This fall, a crop of artist-made chairs, tables, sofas, and ceramics has found its way into the New York City gallery circuit, prompting us to reassess the once-utilitarian forms.

In the 1980s, Austrian artist Franz West began producing what he called “everyday adaptives”—his take on tables, chairs, lamps, and divans, made with rebar armatures, that poked fun at the elitist practice of furniture design. Now Gagosian Gallery will display a selection of furnishings from that body of work, including chaise longues, divans, and poufs upholstered in raw linen; a cast of clean-lined dining chairs with lacquered-canvas seats and backs; and a squiggly pink coat rack. Through November 7 at Gagosian Gallery, 976 Madison Avenue; gagosianom

Best known for his colorful, surrealistic paintings, later in life Joan Miró also made sculptures that nodded to basic furniture forms. For the show “Riopelle/Miró: Color,” Acquavella Galleries showcases the relationship between Jean Paul Riopelle’s oil paintings and Miró’s painted bronze sculptures—several comprising stools—from the mid-1960s. October 1 through December 11 at Acquavella Galleries, 18 East 79th Street; acquavellagallerieom

Ettore Sottsass ’s wild furnishings are on view at Friedman Benda gallery. The fourth show the gallery has organized to showcase standout designs from the Italian architect and designer’s oeuvre, this display focuses on the years 1955 through 1969, with the spotlight on a batch of rare ceramics he created during that time. Through October 17 at Friedman Benda, 515 West 26th Street; friedmanbendaom

When Verner Panton’s famous Cone chair was featured in New York shop windows in the 1950s, its startlingly futuristic form is said to have caused traffic accidents outside. When Charles and Ray Eames’s chairs hit stores in Los Angeles in 1947, they became the laughing stock of the town. In “Difficult,” a show at R & Company , interior designer Jim Walrod has assimilated furniture forms from the 20th and 21st centuries that were met with mixed reviews. Some, like the Eames chairs, are now seen as normal, while others, like Masanori Umeda’s Memphis boxing ring, are still revolting to many. Through October 29 at R & Company, 82 Franklin Street; r-and-companom

For its second annual Architecture and Design Series, Swiss Institute has tapped Pin-Up magazine’s Felix Burrichter to curate “A 21st-Century Show Home.” A riff on the Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau—a show house Le Corbusier created for the 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs that appeared revolutionary for its ideas about mass production and home mechanization—Burrichter’s rendition features works by more than 30 artists and designers who push the boundaries of design today. September 24 through November 8 at Swiss Institute, 18 Wooster Street; swissinstituteet