"Once upon a time there was a country called Spain where there were some Kings who used to sit on austere armchairs on which they dominated the seas and trade”.
In 1987 Artespaña assigned the design of a piece of furniture for the brand’s new image to renowned Spanish architects and designers such as Rafael Moneo, Pedro Miralles, José Luis Pérez Ortega , Oscar Tusquets, among others.
José Luis Pérez Ortega is an industrial designer from the Polytechnic School of Milan, a former student of Bruno Munari and collaborator of the architect Gianfranco Frattini in his Milan studio. He came up with the idea of designing a product that would respond to the spirit and philosophy of the company. After a rigorous study of Spanish historical furniture, in 1988 he presented as a design a "New Friar Armchair" inspired by the 16th century convent armchair with a similar volumetry to the historical armchair; but defined with a timeless design of great formal simplicity and linear character, with seat and backrest upholstered in leather on a stainless steel structure, incorporating Spanish walnut armrests, handcrafted in the shape of a violin scroll, as a nod to the past.
Already present at the Design Museum of Barcelona, the Frailero Armchair by José Luis Pérez Ortega (1988) has joined the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid to become part of the permanent collection of the history of Spanish design.
In our firm commitment of making accessible history and culture, this piece of furniture has been exhibited at the International trade Habitat Valencia fair 2022 during the celebration of the World Design Capital Valencia 2022, ArtesMoble exclusively manufactures a limited series of the armchair " Frailero” signed by the designer José Luis Pérez Ortega in a wide variety of finishes.
