Thrones showcases contemporary chairs by artists, commercial producers, and furniture designers to consider the chair as a site where function, symbolism, and narrative converge. Far from being mere objects, chairs can be seen as material expressions and symptoms of the present moment. Drawing on the legacy of design exhibitions, Thrones engages themes such as bodily activities, gaming, transgression, virtuality, and appropriation, among other currents shaping contemporary culture.
This 80WSE exhibition is organized and designed in collaboration with artist and designer Craig Redman.
In Thrones, the traditional physicality of the chair is transformed by its presentation: seen through glass windows and digital screens, it shifts from functional form to cultural artifact. This encounter simultaneously reveals and withholds, offering visual intimacy while maintaining physical distance and presenting objects once defined by touch into a mediated visual experience.
With:
Cometabolism Studio
Cluvens
Duyi Han
Jesse Groom
José León Cerrillo
Serban Ionescu
Soft Baroque
SR_A / Kohler
Tom Hancocks
Wentrcek Zebulon
Curated by Howie Chen and Craig Redman
Ariel He, Curatorial Assistant
Produced by Jon Huron
Special thanks to KOHLER Experience Center, New York, NY, Salon 94 Design, Jack Miner, Zaq Landsberg, and the designers and artists.
Broadway Windows gallery is a series of five street-level display windows located at the corner of Broadway and East 10th Street. The installations can be viewed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Cluvens (designed by Jianze Zhou), SK Scorpion King, 2025, Courtesy private collection.
Soft Baroque, Dancing Chair, 2019, Courtesy Soft Baroque.
Cometabolism Studio, Have a Seat - Square Stool, 2020, Courtesy Cometabolism Studio.
José León Cerrillo, 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴 (𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘲𝘶𝘦), 2021, Courtesy of artist and Jack Miner.