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
CHARACTERISTICS OF BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGN
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.
Set of 3 Blanc de Chine Awa Odori Figurines
Located in Hanover, MA
Set of three white porcelain Awa Odori festival dancers wearing kimono and amigasa bamboo hat. Often mistaken for geishas. Dancing figures created by Keiten Takahashi (Japanese, 192...
Porcelain
$240Sale Price|63% Off
Monumental Brutalist Ashtray by Marcello Fantoni for Raymor, 1950s
Located in View Park, CA
A green glow: monumental vintage Italian brutalist hand-worked metal ashtray by Marcello Fantoni for Raymor, made in Italy circa 1950. Patinated copper in tones of chartreuse, teal, and pewter. Born in Florence in 1915, Marcello Fantoni wed ancient Italian pottery technique with decidedly Modernist elements, garnering tremendous acclaim both at home and abroad - his work has been collected by important museums worldwide. When Fantoni died in Florence in 2011 at the age of 95, his obituary in the Italian newspaper La Nazione hailed him “the master of beauty.” This stunning piece certainly justifies the moniker. With the signature etched on verso, it is without doubt an heirloom rarity for the savvy collector...
Copper
English ceramicist Paul Philp Vase, 2014
By Paul Philp
Located in Uccle, BE
Paul Philp ( born. 1941 ) Previously lecturer at Londons Central School of Art and at Corsham, Philp is based in the South West of England and now devotes himself to the creation of...
Stoneware
$2,620Sale Price|20% Off
1970 Brutalist Studio Pottery Floor Vase by Inge
Located in New Windsor, NY
Handmade slab built monumental Brutalist pottery vase. Meticulously decorated and glazed with organic and geometric patterns and shapes. Applied neck. Signed and dated, Inge, 70 a th...
Stoneware
$1,480Sale Price|20% Off
Monumental Brutalist Floor Vase, Signed Inge
Located in New Windsor, NY
Monumental 1960s Brutalist slab built floor vase. This is another amazing piece of architectural pottery offered here signed by Inge. Incised decor. Good condition with no visible ha...
Clay, Stoneware
Large Slab Built Volcanic Glaze Architectural Pottery Vase, 1959
Located in New Windsor, NY
Large slab built architectural pottery vase. Purchased from a White Plains, NY estate that had multiple pieces by this particular artist. Little biographica...
Ceramic, Earthenware, Pottery
Two Brutalist Dümler & Breiden German Ceramic Pottery Vase, 1960s
Located in Boven Leeuwen, NL
Two beautiful Brutalist ceramic vases made by Dümler & Breiden in Germany in the 1960s. Stamped underneath with the Dümler & Breiden mark, production series and “GERMANY”. ?Dümle...
Ceramic, Stoneware
Fat Lava Style German Colored Ceramic Glazed Vase
Located in Prato, Tuscany
We kindly suggest you read the whole description, because with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to guarantee the authenticity of our objects. Particular and original German ceramic vase colored with a beautiful shade of red and a dark and vivid black; it has a simple shape but at the same time innovative and modernist; the beautiful and bright colors are balanced and proportioned respecting a minimalist design; the glazing of the vase was obtained by first laying down one color, proceeding to fix it by firing it in the kiln, then the same procedure was carried out for the other color; on the bottom is the mark "W. Germany"; it was produced between 1968 and 1971 in a craft workshop in the city of Dresden (then in East Germany), an important center for the production of porcelain and ceramics. "Fat lava" is the name given to a certain style of East German art...
Ceramic
Arnold Wiigs Fabriker 'AWF' Finnish Brutalist Textured Stoneware Pedestal Bowl
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A very stylish large mid-century Finnish Brutalist art pottery bowl with a key pattern design and with a textured brown finish by Arnold Wiigs Fabriker (1943-1977). The bowl stands o...
Stoneware
Fat Lava Brutalist Style Hungarian Colored Ceramic Glazed Vase
Located in Prato, Tuscany
We kindly suggest you read the whole description, because with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to guarantee the authenticity of our objects. Pecul...
Ceramic
$2,200 / item
Sculptural Vessels in Gray by Sonja Duo-Meyer
By Sonja Duó-Meyer
Located in New York, NY
Sculptural vessels in an ovoid form with walled aperture. Hand-built of gray chamotte Limoges porcelain by Swiss ceramic artist Sonja Duo-Meyer (b. 1953) and executed circa 1995. The...
Porcelain
Glazed Brutalist Stoneware Jug by Keramo Kostelec, 1950s
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A dark brown glazed stone jug with agressive brutalist pattern finished with white glaze. It was made during the 1950s at Keramo Kostelec in the Czech Republ...
Stoneware
Large Sculptural Vase #4 by Dena Zemsky
By Dena Zemsky
Located in New York, NY
Large sculptural vase #4 by Dena Zemsky. Hand-built, glazed stoneware vase form. Signed and dated on underside.
