Moderno, Design for Living in Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela, 1940-1978
About the Item
- Creator:Clara Porset (Author)
- Dimensions:Height: 10.75 in (27.31 cm)Width: 7.75 in (19.69 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2015
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor bumping and rubbing to boards, some waviness to text block in production.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU828532704932
Clara Porset
Cuban-born mid-century furniture maker and interior designer Clara Porset is having a moment in museums such as New York’s Museum of Modern Art and beyond, with attention being paid not just to her designs for chairs, lamps and tables but to her life story, with its ties to feminism, modernization and the identification of value in indigenous materials and methods.
Born into a wealthy Cuban family, Porset studied at Columbia University, the Sorbonne and Black Mountain College in North Carolina, which she attended at the urging of Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius and where her teachers included Josef and Anni Albers.
A critic of Cuba’s right-wing government, she left her home country for Mexico, with its more simpatico regime, in 1935. With her Mexican husband, painter Xavier Guerrero, she threw herself into studying that country’s design traditions, and together the two were winners of MoMA’s Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition in 1941. (Porset was unfortunately not recognized at the time for her contribution but has since been credited alongside her husband for the entry.)
Like Porset, other designers of the mid-century era such as Cynthia Sargent, Don Shoemaker and the Bauhaus-trained architect Michael van Beuren who had relocated to Mexico found inspiration in their adopted country. Klaus Grabe, Morley Webb and van Beuren were also named among the Mexico-based winners of MoMA’s 1941 competition. (And van Beuren's furniture brand Domus produced Porset's designs in addition to his own.)
Fascinated by a Spanish-inflected Mexican wood-and-wicker chair called the butaque, Porset developed her own version by tweaking proportions and incorporating new materials.
According to art critic and curator Ana Elena Mallet, its design was “a manifestation of her profound engagement with Mexican craft traditions” at a time when “discussions surrounding the definition of Mexican identity were paramount within the larger political landscape.” In this view, “Porset’s Butaque becomes not merely a chair but a tangible expression of the socio-political discourse of its time,” she says. Or, as Paola Antonelli, MoMA’s senior curator of architecture and design, told the New York Times, “This is the Latin American chair.”
Porset designed many other chairs, some in collaboration with the preeminent Mexican architect Luis Barragán. She returned to Cuba in 1959, after Fidel Castro came to power, with high hopes, but when her plans to start a design school (under Che Guevara, Castro’s minister of industries from 1961 to 1965) foundered, she returned to Mexico, where she continued to promote design for the rest of her life.
Find vintage Clara Porset furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Beautiful Homes and Gardens in CaliforniaBy Richard NeutraLocated in New York, NYImportant and lavishly produced survey of postwar California domestic architecture, written by Frank Lloyd Wright-trained California architect Herbert Weisskamp and published by Abrams in 1964. First edition, oblong 4to (10.25” x 7.25”) hardcover with pictorial dust jacket, 4 full color photos, 314 black-and-white photos (3/4 of them by Julius Schulman), plus 113 b/w plans, drawings, and elevations. Showcases the work of the following architects and landscape designers: Raphael Soriano, Pierre Koenig, Craig Ellwood, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mark Mills, Aaron Green...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Books
MaterialsPaper
- Gaetano Pesce Fish Design CatalogBy Gaetano PesceLocated in New York, NYEarly, and possibly the first, portfolio catalog of Gaetano Pesce’s experimental handcart molded resin objects—each a unique creation within a series. Published by Fish Design, circa...Category
1990s American Post-Modern Books
MaterialsPaper
- Ward Bennett Designs for Brickel Associates (2 Volumes)By Ward Bennett, Brickel AssociatesLocated in New York, NYTwo catalogs presenting Ward Bennett’s product designs for Brickel Associates, published circa 1977. Bennett (1917-2003) was an influential and acclaimed artist, sculptor, interior d...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Books
MaterialsPlastic, Paper
- Dunbar For Modern: Market Notes, January 8 to January 19, 1951By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYSmall format brochure published in January 1951 showcasing 39 Edward Wormley designs for Dunbar Furniture, presented at the Chicago Merchandise Mart. Highlights include the Sleepy Hollow chair...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Books
MaterialsPaper
