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Bad Bunny Album Cover Inspires Chicago Art Exhibition Chair Sculptures

Artist Edra Soto created upholstered plastic lawn chairs covered in Bad Bunny's likeness for a dancehall and reggaeton show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny in a 2017 interview
Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny in a 2017 interview      Bad Bunny    LAREMIX.TV / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
By Free News Press Editorial Team
Published May 18, 2026 at 1:04 AM PDT

When Bad Bunny released his 2025 album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, which went on to win album of the year at the 2026 Grammy Awards, the cover art featured two plastic lawn chairs. For Puerto Rican artist Edra Soto, that image was the push she needed to finally act on an idea she had been sitting on for a year.

Soto, who grew up in Puerto Rico and now makes art that repurposes objects and designs from her childhood, has long used upholstered plastic lawn chairs as a medium. The chairs carry deep meaning in Puerto Rican culture. She had been watching Bad Bunny's rise over the past decade and appreciated his outspoken support for Puerto Rico and its community. When the album cover connected directly to her own artistic vocabulary, she moved forward with the project.

"I had this idea a whole year before I made them," Soto told CNN, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "I was doubting myself. I was thinking maybe this is too on the nose."

The resulting works, called the BB chairs, are covered in inexpensive fabric printed with Bad Bunny's face across different style eras, from his early days with buzz cuts and large sunglasses to more recent looks. The chairs are now part of Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón, an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago running through September 20.

The exhibition, according to the museum's website, explores and expands the visual, political, and spiritual histories of dancehall and reggaetón through contemporary art, covering two genres that have transcended their grassroots origins to shape global culture.

The BB chairs have also become a limited edition set, though not by design. Soto has been unable to locate the original fabric she purchased online and used for the project. "I'm not able to re-create them the way they are," she said. "I love the quality of the cheap fabric, just as an aesthetic that is very specific."

When the exhibition opened in April, Soto posted on Instagram after seeing her chairs on display. "What an outstanding accomplishment!! An important history being told in the most memorable setting. So very proud to be a part of it. Perreo forevel!!" she wrote.

Bad Bunny also makes multiple appearances throughout the larger show, which opened in April and continues through the fall.

Bad Bunny in Los Angeles California on October 11, 2019 - Photo by Glenn Francis of www.PacificProDigital.com
Bad Bunny in Los Angeles California on October 11…      Bad Bunny    Toglenn / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)