Matteo Guarnaccia’s (born 1954) Cross Cultural Chairs: Diversifying Modern Seating is a research-based design project “about the cultural context of furniture, understanding how globalization is shaping design around the world,” he writes. “It’s an exploration that lies between social and technical aspects of chairs.” To execute this project, Guarnaccia visited eight different countries to conduct research and talk to local design studios, ultimately collaborating with them to portray each culture in the form of a chair. Cross Cultural Chairs plumbs the hidden depths of furniture design and the ways in which cultural norms assert themselves through functional commodities, opening up a conversation about identity, community and expression through chairs.