Included in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The “Valentine #2” side chair makes use of a newly created plastic sheet material that can be curved under heat, sawed and routed like wood, and fused to create blocks for carving. In recent years the surge of Postmodern architecture and design has commanded much publicity. Ranalli’s work since The late 1970s reflects a singular purpose and a precisionist aesthetic inspired by Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, and Carlo Scarpa, which are seen in the innovative use of new materials, a desire to clearly express essential ideas, and in his surface modeling and manipulation of forms.

Continuing in the tradition of the Bauhaus and the international style but adding a twist that separates his work from that of his predecessors, Ranalli retained the geometric forms and undecorated surfaces but used SURRELL, a new man-made substance that appears at first glance to be a more luxurious material—such as marble or alabaster—than early modernists would have used.

The chair back, seat, and legs consist of interlocking squares and rectangles. Space, plane, and volume are manipulated to create a dynamic whole. The Valentine Chair # 2 does not have a stereotypical form, making it difficult to categorize as anything other than modern. Although it also nudges the expectation that modern furniture design is spare.

Todd Merrill Studio is pleased to announce our representation of esteemed architect and designer George Ranalli. Ranalli, whose work sits at the intersection of neoplasticism, minimalism, and postmodernism founded his architectural design firm in New York in 1977. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he is credited with carrying forward the lessons of Italian architect Carlo Scarpa into contemporary settings. Like Scarpa and another architectural influence, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ranalli has created bespoke furniture and object design concepts in tandem with his interior architecture throughout his storied career.

This gallery partnership marks the first time that Ranalli’s original furniture design work will be made available for public purchase. The gallery will introduce Ranalli to a new generation of collectors through a selection of limited edition, hand-crafted furniture including tables, chairs, and case pieces.

Ranalli’s timeless furniture designs are part of the permanent collections of the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as private collections around the world. He has been exhibited in the U.S. at the Cooper Hewitt Museum, Detroit Art Institute, Hudson River Museum, La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Internationally he has been exhibited at the Biennales of Venice, Paris, and Ecuador, the Canadian Center of Architecture, the Helsinki Festival of Art, and the Promosedia International Chair Exhibition.