Sloane Sofa by Vladimir Kagan for Preview, 1990
By Vladimir Kagan, Preview
Located in Chicago, IL
Sloane sofa by Vladimir Kagan for Preview, 1990. Original upholstery
1990s American Post-Modern Sofas
Velvet
The pioneers of modern furniture design in America in the mid-20th century all had their moments of flamboyance: Charles and Ray Eames produced the startling, biomorphic La Chaise; George Nelson’s firm created the Marshmallow sofa; Edward Wormley had his decadent Listen to Me chaise. But no designer of the day steadily offered works with more verve and dynamism than Vladimir Kagan. While others, it seems, designed with suburban households in mind, Kagan aimed to suit the tastes of young, sophisticated city-dwellers. With signature designs that feature sleekly curved frames and others that have dramatic out-thrust legs, Kagan made furniture sexy.
Kagan’s father was a Russian master cabinetmaker who took his family first to Germany (where Vladimir was born) and then to New York in 1938. After studying architecture at Columbia University, Kagan opened a design firm at age 22 and immediately made a splash with his long, low and sinuous Serpentine sofa. Furniture lines such as the Tri-symmetric group of glass-topped, three-legged tables and the vivacious Contours chairs soon followed.
Kagan’s choices of form and materials evolved through subsequent decades, embracing lucite, aluminum and burl-wood veneers. By the late 1960s, Kagan was designing austere, asymmetrical cabinets and his Omnibus group of modular sofas and chairs. For all his aesthetic élan, Kagan said that throughout his career, his touchstone was comfort. “A lot of modern furniture was not comfortable. And so comfort is: form follows function. The function was to make it comfortable,” he once commented. “I created what I called vessels for the human body.”
A diverse group of bodies have made themselves at home with Kagan designs. Among the famous names who commissioned and collected his designs are Marilyn Monroe, Gary Cooper, Andy Warhol, David Lynch, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and firms such as Gucci and Giorgio Armani. His work is in numerous museum collections, including those of the Victoria & Albert and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Because of its idiosyncrasy, Kagan’s work did not lend itself to mass-production. Kagan never signed on with any of the major furniture-making corporations, and examples of his designs are relatively rare. As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, even decades after their conception, Kagan pieces still command the eye, with their freshness, energy, sensuality and wit.
Sloane Sofa by Vladimir Kagan for Preview, 1990
By Vladimir Kagan, Preview
Located in Chicago, IL
Sloane sofa by Vladimir Kagan for Preview, 1990. Original upholstery
Velvet
Vladimir Kagan for Preview Three-Seat Wave Sofa, 1985c.
By Vladimir Kagan, Preview
Located in Chicago, IL
Vladimir Kagan for Preview Three-Seat Wave Sofa, 1985c. Designer/Manufacturer • Manufactured by Preview Furniture Corp., High Point, NC (label affixed underside) Construction & Uphol...
Upholstery, Wood
3 Piece Modular Sofa by Vladimir Kagan for Preview, 1988
By Vladimir Kagan, Preview
Located in Chicago, IL
3 Piece Modular sectional sofa by Vladimir Kagan for Preview, 1988. Original white fabric is in good condition. There is a spot on one cushi...
Fabric
$13,500 / set
H 38 in W 92 in D 54 in
Awesome Pair of Vladimir Kagan for Weiman Preview Bilbao Sculptural Sofas
By Vladimir Kagan, Weiman Preview Furniture
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Designed in the early 1990s by American design icon Vladimir Kagan, this pair of sofas was made by Weiman Preview, now known for their production of many iconic designs from Kagan, F...
Upholstery, Hardwood
Bilbao Sofa by Vladimir Kagan
By Preview, Vladimir Kagan
Located in Danville, CA
Bilbao sofa by Vladimir Kagan. These sofas were some of Kagan's most Avant Garde creations and are quite dramatic. There is wear to the upholstery and it ...
Upholstery, Hardwood
Vladimir Kagan For Directional Serpentine Sofa
By Vladimir Kagan, Directional
Located in Houston, TX
Vladimir Kagan For Directional Serpentine Sofa. Offered is a stunning curvaceous sofa designed by Vladimir Kagan for Directional Furniture Company in the 1980's. We offer this gorgeo...
Fabric, Wood
Hurricane Sofa by Vladimir Kagan for Directional
By Vladimir Kagan, Directional
Located in Chicago, IL
Hurricane Sofa by Vladimir Kagan for Directional c. 1990s. USA. Reupholstered in white boucle fabric.
Bouclé
Vladimir Kagan Matinee Sofa for American Leather
By Vladimir Kagan, American Leather
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Matinee sofa by Vladimir Kagan for American Leather, c.2000s, USA. Vladimir Kagan (1927-2016) designed this sofa which converts into a daybed when the back rest is removed. His desig...
Leather, Upholstery
Vladimir Kagan Wide Angle Tangent Sofa, Model 506 In Tan Chenille
By Preview, Vladimir Kagan
Located in Culver City, CA
This is the Tangent sofa by Vladimir Kagan—designed in 2001 for Preview, during that glorious late-career era when Kagan was no longer asking permission from anyone, least of all geo...
Chenille
Vladimir Kagan Bilbao Sofa for Weiman
By Weiman, Vladimir Kagan
Located in Denton, TX
Vladimir Kagan Bilbao freeform sofa for Weiman. Organic design with black and tan micro fiber fabric. This design was inspired by the Guggenheim ...
Upholstery, Wood
Vladimir Kagan Extension Dining Table
By Vladimir Kagan
Located in Chicago, IL
c. 1980s in great vintage condition. There is one chip to the leaf missing along with some general grain raising but the table reads wonderfully the leaf is 21”
Wood