Bernhard Rohne Seating
Widely acclaimed for the range of case pieces he designed for Michigan manufacturer Mastercraft during the 1970s, metal artist and furniture designer Bernhard Rohne has been creating distinctive acid-etched brutalist furnishings, home accessories, sculptures and other works for decades. The German-born Vancouver-based designer’s cabinets, coffee tables, credenzas and more are statement pieces in any interior and can introduce contrast and vigor into living rooms and dining rooms.
Born in Peine, Rohne attended the WKS Hanover art school. It was in his material science class that Rohne immersed a small painted copper plate into a container of acid. After some time, he couldn’t detect whether or not any kind of chemical reaction had taken place, so he left the plate in the acid and went to lunch.
When Rohne returned, yellow clouds had filled the room and the school had to be evacuated. However, when he was able to retrieve the copper plate, Rohne saw that there had indeed been a reaction between the metal and the chemical. The incident, while most definitely dangerous, sparked his interest and set him on a path of material exploration and design that collectors and art enthusiasts continue to celebrate to this day.
Rohne moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1967. During the 1970s, Grand Rapids-based furniture manufacturer Mastercraft — known to collectors of mid-century modern and Hollywood Regency design — partnered with Rohne and produced a large group of case pieces featuring applied brass plaques and panels, acid-etched with forms and patterns that are marked by the influence of Abstract Expressionism and Geometric Abstraction.
For his best known pieces, Rohne worked with brass, aluminum, copper and zinc metal sheets, which he oxidized and etched in order to create fascinating surface panels for his walnut console cabinets and sideboards that, with their patinated bronze and black lacquer doors, are sculptural attention-grabbing works in today’s interiors.
Rohne’s work, like many pieces of brutalist furniture and sculptures designed by him or like-minded metalworker Paul Evans, remains popular with interior designers and can lend unique, eccentric, human notes to an art and design collection in any home.
Find vintage Bernhard Rohne tables, storage pieces and wall decor on 1stDibs.
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
2010s Italian Greek Revival Bernhard Rohne Seating
Leather, Wood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Lucite
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Bernhard Rohne Seating
Upholstery, Hardwood
20th Century American Space Age Bernhard Rohne Seating
Chrome
1970s American Modern Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
1970s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
1810s English Regency Antique Bernhard Rohne Seating
Wood
2010s American Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Bernhard Rohne Seating
Wood, Upholstery
1970s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
Late 20th Century American Bernhard Rohne Seating
Cane, Wood
19th Century Danish Antique Bernhard Rohne Seating
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
1960s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
1970s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
1970s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Burl
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Brass
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bernhard Rohne Seating
Metal
