Max BillSquare in opposite directions 1968
1968
About the Item
- Creator:Max Bill (1908 - 1994, Swiss)
- Creation Year:1968
- Dimensions:Height: 24.22 in (61.5 cm)Width: 17.33 in (44 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Very good condition.
- Gallery Location:Paris, FR
- Reference Number:
Max Bill
Max Bill was born in Winterthur, Switzerland. After an apprenticeship as a silversmith during 1924–27, he took up studies at the Bauhaus in Dessau under many teachers including Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Oskar Schlemmer from 1927 to 1929, after which he moved to Zurich.
After working on graphic designs for the few modern buildings being constructed, Bill built his first work, his own house and studio (1932–3) in Zurich-Höngg. From 1937 onward he was a prime mover behind the Allianz group of Swiss artists.
Bill is widely considered the single most decisive influence on Swiss graphic design beginning in the 1950s with his theoretical writing and progressive work. His connection to the days of modernism gave him special authority. As an industrial designer, his work is characterized by a clarity of design and precise proportions. Examples are the elegant clocks and watches designed for Junghans, a long-term client. Among Bill's most notable product designs is the Ulmer Hocker of 1954, a stool that can also be used as a shelf element, a speaker's desk, a tablet or a side table. Although the stool was a creation of both Bill's and Ulm School designer Hans Gugelot's, it is often called "Bill Hocker" because the first sketch of it on a cocktail napkin was Bill's work.
As a designer and artist, Bill sought to create forms which visually represent the New Physics of the early 20th century. He sought to create objects so that the new science of form could be understood by the senses: that is as a concrete art. Thus Bill is not a rationalist – as is typically thought – but rather a phenomenologist. He made spare geometric paintings, prints and spherical sculptures, some based on the Möbius strip, in stone, wood, metal and plaster. His architectural work included an office building in Germany, a radio studio in Zurich, and a bridge in eastern Switzerland.
Bill continued to produce architectural designs, such as those for a museum of contemporary art (1981) in Florence and for the Bauhaus Archive (1987) in Berlin. In 1982 he also entered a competition for an addition to the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, built to a design by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Pavillon-Skulptur, a large granite sculpture, was installed adjacent to the Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich in 1983. As is often the case with modern art in public places, the installation generated some controversy. Endlose Treppe, a sculpture made of North American granite, was designed for the philosopher Ernst Bloch.
In 1982 he was awarded the Sir Misha Black award and was added to the College of Medallists.
Bill executed many public sculptures in Europe and exhibited extensively in galleries and museums, including a retrospective at the Kunsthaus Zürich in 1968–69. He was the subject of retrospectives at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1974, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City in 1988.
Find vintage Max Bill stools, lighting, and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Paris, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- DaddyBy Niki de Saint PhalleLocated in Paris, FRSilksreen, 1973 Handsigned by the artist in pencil and numbered 84/150 84.00 cm. x 60.00 cm. | 33.07 in. x 23.62 in. (paper) 73.00 cm. x 54.00 cm. | 28.74 in. x 21.26 in. (image) Th...Category
1970s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsSilk
- Red virtual square on the rightBy Jesús Rafael SotoLocated in Paris, FRSilksreen, 1981 Handsigned by the artist in pencil and numbered 83/190 Catalog : [Prent 190] 60.00 cm. x 60.00 cm. 23.62 in. x 23.62 in. (paper) 46.00 cm. x 53.00 cm. 18.11 in. x 2...Category
1980s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsSilk
- Mar-KabBy Victor VasarelyLocated in Paris, FRSilksreen, 1973 Handsigned by the artist in pencil and annotated EA Edition : 220 Publisher : Pierre Belfond, Paris Printer : Atelier Arcay, Paris Catalog : Pedro Benavides 211 76.00...Category
1970s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsSilk
- AbadBy Victor VasarelyLocated in Paris, FRSilksreen, 1984 Handsigned by the artist in pencil and numbered 38/250 Publisher : Galerie Lahumière Catalog : Benavides 987 75.00 cm. x 74.00 cm. 29.53 in. x 29.13 in. (paper) 60.0...Category
1980s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsSilk
- Me-TaBy Victor VasarelyLocated in Paris, FRSilksreen, 1973 Handsigned by the artist in pencil and numbered 66/200 Catalog : Benavides 206 76.00 cm. x 62.00 cm. 29.92 in. x 24.41 in. (paper) 53.00 cm. x 49.00 cm. 20.87 in. x...Category
1970s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsSilk
- Writing bookBy Pierre AlechinskyLocated in Paris, FRSilksreen, 1980 Handsigned by the artist in pencil Edition : 99 50.00 cm. x 65.00 cm. 19.69 in. x 25.59 in. (paper) 17.00 cm. x 20.00 cm. 6.69 in. x 7.87 in. (image) Dedicated "La...Category
1980s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsSilk
- Bone (Namibian Identity through textiles), Silk Screen on Stretched CanvasBy Lynette DiergaardtLocated in Windhoek, NABone (Namibian Identity through textiles), 2018. Silk Screen on Stretched Canvas. Born in Namibia, Lynette Diergaardt received her Bachelors of Art from the University of Namibia an...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Geometric More Art
MaterialsSilk, Canvas
- Rural Resistance, Blue Series with Silkscreen Print by Harry BunceBy Harry BunceLocated in Deddington, GBRural Resistance Blue is a limited edition silkscreen print Harry Bunce. Each print contains traces of Bore shotgun bullets as Bunce has shot at each print, conveying messages about ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Animal Prints
MaterialsSilk
- Composition, 1986Located in London, GBJette Thyssen Composition, 1986 Silkscreen The artists proof signed and inscribed 70 x 56 cm Mint condition, newly framedCategory
1980s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsSilk, Screen
- Limited Edition of 240 Geometric Abstraction Louis Vuitton 100% Silk ScarfBy Sol LeWittLocated in New York, NYImportant Note: The measurements of this scarf when fully opened are 36 inches x 35 inches. (the measurements of 10 square inches are once folded, as it ships folded not flat) Sol LeWitt Limited Edition Geometric Abstraction Silk Scarf, ca. 1987 Limited Edition Silkscreen on 100% Italian silk scarf/shawl Signed on the fabric with artist's printed signature lower right and printed Louis Vuitton brand name...Category
1980s Abstract Geometric Mixed Media
MaterialsSilk, Screen
- Untitled Whitney Museum Scarf Color Field Geometric Abstraction Limited EditionBy Kenneth NolandLocated in New York, NYKenneth Noland Untitled Whitney Museum Limited Edition Silk Scarf, 1999 Artist designed scarf in colors on 100% Silk in original Whitney Museum packaging with artist's printed name a...Category
1990s Abstract Geometric Mixed Media
MaterialsScreen, Silk
- Limited Signed Deluxe Monograph with Slipcase (signed & numbered by Sam Francis)By Sam FrancisLocated in New York, NYSAM FRANCIS: Limited Signed Deluxe Edition (Hand signed and numbered by Sam Francis), 1982 Deluxe limited edition hardback monograph with cloth boards, held in special slipcase of ts...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsSilk, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Board