A chair may be simply utilitarian, but it can also be much more. Thighs shift on seats. Hands caress arms. Torsos snuggle against backs. Feet curl around legs. Sitting is, without a doubt, both a physical pleasure and an intimate activity. So we ask: Is sitting driven by desire, and how does a chair inflame that desire? The Chair Affair, created by artist Margriet Craens and designer Lucas Maassen, delves deeply into these questions. It is an expression of both their own intimate relationship and their artistic exploration of the implied intimacy of everyday objects.
Margriet Craens studied Dutch language and culture at the University of Amsterdam, and fine arts at Den Bosch. She now works as a multidisciplinary artist and writer, experimenting with art, design, food and culture. Craens is the owner of the 70% BAR, where she explores the boundaries and intersections between the restaurant world and performance arts. She has exhibited at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris, Croxhapox in Gent, and Onomatopee and Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.
She has also participated in international projects and exhibitions at the Museum Z33 in Hasselt, Fei Gallery in Guangzhou, and the European Ceramic Workcentre. Craens aims to meld the tragic and the comic in her installation and video artwork as she explores the complicated interplay between illusion, reality and personal beliefs.
After studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Maassen began his career as an independent conceptual designer. He has exhibited internationally at MoMA in New York, Grand Palais in Paris, Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Taiwan Design Museum in Taipei, and the van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven. In addition to his design practice, Maassen teaches in the Social Design master program at the Design Academy Eindhoven, and at the Academy of Art Communication and Design in Tilburg. Maassen previously brought chairs to life in Yoga Chairs (2008), The Singing Chair (2010) and The Sitcom (2014), all part of his ongoing playful exploration of perception and reality.
The Chair Affair is a limited edition series of photographic prints of chair couplings by artist Magriet Craens and designer Lucas Maassen, developed from their striking and intensely personal exhibition by the same name in 2015. The prints are a playful and colorful addition to a residential or office setting, and available in three sizes, framed or unframed.
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