Brussels Furniture Fair
anna-casotti 18/10/2019

Beyond the chair

An eclectic idea of the chair as a formal and symbolic element, on view in New York at the R & Company gallery

Fifty artists for the exhibition “Chairs Beyond Right & Wrong” curated by Raquel Cayre and presented by R&Company in its Tribeca location: Ettore Sottsass, Gaetano Pesce, Martino Gamper, the Haas Brothers… historic pieces and contemporary visions.

Bunny Rogers. "Chairs (after Brigid Mason)," 2014. Rush-seated interwoven wood chairs.

Bunny Rogers. “Chairs (after Brigid Mason),” 2014. Rush-seated interwoven wood chairs.

For over 20 years New York-based R&Company has focused on selecting works of avant-garde innovation created by historic and contemporary designers. Founded in 1997 by Zesty Meyers and Evan Snyderman with the name R 20th Century for the conservation of design of the 20th and 21st centuries – the archive, library and private collection are authentic treasures – and known for its ‘revolutionary’ exhibitions and publications, the gallery shows works from North America, South America, Europe and Asia, produced from 1945 to the present, in its two spaces in Tribeca: 82 Franklin Street, opened in 2000, and the new expansion at 64 White Street, opened last year.

Chairs Beyond Right & Wrong by Raquel Cayre, Tribeca

Chairs Beyond Right & Wrong by Raquel Cayre, Tribeca

In this elegant location on multiple levels, the exhibition “Chairs Beyond Right & Wrong” curated by Raquel Cayre sets out to rethink the idea of the chair, presenting a selection of 50 works that reinvent its form and function. Creations by international artists and designers from different eras – including Adam McEwen, Daniel Arsham, Ettore Sottsass, Gaetano Pesce, Green River Project LLC, Jorge Pardo, Joyce Lin, KAWS and Estudio Campana, Mathias Bengtsson, Martino Gamper, Peter Shire, Haas Brothers, Urs Fischer – some of which are site-specific, are shown in an itinerary that examines the chair as a formal, symbolic and material object. Objects that expand our imagination, getting beyond the boundary between art and design, disrupting our ideas of use in an interdisciplinary and narrative vision.

Chairs Beyond Right & Wrong by Raquel Cayre, Tribeca

Chairs Beyond Right & Wrong by Raquel Cayre, Tribeca

“Chairs no longer gravitate toward a table;” Cayre states, “they take on their own meaning, and, like a game of musical chairs, offer a metaphor for position, arrangement, variation, distribution and recombination… A chair is always more than a chair.”

Chairs Beyond Right & Wrong
Curated by Raquel Cayre
Exhibition at R & Company
64 White St – New York
Until 19 October 2019

Our latest stories

Christina O meets James Bond
Minutes icon
2 minutes

Christina O meets James Bond

More a private yacht than a cruise ship, this vessel was conceived as a floating luxury hotel. It’s how Four Seasons I is redefining the seafaring experience: with more space, vast panoramic suites, and a pool that seemingly disappears

Projects&Hospitality
The Gulf’s autumn calendar
Minutes icon
2 minutes

The Gulf’s autumn calendar

From Riyadh’s fast-growing design scene to major fairs and exhibitions across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Amman and Doha, the region’s cultural calendar is filling up. Here are the key design, architecture and art dates to add to your diary from September through November

Events
Treading lightly as guests of nature
Minutes icon
2 minutes

Treading lightly as guests of nature

In the Philippines, nestled in a cove dominated by sheer cliffs, Lagen Island Resort / El Nido by WATG & Wimberly Interiors embodies a regenerative approach to hospitality

Hospitality
Gaya Beach House
Minutes icon
1 minute

Gaya Beach House

Juhu Beach, Mumbai | Lissoni Casal Ribeiro

Projects&Hospitality
Between aesthetics and technology
Minutes icon
2 minutes

Between aesthetics and technology

Fluid spaces, discreet elegance, and a sea-inspired color palette. This is the new T52 Awandra, a successor to Baglietto's 33 and 44-meter series, but with an elevated level of customization – including in its exterior design

Projects&Hospitality
Archifeed expands from Beirut to Miami
Minutes icon
1 minute

Archifeed expands from Beirut to Miami

Founded by architects and educators Teymour Khoury and Yasmina Mahmoud, Archifeed has expanded its Architecture Summer Workshops from Beirut to Miami, introducing high school students to architectural thinking before they enter university

Design