Ceramic, Stoneware
Stoneware Sculptural Object by Ole Bjørn Krüger Own Studio, Denmark, 1970s
Located in Odense, DK
Unique abstract sculptural object by Danish artist Ole Bjørn Krüger (1922-2007) made at his own studio in the 1970s. The object is made of chamotte stonew...
Stoneware
$1,032
Sculpture in earthenware
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Abstract sculpture in polychrome enameled earthenware, La Borne, signature to be identified, France circa 1970’s
Enamel
Large Sculptural Vase #5 by Dena Zemsky
By Dena Zemsky
Located in New York, NY
Large sculptural vase #5 by Dena Zemsky. Hand-built, glazed stoneware vase form. Signed and dated on underside.
Ceramic, Stoneware
Heavy Earthenware Vide Poche with Enmeled Fused Glass Decor, France 1960's
Located in New York, NY
Heavy earthenware vessel with a fused red glass decor.
Earthenware, Art Glass
$1,100
1970s Vase by Don Johns
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Unique handmade vase, signed on underside by Dan Johns. American, 1970s.
Ceramic
$640Sale Price / set|20% Off
Brutalist Mug & Pitcher Set by C.A.S. Vietri
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Revel in the rustic charm of the 1950s with this stunning vintage ceramic set by C.A.S. Vietri, an iconic name in Italian pottery. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, this s...
Ceramic
Fat Lava Brutalist Style Hungarian Colored Ceramic Glazed Vase
Located in Prato, Tuscany
We kindly suggest you read the whole description, because with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to guarantee the authenticity of our objects. Pecul...
Ceramic
French Green Glazed Terracotta Pottery Vase or Cache Pot
Located in Winter Park, FL
A terracotta earthenware pot from the Southwest of France with mottled green glaze. Minor chips and some rough unglazed patches. These ordinary earthenware vessels were once used dai...
Terracotta
Large Italian White Blanc De Chine Creamware Fruit Topiary Centerpiece
Located in Pearland, TX
A stunning large 16.5" Mid-Century Italian Blanc de Chine creamware glazed ceramic handmade fruit topiary in a pedestal basket. Marked "Made in Italy" on reverse. This gorgeous topia...
Ceramic
Bruno Gambone Ceramic/Pottery Bottle/ Vase Signed
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Great sweet vase/bottle by the well known artist Bruno Gambone . signed and Italy in bottom.
Pottery, Ceramic
Schäffenacker Floor Vase Green White, 1960s
By Helmut Friedrich Schäffenacker
Located in Munich, DE
Monumental green and white glazed ceramic stoneware floor vase from the Artist Helmut Friedrich Schäffenacker, Germany, 1960s. Stunning piece with artist mark. Measures: H 57 x 23 D...
Stoneware
Vintage Slab-built Studio Pottery Abstract Glazed Vase, Terracotta
Located in Miami, FL
Vintage Slab-built Studio Pottery Abstract Glazed Vase, Terracotta Offered for sale is an original slab-built terracotta abstract studio vase. The vase is quite interesting with di...
Clay, Terracotta
Stylish Pair Graduated Brown Glazed Studio Pottery Moon Vases
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A very well made and stylish pair graduated studio pottery moon vases believed to date from the 20th century and probably originating from the UK. The stoneware vases are lightly potted standing on flat narrow oval shaped bases and both are hand crafted in narrow round moon shape with short narrow funnel necks and slighted everted thicker opening. The vases are decorated in splashed tenmoku brown glazes on a red brown glazed ground with a linear pattern running diagonally across the bodies. Both vases have impressed marks which we have been unable to identify, one with a series of collectors paper labels suggesting possible makers. However we have been unable to verify any of these. The dimensions provided are for the larger vase and the smaller example measures: height 16 cm, width 12.5 cm and depth 4.5 cm. Absolutely stunning display pieces...
Stoneware
Peter Voulkos Signed Mid-Century Modern Stoneware Pottery Vase, circa 1950s
Located in Studio City, CA
A fantastic early work (circa early 1950s) by Master Greek-American potter Peter Voulkos. Signed on base with incised signature by Voulkos. Voulkos is widely considered to be the most important and impactful ceramists of the modern era. He won the Rodin Museum prize at the first Paris Biennale in 1959 and was the winner of a Guggenheim fellowship in 1984. Voulkos received the College Art Association’s Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1997. He was made an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 2001. He also received six honorary. Doctorate degrees as well as three National Endowment for the Arts awards. His work can be found in many prominent collections and museums including: Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Nagoya, Japan Albany Mall, Albany, New York American Museum of Ceramic Art...
Stoneware
Ceramic Vase by Weller Pottery
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
A charming ceramic pot by Weller, signed on the bottom, with handles. Beautiful decoration and yellow glaze.
