Blue horizons

A new show reflects on the cultural connections of a forgotten Saarinen masterpiece

- TF CHAN

Two years ago, Rayyane Tabet noticed a tag on the underside of his moulded plastic Eames ‘DSX’ chair that read ‘IBM Rochester’. It was an intriguing discovery for the San Francisco-based Lebanese artist, who had just been invited to create an exhibition for the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Latching onto the fact that Minneapolis and Rochester were both part of the state of Minnesota, Tabet set himself on a mission to research IBM’s midcentury heyday.