BESESSEN

Upholstered seating is familiar to all of us as a more or less constant companion in everyday life. Upholstery conveys a sense of security and promises comfort, suggests or creates status, and tells a (hi)story. We barely give a thought to its interior. Yet a glimpse inside the chairs and armchairs is a journey into secrets, of lashed and sprung constructions, which prove to be unknown masterpieces of craftsmanship. DEEP-SEATED: The Secret Art of Upholstery traces pieces of furniture and their inner details and illustrates why upholstery is a constant component of cultural and social history. On view are more than a hundred items of upholstered furniture from the last 400 years, from Renaissance chairs and the council chairs of the early seventeenth century to laudable design objects and experiments from recent decades.