Hinduism, and symbols of the occult. Friedeberg's pieces of art are in important permanent collections of museums throughout the world : Museum of Modern Art, New York City. Museum of Modern Art, Mexico. Museum of Contemporary art, Chicago. Museum of Modern Art, Telaviv Israel. Cavalino museum, Brescia, Italy. Smithsonian Institute,Washington D.C. Musse du Louvre, Pavillion Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France. Pedro Friedeberg along with Frida Kahlo, were the only two Mexican artist recognized by Andre Breton as part of the Surrealist movement.

Creator:
Pedro Friedeberg (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 34.65 in (88 cm)Width: 20.28 in (51.5 cm)Depth: 17.72 in (45 cm)Seat Height: 17.33 in (44 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Gold Leaf,Mahogany,Paint,Carved
Period:
1970-1979
Date of Manufacture:
1973
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. very good original condition.
Seller Location:
San Diego, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU97172861032

Shop All Pedro Friedeberg

Pedro Friedeberg

The sculptor and painter Pedro Friedeberg works in a richly detailed, Surrealist and eccentric artistic style that blends influences from neoclassical art, M.C. Escher and native Mesoamerican symbolism. He is best known for his Hand chair — a functional sculpture that is an icon of design-as-art.

Friedeberg was born in Florence to German parents and moved with his mother to Mexico at the outset of World War II. As a university student in Mexico City in the 1950s, he initially studied architecture, but his designs for fantastical buildings ran afoul of his rationalist, Bauhaus-oriented teachers.

By chance, Friedeberg’s drawings came to the attention of Mathias Goeritz, the German-born Dadaist painter and sculptor. He encouraged Friedeberg and made him a protégé. Friedeberg credits his mentor for instilling in him a fanatical attention to detail in his work. Friedeberg produced his first Hand chair in 1961, and has since created numerous iterations. He has also made several variants using other human limbs in different functional forms such as tables and clocks.

While Friedeberg’s sculptures have a gentle character that is sometimes described as spiritual, his paintings and prints are something entirely different. He employs deep perspective to create hypnotic, painstakingly rendered canvases that suggest rooms and cityscapes.

Whatever the medium, Friedeberg’s work is arresting and instantly recognizable. The Hand chair, though familiar, remains a captivating piece — both furniture and artwork — that stands apart in any interior. Examples are often priced between $20,000 and $30,000, depending on formal variations (such as a foot-shaped pedestal), material and condition. Smaller functional items such as tabletop clocks bring about $9,000. His paintings and drawings require space; they are meant to be contemplated. Prices on original examples start at about $30,000; prints generally sell in the region of $900.

As you will see on 1stDibs, the art and design of Pedro Friedeberg is singular and memorable.