sofa
Viewing art from chairs and the long white sofa
David Owers
Transcript
One or two paintings would be at a very low level. For instance, the Wallis' have always been at a level, and you can often sit to absorb the paintings and dwell, to enjoy the paintings, not from standing eye level, but from sitting eye level, which encourages contemplation. The great majority of displays of this sort, if you like, lack places to sit and it is very nice. In our extension, the piece of furniture I enjoy most, almost, is the long white sofa on the north wall downstairs and usually has only one painting behind it so there is a lot of wall space which is relatively empty. It works wonderfully for concerts when the piano, or there is a quartet playing and particularly the younger members of the audience, well the students I've seen, and they gravitate to this sofa and sort of bunch up and recline, they are practically horizontal. Part of the enjoyment of Kettle's Yard is to do with the fact that you're encouraged to linger and you are seeing it in a different way, I think, and the way that even a painting sitting on the floor can look extremely successful and can be observed in a different way.






