Gitta Gschwendtner: Chair Bench

Coinciding with the opening of the new furniture gallery at the V&A, the German designer has created a a surreal seating installation inspired by original chairs on display.

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On the occasion of the new furniture gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, German designer Gitta Gschwendtner created Chair Bench, a surreal seating installation inspired by original chairs on display in the furniture gallery. Gschwendtner has chosen six timber chairs from across the collection, each constructed by different making techniques, from the intricately carved Scabello chair (c. 1550) to the CNC-cut Branca chair (2010).

The chairs' backs and legs have been reproduced in ash and seemingly set randomly into the curved bench seat — each back mismatched with a different set of legs. Chair Bench seeks to playfully draw the attention to the construction and form of timber chairs throughout the centuries while giving the visitor a chance to experience the pieces up close.

On 1 December 2012, the V&A will open its new furniture gallery, which will tell the story of furniture design and production spanning the past 600 years. The gallery will display more than two hundred pieces, including chairs, tables, bureaux, stools, chests, cabinets and wardrobes, from designers such as Thomas Chippendale, Frank Lloyd Wright, Eileen Gray, Charles and Ray Eames, Tom Dixon and Ron Arad, alongside lesser-known names.