Brutalist Furniture
The term brutalism — which derives from the French word brut, meaning “raw” — was coined 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 Marcel Breuer–designed Whitney Museum of American Art and Paul Rudolph's Yale Art and Architecture Building.
Lately, the word “brutalist” has been adopted by the realms of furniture design and the decorative arts to refer to 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. Brutalist design 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.
Paul Evans is Exhibit A for brutalist design. His Sculpture Front cabinets laced with high-relief patinated steel mounts have become collector's items nonpareil, while the chairs and tables in his later Cityscape series and Sculpted Bronze series are perhaps the most expressive, attention-grabbing pieces in modern American design. Other exemplars of brutalist design 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.
The names of other brutalist designers are, so far, unknown to history. The authentic brutalist furniture and sculptures on 1stDibs lend unique, eccentric, human notes to an art and design collection.
1950s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Rush, Oak
1980s American Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Bronze
2010s Mexican Brutalist Furniture
Oak
2010s Mexican Brutalist Furniture
Hardwood, Oak
1960s American Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Brass, Copper, Pewter
2010s Mexican Brutalist Furniture
Hardwood, Oak, Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Brutalist Furniture
Travertine, Metal, Brass
2010s Italian Brutalist Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Russian Brutalist Furniture
Oak
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Iron
Mid-20th Century French Brutalist Furniture
Oak
2010s European Brutalist Furniture
Resin
Mid-20th Century Mexican Brutalist Furniture
Brass
1960s Belgian Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Pine
1970s French Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Brutalist Furniture
Metal
2010s Danish Brutalist Furniture
Resin
1960s French Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Brass, Steel
2010s Danish Brutalist Furniture
Resin
2010s Danish Brutalist Furniture
Stoneware
1780s German Antique Brutalist Furniture
Wood
20th Century Belgian Brutalist Furniture
Wood, Oak
1960s Mexican Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Iron
20th Century American Brutalist Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century British Brutalist Furniture
Cut Steel
1970s French Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Iron, Wrought Iron
1970s North American Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Resin, Wood
20th Century Brutalist Furniture
Metal
1970s Austrian Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Textile, Plastic, Fiberglass
1970s French Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Nickel
2010s Portuguese Brutalist Furniture
Silver Leaf
2010s American Brutalist Furniture
Concrete
2010s American Brutalist Furniture
Concrete
1960s German Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary European Brutalist Furniture
Brass
1950s French Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Oak
1970s British Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Furniture
Bronze
1970s German Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Plywood
1960s French Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Elm
1960s European Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Bronze
1980s German Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Brass
1960s Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Canadian Brutalist Furniture
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Brutalist Furniture
Metal
1960s Mexican Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Brass
2010s Italian Brutalist Furniture
Concrete
1970s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Aluminum, Bronze
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Brass, Steel
1970s Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Metal
20th Century Israeli Brutalist Furniture
Iron
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Furniture
Metal, Steel
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Iron
Mid-20th Century Israeli Brutalist Furniture
Iron
1960s American Vintage Brutalist Furniture
Aluminum
2010s European Brutalist Furniture
Sheepskin, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Russian Brutalist Furniture
Oak
Early 1900s French Antique Brutalist Furniture
Wood