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No Title (Table and Four Chairs)
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? ARS, NY and DACS, London 2009

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No Title (Table and Four Chairs) 2003

On Tour On tour at UK / BELFAST / THE METROPOLITAN ARTS CENTRE

  • Artist Rooms
`No Title (Table and Four Chairs)? forces us to reconsider our relationship to mundane domestic objects. The work exactly replicates an early twentieth-century furniture set produced by the American manufacturers Gunlocke. However, its colossal scale displaces the audience from their usual position above the tabletop, allowing them to navigate through a surreal forest of table and chair legs where usually unseen structural details are now magnified. Calling to mind the experience of fictional protagonists such as Alice in Wonderland and the Lilliputians in Swift?s Gulliver?s Travels, the sculpture transforms a usually common encounter into an alien and extraordinary experience.

Glossary Open

Surrealism

A literary and artistic movement founded by the poet André Breton in 1924. Many of the associated artists, such as Max Ernst and Jean Arp, had previously been involved with Dadaism. The movement sought to challenge conventions through the exploration of the subconscious mind, invoking the power of dreams and elements of chance. Cultural hierarchies were challenged by the combination of diverse elements in collages and sculptural assemblages. The movement is also notable for the collaborations between artists and writers evident in the Surrealists' many publications.

Surrealism

Details

  • Acc. No. AR00166
  • Medium Mixed media
  • Size Table: 270.00 x 472.00 x 366.00 cm; chairs each: 300.00 x 158.00 x 188.00 cm
  • Credit ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008

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