Looking into the next millenium
It is reminiscent of an elegantly curved fan that unfolds dynamically in the room: the M1 table by Stefan Wewerka. The architect and deconstructivist designed it in 1979. An artist who took apart everyday objects in order to readjust, reshape and rethink them. The M1 was thus created as a piece of furniture that absorbs movement and insists less on rigid seating.
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A table that reveals a lot about the philosophy behind the things Wewerka designed. His aim was to develop beautiful, modest products that speak of life and its meaning. Of socialising and being together, of work and imagination. These thoughts are at the heart of the M1, which can be a conference table, a family table or a dining table for seven or eight people.
‘You can‘t save the world’, said the artist, “but you can invent things that protect the soul”. This makes the M1 an all-rounder – placed with its flat side against the wall, it blends into the room. Standing alone, it becomes a natural sculpture; with several pieces put together, it forms a duo or trio, symbolising the cloverleaf and large designs.
A hidden speciality is revealed: the master of small and large everyday things has concealed another clever idea in the base of the table: space for crockery, glasses, office utensils or bottles has been thought of here. So at first glance the M1 is a table, at second glance it is a miniature living unit with a keyhole view of the possibilities of living in our millennium.
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Esche Furnier natur
Ash veneer natural -
Esche Furnier schwarz-lackiert
Ash veneer black lacquered -
Esche Furnier weiß-lackiert
Ash veneer white lacquered -
Esche rot-lackiert
Ash red lacquered
Gifted deformer of the ordinary
Defying efforts to categorise his practice, Stefan Wewerka is a supremely versatile artist whose creative and teaching practice spans the full breadth of fine art and design. The son of sculptor Rudolf Wewerka (1889–1954), Stefan Wewerka was born into a family with a strong artistic tradition spanning several generations. Following the Second World War, he studied architecture under Max Taut, Eduard Ludwig and Georg Leowald at the University of Fine Arts in Berlin. While studying at the university, he co-founded the student housing complex »Studentenheims Eichkamp« in 1946.
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After graduating he worked for a variety of architects, including Hans Scharoun. In the late 1950s, Wewerka went on to work as a freelance artist. In the 1960s he began to cut up and reassemble objects of everyday life – primarily chairs, but also coins, cutlery, flags, records and so on. The focus of his practice shifted to etching in the 1970s, resulting in numerous portfolios and individual works. During this period he befriended and collaborated extensively with Dieter Roth.
In 1978, Wewerka began to design individual items of furniture for TECTA. Wewerka’s major works for TECTA are his chair sculptures – an incomparable blend of art and design. His creations for TECTA include the three-legged B1 armchair. Designed according to the Bauhaus principle of functionality (form follows function), the B1 eschews the pursuit of the object’s definitive essence in favour of a solution which caters to seven different sitting postures, arriving at an innovative and almost playful form in the process. TECTA subsequently invited Wewerka to design a pavilion (1980–1985). A duplicate of Wewerka’s creation was erected by TECTA at the 8th Documenta in Kassel. Following the exhibition the pavilion was relocated to Münster, where it is used by the Academy of Fine Arts.
