The
Renaissance
Society

When does a chair become sculpture? When does a sculpture become functional enough to sit on or eat off of? Is there a serious conflict between those two identities? Must an object always be only one or the other? These are the questions asked by the designer-craftsman creating unique objects. The three furniture makers in this exhibition offer compelling answers.

The exhibition also features the drawings and engravings of Marcelo Grassman, a young Brazilian artist who has recently won distinguished prizes in the Bienales of Venice, Sao Paulo, and Paris. Grassman is absorbed by apocalyptic and medieval themes. He was partly inspired by Brazilian folk drawings of the Northeast, which are influenced by medieval themes inherited from the Portugese. His humor reminds us of Brueghel's. This is his first exhibition in Chicago.


This text was originally published in the exhibition brochure.