SFMOMA presents a furniture exhibition of “conversation starters”

Called Conversation Pieces: Contemporary Furniture in Dialogue, the exposition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) features 45 pieces of furniture and decor “that prioritize meaning and material choice over function and practicality”.

“The works on view are sometimes jarring, often bold, and always conversation starters,” said the museum.

Drawn entirely from the SFMOMA collection, some of the pieces were chosen purely for their alternative appearance. Such as an otherworldly leather and plastic armchair by South Korean designer Jay Sae Jung Oh.

Other pieces of furniture were selected for their commentary on social issues. For example, a piece by American architect Germane Barnes is a porch chair topped with an oversized backrest shaped like a milled wood comb.

Called Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears the Crown, the piece was described by Barnes as a representation of Black hair, meant to highlight how Black hair “is often policed and frowned upon instead of celebrated as it should [be]”.

Dutch designer Baas and Italian architect Gaetano Pesce were also included in the exhibition.

Baas created a bright blue chair covered with clay while Pesce contributed an organic-looking fabric and resin chair called Seaweed. This resembles clumps of tangled algae.

A series of lighting designs accompanied the furniture. British designer Bethan Laura Wood created a spindly glass and metal chandelier called Criss Cross Kite.

“A chandelier is normally a very fancy-pants center light,” said Wood, reflecting on her work.

“I want to play with this idea of fantasy within the thing.”

American designer Katie Stout’s ceramic lamp Unique Girl was also on display. The lighting piece is characterized by an abstract figure that the designer said is meant as a commentary on domesticity and femininity.

Furthermore, All of the furniture in the exhibition was arranged across a deep red carpet interspersed with amorphously shaped plots of floor space to form a meandering pathway.

Books by the exhibited designers, as well as texts that inform their work, were in piles on the floor next to their respective furniture pieces.

“For the designers who did not yet have a book on their practice, we wrapped a large book in black paper to signal [the idea of a] ‘missing book or scholarship,” said SFMOMA curator Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher.

“We found that most of the missing books were for women designers,” she added.

“Sparking dialogue throughout the gallery, Conversation Pieces presents chairs and lamps that surprise and garner attention unapologetically,” said SFMOMA.