Antique furniture from Trenton, rustic regional Windsor chairs and artwork reflecting daily comforts will soon be on display in Trenton.
Opening on Jan. 22 at the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Furniture as Art features four exhibits-in-one that highlight the items that bring comfort to our lives—furniture. The goal of the exhibit is to encourage people to appreciate the objects and furniture around them that they may take for granted.
On the museum’s second floor, Furniture from the Permanent Collection features furniture from the collection of the Trenton Museum Society—antique furniture made in and associated with Trenton. Many of these reminders of Trenton’s past manufacturing heyday have never before been seen by the public.
Rustic Regional Windsor Chairs includes a collection of early Windsor chairs loaned by private collectors.
“The Windsor chair was the most popular style of Early American chair,” exhibit curator David Bosted said. “The first American Windsor chair is believed to have been made here in the Delaware Valley in 1730. About a dozen pre-1850 Windsor Chairs will be on view along with a half-dozen colonial-revival reproductions, to illustrate the various forms and artistic features of rustic regional Windsor chairs.”
The first floor galleries feature Please be Seated, displaying the work of contemporary area furniture designers and the diversity of styles and materials they use. Notable furniture designers in the show include award-winning authentic period furniture maker Robert Whitley, contemporary designer of heirloom quality furniture Geoffrey Noden, and Ru Amagasu carrying on the Nakashima tradition, as well as other regional craftsmen.
In addition, On These Walls—a display of contemporary painting—highlights interiors and the the role furniture plays in our lives and homes.
“Artists have included furnishings in their work for years, but viewers often look only at the figures without examining the furnishings that reveal so much,” exhibit curator Carol Hill said. “Imagine a favorite painting without the familiar chair or desk that makes it so memorable.”
Events during the exhibition include lectures and demonstrations for the public to learn more about the furniture and artwork on display—the things we live with and enjoy everyday in our homes. Furniture as Art will be on display through March 12, 2017.
An opening reception for the exhibit will be held Sunday, Jan. 22 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the museum in Cadwalader Park, Trenton. Visit ellarslie.org for more information.
Rue Amagasu, walnut triple cabinet with solid doors,
