News-Antique.com - May 28,2009 - New York, NY – On June 12, 2009 Sotheby’s will offer a unique work by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The bench, named Tuyomyo (yours and mine in Spanish), was created in collaboration with Emeco, the premier manufacturer of contemporary aluminum furniture. Gehry’s mandate was simple: “The form has to be free and light. It must be structural and at the same time poetic. And a little dangerous.” Standing three meters long but weighing only 122 pounds, the Tuyomyo bench was crafted using 80% recycled aluminum components and aircraft manufacturing technology. Proceeds from the sale of the work, which is estimated at $250/350,000,* will benefit the Hereditary Disease Foundation research fund established in 2008 in honor of Gehry’s late daughter - The Leslie Gehry Brenner Award for Innovation in Science. “In Tuyomyo, Frank Gehry has returned to the attenuated and undulating lines of his first furniture project, the Easy Edges Series of 1969-1973,” said James Zemaitis, Senior Vice President and Director of Sotheby’s 20th Century Design Department. “The culmination of his five-year experiment in aluminum with Emeco, which includes the iconic mass-produced Superlight chair, Tuyomyo is one-of-a- kind. This bench for two will not be produced again. It is a remarkable opportunity for collectors.”
Tuyomyo was presented at the Emeco booth during the Salone del Mobile in Milan, April 22-27, 2009. This is the second time Emeco and Gehry have collaborated on a project, the first being the creation of the all-aluminum Superlight chair launched at the Salone in 2004 and recently accepted into the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent design collection. Tuyomyo, a bench designed for two, began as a sketch during the first collaboration and developed into this unique work which is being sold to raise funds and awareness for the Hereditary Disease Foundation. The Gehrys are founding trustees of the HDF, and are deeply passionate about and committed to the cure of brain diseases. Hereditary Disease Foundation The Hereditary Disease Foundation stands at the forefront of scientific ingenuity and progress. It has sparked innovative discoveries since its founding in 1968 by Dr. Milton Wexler when his wife was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, a neurological disorder. Frank Gehry and his wife, Berta, were founding Trustees in 1968 and continue to play active roles in the Foundation – Frank as Vice-President, Berta as Treasurer. Proceeds from the sale of Tuyomyo will benefit a research fund established in 2008 in honor of Frank’s late daughter - The Leslie Gehry Brenner Award for Innovation in Science. For more information about the Hereditary Disease Foundation, visit www.hdfoundation.org.
Emeco
Emeco was founded in 1944 to make all-aluminum chairs for the U.S. Navy. Gregg Buchbinder purchased the company in 1998 and began a friendship and association with the renowned French architect, Philippe Starck, creating a series of products that united Emeco’s historic manufacturing capabilities with Starck’s classic designs for a new century. In 2004, Emeco collaborated with the American architect Frank Gehry on Superlight, a chair that utilizes aluminum’s ability to be both strong and
