See this exhibit of uncomfortable furniture in New York before it closes

If you’ve ever wondered why stylish furniture always seems uncomfortable, there’s an exhibition in New York City that might answer your question.

A picture of a peculiar couch within the exhibit room — The Comfort exhibit explores the relationship between comfortable furniture and aesthetically pleasing ones © Courtesy of Friedman Benda / Photography by Daniel Kukla

The exhibition Comfort, taking place inside the Friedman Benda gallery in Manhattan, wants to “examine comfort versus discomfort and how this dichotomy drives human behavior,” as it reads in its official presentation.

An overview of the exhibit room at Comfort — The exhibition features furniture but also photographs, photos and sculptures © Courtesy of Friedman Benda / Photography by Daniel Kukla

Comfort features a wide selection of furniture like couches, beds and even toilets made of the most varied materials and shapes as well as sculptures, paintings and photographs. All of them explore the relationship between comfort and aesthetics, and “the tension that occurs when an object can be physically comfortable but visually or psychologically uncomfortable and vice versa.”

Ultimately, comfort or discomfort comes down to what you really value in a piece of furniture and to your personal idea of it. “Comfort is often something that we think is innate but actually it only exists once we experience it,” said the exhibition’s curator Omar Sosa.

A picture of a designer toilet inside the exhibition — Our idea of comfort is what we expect to find in the world when we leave our home, according to the exhibition's curator © Courtesy of Friedman Benda / Photography by Daniel Kukla

You still have time to see the exhibition that reamins open until 15 February 2020. You can check out more information about it on the official website here.