Ring chair
(c. 1970)
Medium
stainless steel
Measurements
82.8 × 71.2 × 62.1 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM and Family through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program, 2024
Gallery location
Level 3 foyer
Level 3, NGV International
About this work
Maria Pergay began her career as a designer in the 1950s as a working mother without any formal training. She worked independently, outside the mainstream, designing luxury silver objects and furniture. In 1967 Pergay was approached by France’s leading steel manufacturer to use stainless steel for her furniture. The unconventional material quickly became her material of choice and Pergay’s Ring chair, designed the following year, has become one of her most recognised designs. Its rounded, spiral-like design was inspired by the peeling of an orange, indicative of Pergay’s very personal design language, yet its futuristic aesthetic reflects a cool, stylish formalism and the utopian spirit of the late 1960s.