When the National Coal Board commissioned Jon Bannenberg - brilliant designer/innovator - to come up with the fireplace of today, it was bound to be spctatular. But Bannenberg has gone beyond expectation. He has swept aside the conventional fireplace and re-instated it, by design, as the focal point in a room.
As he sees it, the fireplace should play as important a decorative part as say a painting, sculpture or other objets d'art. And be judged by the same criteria. To become, in fact, a whole new art form in itself.
To say that he has succeeded would be an understatement... Each model is revolutionary - in its shape, colour or materials. All are visually exhilarating. And Jon Bannenberg has kept a balance between the aesthetics and practicalities by integrating labour-saving devices and extra safety measures.
So art come home in a new form. A Bannenberg. And the bonus is something of a luxury... the simple pleasures of a coal fire and the atmosphere it creates.
Rainbow
Art in steel - a 3D version of co-related colour.
Ziggurat
Reflective steps surmounting a stepped base - there is no limit to the combination of colour and type of facing material for each step.
National Coal Board ad scanned from Vogue UK, September 15, 1972.
I've posted about Jon Bannenberg before and I might just have a crush on him based on his work...