Chair collector and furniture manufacturer Titus Darley has spent decades building one of the Netherlands' most distinctive collections of modern chair design. Housed at the RSGA Design Museum in Culemborg, the collection spans the early twentieth century to the present day and includes numerous rare and previously unknown pieces.
In this lecture, Darley will recount how the publication of a chair long believed to have disappeared ultimately led to the rediscovery of the original piece, now part of the RSGA Design Museum collection. He will explore how the museum's collection and the work of Gerrit Rietveld continue to inspire contemporary designers and influence international design culture more than a century after their creation.
The museum's collection also plays an active role in shaping the future of Pastoe, the renowned Dutch furniture brand owned by Moooi and RSGA Design. Building on Pastoe's rich heritage of innovation and Dutch modernism, Darley has overseen the reintroduction of more than fifteen designs by Gerrit Rietveld through his companies. These include the iconic Crate Chair, relaunched in collaboration with HAY, the Press Room Chair, and the recently introduced Zwaan Armchair, now part of the Pastoe collection.
Finally, Darley will discuss how the museum continues to expand its collection, why contemporary designers are essential to its mission, and how newly commissioned work connects today's creative talent with the legacy of twentieth-century design. Each year, the RSGA Design Museum presents a major exhibition dedicated to a leading designer; this year's exhibition celebrates the work of Christien Meindertsma.