The exhibition narrates the way chairs have always been associated with expressions of power across history

Vitra Design Museum – Schaudepot

from 19 October 2018 to 17 February 2019

The exhibition Seats of Power – and Those Who Sit narrates the way chairs have always been associated with expressions of power across history.

The origin of the modern chair, in fact, dates back to the thrones of ancient times. 

For a long period chairs were only for rulers, the upper echelons of the society, and the situation did not change until the rise of the middle classes. With the advent of industrial furniture production in the 19th century chairs finally became affordable for the entire population, though their connection with power is still clear nowadays.

The exhibition Seats of Power at the Vitra Schaudepot explores this theme through about 20 pieces from the museum’s collections, shedding light on how political, social and economic power continues to be represented by furniture made for sitting.

What emerges is a cultural history of modern seating: from authoritarian and patriarchal principles to egalitarian values of participation.

 

 

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John F. Kennedy sitting on Hans J. Wegner’s JH501 (1949/50) during a televised debate between the US presidential candidates, 1960. Courtesy Hans J Wegners Tegnestue
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Seating area with copies of Arne Jacobsen‘s Egg-Chair (1957/58) in groups in the lobby of the SAS Royal, Hotel, Copenhagen, 1960 © Strüwing Jørgen
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Luca Zanier, UN Room XXIV, Geneva, 2013 © Luca Zanier
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George Wilson, Adjustable Chair, (designed 1870/71) © Vitra Design Museum, photo Jürgen Hans, www.objektfotograf.ch
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Daniel Craig sitting on Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair (1929) in the movie 'James Bond 007: Casino Royale', 2006 © Sony Pictures/ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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Luca Zanier, FIFA, Executive, Committee, Zurich, 2013 © Luca Zanier © Luca Zanier
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Joe Colombo, Elda Chair (designed 1963) © Vitra Design Museum, photo Jürgen Hans www.objektfotograf.ch
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The Team of Embassador-Chair (Original design Enzo Mari 1974) at Cucula, Berlin, 2015 © Cucula e.V., photo Verena Brüning