With A Chair and You, the GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts is showing from 8 May 2024 one of the world’s most important private collections of chairs by over 100 artists, designers and architects from the 1960s to the present day. This extraordinary show is one of the highlights of 2024, year in which the museum celebrates its 150th anniversary. Since the late 1990s, Geneva-based entrepreneur and collector Thierry Barbier-Mueller brought together a large number of innovative and unusual chairs with a sculptural character that goes far beyond the usual typology. The presentation of around 150 chairs was entrusted to the renowned American artist, theatre director and designer Robert Wilson. A Chair and You offers the visitor an “opera” in four acts and just as many stages – with a scenography in which the history of art and design from the 1960s to the present day is told through Thierry Barbier-Mueller’s unique collection.
An “opera” in four acts: Presentation of the spaces
KALEIDOSCOPE SPACE
The space remains closed. A cube whose interior is lined with mirrors serves as a show case for the exhibits. Circular openings reveal the sculptural and metallic qualities of the chairs, which virtually melt into this reflective environment. The changing light intensifies the …
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Image above: Ingo Maurer, Gio Ponti in the Sky with Diamonds, 2004, wood, crystals, LED; unique piece; Foto: © Patrick Goetelen; Thierry Barbier-Mueller Sammlung