‘mono-block porcelain chair’ by sam durant, built by jiao zhi studio, xiamen, china (2006) image © designboom
the koyanagi gallery, tokyo, japan is showing artist sam durant’s porcelain mono-block chairs at art basel 2008.
‘sam durant’s series of sculptures replicates mass-produced plastic lawn chairs in fine chinese porcelain,
inviting the viewer to consider the aesthetic value of one of the world’s most democratic objects.
by remaking cheap garden furniture, often mass-produced in china, into one-off, handmade, high-end goods,
durant’s sculptures form an ironic comment on the condition of globalisation. they pose many questions about the
nature of mass consumption, the stereotyped saturation of the markets with cheap chinese goods, and the impact
of emergent industries on native and foreign cultures’.
text from sadie coles
website
mono-block porcelain chairs by sam durant at art basel 2008