John M Armleder Selected Furniture Sculptures 1979–2012

Swiss Institute proudly presents Selected Furniture Sculptures 1979–2012, the first New York solo show of John Armleder in eight years. The exhibition will feature highlights of an open chapter in the Swiss artist’s oeuvre, showcasing the breadth and vision of the furniture sculptures from 1979 to the present.

The exhibition is curated by Swiss Institute Director Gianni Jetzer in close collaboration with the artist and consists of both historical and new works as well as two restitutions of historical pieces reported as missing. Several works in the exhibition were initially produced in the 1980s on the occasion of Armleder’s solo shows at John Gibson Gallery on 568 Broadway, thus retracing the artist's exhibition history in New York.

Selected Furniture Sculptures 1979–2012 will feature a dramatic, non-chronological layout that draws from Armleder’s interest in affirming the medium of painting yet extending the act to the realm of the everyday, where the happy or not-so-happy fate of many paintings is to be integrated into a domestic environment, more often than not close to the odd sofa, armchair, or chest. Armleder simply anticipates this, providing the furniture together with the painting, eventually provoking a completely new reading of the canvas in a domestic environment. 

Furniture sculptures are typically comprised of both large and small-scale paintings paired with antique furniture or else new goods such as truck spoilers, musical instruments, surfboards, or lighting fixtures. These pairings often inspire a specific élan, one that toys with the idea of painting as a mere object while affirming its ongoing virulence.

Courtesy Swiss Institute Contemporary Art, New York