30 years out of the spotlight and before that a distinguished career designing what would become modern classics for some of the most iconic brands in 20th century design, the icon himself: Charles Pollock, is back.

At 81 year old Pollock is probably best known for The Pollock Executive Chair, a design that played a defining part in changing the face of not only office furniture but helped forge a new path in both residential and corporate styling – a testament to its appeal is the fact that it is still, to this day, produced and sold by Knoll – the model will next year turn 50.

Beyond this, his work for George Nelson and Herman Miller was also extremely significant and today his imprint on the 20th Century Design is still highly regarded by Architects, Interior and Industrial Designers alike.

With Pollock’s legacy still strong and his designs very much relevant, the curiosity of Bernhardt Design’s President, Jerry Helling got the better of him so he went in search of the man… with a proposition.

After a year of design and development Pollock’s CP collection (two lounge chair models) were born and only this week were launched in New York at the annual ICFF.

What is most captivating about the octogenarian’s latest release is its timelessness.

CP1 and CP2 are studies in the attention given to the finest of detail… a demonstration of exemplary form and leather working and in their contemporary frames: an expression of Pollock’s Pratt Institute design training alongside his experience on the automotive assembly line for Chrylser from the age of 15.

A self-confessed workaholic, Pollock shows no sign of slowing.  The recent years spent sculpting and painting, away from the world of furniture and interiors hasn’t served to dull his acute sense of the sophisticated and refined, if anything the release of CP1 and CP2 illustrates his relevance today and his importance in the annals of design history.

CP1 and CP2 and the full Bernhardt Design collections will be formally launched in Australia by KE-ZU in July 2012.

For more on this story head over to:

The New York Times

Finding Charles Pollock: The CP Story

Centurion Magazine