Brutalist Contemporary Art
The design of brutalist furniture encompasses that which is crafted, hewn and worked by hand — an aesthetic rebuke (or, at least, a counterpoint) to furniture that is created using 21st-century materials and technology. Lately, the word “brutalist” has been adopted by the realms of furniture design and the decorative arts to refer to chairs, cabinets, tables and accessory pieces such as mirror frames and lighting that are made of rougher, deeply textured metals and other materials that are the visual and palpable antithesis of the sleek, smooth and suave.
ORIGINS OF BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGN
- Brutalism emerged during the mid-20th century
- Term coined by architecture critic Reyner Banham
- Originated in the United Kingdom
- Brutalist architecture gained popularity in the United States beginning in the early 1960s
- Inaugural brutalist projects include Unité d'habitation and the city of Chandigarh, India, both of which owe to influential architect Charles-Édouard “Le Corbusier” Jeanneret
- Le Corbusier’s cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, designed hundreds of chairs, tables, cabinets and lamps for Chandigarh
- Informed by the Bauhaus, constructivism, modernism and the International Style; part of mid-century modernism
- Contrasted starkly with Beaux Arts style
CHARACTERISTICS OF BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGN
- Use of industrial materials — tubular steel, concrete, glass, granite
- Prioritizes functionalism, minimalism and utilization of negative space
- Spare silhouettes, pronounced geometric shapes
- Stripped-down, natural look; rugged textures, modular construction
- Interiors featuring airy visual flow and reliance on neutral palettes
BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE BRUTALIST FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The term brutalism — which derives from the French word brut, meaning “raw” — was coined by architecture critic Reyner Banham to describe an architectural style that emerged in the 1950s featuring monumental buildings, usually made of unornamented concrete, whose design was meant to project an air of strength and solidity.
Le Corbusier essentially created the brutalist style; its best-known iterations in the United States are the Whitney Museum of American Art, which was designed by Marcel Breuer, and Paul Rudolph's Yale Art and Architecture Building. The severe style might have been the most criticized architectural movement of the 20th century, even if it was an honest attempt to celebrate the beauty of raw material. But while the brutalist government buildings in Washington, D.C., seemingly bask in their un-beauty, brutalist interior design and decor is much more lyrical, at times taking on a whimsical, romantic quality that its exterior counterparts lack.
Paul Evans is Exhibit A for brutalist furniture design. His Sculpture Front cabinets laced with high-relief patinated steel mounts have become collector's items nonpareil, while the chairs, coffee table and dining table in his later Cityscape series and Sculpted Bronze series for Directional Furniture are perhaps the most expressive, attention-grabbing pieces in American modern design. Other exemplary brutalist designers are Silas Seandel, the idiosyncratic New York furniture designer and sculptor whose works in metal — in particular his tables — have a kind of brawny lyricism, and Curtis Jere, a nom-de-trade for the California team of Curtis Freiler and Jerry Fels, the bold makers of expressive scorched and sheared copper and brass mirror frames and wall-mounted sculptures.
Brutalist furniture and sculptures remain popular with interior designers and can lend unique, eccentric, human notes to an art and design collection in any home.
Find authentic vintage brutalist chairs, coffee tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
2010s Mexican Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
2010s Mexican Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
2010s Mexican Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
2010s Mexican Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
1970s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Multi-gemstone
1960s American Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Contemporary Art
Metal, Aluminum
1970s Belgian Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Brass
1970s French Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Sheet Metal
1980s American Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Brass
1960s Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Iron
1960s American Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Metal
20th Century American Brutalist Contemporary Art
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Brutalist Contemporary Art
Gesso, Canvas, Paper
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Metal
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Contemporary Art
Acrylic, Mixed Media, Canvas
1970s Dutch Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Paper
2010s Welsh Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
2010s Welsh Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
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Glass, Wood, Paper
20th Century American Brutalist Contemporary Art
Hardwood
2010s Unknown Brutalist Contemporary Art
Steel
2010s Welsh Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
1970s French Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Sheet Metal
21st Century and Contemporary European Brutalist Contemporary Art
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Brutalist Contemporary Art
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Brutalist Contemporary Art
Natural Fiber, Wood
2010s Welsh Brutalist Contemporary Art
Wood
1970s Unknown Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Metal, Brass
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Metal
1970s Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Paint, Paper
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Steel, Gold Leaf
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Brass
1950s American Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Brass, Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Brutalist Contemporary Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Brutalist Contemporary Art
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Brutalist Contemporary Art
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Brutalist Contemporary Art
Glass