Chair 2016

Benoit Maire made this chair, and it’s a real puzzle of materials and construction. The raw wood frame, the stuffed cushions, and that teal-ish, blue-green skin on one side...it all feels provisional, like a work in progress. I’m really drawn to that painted section. The brushstrokes are so visible; you can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the surface. It’s like a painterly gesture applied to a functional object. The color is so vibrant and alive against the pale wood and cushions, but it also has this kind of melancholic, watery quality. Maire’s chair reminds me of Franz West’s sculptures, these rough-hewn, playful objects that blur the line between art and furniture. And, like West, there’s a certain humor at play here. It's like Maire is winking at us, challenging our ideas about what art can be and how it can function in the world. It’s a chair, but it’s also not just a chair.