Marc Newson

Marc Newson, Bucky, de la chimie au design, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris, March 3-April 16, 1995

''Le Transparent et l'Opaque,'' Connaissance des Arts, March 1995, p. 11 (for Newson with a miniature model of the Bucky installation)
''Newson in Omaggio a Fuller,'' Casa Vogue, April 1995, pp. 22-23
Alice Rawsthorn, Marc Newson, London, 1999, pp. 120-121
Conway Lloyd Morgan, Marc Newson, London, 2003, pp. 195 and 198-199

Overall very good original condition consistent with age and use. This lot retains all five of the original metal connectors. The upholstered surface of each of the Buckys showing slight signs of wear consistent with the aging process of the material. Each with surface dirt and minor discolorations. The orange chair and to a lesser degree the red, showing cracking and crazing to the surface of the material at the center depression of the seat. Both the green and blue Buckys with some holes to the upholstered surface, none measuring greater than ½ inch, some of which expose the yellow foam color. Each of the Buckys with a slight geometric impression in the foam the chairs high points. These impressions are most visible on the blue and green buckys, but on close inspection occur on each work. A rare opportunity to acquire a large number of the chairs, retaining the connectors, in original condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Marc Newson designed the Bucky installation for the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris.  Fifty individual triangular elements that could be used as chairs were connected together to form a three-quarter sphere.  Newson ''called it Bucky after the newly-discovered carbon molecule, the Buckminsterfullerene, which in turn got its name from the way the arrangement of atoms resembled the structures of [Buckminster Fuller's] geodesic domes'' (Morgan, p. 194).  As time was running out during the installation, Newson enlisted the help of Matthew Barney, who was working on his own Cremaster 4 exhibiton for the Fondation, and several ex-French Legionnaires for the assembly.