Jonathan Olivares

Jonathan Olivares
BornDecember 1981
Boston, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
EducationPratt Institute
OccupationIndustrial Designer
Websitewww.jonathanolivares.com

Jonathan Olivares (born 1981)[1] is an American industrial designer and author.[2] Olivares's approach to design has been characterized research-based and incremental.[3] In April 2022 he became Senior Vice-President of Design at the Knoll furniture company.[4][5][6]

Early life and education

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Olivares grew up in the metropolitan Boston area, and skateboarded as a teenager.[7] He attended Boston College and The New School,[7] before graduating with a Bachelor of Industrial Design (B.I.D.) from Pratt Institute in 2004.[8] While a student, Olivares interned at Maison Margiela in Paris, where he worked on objects and interiors.[9] He was an apprentice to the designer Stephen Burks, and in 2005 he also apprenticed for the industrial designer Konstantin Grcic in Munich.[7][10][11] In 2006 Olivares began practicing industrial design independently,[12] and his first office was in his mother's garage in Boston.[13] His design practice is now based in Los Angeles.[14]

Designs

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Olivares' early furniture designs are explorations in various forms of metal. In 2007 Olivares designed Smith, a multi-purpose cart made of sheet metal,[15] made by Danese Milano.[16] Versatility, simplicity, and the use of a single, recyclable material deliver an environmentally friendly product.[17] The design is the result of balanced functions; a container, a side-table or seat surface, handles, wheels, and a geometry that allows stacking.[18] Writer and curator Su Wu states: "[Smith] has capacity instead of categories, in which a table could also be a seat, perhaps, if you chose to sit on it."[19] Olivares 2012 Aluminum Chair for Knoll[20] is a technically advanced chair made of die cast and extruded aluminum.[21] The chair's seat shell is 3mm thick and has a shape that softens its metallic nature.”[21] and its contoured shape is slim and comfortable.[22] The Aluminum Bench, made by Zahner in 2015, is made from architectural aluminum extrusions,[23] that are normally used to support curved metal building facades.[24] The extrusions provide the main structure, joining the seat plate and cast legs, and are rolled formed to any curvature.[25] In 2017 the Aluminum Bench was included in the Super Benches installation outside of Stockholm, curated by Felix Burrichter of Pin-Up Magazine.[26]

Olivares has worked on commercial and corporate interiors, for Vitra, Dropbox, and in 2019 he designed a retail store for the Mallorcan shoe brand Camper at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.[27][28] The store furniture is milled from Indiana limestone, a nod to the building's iconic facade made of the same material,[29] and the stock is housed in openly in sliding storage racks.[30]

In 2016 Olivares turned his attention to textiles.[31] Twill Weave Daybed, commissioned from Olivares by the Harvard Graduate School of Design for 9 Ash Street, was realized in 2017 with the support of Kvadrat.[32] The daybed is composed of twill weave textiles,[31] with its legs and cross beams made of woven carbon fiber, molded on mast-making mandrels, and its wool cushion dyed the color of graphite.[12] [7] The daybed is strong enough to support the weight of a car.[7] This combination of materials results in a design that is simultaneously visually homogenous and celebrates the different materials used to make it.[12] In 2022 Kvadrat's New York flagship showroom, designed by Olivares, opened.[33] Based on the square unit of a woven textile, the showroom is square in plan with a catwalk that allows bolts of textiles to be hung from it.[34] Square Chair, produced by the Italian manufacturer Moroso, was designed for the showroom and extends the spatial concept down to the scale of furniture.[35] The chair is made of two square foam blocks, upholstered with textile, that allow the user to sit forwards, sideways, and backwards.[36] With each block being upholstered in a different textile, the chair is a vehicle for larger compositions of color in space.[36]

