"One, Two, Three, En Garde" is a one-of-a-kind chessboard with chess pieces. It is the result of 100 hours of... Read More
"One, Two, Three, En Garde" is a one-of-a-kind chessboard with chess pieces. It is the result of 100 hours of purely unplugged work. In one, two, three words: Handmade Functional Art. Hand tools only, from stock dimensioning and preparation, to hand-cut joinery, to natural oil finishes. No machines, no power tools, no shortcuts. This multi-functional chessboard is crafted from hardwoods, including walnut, maple, pear, and cherry. It serves three distinct purposes: as a wall-hung art piece with artistic depth, as a vertical conceptual sculpture, and as a playable board. Technical rigor is showcased through hand-cut half-blind dovetails, traditional round and square mortise and tenon joinery, grooves, and dadoes, finished with natural orange oil and beeswax. The design features "floating" asymmetric live-edge sides, held by handmade dowels to provide visual lightness. An unexpected "Saturn" drawer pull, hand-carved with a relief stripe, offers a tactile entry to the internal storage. The project rejects machine-made perfection in favor of human emotion. Munari's principle, "Art can be functional", inspired me, but also Sottsass' philosophy that prioritized human emotions influenced me. But I applied my own unplugged style to make the piece even more unique and imperfect. The "imperfect" modern pieces were shaped purely by chisel and saw, guided by creativity rather than trace lines. It is a piece designed to stir dialogue between the craftsman and the collector, anchored by the playful ritual: "En Garde!" when the queen is under threat.
