Christopher Kurtz
Claude Glass Vanity Chair, 2026
Claro walnut, silver leaf on glass
99 H x 50.8 W x 70 D cm
39 H × 20 W × 24 D in
39 H × 20 W × 24 D in
Further images
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 1
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 2
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 3
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 4
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 5
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 6
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 7
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 8
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 9
)
Description
The Claude Glass Vanity takes its title from the small, darkened convex mirrors that became fashionable during the eighteenth-century Picturesque movement in Britain. Named after the seventeenth-century French landscape painter Claude Lorrain, these pocket-sized mirrors transformed the surrounding landscape into an image that resembled one of his paintings. Carried by artists and travellers, they became especially associated with tourism in Britain's Lake District, where visitors often turned their backs to the landscape and viewed its reflection instead, measuring nature against an inherited ideal of beauty. The Claude glass reminds us that we have long learned to see the world through images made by others. The Picturesque taught viewers to understand landscape through the conventions of European painting, shaping not only what was considered beautiful, but how beauty itself was recognised. Nature was not simply observed—it was interpreted through culture. Like its historical predecessor, the mirror in this work is also an interpretive device. A convex lens of glass is hand silver-leafed, creating a softly mottled reflective surface that subtly alters the image it returns. Rather than offering a perfect likeness, the mirror filters the viewer through its own material character. It reflects not only the body, but the surrounding space, compressing both into a single image.1
of
6
Join our mailing list
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied to communicate with you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.