Les Chaises de Traverse 1998

Tadashi Kawamata made ‘Les Chaises de Traverse’ using found wooden chairs. It’s kind of beautiful, this organised chaos. I love the way the chairs become like a single, almost organic form. The texture of the wood, with its varied grains and patinas, becomes really prominent. Each chair is an individual, but they form a collective. I think the piece asks us to consider the stories these chairs hold, who sat on them, what conversations they witnessed. There is a real sense of history and memory embedded in the materiality of the chairs. The way Kawamata has arranged the chairs is really playful, almost like a game of Jenga gone wild. I find myself thinking of Kurt Schwitters, whose ‘Merzbau’ was a similar kind of architectural assemblage. Both artists share a sense of embracing ephemerality and the beauty of found objects, reminding us that art is an ongoing conversation. Ultimately, it's up to each of us to find our own meaning in the work.