PIERO FORNASETTI, CIRCA 1950S

This stool exemplifies Fornasetti's ingenious trompe l'oeil artiface extending beyond the realm of the surface. The metal frame is manipulated and coated with thick rubber to simulate thorny wood; The seat is woven out of synthetic fiber instead of cane. The result is that the materials of modernism can be transformed into the look and feel of a byegone era.