Rodney McMillian critically engages with American culture and history across various media, a history shaped by colonialism, racism, and power structures. He focuses on the lived realities of Black people while also drawing attention to the prevailing, white-centric historiography. Discarded products of consumer culture serve as source materials for his collages, paintings, or sculptures. The worn-out armchair chair (armchair), however, is a street find that he adopted as an art object in its current state. This “furniture” carries its own history, capable of telling a story of poverty, neglect, and harsh living conditions.

Upholstered armchair
84 × 97 × 84 cm

Marta Collection, donation from the Gaby and Wilhelm Schürmann Collection, Herzogenrath 2024

© Rodney McMillian
Photo: Besim Mazhiqi