Reception

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Interior Design magazine describes Olivares work in a 2018 article as “spare and formally rigorous, often concerned with high-tech manufacturing processes.”[37] The art and cultural critic Drew Zeiba describes Olivares works as carrying a “signature elegance and simplicity.”[38] Writing in the International Herald Tribune about Olivares' book A Taxonomy of Office Chairs in 2011, Design critic Alice Rawsthorn writes: "You'll never look at an office chair in quite the same way again."[39]

Grants and awards

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Collections

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Olivares's work is held in the following museum collections:

Publications

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  • Olivares, Jonathan. A Taxonomy of Office Chairs. London: Phaidon Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0714861036[47]
  • Morrison, J., Olivares, J., Velardi, M. Source Material. Weil am Rhein: Vitra Design Museum, 2015 ISBN 9783931936976[48]
  • Olivares, Jonathan. Richard Sapper. London: Phaidon Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0714871202[49]
  • Olivares, Jonathan. Jonathan Olivares Selected Works.[50] New York: PowerHouse Books, 2017. ISBN 978-1576878606[51]
  • A Life in Chairs with Industrial Designer Don Chadwick. Interview Magazine, 2018[52]
  • Olivares, Jonathan. Don Chadwick Photography 1961–2005. Barcelona: Apartamento Press, 2019. ISBN 978-84-09-11610-2[53]
  • Georgacopoulos, A., Olivares, J. The ECAL Manual of Style: How to best teach design today? London: Phaidon Press, 2022. ISBN 9781838665173[54]
  • Olivares, Jonathan (2024). Skateboard. London: Phaidon. p. 240. ISBN 978-1838667498.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jonathan Olivares". The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  2. ^ Rawsthorn, Alice (2011-04-24). "Taking a Zoological Approach to Chairs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  3. ^ Viladas, Pilar (2018-04-12). "How ship masts inspired this LA-designer's latest textile collection". Curbed. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  4. ^ "Jonathan Olivares". Knoll. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  5. ^ "Changes at the top for House Beautiful, Knoll's new SVP and more". Business of Home. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  6. ^ "2x2: Jonathan Olivares with Kersten Geers and David Van Severen". Harvard Graduate School of Design. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  7. ^ a b c d e Stratford, Oli (Summer 2018). "Eventually everything connects". Disegno. 19: 90.
  8. ^ "Prattfolio Fall/Winter 2011 "Generations Issue"". Issuu. p. 38. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  9. ^ "Jonathan Olivares and Dozie Kanu". Pin–Up. 24: 103. Summer 2018.
  10. ^ Lanks, Belinda (January 1, 2008). "Multitasker". Metropolis Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  11. ^ Lasky, Julie (2011-04-21). "For Young Hopefuls, Milan Offers a Place to Break In". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  12. ^ a b c "Jonathan Olivares's Twill Weave Collection for Kvadrat Conceptualizes Color". SURFACE. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  13. ^ Lasky, Julie (2011-04-21). "For Young Hopefuls, Milan Offers a Place to Break In". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  14. ^ Suqi, Rima (2014-09-10). "Outdoor Heirlooms: Dining Tables". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  15. ^ Hirst, Arlene (September 2007). "Store It". Metropolitan Home: 41.
  16. ^ Hudson, Jennifer (2010). Design for Small Spaces. London: Lawrence King. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-85669-661-6.
  17. ^ Moratti, Dario (2011). 2011 ADI Premio Compasso d'Oro. Mantova: Edizioni Corraini. p. 64. ISBN 978-88-7570-308-0.
  18. ^ Kim, Jong Jim (2007). Bodyscape. Seoul: Damdi. p. 96. ISBN 978-89-91111-27-1.
  19. ^ Wu, Su (April 2016). "Jonathan Olivares". L'Uomo Vogue. 470: 151.
  20. ^ Flaherty, Joe. "4 Years of Hard Work Yield a Comfy Metal Chair That's Crazy Skinny". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  21. ^ a b Lange, Alexandra (19 September 2012). "A Chair for All Seasons". Domus. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  22. ^ Terragni, Emilia (2018). Chair: 500 designs that matter. London: Phaidon Press. p. 629. ISBN 978-0-7148-7610-8.
