From a felted chair resembling mushrooms to a rocking chair made from 3-D printed recycled plastic, Conversation Pieces features 45 furniture pieces from SFMOMA’s collection that prioritize meaning and material choice over function and practicality. Within meandering yet intimate environs that co-organizer Alexandra Loew designed to evoke a conversation pit, the show disrupts consumer-driven notions of good taste and turns the mic to artist-driven conversations, putting works by Germane Barnes, Dozie Kanu, and Bethan Wood in dialogue with more established designers such as Gaetano Pesce and Nathalie du Pasquier. 

Pictured: Royal chaise (1983) by Nathalie du Pasquier. Gift of Miranda Leonard. Photography by Katherine Du Tiel