A Fold of Chairs

According to several sources, the collective noun for chairs is a "fold". And that's what I saw on a recent visit to the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavillion of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, which focuses on domestic design. Here is a taste of their holdings.

From the "anthropomorphic" section:

Clarice chair, Niki des Saint-Phalle, 1981-82,
painted polyester 2/20

From Japan:

Miss Blanche chair, Shiro Kuramata,  1988,
acrylic, artificial roses, tinted aluminum pipe,
edition of 56

From Germany:

B32 Chair, Marcel Breuer, 1928,
chromium-plated steel, beech, cane

From Canada:

United We Stand, Robert Southcott, 2007,
birch plywood, brass

From the Italian section:

Proust's Armchair, Alessandro Mendini, 1978,
painted wood and fabric, polyurethane foam, passementerie

Ribbon chair, Cesare Leonardi and Franca Stagi, 1961,
Fibreglass-reinforced polyester, tubular steel

From the Scandinavian section:

Egg Armchair, Arne Jacobsen, 1958,
fibreglass, aluminum, polyurethane foam, chromed and painted steel,
plastic, wool

Armchair (model 31), Alvar Aalto, 1932,
birch-faced plywood, laminated birch

From the American section:

Lounge chair, Kem Weber, 1934
chrome-plated steel, painted wood, plasticized fabric, foam padding, plywood

Marshmallow Sofa, George Nelson Associates, 1954-55.
painted steel, latex foam, vinyl upholstery

This survey of chairs reminds me of the words "variation within limitation", a phrase used by artists to explain the strategy of working within a series.