Plastic
Art and design made from synthetic polymers such as acrylic, PVC, polyester and fibreglass, moulded, cast or cut into shape.
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About
Plastics are synthetic materials that can be shaped when soft and hold their form when set. Celluloid appeared in the 1870s and Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, was introduced in 1909. From the 1930s acrylic sheet, sold as Perspex or Plexiglas, offered glass-like clarity at less weight, and after 1945 polyethylene, PVC and glass-reinforced polyester became cheap and widespread.
Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner were among the first to make sculpture with celluloid and plastic sheet, in the 1920s. Designers of the 1960s made plastic synonymous with pop modernity: Verner Panton's Panton Chair, designed around 1960 and produced from 1967, was among the first single-piece moulded plastic chairs, and Eero Aarnio and Joe Colombo designed bold furniture in fibreglass and ABS. Leo Amino experimented with cast clear plastics from the 1940s. Look for mould seams, even colour and a lightness that surprises.
