London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) will open a new permanent gallery dedicated to furniture on 1 December.
“This is the first furniture gallery that the V&A has ever had, which is something quite remarkable,” said Christopher Wilk, the keeper of furniture, textiles and fashion at the V&A. “The museum has been collecting furniture for 150 years and some of the very earliest of those collected by the V&A are in the gallery.”
The gallery features more than 200 items from the middle ages to the present day.
One of the oldest pieces is a medieval decorative casket from 1350-70 that retains its original paintwork and shows a scene from a popular romantic legend from the period. One of the newest items is a drawer unit designed by Swiss designer Boris Dennler, which the museum bought earlier this year.
Running down the centre of the gallery are 25 key pieces to introduce the gallery and the key forms of western furniture. On either side are displays that explore how furniture has been made and decorated and the range of techniques and material used.
A number of key furniture designers, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Eileen Gray, are profiled as well.
“Each one of the displays deliberately brings together as diverse a range of furniture as we have been able to find,” said Nick Humphrey, who curated the exhibition alongside Leela Meinertas.
“Almost everything on display has come from our stores – we were determined not to cherry-pick from the other V&A displays. The 16 displays really draw out the enormous variety that goes into furniture-making but they also bring out the continuities.”
The gallery uses touchscreen digital labelling throughout. Nord Architecture designed the gallery, while AllofUs created the digital interactives.
The museum would not disclose the cost of the gallery, but it has been supported by the American Friends of the V&A and is named after the American art historian and philanthropist Susan Weber, the founder and director of the Bard Graduate Center in New York.
“This is the first furniture gallery that the V&A has ever had, which is something quite remarkable,” said Christopher Wilk, the keeper of furniture, textiles and fashion at the V&A. “The museum has been collecting furniture for 150 years and some of the very earliest of those collected by the V&A are in the gallery.”
The gallery features more than 200 items from the middle ages to the present day.
One of the oldest pieces is a medieval decorative casket from 1350-70 that retains its original paintwork and shows a scene from a popular romantic legend from the period. One of the newest items is a drawer unit designed by Swiss designer Boris Dennler, which the museum bought earlier this year.
Running down the centre of the gallery are 25 key pieces to introduce the gallery and the key forms of western furniture. On either side are displays that explore how furniture has been made and decorated and the range of techniques and material used.
A number of key furniture designers, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Eileen Gray, are profiled as well.
“Each one of the displays deliberately brings together as diverse a range of furniture as we have been able to find,” said Nick Humphrey, who curated the exhibition alongside Leela Meinertas.
“Almost everything on display has come from our stores – we were determined not to cherry-pick from the other V&A displays. The 16 displays really draw out the enormous variety that goes into furniture-making but they also bring out the continuities.”
The gallery uses touchscreen digital labelling throughout. Nord Architecture designed the gallery, while AllofUs created the digital interactives.
The museum would not disclose the cost of the gallery, but it has been supported by the American Friends of the V&A and is named after the American art historian and philanthropist Susan Weber, the founder and director of the Bard Graduate Center in New York.
