4.05.2012

neoplastic furniture

I gots the horizontals and now I gots the neoplasticisms something fierce. Since I can't afford a shrink, shopping (the online window variety) is my only therapy. So let's see what's out there...

Gerrit Rietveld, he of the groundbreaking Rietveld-Schroder House, slapped together some inspired furniture and fixtures. This ceiling fixture from 1920 is simply gasp-like-a-fish-out-of-water-getting-stepped-on stunning:

Gerrit Rietveld: Hanging lamp (1920)

And this beauty is still made today (although at a challenging "Design Not Quite in Reach" way although, truth be told, $1,000 for a high-end ceiling fixture is not horrible horrible...).

His buffet table is considered a classic:

Gerrit Rietvold: Buffet table (1919)

You know how I know it's a classic? It's been recreated in Legos:

Gerrit Rietvold's Buffet table recreated with 25,000 Legos (2010)

I rest my case.

His furniture is very de Stijl (which is not surprising because he put the Stijl in de Stijl) but doesn't appear to be all that comfy:

Gerrit Rietvold: Berlin Chair (1923)



but oh my it is beautiful!

One thing that's appealing about his furniture is that it looks real easy to make. Take this piece:


Some two by fours and a good solid plank for the seat and wah-lah: A classic is (re)born! (His original chairs sell for $40,000 or more these days...)

He's also the father of the zigzag chair:


And check out this easy chair:


And this beauty, built in 1923, sold in 2007 for a whopping $350,000:


Eileen Gray, she of the E-1027 House (later defaced by none other than Le Corbusier), was clearly influenced by Rietveld when she designed her side table:

Eileen Gray: Side table (1922)

And check out her tube light from 1927:


Snazzy!

Girlfriend even did rugs:

And here's a privacy screen she designed:


and a tea table:


and a mirror:


Whew, she was good!

R.M. Schindler's furniture definitely had a neoplastic thing going with it. Check out this chair from 1926 (now worth $30,000 to $50,000):


or this end table:


or this chair:


Richard Neutra, not to be outdone by Schindler, also made some neoplastic stuff. Check out this prototype lamp for a house:


Exceedingly simple yet exceedingly sophisticated. It's one of those "I could have made that!"deals, yet you didn't for some reason.

And though Frank Lloyd Wright would punch me in the throat for saying it, I think he had a case of the de Stijls when he designed this lamp in 1933:

or this pendant:


or these tables:





The godfather of de Stijl, Theo van Doesburg, also dabbled in furniture. Here's a chair:


which isn't terribly deconstructed. And here's a garden sculpture.

Garden sculpture, Theo van Doesburg: Garden sculpture (1919)

A dresser by Willem van Leusden (1925):


A chair by Ko Verzuu (1930):

A table by Josef Albers (1923):



Donald Judd's furniture is very sculptural (not surprising since he was a minimal sculptor) and very neoplastic:












And we hope to recreate a Judd table like this (perhaps not so big) in our back yard:



We plan to eat our potato salad on that table with neoplastic forks.


2 comments:

  1. I like the picnic table.

    The rest...um....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing. I got wonderful furniture design ideas. This blog contains actual furniture variety.

    ReplyDelete