Furniture
The Wassily Chair is Marcel Breuer's best known chair. Named after his friend, the painter Wassily Kandinsky and designed for the Dessau Bauhaus Buildings. He is said to have come up with his bent tubular steel concept while looking at the handle bars of his bicycle.
The Antony chair was originally designed for the University of Strasbourg and manufactured by Jean Prouve's own company and distributed by Steph Simon of Paris. It is constructed of steel and molded plywood. The molded shape of the seat appears to be suspended in the steel frame.
Gerrit Rietveld's Zig Zag Chair is made up of four elements joined with dovetail joints and fixed with brass nuts and bolts through triangular corner blocks. Even though it's visual effect is simple its design and construction are complex. It was designed for the Schroder House in Utrech, Holland and is and example of Rietveld's de Stijl and Modernist design principles.
This funky piece of furniture oozes fun! It is constructed of a black enamelled tubular steel frame and has detachable vinyl covered foam circular cushions for ease of cleaning. Only hundreds of the Marshmallow sofa's were ever produced between 1956 - 1963.
The E1027 is a table that we see often in movies and theatres. It is an icon of modern furniture design, yet still practical and functional in today's interiors. Eileen Gray's use of simple lines and shapes results in this height adjustable multifunctional table.
The Tulip Pedestal Chair is constructed of a cast aluminum pedestal base, supporting a molded fiber glass reinforced plastic seat shell, even though it appears at a glance to be molded in one piece. It has a latex foam cushion upholstered in fabric.
The Bauhaus influence is still present today. It is the most well know design school of modern times. It began in Weimar, Germany in 1919 and was only in operation for 14 years. The school took over the building of the Weimar Academy of Fine Arts, and inherited some of the students and professors.
The Egg chair is one of the most influential post-war furniture designs. It's popularity meaning it has stayed on the production line since it's conception in 1957. The form of the egg chair is similar to Eero Saarinen's Womb armchair of 1946. Similar design theories perhaps?
Alvar Aalto won a design project in 1927 to design the Municipal Library in Viipuri. His Neoclassic styling entry was not popular with the local residents as it was in contrast to the neo gothic surroundings. Hence the project was delayed giving Aalto time to reformulate and redesign the library and create a furniture collection for it.
How often do you see a movie and think, wow what fabulous furniture, I wonder what it is? More often than not it will be a classic piece of 20th Century Furniture. There is still great interest in this furniture and many pieces are still in production today.