Friday, August 19, 2011, 6 - 9 pm
Seattle Design Center

Join us as we celebrate 10 designers + 10 artists and auction off 10 one-of-a-kind chairs! Bid on chairs created by Romson Regarde Bustillo, Larry Calkins,Tom de Groot, Steve Jensen, Judith Kindler, Chris McMullen, Brian Murphy, Piper O'Neill, Jared Rue and Laura Ward. All proceeds benefit Pratt Fine Arts Center.

Can't make it to the auction? Don't despair. Absentee bidding is available!

View the Chair Project Auction Catalog here.

Visit the Chair Project website for more details about the project, including images of each chair!

About the Chair Project:

Pratt Fine Arts Center has partnered with the Seattle Design Center to undertake a project pairing the creativity of artists and designers to create unique, unexpected versions of the everyday household item: the chair. Each team started with the bones of a chair provided by Chicago furniture maker Baker, which they altered to express their collaborative vision.

The Chair Project Group Show, which is on display at the Seattle Design Center through August of 2011, showcases the personal work of the artists who are participating in the project including Laura Ward, Steve Jensen, Chris McMullen, Larry Calkins, Tom DeGroot, Piper O'Neill, Romson Bustillo, Brian Murphy, Jared Rue and Judith Kindler.

The chairs debuted in the downtown Nordstrom windows, welcomed patrons of the Seattle Opera and the Pacific Northwest Ballet in the lobby of McCaw Hall in Seattle, and have traveled to Neiman Marcus at the Bravern in Bellevue. They are currently on display at the Seattle Design Center and will be auctioned off on August 19, 2011 with proceeds benefiting Pratt.

"The intention of the Chair Project was to build a partnership between the art and design worlds to see where their combined talents could lead us," said Brandi Clark, Director of Community Initiatives. "We partnered ten artists with ten designers, gave them a Baker chair and stepped back. No one wanted to limit the imaginations or ideas of the teams, so they have been given no restrictions; the final chair may be a still be a functional chair, an abstract work or art, a vehicle for an idea or something else entirely. We are all very excited to see how the members of these teams influenced each other and worked together and what their final results will be." 

"Pratt is thrilled to partner with the Seattle Design Center, to provide this opportunity for artists to connect with designers, and introduce their work to an audience that may not yet be familiar with their work" said Michelle Bufano, Executive Director at Pratt Fine Arts Center.

Image: “Please Identify What This Is” Chair Project artist, Judith Kindler in Collaboration with Award Winning Designer, Barbara Hyde-Evans, Mixed Media, 2011.

For addtional information, contact Brandi Clark at 206.328.2200 x 267.