Inception chair nesting chairs design

Somewhere between crafty clown cars and artistic Russian nesting dolls sits this uncanny series of nesting seats, each one slotted into the next, titled after a film that probes the depths of the human mind and dizzies us through a ride down into the subconscious.

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Inception chair nesting design

Vivian Chiu has a notable fondness for abstract patterns, recursive series and other places where physics and math intersect art and design, evidenced by this carefully planned and handcrafted “Inception chair.”

Inception chair un-nested

While the little ones may be a tad small for people to actually sit in, the set taken as a whole is actually stable in structure and able to support human weight (whether comfortable is another question).

More from the designer

“Taking the chair archetype and placing within it chairs that are progressively smaller. Each chair has hand cut grooves on the inside edges of its seat frame as well as notches in the seat back. These grooves range from 1/2” wide to 1/8” wide. The mechanism works so that the pegs fit into the grooves of the chair one size bigger and slides into place so that the horizontal edge between the chair seat and back line up. The simple mechanism allows the chairs to be taken apart and put together with ease.”

Inception chair detail

About Vivian Chiu

Vivian Chiu was born in Los Angeles and emigrated to Hong Kong at the age of three. Her interests in creating objects and the visual arts led her to attend the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA ’11 Furniture Design) and Columbia University (MFA ’19 Sculpture). With an aptitude for problem solving and a sensitivity towards materials, Vivian utilizes continuous deconstruction and reconstruction to create optical sculptures and explore ideas of visibility and perception.”

“Vivian has attended residencies such as Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Sculpture Space, Haystack Mountain School, the Anderson Ranch Arts Center and the Center for Art in Wood. She was awarded a 2020 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Craft/Sculpture and will be a Distinguished Fellow at the Penland School of Crafts in 2022. Vivian is currently teaching in the Craft/Material Studies program at Virginia Commonwealth University.”