While meeting the parents of his then-boyfriend Joel Karr in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in 2004, a collection of sun-soaked chairs in the building’s cafe caught Kenneth Fong’s eye.

“I just had to take that picture,” he said. “Chairs have been really interesting to me — their color, composition and the story behind the chairs. I never move them.

“Who sat there? What were they doing? How did they come to use these chairs, and how long were they occupied? Does this array of chairs reflect a group of individuals congregating to reunite or to meet for the first time? Is it an imprint of unconnected individuals who were going about their own business?”

Now, the self-taught photographer has taken thousands of photographs of chairs around the world, from Paris to Argentina to New York to Sausalito, where he and Karr, now his husband, have called home since 2021. Thirteen of his photographs of chairs in Sausalito are on display at Firehouse Coffee and Tea in Sausalito through Nov. 30. The catch? It’s up to you to figure out where the chairs are located by exploring Sausalito and picking apart clues in the pieces’ titles, such as “A Glass of Sherry” and “Chauffeurs.”

The earliest submission to fill out an entry form for “How Well Do You Know Sausalito?” with the most correct responses will receive a to-be-determined prize; return your completed form to the blue envelope at the coffee shop or scan and email it to ktfongphotography@gmail.com.

“It’s my tribute to Sausalito. What I love about the chair series is that they’re all over town. They’re different colors, different types of chairs, different shapes and different locations within Sausalito,” said Fong, whose other series include reflections and people looking at art. “The chairs tie me to Sausalito and the love of the community.”

DJ Ansari, the owner of Firehouse Coffee and Tea, says the interactive show has generated a lot of buzz since it was put up in early October.

“They are quite striking, and I think they capture a unique perspective on such an everyday inanimate object that we take for granted. They really take on a life of their own,” he said. “The Sausalito community is having a blast coming to Firehouse Coffee and Tea to take the quiz Kenneth has made for our guests.”

Some people have already taken to the streets in search of his chairs. One day, as Stephan Kaplan was setting up the bar at Osteria Divino in Sausalito before they opened, a woman quickly came in with a piece of paper and pen in her hand.

“As I prepared to tell her to leave, because we weren’t open, she told me she was seeking out local chairs for a scavenger hunt. I laughed, and she assured me that we were, in fact, on the list. It made me happy that not only was the photography cool impressions of the town, but it asks the viewer to actively engage with the town in this cool left of center way,” he said.

Fong “unexpectedly fell in love” with Sausalito after stopping at an open house on a whim with Karr on the way to a party in Sonoma. When they moved into that house, they hosted a neighborhood party, putting flyers in neighbors’ mailboxes and inviting people they met at the local dog park. Around 50 people showed up, and the community feeling they felt immediately was something they felt was missing during their time in San Francisco.

Fong is now a board member of Sausalito Beautiful, whose mission is to create, enhance and protect Sausalito’s public green spaces, and has been involved with Indivisible Sausalito, a local grassroots organization, which supports civic engagement.

While Fong has been taking artistic photographs throughout his life, he’s been able to explore it in a new way recently in retirement. In spring 2024, he had his first exhibit of his chair photos at the Sausalito Library and challenged people to go on a treasure hunt to explore the town that he has grown to love so much.

“I got a lot of really positive responses to it, and people loved it,” said Fong, who also showed some of his chair photos earlier this year at the Sausalito Center for the Arts. “Some of my work is very abstract, and they don’t even really look like chairs. In fact, some have asked me if they’re actually paintings because they’re textural.”

For Fong, this series has helped him feel even more connected to his community and meet people he might not otherwise. Oftentimes, people send him pictures of their own chairs.

“I love chatting with people about it, like, what do you think of it, or how does this affect you? I had a conversation last week with a man who has been in Sausalito for 30 years, and he was so vivid about the impact of the chairs. People tell me they don’t think of chairs anymore the way they used to,” he said.

Sausalito photographer Margot Hartford, a friend and mentor of Fong’s, describes him as an “accomplished photographer with a keen sense of curiosity and vision.”

“His work reveals a fresh perspective that invites us to see familiar scenes in new and surprising ways,” she said.

As Fong enters this new era of his artistic journey, he’s excited for what’s to come.

“I don’t know where the photography is going to lead me to, but I’m very excited about the future of it,” he said.