Surreal: Cassina x Starck

Philippe Starck, the internationally acclaimed creator, uses the apple, a traditional symbol of knowledge, as the basis for the installation on show at Cassina Paris Rive Gauche, on view through 30 January.

“Cassina Croque La Pomme” highlights a forward-thinking and experimental approach to contemporary design. Under the impulse of Philippe Starck, this installation aims to explore new forms of expression with alternative materials. Apple Ten Lork is an original material made from apples. The Volage EX-S sofa, now presented with a new thinner armrest, along with the Privè collection and Caprice and Passion chairs, designed by Starck for Cassina, have all been reinvented with this innovative material available in white, orange and black, in a challenge to explore beyond leather.

For this occasion, the entire Cassina Paris Rive Gauche Showroom has been commandeered by the apple with three specific tales that unfold around Starck’s apple covered sofas.

The first is the beginning, Adam and Eve, the origin of mankind. The second recounts Newton’s theory of gravity discovered thanks to the apple that fell from the tree. The third brings to life the Belgian Surrealist painter Magritte’s ‘The Son of Man’ self-portrait: a green apple floats in front of his face emphasising the human desire to see what’s hidden behind the visible.