Max Lamb60 Chairs

In a three day span, Max Lamb transformed five 4” slabs of polystyrene into 60 chairs. To prepare, Lamb drew a meticulous cutting list where each slab yielded 12 chairs, and little material waste was left behind. Each of the works in 60 Chairs was hand cut, sprayed, signed, numbered, photographed, wrapped and packed by Lamb.

60 Chairs breaks down and elevates the human production line. A marathon performance lasting three days: repeating cuts, gluing, assembly, and finally spraying. “The making process was a constant counting game. 60 chairs meant 240 legs and 540 individual parts in total. So much repetition. So much counting. So much longing to get to chair number 60.” For the first edition, 60 Chairs was coated in un-pigmented polyurethane rubber, unaltered from the tin, the colorway is titled “resin.”

Throughout the design and production of 60 Chairs, Lamb methodically considered every step and decision. With limited space, Lamb rented a box truck to transport raw materials, and used the same truck as his workshop for the production of the chairs. Including newly made hot wire tools, specifically designed to cut all 540 pieces of polystyrene quickly and accurately, everything needed to produce, store, and transport 60 chairs, fitted economically inside the truck.

Max Lamb has been working on both his Poly and Scrap Poly works for 15 years. Cutting, carving, peeling, spraying, and up-cycling both virgin and scrap expanded polystyrene — Lamb is constantly innovating with processing techniques, colors, coatings, and pushing the boundaries of this modest material. 60 Chairs showcases Lamb’s comfort in working with expanded polystyrene, and radically challenged his capacity to produce, by hand, a large number of works in a short period of time. The efficiency comes with experience, and a decade long relationship with the materials and processes.

60 Chairs will be available in “resin” exclusively by Salon 94 Design at 60chairs.com beginning at 12pm EST on Friday July 10, 2020.

Max Lamb was born in St. Austell, Cornwall, England in 1980. Now living and working in London, Lamb designs sophisticated and personal bodies of work particular to material, location and tradition. His series unfold intimate stories from conceptions, creation and completion.