Vitra Panton Chrome Chair Editorial

To reflect means to throw back light—to cast back, to send back—always without absorption. To reflect also means to ponder, to think, to contemplate, and to consider. In the latest editorial for iGNANT, we looked at the power of literal and metaphorical reflection as embodied by Vitra’s Panton Chrome.

The chair itself, developed by Verner Panton with Vitra during the late 1950s, exemplifies the influential nature of the experimental designer. The Panton was the first all-plastic cantilever chair to be manufactured in a single piece; its sculptural form the effort of many hours of design contemplation—how to encapsulate the future potential of plastic? Panton was said to have been enchanted by this material and by mirrored surfaces, and on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the release of the first Panton Chair, the Chrome seems an appropriate acknowledgment of this fact. Through the lens of Berlin-based photographer Daniel Müller, we captured the reflective nature of this metalized chair. Its curves echoed by shadows against vast concrete walls, the darkness of the German forest appropriated by its silver exterior, and the tan flint of a gravel-pit just beyond the edge of Berlin stark against undulating form.

All images © Daniel Müller for IGNANT Production