Brutalist Decorative Objects
The design of brutalist furniture 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. Lately, the word “brutalist” has been adopted by the realms of furniture design and the decorative arts to refer to chairs, 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.
ORIGINS OF BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGN
- Brutalism emerged during the mid-20th century
- Term coined by architecture critic Reyner Banham
- Originated in the United Kingdom
- Brutalist architecture gained popularity in the United States beginning in the early 1960s
- Inaugural brutalist projects include Unité d'habitation and the city of Chandigarh, India, both of which owe to influential architect Charles-Édouard “Le Corbusier” Jeanneret
- Le Corbusier’s cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, designed hundreds of chairs, tables, cabinets and lamps for Chandigarh
- Informed by the Bauhaus, constructivism, modernism and the International Style; part of mid-century modernism
- Contrasted starkly with Beaux Arts style
CHARACTERISTICS OF BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGN
- Use of industrial materials — tubular steel, concrete, glass, granite
- Prioritizes functionalism, minimalism and utilization of negative space
- Spare silhouettes, pronounced geometric shapes
- Stripped-down, natural look; rugged textures, modular construction
- Interiors featuring airy visual flow and reliance on neutral palettes
BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE BRUTALIST FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The term brutalism — which derives from the French word brut, meaning “raw” — was coined by architecture critic Reyner Banham 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 Whitney Museum of American Art, which was designed by Marcel Breuer, and Paul Rudolph's Yale Art and Architecture Building. The severe style might have been the most criticized architectural movement of the 20th century, even if it was an honest attempt to celebrate the beauty of raw material. But while the brutalist government buildings in Washington, D.C., seemingly bask in their un-beauty, brutalist interior design and decor is much more lyrical, at times taking on a whimsical, romantic quality that its exterior counterparts lack.
Paul Evans is Exhibit A for brutalist furniture design. His Sculpture Front cabinets laced with high-relief patinated steel mounts have become collector's items nonpareil, while the chairs, coffee table and dining table in his later Cityscape series and Sculpted Bronze series for Directional Furniture are perhaps the most expressive, attention-grabbing pieces in American modern design. Other exemplary brutalist designers 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.
Brutalist furniture and sculptures remain popular with interior designers and can lend unique, eccentric, human notes to an art and design collection in any home.
Find authentic vintage brutalist chairs, coffee tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
1970s German Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal, Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Art Glass
1960s Belgian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s Mexican Brutalist Decorative Objects
Hardwood
1970s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Quartz, Bronze
1980s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1970s German Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Plywood
20th Century French Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wood
Late 20th Century Spanish Brutalist Decorative Objects
Aluminum, Brass
1950s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wood, Fruitwood
2010s Belgian Brutalist Decorative Objects
Zinc
21st Century and Contemporary Croatian Brutalist Decorative Objects
Walnut
1970s Icelandic Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Lava
1970s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Iron
1950s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wood
1970s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal
1950s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wood, Fruitwood
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Brutalist Decorative Objects
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Israeli Brutalist Decorative Objects
Copper
2010s French Brutalist Decorative Objects
Carrara Marble
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Pottery, Clay, Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Travertine
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal, Steel
1970s German Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Steel
Early 20th Century French Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wrought Iron
1960s Mexican Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal, Bronze
1970s Dutch Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Enamel
1990s Swiss Brutalist Decorative Objects
Porcelain
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Steel
2010s French Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Brutalist Decorative Objects
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Iron
1970s Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wrought Iron
1950s Korean Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Pottery, Stoneware
2010s Mexican Brutalist Decorative Objects
Hardwood
20th Century French Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wood
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1960s Austrian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Travertine
1980s American Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Steel
1930s Scandinavian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Copper
1960s Italian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass
20th Century French Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wood
2010s French Brutalist Decorative Objects
Carrara Marble
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Iron
1980s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Granite
Mid-20th Century Spanish Brutalist Decorative Objects
Aluminum, Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Brutalist Decorative Objects
Travertine
1960s Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass
1970s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Brutalist Decorative Objects
Copper
Mid-20th Century French Brutalist Decorative Objects
Clay, Pottery
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay, Pottery
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal, Steel, Stainless Steel, Iron
1950s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wood
1970s German Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Iron
1950s Italian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal