martino gamper’s sitzung chairs turn haus der kunst museum into a playful social space

the new chairs are freely reconfigured by the public and the staff to gather, to rest, and to play.

lea zeitoun August 18, 2023 3 min

martino gamper presents Sitzung at haus der kunst in munich

The Mittelhalle of the Haus der Kunst (HDK) museum in Munich, Germany, will become a constantly evolving social space of movement and encounters with Sitzung (Meeting or Sitting), a playful new work by Italian designer Martino Gamper. Launched on July 27, 2023, and continuing until April 1, 2024, the show unveils a series of newly designed chairs, a development of his celebrated long-running project ‘100 Chairs in 100 Days’. During the run of the exhibition, the new chairs are freely reconfigured by the public and the staff — to gather, to rest, and to play — turning the Mittelhalle into a vibrant, constantly changing social space.

martino gamper's sitzung chairs turn haus der kunst museum into a playful social space - 1 — all images © Judith Buss

uniquely crafted pieces creating a space to gather, rest & play

The reconfigurations at the Sitzung exhibition is based on a series of rules that Martino Gamper has delivered at the beginning of the project, defining a choreography that transforms the appearance of the whole space weekly. Alongside furniture, the designer created a new light design that changes the atmosphere of the Mittelhalle of Haus der Kunst museum from a usually transitory space to one of gathering. Overall, the project highlights the path toward new forms of engagement and learning that Haus der Kunst started in 2023. It has been developed in cooperation between Martino Gamper, the curatorial team, and the engagement and learning team at Haus der Kunst. ‘This collaboration […] gives us an opportunity to experiment with this important space, inviting everyone to be involved in literally creating their own space,’ writes HDK Artistic Director, Andrea Lissoni.

Gamper composed his furniture series by pairing craftwork with industrial processes, ‘using a huge range of materials. The chairs will be experimental, fit for purpose but imperfect, rather than products; they are vehicles to explore seating as a sculptural object,‘ concludes the designer.