Ceramic
$2,186
H 9.22 in Dm 5.12 in
Mid-Century Modern Tall Hand Thrown & Glazed Studio Pottery Vase circa 1970s
By Görge Hohlt
Located in Landau an der Isar, Bayern
This stunning European, vintage, Mid-Century Modern hand thrown clay vase was made by an, as yet, unknown studio potter, circa 1970s in, probably, Germany. Beautiful rounded form wit...
Clay
Raul Coronel Signed Mid-Century Modern California Studio Pottery Bowl, 1960s
By Raul Coronel
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderfully made and colored ashtray/ bowl by Mexican born ceramic master Raul Coronel who played an important role in the American (he became a naturalized citizen) / California d...
Stoneware
Yellow Pottery Vase by Rosenthal Netter
Located in New York, NY
Yellow pottery vase with floral design by Rosenthal Netter. Signed. Italy, circa 1960.
Ceramic
Sold
H 16.74 in W 20.48 in D 50.01 in
Massive brutalist ceramic vase by Marius Giuge, Vallauris France 1950s
By Marius Giuge
Located in STRASBOURG, FR
Impressive vase by Marius Bessone in Vallauris circa 1950, featuring thick glazing, resulting in numerous shrink marks and drips. In very good condition, signed underneath.
Ceramic
Sold
H 11.82 in W 9.06 in D 5.91 in
1960 Large Ceramic Bird Figurine by Gunnar Nylund for Rörstrand, Sweden
Located in Silvolde, Gelderland
This vibrant ceramic sculpture depicts a stylized blue parrot with exaggerated tail feathers and finely detailed plumage. Designed by renowned Swedish designer Gunnar Nylund for Rörs...
Ceramic
Sold
H 7.88 in W 3.55 in D 3.55 in
Brutalist ceramic vase in deep green and brown colour with copper dripping
Located in Oostende, BE
Ceramic vase in deep green and brown colour with colour dripping. Signed at the bottom.
Copper
Decorative Danish Mid-Century Ceramic Wall Art, Signed CF, 1970
Located in Odense, DK
A fine unique sculptural stoneware wall unit in various brown and beige colors, mounted on a wooden plate. Signed CF 1970. Nice texture and dimensions in this vintage piece. This brutalist object fits in many interior styles. Modern interior, Art Deco interior and Classic home...
Ceramic, Stoneware
Swedish Curt M. Addin Semi Glazed Stoneware Vase, 1970's
Located in Uccle, BE
Stoneware vase designed and produced by Curt Addin in his own studio, Glumslöv, Sweden, c. 1970s. Item signed by maker. Great to group. I have a dozen listed so you can instantly sta...
Stoneware
Swedish Curt M Addin Semi Glazed Stoneware Vase, 1970's
Located in Uccle, BE
Stoneware bowl designed and produced by Curt Addin in his own studio, Glumslöv, Sweden, c. 1970s. Piece signed by maker. Great to group. I have a dozen listed so you can instantly st...
Stoneware
Swedish Cart M. Addin Semi Glazed Stoneware Vase, 1970's
Located in Uccle, BE
Stoneware vase designed and produced by Curt M Addin in his own studio in Glumslöv, Sweden, c. 1970s. Piece signed by maker. Great to group. I have a dozen listed so you can instant...
Stoneware
Swedish Curt M Addin Semi Glazed Stoneware Vase, 1970's
Located in Uccle, BE
Stoneware vase designed and produced by Curt Addin in his own studio, Glumslöv, Sweden, c. 1970s. Piece signed by maker. Great to group. I have a dozen listed so you can instantly s...
Stoneware
Curt M Addin, Semi-Glazed Stoneware Vase, Sweden, 1970s
Located in Uccle, BE
Stoneware vase designed and produced by Curt Addin in his own studio, Glumslöv, Sweden, c. 1970s. Piece signed by maker. Great to group.
Stoneware
Curt M Addin, Brutalist Semi-Glazed Stoneware Vase, Sweden, 1970s
Located in Uccle, BE
Stoneware vase designed and produced by Curt Addin in his own studio, Glumslöv, Sweden, c. 1970s. Piece signed by maker.
Stoneware
Curt M Addin, Semi-Glazed Stoneware Vase, Sweden, 1970s
Located in Uccle, BE
Stoneware vase designed and produced by Curt M Addin in his own studio, Glumslöv, Sweden, c. 1970s. Piece signed by maker. Great to group. I have a dozen ...
Stoneware
Brutalist Unique Vintage Holey Ceramic Studio Art Vase, 1997
Located in View Park, CA
A tall brutalist ceramic vase, 1990s. Style of Sally Bowen Prange. Trypophobes beware: upper half of vase is holes galore. Muted teal and denim ...
Ceramic