keep your seat

keep your seat GAM (galleria civica d’arte moderna e contemporanea), turin, italy on now until may 23rd, 2010

marc andré robinson right of return (by themselves and of themselves), 2008-2010 found wood (chairs, iron) approximately 430 cm courtesy of the artist and salamatina gallery, new york image © designboom

the exhibition ‘keep your seat’ has been curated around the notion of the chair as a defined object with a precise function – an object that is based on the idea of presence, absence and solitude. organized in collaboration with the vitra design museum, the exhibition features contemporary installations by such artists as ghada amer, tony oursler, doris salcedo and chen zhen, alongside classic design pieces by joe colombo, frank o. gehry, alessandro mendini, carlo mollino and chairs from the private collection of the vitra design museum’s director, alexander von vegesack.

marc andré robinson right of return (by themselves and of themselves), 2008-2010 image © designboom

marc andré robinson right of return (by themselves and of themselves), 2008-2010 (detail) image © designboom

marc andré robinson right of return (by themselves and of themselves), 2008-2010 detail of how the chairs are connected image © designboom

general exhibition view image © designboom

thonet collection image © designboom

giuseppe gallo eroi, 2006 bronze, lost-was casting, molding-box casting installation of 12 elements of variable dimensions image © designboom

giuseppe gallo eroi, 2006 image © designboom

giuseppe gallo eroi, 2006 (detail) image © designboom

doris salcedo untitled, 2008 wood, metal, cement 100 x 42 x 47 cm on permanent deposit – fondazione CRT progetto arte moderna e contemporanea image © designboom

doris salcedo untitled, 2008 image © designboom doris salcedo untitled, 2008 (detail) image © designboom general exhibition view of the chen zhen collection image © designboom

chen zhen autel de lumière, 1999 children’s bathtub, prie-dieu carriage 170 x 75 x 100 cm private collection, torino image © designboom

chen zhen autel de lumière, 1999 children’s bathtub, prie-dieu carriage 170 x 75 x 100 cm private collection, torino courtesy galleria continua, san gimignano / beijing / le moulin

chen zhen autel de lumière, 1999 (detail) image © designboom

chen zhen cocon du vide, 2000 beads from chinese abacus and from buddhist rosary, chinese chair, metal 240 x 140 x 140 cm private collection parigi image © designboom

chen zhen chaise de concentration, 1999 chair, chamber vessels, metal, sound system 170 x 110 x 70 cm private collection, paris image © designboom

chen zhen dialogue, 1999 chairs, leather, wood, iron 134 x 138 x 73 cm private collection, paris image © designboom

chen zhen dialogue, 1999 (detail) image © designboom

atelier van lieshout corpse sofa, 2009 foam, wood fiberglass, cowhide, sueded 330 x 220 x 120 courtesy atelier van lieshout, rotterdam atelier van lieshout corpse sofa, 2009 foam, wood fiberglass, cowhide, sueded 330 x 220 x 120 courtesy atelier van lieshout, rotterdam image © designboom

curator maria cristina didero discusses the idea behind ‘keep your seat’:

video by designboom

designboom asked vitra design museum director alexander von vegesack a couple of questions regarding the exhibition:

how does the chair as an object change within the context of the museum space?

video by designboom

thonet was the starting point of your collection for its innovative production techniques and industrial manufacturing. do you have any contemporary examples which you feel have had the same or similar impact on the furniture industry?

video by designboom