Visitors to the University of Hull’s Art Collection in the Middleton Hall will in future find it’s a case of ‘sofa so good’ as they enjoy the works of art to be found there.

The gallery has acquired a large new sofa which is a work of art in its own right. Specially made for the Art Collection by Edra in Italy, it has a unique spiral form inspired by one of the most extraordinary projects in modern art, the Tatlin Tower.

The tower was the largest project by the Russian Constructivist artist Vladimir Tatlin (1885–1953). It was intended to be bigger than the Eiffel Tower and to straddle the Neva river in Petrograd – now St Petersburg.

The University’s Director of Fine Art, John Bernasconi, said: ‘The sofa was designed in the early 1990s by two Italian designers, Marco Cananzi and Roberto Semprini. After winning international awards it became a design classic.’

Cananzi is a Milan-based freelance designer who specialises in architectural projects, motorcycles and furniture. Semprini lectures on design at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan.

‘For years visitors to the Collection have wanted something comfortable to sit on while viewing the exhibitions. The sofa is an exhibit in its own right which, for once, they can touch’, said Mr Bernasconi.

The sofa has been acquired with a donation through the University Development Office.