Je suis la chaise

The exhibition Je suis la chaise—borrowing the title of Michael Krebber’s eponymous exhibition at Galerie Chantal Crousel in 2007—explores the different symbols and interpretations given to this generic and daily used object. The chair is seen here by various artists as a shape to be deconstructed or reconstructed, as an extension of the human body or even as a social allegory.

The chair has since its origin in ancient Egypt for main function to symbolize the rank and power of its occupant and owner. This symbolic origin is contained in the very etymology of the French word dating from the 13th century—chaiere—which means chair, seat, throne. A chair is an incarnate object: empty it marks absence, but when used it becomes one with the body it supports. It is also an invitation to stillness, to individual or collective reflection, like a pause in time. This exhibition aims to question the form, the function, as well as the symbolism of the chair, inviting us to reconsider it thanks to the often irreverent or highly symbolic take on of the artists.

With Allora & Calzadilla, Abraham Cruzvillegas, BLESS, David Douard, Francisco de Goya, Wade Guyton, Mona Hatoum, Thomas Hirschhorn, Klara Lidén, René Magritte, Jean-Luc Moulène, Ken Okiishi, Rick Owens & Michèle Lamy, Hamish Pearch, Anri Sala, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Oscar Tuazon and Heimo Zobernig.