Iconic pink chairs, which have graced the art worlds of Italy and the United States, now have a permanent home in Brisbane.
The “inflated” chairs, made by contemporary artist Cj Hendry, have been installed on the lawn at the front of State Library at South Bank.
State Librarian and CEO Vicki McDonald said the bright pink chairs were part of the artist’s “reimagination of utilitarian seating in public spaces” and had appeared as temporary art installations in New York and Venice.
“State Library is thrilled to give Cj Hendry’s vibrant Pink Chairs a permanent home in Queensland’s Cultural Centre,” Ms McDonald said.
She said the chairs, weighing 130 kg each, looked soft but were made of brass and were part of Cj’s ‘Inflatable’ series.
“Pink Chairs is an experiment in weight and scale by subverting the idea of the usually light and impermanent inflatable chair.”
Ms McDonald said the work was gifted to State Library by Cj, who grew up in Brisbane and now lives in New York, and had built a global following as a self-made artist on Instagram.
“Her hyper-realistic approach to art highlights a fascination with materialism, transforming everyday items and high-end products into sought-after works of art.”
She said the State Library held other work by Cj including merchandise titled Cheese, Copyright Infringement and Straya.
“Cj was one of the most popular guests in our Game Changers conversation series, and we hold several of her works in our collection, including inflatable crowns, wigs and card games.
“Collections such as this help document the extraordinary work of Queensland contemporary artists.”
Cj Hendry said she wanted the chairs to have a home in Australia and State Library “felt like the perfect” long-term home.
“State Library holds a lot of great memories of being an independent young adult in Brisbane; I would meet friends for coffee at the cafe or wander along the riverwalk,” she said.
“People usually approach the chairs with a bit of confusion; they’re initially thrown off by the juxtaposition of material and setting. They’ll ‘kick the tyres’ and realise it’s solid, not inflated, and then really go for it. They sit; they climb; they look.
“It’s really cool to know my work is part of that collection back home.”
