In great Stijl.
1/ Gerrit Thomas Rietveld
Armchair, designed 1917
Made by Gerard van de Groenekan (1904-1994)
The Netherlands
Painted beechwood
It is rare for decorative arts objects to evoke an artistic movement, but this armchair, formerly owned by De Stijl architect J.J. Oud, has become an icon. It expresses De Stijl ideology through balanced application of colour and the arrangement of geometric elements. De Stijl artists shunned historicism and naturalism and sought new abstract forms to express the ideals of the future.
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Child’s Wheelbarrow, designed 1923, made 1958
Made by Gerard van de Groenekan, The Netherlands
Wood
This child’s wheelbarrow is based on a toy that Gerrit Rietveld made in 1923 for the son of J.J. P. Oud. It exemplifies the stylistic characteristics of De Stijl: composed of elemental geometric forms, painted in primary colours and made of inexpensive wood.
2/ Marcel Breuer
Side Chair, Model B5, ca. 1926, Germany
Armchair, Model b4, ca. 1927-28
Table, Model B19, ca. 1928
Chromium-plated tubular steel, white canvas (chairs), glass (table)
3/ Ettore Sottsass, Jr.
“Casablanca” Cabinet, designed 1981. Manufactured by Memphis. Milan.
Wood, plastic laminate
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Carlo Mollino
Table, ca 1949. Made by F. Apelli and L. Varesio, Turin.
Laminated wood, glass, brass
Although it is functional, this table looks like a piece of sculpture. Its undulating curves were inspired by the work of Surrealist artists, in particular Jan Arp’s flowing lines and biomorphic shapes. The shape of the table top was based on the outlines of a woman’s torso. Mollino had traced it from a drawing by the Italian Surrealist Leonor Fini (1908-1996). In 1950 the table was included in a major exhibition of Italian design called Italy at Work: Her Renaissance in Design Today. The Italian government sent this travelling exhibition around America. {source}
Brooklyn Museum
July 22nd, 2017
Rietveld, Breuer, Memphis ! I love all of this ! The zigzag chair from Rietveld is my preferred. One of my two drafting tables was designed by Rietveld’s son, Wim. Many thanks, the Humble Fabulist !
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Oh yes, I just looked at Wim’s designs for drafting tables… I do share your love for them!
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