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True Tomorrow
100+10 Years of True Evolution
and diff erent viewing perspectives.
The colour and the aesthetics of his
perception blend well with the Poltrona
Frau brand. Inspired by his Chromadynamica
research, a series of works with chromatic
motifs symbolising the digital age in which
we live, Pantone encapsulates all the
movement and dynamism of its colours in
Archibald, giving the armchair a pulsating
energy, that seems as though it is about to
explode. It is not so much a transposition of
his work onto a three-dimensional surface
as it is the artist’s interpretation of Poltrona
Frau’s sensibilities for colour, which fi nds its
maximum expression in the vivid shades of
ColorSphere®.
Despite the minimalist design, Archibald
features details of considerable technical
complexity, such as the leather upholstery
moved by the interplay of vertical folds, and
the rhythm of the stitching along the profi le
and on the back. Pantone’s challenge was
Felipe Pantone
«The fi rst thing for me was to actually get to go
to Tolentino to visit the factory and understand everything,
how they work, to see and feel the material, the leather.
We ended up choosing Archibald for its simple structure
and its unique characteristics, such as the armrests
and the details of the backrest.
I come from working on the streets, where there is a lot
of visual “noise”, you want to stand out, in a way, you want
to use vivid colours, you want to be loud. The challenge
here for this specifi c chair has been how to turn something
so iconic easily recognised by people and have and have
it merge with my style. For me, new projects are all about
challenges, about learning something new and trying
to come up with something new myself as well
and hopefully give my contribution.»
to adapt his pattern to the variations in the
surface and in the parts where the folds are
thickest. This “displacement” of the work
is an aspect that is conceptually similar to
the poetry of the artist, who, in an era of
customised confi guration of goods and
services, believes that art must also interact
with distant worlds, allowing itself to be
defi ned by them. In fact, this is not his fi rst
collaboration with the industry.
Archibald Limited Edition symbolically
projects Poltrona Frau into the digital age.
Thanks to Pantone’s artistic vision and sen-
sitivity in applying this “neo-psychedelic”
design on one of the oldest materials, the
company has entered the world of art, com-
municating in a radically diff erent way, and
to an audience not traditionally connected
with the Brand. A vision that earned Archi-
bald Anniversary Limited Edition the award
at NYCxDesign 2022 for the most iconic
product, just a few weeks after its launch.
Starting from Poltrona
Frau’s ColorSphere® range
of colours, Felipe Pantone
has created a digital and
hypnotic texture which
vibrates on the leather
surface.
Following pages.
The Archibald
Anniversary Limited
Edition inside the
Poltrona Frau Museum
in the company’s plant
in Tolentino.
