11.16.2023-11.25.2023
DOMESTICITY
Xavier Aymon, John Currin, Luciano Dell’Orefice, Fabio Hendry, Ayana V. Jackson, Donald Judd, Sylvie Lambert, Sébastien Mettraux, Martin Parr, Antonio Riello, Juri Roemmel, Gino Sabatini Odoardi, Annelies Štrba, Joana Vasconcelos, Marta Zgierska
On the occasion of the 14th edition of Design Days, GOWEN is delighted to present DOMESTICITY, a group exhibition which unites the disciplines of art and design witha focus on elements synonymous with the residential environment. Co-curated byLaura Gowen and Patricia Lunghi, the show considers the role and status of furnitureand home aesthetics, from lighting to clothes hanging to the ubiquitous cafetière.
Central to the theme is the chair, once seen as a symbol of power and recurrentthroughout the history of art, it’s mutable form a testing ground for contemporarydesigners. Showcasing selected works by fourteen Swiss and international artists anddesigners whose practices combine traditional mediums such as painting anddrawing with highly experimental methods, the works counter Arts and Crafts withminimalism and innovative 21st century technologies. The chair’s hybridized purposeas functional entity and unique objet d’art is thoroughly examined.
Various photographic works are included in the show which reveal more metaphoricalaspects of the chair and its myriad guises: as a vantage point, as provider ofreassurance or comfort, as a stage for black, female identity, or as corporealprotector. The works are defined by solitude, intimacy, and fragility.
image
Donald Judd, "Chair 2", 1984, numbered edition of 2023, aluminium powder coated, screw stainless steel, 75 x 50 x 50 cm, Swiss made by Lehni. ©Lehni