Chairs, always different chairs. Many, but not the one, perfect chair. Martino Gamper, born in 1971 in Merano and based in London, caused a sensation in 2007 with his project “100 Chairs in 100 Days”. For a hundred days he made a new chair every day, assembled from parts of chairs he had collected over two years on the streets of London or found in the homes of friends. Sometimes quirky, sometimes poetic, sometimes humorous, the hybrid structures charmingly and playfully expressed serious questions-formal, functional, stylistic, emotional, geographical, social, and historical-of design. Now Gamper continues his highly acclaimed project as artist-in-residence at Munich’s “Haus der Kunst.” From July 27 to March 31, 2024, under the title “Sitzung” (Meeting or Sitting) he intends to turn its central hall into a place of movement and encounter, a social space that is constantly changing and evolving.
Once again, Martino Gamper will design a series of newly designed chairs. During the coming months, chairs will be rearranged by visitors and staff as they wish – to come together, to gather, to rest and to play. In this way, the center hall will become a social space. The reconfigurations, according to the announcement, will be “based on rules Gamper establishes at the beginning of the project to use choreography to change the appearance of the space from week to week. In addition to the furniture, Gamper will also create a lighting design that will transform the atmosphere of the center hall from an area normally used as a transit space to a place for gathering.”
Martino Gamper himself remarks on his project: “For the House of Art, the furniture will be made in different ways, including artisanal and industrial processes, using a wide range of materials. The chairs will be experimental, functional, but imperfect. They are not products, but means to explore sitting as a sculptural object.” Andrea Lissoni, the Kunsthalle’s artistic director, adds, “The Haus der Kunst’s central hall is an extraordinary space. Working with Martino Gamper and our curatorial and outreach and education teams creates the opportunity to experiment with this important space and invite everyone to literally create their own space.”
The project is intended to illustrate the path toward new forms of participation and learning that Haus der Kunst 2023 has embarked upon.
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