'Third Angel' Chair, 1990

The designs of Wendell Castle are nothing short of extraordinary. Castle was both a designer and a daring artist, blurring the line between furniture and fine art. He studied sculpting and industrial design at the University of Kansas, which is undoubtedly reflected in his sculptural furniture. Castle never worried about producing art that would appeal to potential customers. In fact, he made it a point to do the exact opposite, developing his own rules for his designs and taking chances at every turn. He considered his Angel chairs the greatest of his creations during the 1990s. For the Angel chair series, Castle set aside his signature stack-lamination process for traditional joinery but still managed to convey a sense of weightlessness common with his work. This chair assumes a sculptural form, with the seat of the Angel chair appearing to take on the form of wings at rest. Its dark color and imposing form suggest an ominous and foreboding deeper meaning, alluding to an angelic fall from grace.