10/09/2026
Zig Zag Chair by Gerrit T. Rietveld, 1934. Produced by Cassina since 1973.
One of the most radical expressions of Gerrit T. Rietveld’s experimental approach to furniture, the Zig Zag Chair emerged during a period in which Rietveld was developing furniture for the Amsterdam department store Metz & Co. Reducing the conventional sequence of legs, seat and backrest to four flat planes of wood arranged in a continuous Z-shaped form, the chair appears almost structurally impossible, balancing visual instability with remarkably precise construction.
One of the earliest examples of a cantilevered chair in solid wood, Zig Zag relies on carefully executed dovetail joints to connect its horizontal and vertical planes. Today, Cassina produces the chair in solid American cherry and ash, with the craftsmanship of its carpenters playing an essential role in preserving the clarity of Rietveld’s original structure.
Produced by Cassina since 1973 as part of the Cassina iMaestri Collection, Zig Zag remains one of Rietveld’s most recognizable experiments in structure, geometry and reduction of form.
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Photography credits:
1. Kenji Aoki.
2-3. MoMA The Museum of Modern Art.
4. GUSCH.
5. Rietveld at Utrecht’s Centraal Museum in 1958 with a miniature Zig Zag Chair. 2018 Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York Pictoright/Amsterdam.
6. Rietveld Schröder Archive © Centraal Museum Utrecht / Pictoright.
7-9. Drawings of the chair by Rietveld, source unknown.
10. An early paper prototype of the Zig Zag chair, courtesy of Collectie NAI.
11. Early iterations of the chair, including an experimental armchair variation, produced only in limited numbers during the 1930s. Via Victoria and Albert Museum.
13. Photography by Phoenix Johnson for .
14. Photography by at the Judd Foundation in New York.
15. Photography by Charlie Rubin at the Judd Foundation in New York. Copyright Judd Foundation.
