Conversation Pieces / Contemporary Furniture in Dialogue

From a felted chair resembling mushrooms to a rocking chair made from 3-D printed recycled plastic, Conversation Pieces features 45 works of furniture that prioritize meaning and material choice over function and practicality. 

The exhibition is organized by Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, SFMOMA’s Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture and Design, and Alexandra Loew, a Los Angeles-based interior architect, into fluid and meandering categories that feel conversational rather than authoritative. With plush seating for visitors and intimate, moody lighting, the gallery fosters an immersive atmosphere that invites visitors into the unfolding conversation.​

Interspersed throughout, interviews with six designers, including Jay Sae Jung Oh and Fernando Laposse, speak to issues designers face today. In the spirit of dialogue, you are invited to join ongoing in-person and online conversations that draw connections between these collection works that touch upon sustainability, identity, and history.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website