For many, the childhood bedroom represents a sheer explosion of joy, imagination, and self-expression. Free from self-consciousness or restraint, this private interior becomes a locus for our ever-changing interests and curiosities. The room is often an exuberant display of posters, twinkle lights, trinkets, magazine collages, glow-in-the-dark stars, stuffed animals, and souvenirs – placed both deliberately and haphazardly. Play! examines the ways in which our earliest, most intimate spaces operate as formative environments, serving as sites for the uninhibited exploration and articulation of an evolving self.

In the spirit of play, both contemporary and historical artists and designers engage with this concept through material exploration and innovative processes. Furniture, objects, and artworks adopt uncanny proportions, trompe l’oeil deceptions, expressive surface treatments, unexpected patinas, and vivid colors and patterns. Collectively, these works reflect an unbridled sense of wonder and a more expansive and imaginative curiosity about art, design, and notions of utility. The exhibition proposes that play is not frivolity or superfluous diversion, but is instead an essential mode of creative inquiry: one that allows joy and artistic rigor to meaningfully coexist.