One and Three Chairs
Joseph Kosuth
American, born 1945
1965
A conceptual triptych that pairs a real wooden folding chair with a mounted photograph of the same chair and an enlarged dictionary definition of “chair” to probe how objects, images, and words construct meaning.
You first notice the modest wooden chair and its shadow, then the life‑size photographic copy on the wall and the printed definition beside it, and the small differences between them force you to think about looking, naming, and representation.
A landmark of Conceptual Art, it foregrounded ideas and language over craft, helping shift art toward investigations of meaning, representation, and the dematerialization of the art object.
Medium
Wood folding chair, mounted photograph of a chair, and mounted photographic enlargement of the dictionary definition of "chair"
Dimensions
Chair 32 3/8 x 14 7/8 x 20 7/8" (82 x 37.8 x 53 cm), photographic panel 36 x 24 1/8" (91.5 x 61.1 cm), text panel 24 x 30" (61 x 76.2 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Larry Aldrich Foundation Fund
Accession
393.1970.a-c
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
