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
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Oval Vase, Grey Textured Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic vase featuring a softly rounded oval form and a te...
Ceramic
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
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
Éva Bod Geometric Ceramic Vase, Yellow-Black Textured Glaze, 1970s
Located in Alap, HU
Hungarian Studio Ceramic Vase by Éva Bod A cylinder-shaped ceramic vase by Hungarian ceramic artist Éva Bod, finished with a distinctive yellow and black textured glaze on the exter...
Ceramic
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
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
$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
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
$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
Mid-Century Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Brutalist Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Narrow-Mouth Ceramic Vase, Dark Grey-Black Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, Hungary, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic vase distinguished by its narrow opening ...
Ceramic
Éva Bod Ceramic Bowl, Black and Yellow Textured Glaze, 1970s
Located in Alap, HU
Hungarian Studio Ceramic Bowl by Éva Bod A ceramic bowl by Hungarian ceramic artist Éva Bod, finished with a textured black and yellow glaze on the exterior and a smooth yellow glaz...
Ceramic
Éva Bod Ceramic Vase, Yellow-Black Textured Glaze, 1970s
Located in Alap, HU
Hungarian Studio Ceramic Vase by Éva Bod A classic-shaped ceramic vase by Hungarian ceramic artist Éva Bod, finished with a distinctive yellow and black textured glaze on the exteri...
Ceramic
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
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
Vintage Hungarian Mid-Century Ceramic Vase, Textured Form
Located in Alap, HU
Ceramic Cylinder Vase with Dark Grey-Black Volcanic Glaze and Yellow Abstract Motif, Hungary, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic cylinder vase featuring a heavily texture...
Ceramic
Hungarian Socialist-Era Ceramic Vase, Textured Sculptural Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Ceramic Cylinder Vase with Dark Volcanic Glaze and Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic cylinder vase featuring a heavily textured dark grey-...
Ceramic
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
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 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
Éva Bod Ceramic Vase, Yellow-Black Textured Glaze, 1970s
Located in Alap, HU
Hungarian Studio Ceramic Vase by Éva Bod A classic-shaped ceramic vase by Hungarian ceramic artist Éva Bod, finished with a distinctive yellow and black textured glaze on the exteri...
Ceramic
Éva Bod Geometric Ceramic Vase, Yellow-Black Textured Glaze, 1970s
Located in Alap, HU
Hungarian Studio Ceramic Vase by Éva Bod A geometric-shaped ceramic vase by Hungarian ceramic artist Éva Bod, finished with a distinctive yellow and black textured glaze on the exte...
Ceramic
Éva Bod Ceramic Vase, Yellow-Black Textured Glaze, 1970s
Located in Alap, HU
Hungarian Studio Ceramic Vase by Éva Bod A tapered ceramic vase by Hungarian ceramic artist Éva Bod, finished with a distinctive yellow and black textured glaze on the exterior and ...
Ceramic
Éva Bod Ceramic Bowl, Yellow-Black Textured Glaze, 1970s
Located in Alap, HU
Hungarian Studio Ceramic Bowl by Éva Bod A ceramic bowl by Hungarian ceramic artist Éva Bod, finished with a distinctive yellow and black textured glaze on the exterior and a smooth...
Ceramic
Éva Bod Ceramic Shell Bowl, Black and Yellow Textured Glaze, 1970s
Located in Alap, HU
Hungarian Studio Ceramic Bowl by Éva Bod A sculptural shell-shaped ceramic bowl by Hungarian ceramic artist Éva Bod, finished with a textured yellow and black glaze on the exterior ...
Ceramic
Éva Bod Ceramic Bowl, Black and Yellow Textured Glaze, 1970s
Located in Alap, HU
Hungarian Studio Ceramic Bowl by Éva Bod A ceramic bowl by Hungarian ceramic artist Éva Bod, finished with a striking black and yellow textured glaze. The sculptural form and richly...
Ceramic
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Cylinder Vase, Dark Textured Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A narrow-mouth vintage Hungarian ceramic cylinder vase featuring a heavily...
Ceramic
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Sculptural Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic “Grenade” Vase, Textured Dark Glaze with Yellow Geometric Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic vase featuring a sculptural, rounded “grenad...
Ceramic
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Cylinder Vase, Black Textured Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic cylinder vase featuring a textured black glaz...
Ceramic
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Cylinder Vase, Black Textured Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic cylinder vase featuring a textured black glaz...
Ceramic
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Black Textured Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic vase featuring a textured black glaze accented with a ...
Ceramic
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Cylinder Vase, Grey Textured Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic cylinder vase featuring a textured grey glaze ...
Ceramic
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Trapezoid Vase, Grey Textured Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage Hungarian ceramic vase featuring a sculptural trapezoidal form ...
Ceramic
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Trapezoid Vase, Textured Grey Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A vintage ceramic trapezoid-form vase produced in Hungary during the soci...
Ceramic
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Vase, Textured Mid-Century Form
Located in Alap, HU
Vintage Hungarian Ceramic Cylinder Vase, Textured Grey Glaze with Yellow Abstract Motif, circa 1960s-1970s A tall vintage ceramic cylinder vase produced in Hungary during the social...
Ceramic
$1,100
1970s Vase by Don Johns
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Unique handmade vase, signed on underside by Dan Johns. American, 1970s.
Ceramic
$1,016
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
$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