Arm Chair, 2023

Unique hand-painted armchair by France-Lise McGurn created exclusively for House of Voltaire. The atmospheric practice of France-Lise McGurn transports the viewer from the public realm of a museum or gallery into the most personal quarters of the artist’s life: her studio, her bedroom, her mind and musings. McGurn’s figurative practice delivers a wholly immersive experience, launching the viewer into a three-dimensional world of the intimate and relatable. The figures that occupy McGurn’s world belong to her imagination. These archetypal characters, often portrayed in a state of undress, whether in groups, in pairs or alone, recline in both ecstasy and agony. At times, they appear bare and exposed huddled in tense tableaux, seemingly withdrawn in defence. Elsewhere, McGurn’s characters are languid, bathed in air of euphoria.