Acrylic and steel at Sotheby's: the collectible design of Peter Harvey

In December 2021 Sotheby's offered a Tongue in Cheek Chair made in 2004 by Peter Harvey, born in 1961: a piece in acrylic and stainless steel, acquired directly from the artist and carrying his label under the seat. It is the collector's side of a designer whose handmade sculptural prototype of the same name also belongs to the late Thierry Barbier-Mueller's chair collection. Harvey works across product, furniture, lighting and interiors, from one-off artisan pieces to commercial production, and has explored acrylic, glass and ceramics as materials in their own right.

His commercial work for LaCividina brings that sculptural instinct to contract seating. The Mon Coeur sofa has hand-shaped foam, fire-retardant high-density padding and seams reinforced with carbon fiber; the Nautile lounge chair uses cold-cured fire-retardant foam on a frame built for public areas. For American lobbies and executive lounges that want a collector's eye at contract strength, La Mercanti specifies both.