Chair c. 1936

Curator: Ah, here's a gem by Bernard Gussow, simply titled "Chair," dating back to about 1936. He captured it in watercolor. Editor: It has a peculiar, almost dreamlike quality to it. Those muted blues and oranges in the stripes... there’s a softness that I wasn't expecting. A little melancholic, maybe? Curator: Perhaps. The chair itself, the high back and dark wood, feels like a symbol of formality, doesn't it? Yet the watercolour, the stripes… Editor: Yes, they undermine it! Stripes often suggest playful rebellion, disrupting expectation. The formal chair draped in these unexpected colors tells a different story than just its shape. It has these arrow shapes drawn on the right... Curator: That’s perceptive. Chairs throughout history have held cultural weight, haven’t they? Thrones, ceremonial seats...Gussow presents a domestic seat made with some visual shorthand Editor: So what's the chair without its occupant? Is it simply waiting or something more? We associate sitting with thinking, reflecting. Curator: Exactly! Gussow invites contemplation on comfort and authority, blurring boundaries. He presents tradition but playfully questions its assumed significance. I suppose, at its core, it is about making a visual record of what constitutes the comfort zone of that time Editor: Which leads us to question what sits at the basis of things we call home, our roots... our idea of comfort Curator: I think you're spot-on there. It's almost as if Gussow is prompting us to examine what makes up our individual thrones, both material and psychological. Editor: Yes. It seems quite straightforward but the more you consider the details, the more questions that pop up Curator: A perfect summary. Everyday life under the scrutiny of symbolism. Editor: Comfort, colour and class