The Domestic Interior as Abstraction
Philip Clairmont’s Folding Chair transforms an everyday household object into a psychologically charged meditation on perception, memory and presence. Through fractured form, vivid colour and restless movement, the painting reveals the extraordinary expressive potential of the ordinary.
Essay by Sean Duxfield
A masterful expressionist study where domestic space dissolves into colour, movement and psychological intensity. Painted in 1978, Folding Chair reimagines an everyday object as a site of energy, ambiguity and transformation.
Philip Clairmont
“Transforms commonplace subjects like fireplaces, chairs and sofas into images of disturbance, unease and fear.”
— Michael Dunn
Lot. 29. Philip Clairmont, Folding Chair, 1978, oil on jute on board, 1780 x 922mm.
EST. $170,000—$240,000
Philip Clairmont is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's leading expressionist painters, and Webb's is pleased to present the exceptional Folding Chair (1978). At a time when many New Zealand artists were redefining the landscape tradition, Clairmont turned instead to the domestic interior, transforming it into a psychologically charged world. Windows, fireplaces, chairs and sofas became more than familiar objects; they were portals through which he explored memory, perception and the unseen presence of everyday life.
In an interview with Art New Zealand in the same year this work was painted, Clairmont stated: "I think an object has a life of its own. It has an essence. And it's that essence that I'm trying to express." This desire to reveal the inner life of the ordinary objects we live with lies at the heart of Folding Chair.
Painted while Clairmont was living in Mount Eden, Auckland, Folding Chair transforms a humble household object into something strangely animate. The chair is immediately recognisable, yet increasingly elusive, suggesting both presence and absence. Although a still life, the painting is alive with movement. The form of the chair appears to shift, dissolve and re-form across the picture plane, creating a persistent sense of instability.
The closer one looks, the more the chair's edges dissolve. Attempts to define its form give way to a kaleidoscopic arrangement of fractured planes, where saturated yellows, golds, reds, greens and blues collapse the distinction between the object and the space it occupies. Bold, gestural brushwork and richly textured surfaces animate the composition, imbuing the painting with a restless, almost living presence. The viewer is left oscillating between recognition and abstraction as object and space merge into a single, pulsating image.
As art historian Michael Dunn observed, Clairmont "transforms commonplace subjects like fireplaces, chairs and sofas into images of disturbance, unease and fear." Folding Chair is a compelling example of this, where the ordinary becomes uncanny, and the domestic interior is reimagined as a site of psychological intensity. The chair became one of Clairmont's most enduring motifs, with numerous examples of these works held in New Zealand public collections.
In Folding Chair, this everyday object transcends its utilitarian function to become a powerful meditation on perception, presence and the extraordinary expressive potential of the ordinary.
—Sean Duxfield, Senior Specialist, Art
Featured Auction Highlights
Lot 43. Paul Dibble, Monument to Explorers, 1991, bronze, 1100 x 500 x 380mm.
EST. $35,000—$40,000
Lot 41. Paul Dibble, Untitled Standing Figure, 2003, bronze, edition 1 of 5, 560 x 230mm.
EST. $16,000—$24,000
Lot 63. Louise Henderson, Cloud over harbour, oil on board, 950 x 1250mm. EST. $50,000—$60,000
Lot 27. Fiona Pardington, Wahi/Fear Kākāpo, 2004, 830 x 1090mm.
EST. $18,000—$26,000
Philip Clairmont’s Folding Chair forms part of our current Works of Art Live Auction catalogue.
Works of Art, New Zealand's premier live art auction, presents a curated selection of significant artworks by leading New Zealand artists, from historic masters to major contemporary voices, reflecting the breadth and depth of art practice in Aotearoa. Supported by a nationwide exhibition tour and events programme, the sale offers collectors a rare opportunity to engage with and acquire exceptional works before they come to auction.
Live Auction | 24.08.26
Works of Art
—North Island Tour
Wellington
Launch
Wednesday 12 August, 5.30pm—7.30pm
On View
Wednesday 12—15 August
23 Marion Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011
Auckland
Launch
Tuesday 18 August, 6pm—8pm
On View
Tuesday 18—24 August
Live Auction
Monday 24 August, 6.30pm
33a Normanby Road, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024