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.
Monumental Bernhard Rohne Acid-Etched Brass Masterwork for Baker, 1971
By Bernhard Rohne
Located in Dallas, TX
An extraordinary monumental work by German-Canadian artist Bernhard Rohne, created in 1971 and representing one of the most ambitious known examples of his distinctive acid-etched me...
Brass
$6,114
H 36.03 in W 23.82 in D 1.54 in
Original Magnolias in blue-Feat. Scottish Tartan-British Awarded Artist-LargeOil
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
Shizico Yi takes on an innovative project "The Weaver," inspired by the heritage of the beloved family Tartan and its rich lineage of the Clan. "The Weaver" invites viewers into a w...
Gold Leaf
$15,750
H 40 in W 60 in D 0.5 in
"After the Rains" by Holt - Large Blue, Green, Earth Tone Contemporary Abstract
By Katheryn Holt
Located in Carmel, CA
Katheryn Holt (American, born 1951) "After the Rains" 2022 Oil Paint, Mixed Media, Wood Panel, Wood, Wire The artist signed the back of the painting. Original: 40" x 60" x 1/2" Fram...
Wire
$5,200
H 31.5 in W 14.5 in D 1.5 in
Sacred Abstraction On Carved 3D Wood Panel
By Krzysztof Sokolovski
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Sacred Abstraction, Royal blue, red and gold leaf on carved wood pane, signed on the back. Krzysztof (Chris) Sokolovski born in 1985 in Eisiskes in Lithuania. Visual artist creating neosacral art: paintings, luminous objects, installations, and monumental painting. He is a creator of the concept of neosacral art. Since 2003 he lives and creates in Poland. He graduated from Gdansk University of Technology (Faculty of Power Engineering) and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Faculty of Painting). Also, the artist took a course in clinical anatomy at the Medical University of Gdansk. Sokolovski has created neosacral chapels in Klebark Wielki (Poland) and in Salesian Sisters Convent in Jerusalem. Concept: Sokolowski wants to create modern sacral art founded on visual tradition and theologies of many cultures. “I think that abstract codification of faith is the prospective and only way to save serious attitude to contemporary human’s spirituality. It is fundamental for responsible usage of developing knowledge about the empirical world and for forming sensibility, which should be adequate to it. In my opinion, the progress of civilization cannot be holistic if it is mostly based on scientific and technological development – metaphysical sensitivity is necessary too. Empirical knowledge is confinement if we use it only for improving conveniences and gaining more knowledge. It is not enough for the evolution of mind, which should advance along with changes in our environment.” Individual Exhibition 2018 – “Neosacral Art”, Saris Museum, Bardejov, Slovakia 2018 – “Neosacral Art”, the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland 2018 – “Neosacral Art”, Gallery “Camaldolese Cellar”, Church in Bielany Forest, Warsaw, Poland 2018 – “Neosacral Art”, Museum of Mińsk Mazowiecki, Mińsk Mazowiecki, Poland 2017 – “Neosacral Art”, Zielona 13 Gallery, Łódź, Poland 2017 – “Neosacral Art”, the University of Warsaw Gallery, Warsaw, Poland 2017 – “Neosacral Art”, Bohema Gallery, Warsaw, Poland 2016 – “Neosacral Art”, Philosophy of Religion Department, University of Warsaw, Poland 2016 – “Neosacral Art”, Gallery of Association “Polish Community”, Warsaw, Poland 2016 – “Neosacral Art”, Exhibition-Conferential Centre, Białystok, Poland Selected group exhibition 2017 – “Deification of Body”, Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv, Ukraine 2017 – “Sokolovski / Wąsowski / Jędrzejko / Mazuś”, Bohema Gallery, Warsaw, Poland 2016 – “1st Pomeranian Biennial of Young Art”, Sopot, Poland 2016 – “Shape of Spirit”, Gallery of Mathematics and Computer Science Department, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland 2016 – “Diverted Reality”, Evelyn E. Jorgenson Gallery, Moberly, Missouri, USA 2016 – “Exhibition of Sacred Art”, Gallery of Saint Sophia...
