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.
21st Century and Contemporary American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Travertine
1960s Norwegian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Pewter
1970s Scandinavian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Ceramic
2010s American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Bronze, Steel
2010s Italian Brutalist Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1960s Dutch Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Iron
1970s German Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Croatian Brutalist Decorative Objects
Oak
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Aluminum
1960s Kenyan Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Italian Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal, Cut Steel
1970s Danish Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Stoneware
1960s American Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Wrought Iron
1970s Italian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Travertine
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Bronze, Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Sommerso
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Concrete, Cement
1970s Belgian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Resin, Wood
2010s American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Steel, Copper, Bronze
1970s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Steel
1960s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal
2010s Spanish Brutalist Decorative Objects
Aluminum, Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Brutalist Decorative Objects
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century German Brutalist Decorative Objects
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Travertine
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass
1960s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Earthenware
2010s American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Rock Crystal, Crystal, Silver
Early 2000s Spanish Brutalist Decorative Objects
Aluminum, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Bronze
2010s Spanish Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass
1970s Belgian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Clay
Late 20th Century French Brutalist Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver
2010s Spanish Brutalist Decorative Objects
Aluminum, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Brutalist Decorative Objects
Steel
1950s Belgian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Ceramic
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Crystal, Brass
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass, Copper
1970s German Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Bronze, Iron
2010s American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Bronze, Enamel, Steel
1770s Mexican Antique Brutalist Decorative Objects
Iron
Late 20th Century Israeli Brutalist Decorative Objects
Iron
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Quartz, Metal
1960s American Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass, Bronze, Copper, Pewter
Mid-20th Century Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass, Copper
2010s Mexican Brutalist Decorative Objects
Hardwood
1970s Scandinavian Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Stoneware
1980s Mexican Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s Mexican Brutalist Decorative Objects
Hardwood
Early 20th Century Spanish Brutalist Decorative Objects
Iron
1960s French Vintage Brutalist Decorative Objects
Stoneware
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Decorative Objects
Copper