- La Ceramica in ItaliaBy Guido GamboneLocated in New York, NYWell-edited and lavishly illustrated survey of mid-century Italian ceramics, written by Hugo Blattler and published in Rome in 1958 by Aristide Palombi as part of the Arti Pratiche series, intended to contribute to an examination in depth of the material, as well as to the documentation and to the spreading of knowledge of each separate subject. Features vessels, lighting, fireplaces, and artworks by renowned artists such as Lucio Fontana, Salvatore Meli, Fauson Melotti, Gio Ponti, Antonia Campi, Marcello Fantoni, Franco Meneguzzo, Pietro Melandri, and Guido Gambone, along with a host of lesser-known figures. Stellar abstract designs throughout. Square 8vo (8.5” x 9”), 206 pages, hardcover, illustrated throughout in b/w. Slight lean to spine. Mild soiling to extremities, with chipping to corners. Professional repair to front hinge, as well as between pp. 194-5 and 204-5. Light chipping to first two leaves. The complete front cover remains of the dust jacket, which is still crisp and vibrant, with only minor chipping to top edge. Missing spine and back of dust jacket. A must-have for collectors and connoisseurs of Italian design and mid century ceramics.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Books
MaterialsPaper
- New Life for the Noble Tree: Masterworks by George Nakashima 'Sotheby's'By Sotheby's, George NakashimaLocated in New York, NYCatalog of a sale held at Sotheby’s, New York, on December 15, 2006, showcasing the Arthur and Evelyn Krosnick collection of George Nakashima furniture and lighting, or actually the second collection, as the first—112 pieces-- was completely destroyed by fire in 1989. George Nakashima essentially stopped what he was doing and focused on rebuilding the collection replacing the lost items with what he deemed better examples, owing to his own technical and artistic maturation, though many were completed under the guidance of his daughter, Mira, after George passed away in 1990. Highlights include an important “Arlyn” table, lot 313, that fetched $822,000 (a record for the artist) on a pre-sale estimate of $300,000-$500,000; a superb “Minguren II” table that brought $180,000; a magnificent “Arlyn II” coffee table that sold for $204,000; and a set of eight Conoid chairs that sold for $96,000. The catalog of the Krosnick sale remains a touchstone for collectors interested in the work of George Nakashima. 103 pages with 85 lots, mostly with full color illustrations, printed wrappers. Price results...Category
Early 2000s American American Craftsman Books
MaterialsPaper
- Móvel Moderno Brasileiro, Brazilian Modern Design, BookLocated in Deerfield Beach, FLThe Brazilian modern design book extensively classifies the work of 15 of the most representative Brazilian furniture designers in the mod...Category
2010s Brazilian Books
MaterialsPaper
- Móvel Moderno Brasileiro, Brazilian Modern Design, Book - OlharesLocated in Houston, TXThe book extensively categorizes the work of 15 of the most representative Brazilian furniture designers in the modern period, between the 1940s and 70s, including: Lina Bo Bardi, Jo...Category
2010s Brazilian Books
MaterialsOther
- Antique Map of Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela by Lapie, 1842Located in Langweer, NLAntique map titled 'Carte de Colombie contenant les Républiques (..)'. Map of northern Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. This map originates from 'Atlas universel de géographi...Category
Antique 19th Century Maps
MaterialsPaper
- Embracing Natural Design Inspired LivingBy Rizzoli International PublicationsLocated in New York, NYAuthor Stephanie Kienle Gonzalez, Foreword by India Hicks Stephanie Kienle Gonzalez has made her name as a designer of furnishings and interiors in warm climates. Her first book showcases far-flung stylish homes, replete with indoor and outdoor spaces that blend artisanal craftmanship with a fresh naturalistic design approach. Through beautifully photographed residences, which have an exquisite layering of classic and modern furnishings, Stephanie Kienle Gonzalez discusses how to bring sustainable elements into your living space. She employs organic forms, stone and wood pieces, and natural weaves with texture, such as seagrass, caning, bamboo, and rattan. For her urban dwelling she adds tropical greenery and flowers to enliven the interiors, and her eco-friendly family lodge, immersed in the bush wilderness, is surrounded by lush plantings. International designers and artists who have inspired her are also profiled—from sustainable architect Elora Hardy to designers India Hicks, Nate Berkus, and Kenneth Cobonpue. Full of design and entertaining ideas, Embracing Natural Design is for those who are interested in achieving an environmentally conscious lifestyle. About The Author Stephanie Kienle Gonzalez is at the helm of Philux, her family’s Philippines-based lifestyle brand that cham-pions Filipino design. One of Philux’s current projects is the design of Louis Vuitton’s Manila...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Books
MaterialsPaper
- La Bauhaus y el México Moderno, EL Diseño de Van beuren Book by Ana Elena MalletBy BauhausLocated in San Diego, CA2014 Ana Elena Mallet BAUHAUS & MODERN MEXICO Design by Michael Van Beuren Book. (Spanish). First edition.Category
2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Antiquities
MaterialsPaper
- Tamsin Johnson Spaces for LivingBy Rizzoli International PublicationsLocated in New York, NYAuthor Tamsin Johnson and Fiona Daniels, Contributions by Edward Clark and Alex Eagle and Lucy Folk The first book from acclaimed Australian interior de...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Books
MaterialsPaper