Room With Its Own Rules

Chamber To Present “Room With Its Own Rules,”
Part IV of Collection #3,
Curated by Matylda Kryzkowski

Room With Its Own Rules to debut on Thursday, May 4, with works by Ana Kraš, Ania Jaworska, Åsa Jungnelius, Buro Belén, Claudia Caviezel, Gun Gordillo, Hilda Hellström, Johanna Grawunder, Katie Stout, Kiki van Eijk, Lindsey Adelman, Liz Collins, Marlène Huissoud, Mimi Jung, Mira Nakashima, Pieke Bergmans, Sabine Marcelis, Sarah Zapata, Sigrid von Lintig, Studio Berg, and Zohra Opoku.

April 2017 — Chamber is pleased to announce that Collection #3, curated by Matylda Krzykowski of Depot Basel, will open with Part IV — Room With Its Own Rules — on May 3, 2017. Collection #3 is comprised of four parts that have opened periodically since October 2016. Part IV is the final show of Collection #3.

Krzykowski’s last show for the collection will feature newly commissioned, one-of-a-kind and limited-edition work made exclusively by women. The title of the show, Room with Its Own Rules, ties together the many studio visits and conversations Krzykowski conducted, at which she was able to encounter an encouraging range of strong women that define their own principles for life and work.

Like the three previous shows within Collection #3, Part IV expands on the inspiration behind the iconic 1956 artwork by Richard Hamilton, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, including the concept of collage, materialist fantasies, and the subsequent, pervasive temptation for household objects. In 1992, Richard Hamilton was asked by the Tate Modern to return to this iconic collage and create an edition of color facsimiles of his original 1956 piece. Titled Just what is it that made yesterday’s homes so different, so appealing?, this updated version satirizes the world of his original, and includes the replacement of the male bodybuilder, a figure prominently featured in the 1956 version, with a female bodybuilder.

“After curating three shows at Chamber, I sought the fourth (and final) to focus on women,” says Krzykowski. “This show presents designers, architects and artists from different backgrounds, skills and age – all having established their own rules in a market that is still man-dominated.”

The selection of objects produced for Show IV is a combination of work by female designers, artists and architects who relate to ideas around living spaces and desired objects. Many of the works on view center around colliding ideas of functional object and sculpture.

For example, Sabine Marcelis’ Equals lounge chair features a cast resin base and thin metal seat, which provides a functional surface for sitting and accompanying floor lamp. The wild shape and free-form texture of Mira Nakashima’s sculpture is inspired by the burl of a Scottish Wych Elm tree. Hilda Hellström’s cubic stool resembles a schematic diagram of the earth, and is intended for use when viewing the series’ accompanying painting. Buro Belén’s Fallening Rock coffee table – comprised of a soft, pink textile base that supports a hard, rose quartz stone slab—elicits a striking sense of material contradiction.

Moreover, several pieces featured in Show IV were selected for their overriding political symbolism. The title of Johanna Grawunder’s neon light, Pussy Grabs Back, is a reference to the unifying rallying cry against President Trump.

Åsa Jungnelius’ Lipstick sculptures explore symbols of femininity and the power of lipstick as a tool and a weapon. And Katie Stout’s desk chair is a figurative representation of a power desk, similar to the desk of Diane Von Furstenberg, iconic fashion designer, spokesperson and a purveyor of modern feminism.

“Many of the female designers, artists and architects I speak with today say that men are taking up a lot of space within the design-world, both literally and figuratively,” says Kryzkowski. “But I believe we exist in a transformative time where women should claim this space.”

To accompany each show, Krzykowski has collaborated with a different visual artist to make a two-dimensional collage, so the compositions of the objects of the show can live on. The collage for Part IV is by Saša Štucin.

Special Commissions and Room With Its Own Rules Items in by:
Ana Kraš
Ania Jaworska
Åsa Jungnelius
Buro Belén
Claudia Caviezel
Gun Gordillo
Hilda Hellström
Johanna Grawunder
Katie Stout
Kiki van Eijk
Lindsey Adelman
Liz Collins
Marlène Huissoud
Mimi Jung
Mira Nakashima
Pieke Bergmans
Sabine Marcelis
Sarah Zapata
Sigrid von Lintig
Studio Berg
Zohra Opoku

On view:
May 4 - July 15, 2017
Opening hours:
Tuesday through Saturday, 10am – 6pm
For media inquiries, please contact Camron PR:
Ali Moran / ali.moran@camronpr.com / 917.675.4377
For sales inquiries, please contact Chamber: info@chambernyc.com / 212-206-0236