The Century of Modern Design
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Russel Wright’s circa 1935 aluminum-and-walnut punch bowl with 12 cups reflects his “aim to reach a broad range of consumers, especially in the Depression years.” Photo by Denis Farley. -
A 1949 lounge chair in birch and leather by Pierre Jeanneret, a Swiss architect who moved to Paris in 1920 and worked in the office of his cousin Charles Édouard Jeanneret, aka Le Corbusier. First called the "92 chair" and featured in Florence Knoll’s room installation in "An Exhibition for Modern Living" at the Detroit Institute of the Arts, it later became known as the Scissors chair. Photo by Denis Farley. -
The enameled-metal Lettera 22 typewriter, designed by Marcello Nizzoli for Olivetti in 1950. The machine had a single, bright-red return key and a handy carrying case. Photo by Denis Farley. -
Conceptualized around 1951 by Swedish designer Stig Lindberg for the Gustavsberg porcelain company, this vase bears more whimsical forms than the work of his midcentury modern contemporaries—many of whom were more concerned with strict industrial designs. Photo by Denis Farley. -
Danish designer Grete Jalk designed this beech-faced plywood-and-steel GJ chair as part of a laminated furniture series in 1963; it won Britain’s Daily Mail International Furniture Competition the same year. Photo by Denis Farley. -
A set of circa 1972 silver bar tools—strainer, stirrer, tongs and knife—by the Italian design couple Lella and Massimo Vignelli for San Lorenzo. Photo by Denis Farley. -
Among Italian designer Mario Bellini’s contributions in the book are a rubber calculator, a polyurethane chair and this 1974 floor lamp topped by fire-resistant synthetic white shades that, says author David A. Hanks, “resemble folded paper or falling handkerchiefs.” Photo by Denis Farley. -
Cosmic garden designer Charles Jencks drew upon classical forms in his brass coffeepot for Alessi, designed in 1982. Photo by Denis Farley. -
Ross Lovegrove, who has referred to himself as an “evolutionary biologist,” designed the magnesium, aluminum and polycarbonate Go Chair in 1999. Lovegrove says the inspirations are “body form, sensuality, anatomical base and high technology.” Photo by Denis Farley. -
The last section of the book covers the aughts, still settling into its place in modern design, and includes the work of British ceramist Sophie Cook. The Pod and Teardrop vases, from 2003, are defined by almost impossibly slim necks. Photo by Denis Farley.
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2011 Modernism Show
The 2011 Modernism Show, held in the cavernous Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport, brought both rarities and new interpretations within the category.
3 New Book Releases: The Life and Work of Le Corbusier
2012 marked what would have been the 125th birthday of the great French architect Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known to the world as Le Corbusier.
Upcoming Auction at LA Modern
Original Ettore Sottsass furniture and accessories that were custom designed and built for the late tech pioneer Max Palevsky will hit the auction block March 6th at LA Modern.
Charlotte Perriand: Designer, Photographer, Activist
Charlotte Perriand (1903–1999), one of the most innovative interior and furniture designers of the 20th century, did not only strive towards a change in forms but also towards an improvement in social conditions. After the tubular steel furniture, which she developed particularly in partnership with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, she preferred the natural material of wood with its free forms. At the same time her photography, which she approached in a radically modern way, became an impulse for her work. There followed grand stagings of magical objects found on beaches or in junkyards. Charlotte Perriand shared this interest for the poetry of “Art Brut” with Pierre Jeanneret and Fernand Léger, with whom she repeatedly worked. The opening of the archive now provides a longoverdue opportunity to rediscover this important pioneer as a furniture designer, as a photographer and—with her reconstructed large-format collages—as a socially committed woman.
The exhibition is on view unitl October 24th at the Musem of Design Zurich.
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