The Spirit of Chairs

About

The Chair Collection of Thierry Barbier-Mueller
The chairs in this private collection are not an assembly of objects of everyday use. They are a congregation of creatures often eluding their primary purpose as seating. Metaphorically exaggerated height and disassociation transform the chairs into individuals, or sculptures exploring the uncertain boundaries of physics. The book’s generous layout allows readers to immerse themselves in this cabinet of curiosities and give their imagination free rein. Nicolas Polli and Jean Vincent Simonet use their photographic essays to interpret the exhibits originating from well-known artists and designers. The texts illustrate the collection in terms of the friction between art and design. They explain the collection’s significance in the life of the collector, and they discuss the general motives that lead to a passion for collecting.
“This book reads like a comic strip in which a motley crew of characters meet: monsters, tormentors, princesses, crooked orbits, rugged peasants, engineers and shamans. Thierry Barbier-Mueller’s collection of chairs juxtaposes the beautifully shaped with the brute and is, all in all, an antithesis to mainstream design.” @larsmullerpublishers

Info

Edited by Marie Barbier-Mueller
Foreword by Marie Barbier-Mueller
With contributions by Thierry Barbier-Mueller, Lorette Coen, Chantal Prod’Hom, Charlotte Savolainen-Mailler, Jamieson Webster, Robert Wilson
22 × 30 cm, 384 pages, 927 illustrations
Paperback
2022, English 978-3-03778-710-6, French 978-3-03778-711-3, Lars Muller Publishers