  23. ^ Morris, Ali (2015-06-18). "Fabricate this: ShopFloor software heralds a new era of mass customised furniture". Wallpaper*. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  24. ^ "Aluminum Bench by Jonathan Olivares". Disegno. 8: 199. Summer 2015.
  25. ^ "From the City to the Spoon". Domus. 985: 32. November 2014.
  26. ^ Taylor-Foster, James (2017-05-02). "In the Swedish City of Järfälla, Ten Radical "Superbenches" Are Unveiled as Community Incubators". ArchDaily. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  27. ^ Peluso, Salvatore (14 May 2019). "Camper store is a tribute to 1930s New York". www.domusweb.it. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  28. ^ Burrichter, Felix, ed. (2022). "JONATHAN OLIVARES: AN INTERVIEW ON DESIGN AND SKATEBOARDING, QUOTES, AND THE PLACE OF THE CHAIR". PIN–UP. 33. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  29. ^ Burrichter, Felix (May 2019). "Interview: Jonathan Olivares on Designing His First Store at Rockefeller Center". pinupmagazine.org. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  30. ^ Messina, Rab (16 May 2019). "How Can a Shoe Store Compete with the Bright Lights of Radio City Music Hall?". Frame. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  31. ^ a b Khandekar, Narayan (2017). Collecting Colour. Arnhem, Netherlands: Art EZ Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-94-91444-48-7.
  32. ^ Quito, Anne (June 2018). "At All Scales." Metropolis. p.26.
  33. ^ Silver, Hannah (2022-05-14). "Kvadrat's flagship New York showrooms encompass colourful design codes". wallpaper.com. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  34. ^ "An interview with designer Jonathan Olivares Jonathan about a new showroom for Kvadrat in New York". Disegno Journal. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  35. ^ Photography, Hannah Silver last updated Contributions from Daniele Ansidei- (2022-05-14). "Kvadrat's flagship New York showrooms encompass colourful design codes". wallpaper.com. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  36. ^ a b Gaimari, Caroline. "NOW YOU KNOW: AN ORAL HISTORY OF KVADRAT'S NEW YORK SHOWROOM BY JONATHAN OLIVARES". PIN–UP. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  37. ^ "10 Questions With... Jonathan Olivares". Interior Design. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  38. ^ "Book Club: Jonathan Olivares – Selected Works". pinupmagazine.org. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  39. ^ Rawsthorn, Alice (2011-04-24). "Taking a Zoological Approach to Chairs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  40. ^ "Graham Foundation > Grantees > Jonathan Olivares". The Graham Foundation.
  41. ^ "Premio Compasso d'oro 2011", Wikipedia (in Italian), 2021-08-08, retrieved 2021-09-04
  42. ^ "Graham Foundation > Grantees > Jonathan Olivares". www.grahamfoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  43. ^ "Good Design 2012: Awarded Product Designs and Graphics and Packaging" (PDF).
  44. ^ "Introducing the #MetropolisLikes Award at NeoCon". Metropolis. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  45. ^ "Jonathan Olivares". collections.lacma.org. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  46. ^ "SMITH". ADI Design Museum. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  47. ^ "A Taxonomy of Office Chairs, Phaidon Press". www.phaidon.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  48. ^ "Source Material". www.design-museum.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  49. ^ "Richard Sapper, Edited by Jonathan Olivares, Phaidon Press". www.phaidon.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  50. ^ "BOOK CLUB: JONATHAN OLIVARES – SELECTED WORKS". archive.pinupmagazine.org. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  51. ^ "Jonathan Olivares Selected Works, PowerHouse Books". powerHouse Books. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  52. ^ Olivares, Jonathan (2018-12-19). "A Life in Chairs with Industrial Designer Don Chadwick". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  53. ^ "Don Chadwick Photography 1961–2005—Apartamento Publishing". Apartamento Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  54. ^ "The ECAL Manual of Style, Phaidon Press". www.phaidon.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
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