Inspired by the abandon of free jazz but cast in the spirit of functional modernism, Prostoria Rei embodies a formal tension between rigidity and plasticity in its sleek and flowing layout. It’s Prostoria’s answer to a classic lounge or club chair is a feat of refined simplicity and a certain lightness of form. Its name is a nod to Ray Eames as much as to Ray Charles or the giant oceanic manta. Designed to be an anchor of a room, Rei functions as a focal point, defining and grounding the space around it into a zone of personal ritual. With its flexible and contouring shell of moulded plywood, contrasted by the soft padding of differing heights and paired with a lounge ottoman, it keeps blurring the ever more fluid distinction of home vs. work or private vs. public. The swivel mechanism is added to maximise comfort and flexibility. An elegant, seamless fusion of free flow and formal restraint, which makes Rei chairs both iconic and egalitarian, aspirational and sober, is this collection’s most defining quality.
