Pulitzer Arts Foundation displays Scott Burton's 'sculptures in love with furniture'

In the realms of art furniture and craftsmanship, designers and artists become shapeshifters, weaving fluid roles and disparate elements into functional and evocative forms. American sculptor, critic and curator Scott Burton (1939 - 1989) exemplified this transformative approach by redefining furniture as art. His multidisciplinary practice blurred the erstwhile notions of furniture design, stepping into organic expressions of artistry, challenging viewers to rethink their physical and emotional landscapes upon interaction.

Honouring the contemporary artist's legacy, Missouri-based Pulitzer Arts Foundation presents a posthumous retrospective titled Scott Burton: Shape Shift, on display from September 6, 2024 – February 2, 2025. The design exhibition illuminates Burton's creative vision, with each exhibited piece transcending conventional utility and fostering a profound dialogue between human presence and architectural form, in tandem with reshaping our perceptions of proximity, distance and belonging through design. This exhibition is organised by New York-based independent curator Jess Wilcox, with Heather Alexis Smith, assistant curator, Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

"The making of Shape Shift has been an exciting process of historical recovery. We've been able to unpack aspects of Burton's work that are still too little known because of the relative anonymity of his public sculpture," mentions Wilcox in an official statement. "By the time of his death at the age of 50 from an AIDS-related illness, Burton had functioned as sculptor, public artist, performance artist, choreographer, art critic, and exhibition curator," the show's press release states.

Scott Burton: Shape Shift is the creative's first, most comprehensive retrospective in the US, and presents 40 sculptural furniture pieces by the American furniture designer, alongside a documentation of his performances as well as an array of archival materials on loan from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. Below, STIR shares a glimpse of some of the presented works of functional art, which Burton fondly referred to as "sculpture in love with furniture".

Burton's chair designs embody a nuanced exploration of the human body's relationship with furniture, melding materiality, symbolism and performance. His Two-Part Chair coalesces geometry with intimacy, with two granite slabs relying on mutual support, subtly evoking a pair in an embrace—a gesture Burton imbued with themes of queer love. Meanwhile, the Perforated Metal Settee and Chairs are monolithic aluminium installations with numerous perforations to prevent water accumulation when used outdoors, integrating aesthetics with thoughtful functionality.

The Healing Chair is another steel prototype that exemplifies the American artist's exploration of therapeutic product designs, which require perfect posture to avoid imbalance. The chair is crafted as a poignant reflection of Burton’s health struggles. Meanwhile, the outdoor Two-Part Chaise subverts traditional expectations of comfort with its angular Rosso Granchio granite structure resembling a reclining figure. Through each piece, Burton redefines furniture as a vessel for presence, interaction and social expression.

A massive, rugged boulder with a smooth, carved seat forms the Rock Settee, begetting a compelling dialogue between the natural and the crafted. The sculptor adopted granite for its durability and array of colours and textures, eliciting the subtle qualities of upholstery. As a cherished highlight of the museum's permanent collection, the camouflaged settee invites visitors to sit and experience its powerful, enduring presence in the Foundation's interior courtyard. "The idea of simultaneous doubling and concealment—making work that both has multiple meanings, some of which fly under the radar—is, I believe, a central feature of Burton’s work," Wilcox notes.

The ongoing show also has on display table designs which rethink functional furniture, each transforming into evocative sculptures that oscillate between abstraction and utility. The artist's Onyx Table exudes otherworldly warmth with thinly sliced onyx marble illuminated by orange and pink fluorescents, embodying what he described as the "primaeval chaos" of stone. In the Inlaid Table, Burton contrasts industrial steel with delicate mother-of-pearl tesserae, using trompe l’oeil to mirror traditional table legs through negative space. The Mahogany Pedestal Table further explores his fascination with the pedestal, showcasing layered dark wood veneer and a sleek, tiered top, evoking elegance and purpose.

Influenced by the twentieth-century Dutch movement De Stijl, Burton's Five-Part Storage Cubes feature bold geometry and a vivid stack of red, orange, blue and green cubes anchored by a yellow pedestal. The human-sized exhibit amalgamates potency with playfulness, as hidden latches on each cube compel viewers to physically engage with the work by exploring its compartments. With one cube door left open, the sculptural installation transforms into a site for display and introspection.

The sculptural design exhibition reflects upon the artist's unwavering commitment to public art and the social purpose of creativity. His public commissions—installed in parks, university campuses, bustling streets and lobbies—demonstrate his vision to democratise art beyond gallery walls, to be experienced by all.

"“During Scott Burton’s lifetime, the intentionality behind his expansive practice and the connecting thread of gay identity in his work were infrequently discussed. And, nowadays, many know him only from his public art. We aim to present a fuller picture of an artist who developed an original and ever-more-relevant body of artwork over the course of a career that hardly lasted more than 20 years," as conveyed by Cara Starke, the executive director of the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. The showcase, which will travel to Chicago's Wrightwood 659 in 2025, encapsulates Burton's dedication to aesthetically compelling functional art that is profoundly attuned to the rhythms of public life, securing his inheritance as a transformative figure in contemporary design.

'Scott Burton: Shape Shift' is on view from September 6, 2024 – February 2, 2025, at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis.