Carla Tolomeo : Beyond the Visual | Exhibition & Talk

In conjunction with Downtown Design Fair, from the 12th November to the 19th of November, Oblong will showcase the exhibition 'Carla Tolomeo: Beyond the Visual'.

To the question: why chairs, always chairs, only chairs?, Carla Tolomeo replies: “Chairs conceal a sin, and indeed they possibly evoke it”. The artist conceives the chair as a portrait, even a self-portrait. After setting aside her love for painting, since 1977 Carla started devoting herself to a new form of art: the chair. She no longer represents, now she presents. Chairs are real, and at the same time unreal. 

Carla Tolomeo acquires an array of skills ranging from painting, engraving, sculpture and ceramics. Later in her career Tolomeo began to focus on the philosophy of “a mutation, in a transformation from any object to an object of art, starting from the most banal and domestic furnishing element: the Chair” – giving her recognition as the “Lady of Chairs”.

She has astonished her collectors with her famous Sculptured Chairs and blurs the lines between art and design.

The exhibition showcases some of her special and unique creations, focusing on the artistic power that the artist expresses in her presentation of chairs. 

Along with the opening of the exhibition there is a panel discussion at 7pm, with the following participants: Medy Navani (Architect & Interior Designer), Nisrine El Lababidi (Stylist & Interior Designer) and Alya El Ghfeli (Interior and Product Design) on a discussion about the connection between art and design.