Gold Leaf
$3,139
H 12.21 in W 12.21 in D 1.19 in
Cosmos II - Printed on Museum Glass, hand gilded with Moon and Pink Gold leaf
By Valda Bailey
Located in London, GB
Cosmos II, #abstract Moon and Pink Gold on Glass, 2019 Archival Pigment Print on Museum Glass, Hand Gilded by the Artist with Moon Gold and Pink Gold 31 x 31 cm/12.2 x 12.2 in, Frame...
Gold, Gold Leaf
$1,200
H 10.63 in Dm 10.63 in
Pearlescent Wave - Pink Mixed Media Wall Sculpture, Abstract, 2010+
By KX2: Ruth Avra and Dana Kleinman
Located in PARIS, FR
Pearlescent wave series, in aluminum with mixed media and pearlescent enamel on wood. Wall sculpture is sold with it's certificate of authenticity. Can be purchased individually or a...
Metal
$1,200
H 10.63 in Dm 10.63 in
Pearlescent Wave - Teal Blue Mixed Media Abstract Wall Sculpture
By KX2: Ruth Avra and Dana Kleinman
Located in PARIS, FR
Pearlescent wave series, in aluminum with mixed media and pearlescent enamel on wood. Wall sculpture is sold with it's certificate of authenticity. Can be purchased individually or a...
Metal
$1,200
H 10.63 in Dm 10.63 in
Wave Pearl Salmon Mixed Media Wall Sculpture, Abstract, Framed, 2010+
By KX2: Ruth Avra and Dana Kleinman
Located in PARIS, FR
Pearlescent wave series, in aluminum with mixed media and pearlescent enamel on wood. Wall sculpture is sold with it's certificate of authenticity. Can be purchased individually or a...
Metal
$1,200
H 10.63 in Dm 10.63 in
Wave Pearl Lime Mixed Media Wall Sculpture, Abstract, 27x27 cm, 2010+
By KX2: Ruth Avra and Dana Kleinman
Located in PARIS, FR
Pearlescent wave series, in aluminum with mixed media and pearlescent enamel on wood. Wall sculpture is sold with it's certificate of authenticity. Can be purchased individually or a...
Metal
$21,000
H 46 in W 37.75 in D 2 in
Silvan Abstract Painting, Enamel and Polymer on Wood Panel, 2010+
By Donald Martiny
Located in Westport, CT
This framed gestural work is by Donald Martiny. This signature piece is composed of enamel and polymer paint, cardboard, aluminum and wood on wood panel. He creates immediately froze...
Enamel
Pushing Wake
By Ben Watkins
Located in Lincoln, RI
This piece is made by casting Hydrocal FGR95 (a very hard plaster) on top of an oil clay pattern. Once cured, the oil clay is removed, then paint and brass leaf are applied to the su...
Brass
$6,000
H 24 in Dm 24 in
Onde Cyan Wall Sculpture, Abstract Mixed Media on Wood, 24" Framed
By KX2: Ruth Avra and Dana Kleinman
Located in PARIS, FR
Pearlescent wave series, in aluminum with mixed media and pearlescent enamel on wood. Wall sculpture is sold with it's certificate of authenticity.
Metal
$5,500
H 36 in W 30 in
Sennedem, Abstract Italian Modernist Oil Painting in Brass Frame
By Ezio Gribaudo
Located in Surfside, FL
36X30 framed, 31X26.5 unframed. Ezio Gribaudo was born in Turin on January 10, 1929. He trained at the Accademia di Brera, Milan (1949–52), and attended the Faculty of Architecture ...
Brass
Sold
H 24 in W 24 in D 2 in
Acid Etched Oxidized Brass Wall Art by Bernard Rohne for Metallic Design Studio
By Bernhard Rohne
Located in Hudson, NY
Etched brass artwork plaque by Bernhard Rohne for Metallic Design Studio, circa 1960s. Rohne has become famous for his work with Mastercraft, but also pr...
Brass, Copper
Acid Etched Bronze Abstract
By Bernhard Rohne
Located in Soquel, CA
Amazing and intricate acid etched bronze artwork. Can be hung Horizontal or vertical. Also this piece could also be re-fabricated as a table, as other wo...
Bronze