Since the earliest days of human history, we have lifted ourselves off the ground by using seats. Ancient civilizations around the world used various and sometimes elaborate chair types. In pre-Hispanic Mexico, these seats were reserved for rulers and high-ranking religious figures, demonstrating the social importance of chairs.
When Europeans began settling in what is now Mexico in the 1520s, they introduced new chair types, carpentry techniques, and iron tools. These introductions led to the development of hybrid designs that incorporated Indigenous American, Asian, African, and European traditions. This mirrored the complex, cross-cultural world that emerged during the Spanish conquest in the Americas.
Today, many designers in Mexico draw inspiration from these historical traditions and styles. Using centuries-old techniques and cutting-edge materials and processes, their designs bridge the past and present. The inventive chairs presented here showcase Mexico’s rich cultural heritage, modernity, and place as a global leader of design today.
Stools
Stools, which are backless chairs, are one of the earliest types of seating and have been used by civilizations around the world. In pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican societies, such as the Aztec and Maya, stools were associated with power and high status. They held ceremonial significance and were reserved for civic and spiritual leaders. When Europeans began settling in Mexico in the 1520s, they did not see stools in the same way. Instead, they were seen as functional, versatile, and accessible furniture, a legacy that continues today.
HABITACIÓN 116
Mexico City, established 2002
Javier Claverie
Argentine, born 1971 in Buenos Aires, Argentina; lives and works in Mexico City
Rafael Rivera
Mexican, born 1969 in Mexico City; lives and works in Mexico City
Alejandro Valencia
Mexican, born 1988 in Durango, Mexico; lives and works in Mexico City
Tambor Lava
2022
Basalt stone and tezontle volcanic stone
Manufactured by HABITACIÓN 116. Artisan: Diego Pérez
Tambor Lava is a volcanic rock monolith manually carved by skilled craftspeople. It is inspired by the earth and stone in the Mexican highlands and their hues that include deep blacks, greys, browns, pinks, and intense terra-cottas.
The designers at Habitación 116 design furniture with the vision of creating unique spaces and concepts that endure over time with an aesthetic of pure lines and abstract forms.
Javier Claverie. Courtesy of HABITACIÓN 116. Photographed by Vero Sojo.
Rafael Rivera. Courtesy of HABITACIÓN 116. Photographed by Vero Sojo.
Alejandro Valencia. Courtesy of HABITACIÓN 116. Photographed by Vero Sojo.
Jorge Diego Etienne
Mexican, born 1983 in Tampico, Mexico; lives and works in Monterrey, Mexico
Tempo
2020
Pine wood
Jorge Diego Etienne designed Tempo as part of a furniture collection to support a nonprofit initiative of manufacturing emergency housing in marginalized communities.
Jorge Diego Etienne. Courtesy of Jorge Diego Etienne. Photo by Juan Rodrigo Llaguno.
My work strives to create memorable experiences in the intersection of design and everyday objects, all within a critical and global perspective that goes beyond design to generate value in society, culture, and industry.
Cecilia León de la Barra
Mexican, born 1975 in Mexico City; lives and works in Mexico City
Bangladeshi
2003
Steel and plastic polyvinyl
Manufactured by Akele, Mexico City
Bangladeshi was inspired by the traditional double-cone-shaped Bangladeshi stools Cecilia León de la Barra saw in London. Her version combines midcentury modern Mexican materials and techniques with Bangladeshi design, echoing the centuries-old connection between Mexico and Asia.
Cecilia León de la Barra. Photographed by Nin Solis.
My colorful designs are inspired by techniques born of traditional folk arts, which are then translated into innovative and fresh designs. My ideas are the outcome of constant research and observation of everyday life, which are then transformed into contemporary design.
Aldo Álvarez Tostado
Mexican, born 1987 in San Pancho, Mexico; lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico
Little Horse
2022
Wood and horsehair
Woodturning by the Ramírez family, Nayarit, Mexico
Horsehair weaving by the Rodríguez family, Jalisco, Mexico
Aldo Álvarez Tostado. Courtesy of Aldo Álvarez Tostado. Photo by Manuel Zúñiga.
After working some years as an architect, I founded piedrafuego in 2013, following an interest in creating smaller objects and exploring the materials and traditional techniques of western Mexico. Since then, my practice has oscillated between art, architecture, and design, throughout which I deconstruct the idea of nation as a fiction created through artificial narratives and formal codes.
Camila Apaez
Mexican, born 1993 in Mexico City; lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico
Room in the Cave
2022
Stoneware
Manufactured by the artist, assisted by Cintya Munguia
Camila Apaez. Courtesy of Camila Apaez. Photo by Cristina Civallero.
My work explores questions around contemplation, the natural world, the body’s memory, and ancestral female archetypes, subjects that influence my personal and professional life. My designs are also shaped by an intuitive approach to ceramics and prehistoric architecture, the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, and my experience as a psychotherapist. I strive to evoke the natural and contemplative life in a quest to bring these aspects to the interior and urban landscapes.
Raúl Cabra
Venezuelan, born 1964 in Caracas, Venezuela; lives and works in San Francisco, Mexico City, and Oaxaca, Mexico
Bamboo
2009
Carrizo reeds
Manufactured by Magda and Mateo Angeles, Valle de Tlacolula, Oaxaca, Mexico
Raúl Cabra. Courtesy of Oax-i-fornia. Photo by Catherine Karnow.
My unique approach to design is based in active collaborations with performance and media artists, photographers, painters, and musicians seeking social change. I am focused on creating strategic projects that link design, social welfare, and learning, being the director and creator of Oax-i-fornia, an academic project using play as a catalyzer for exchange between artisans, designers, and artists since 2005 in collaboration with universities in Mexico and the US.
Bárbara Sánchez-Kane
Mexican and American, born 1987 in Mérida, Mexico; lives and works in Mexico City
Body Fillers and Plastified Diet
2022
Medium-density fiberboard, pine wood, and leather
Barbara Sanchez Kane. Photographed by Fabian Martinez.
Bárbara Sánchez-Kane uses everyday objects to resist traditional notions of Mexican machismo. She deconstructs, rebuilds, and imbues objects, like the upside-down buckets commonly used as improvised stools, with new meaning to neutralize their association with binary ideas of masculinity and femininity. She questions the social construction of gender and sexuality, their symbols, and their performative nature through her philosophy of the macho sentimental: a person who does not deny their natural impulses toward feminine and masculine forms of expression.
Exhibition Guide Sections
Have a Seat: Mexican Chair Design Today is organized by the Denver Art Museum. Support is provided by the Estate of Marjorie MacLachlan, Rudy Weissenberg and Rodman Primack, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.
