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Introduction

Zig-Zag Chairs and Wobbly Mirrors

Twentieth-Century Furniture from the RISD Museum
February 7 - April 27, 2003

The breadth and depth of RISD’s furniture collection make it one of the Museum’s greatest treasures. The tradition that began with Charles L. Pendleton’s extraordinary bequest of American colonial furniture in 1904 continues today through a lively acquisition program of work by individual studio furnituremakers and by leading designers working with manufacturers.

This exhibition makes evident the variety and vitality to furnituremaking in the 20th century, bringing into focus the similarities and differences of factory-produced furniture and unique work made in artists’ studios. One of the dominant issues is designing for mass production and consumption versus realizing a design as a single or very limited edition. The use of traditional materials as opposed to the newest materials and technology is another focus in modern furniture design, along with the pull of functionalism against humanistic interests in history, decoration, irony, and humor. These and many other concerns demonstrated by the work in this exhibition are what makes furniture such a remarkable lens through which to view design during the last century.

Selected Objects

Ole Wanscher, designer

Armchair, 1949

Alvar Aalto, designer

Armchair (model 31), 1931-32

Vico Magistretti, designer

Golem Chair, 1969

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

William S. Hammersley

Rocking Stool, 1979

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

Judy Kensley McKie, cabinetmaker

Toy Chest, 1980

Charles Swanson, designer

Chair, 1990

Charles Swanson, designer

Writing Table, 1990

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

Timothy S. Philbrick

Asymmetrical Table, 1998

Wharton Esherick

Music Stand, 1962

Robert Trotman

Study for Table with Walking Figures, 1989

Charles Eames, designer

DCM (Dining Chair Metal), 1946

Eck Follen

Musical Chair, 1993

Roy Lichtenstein, designer

Interior with Blue Floor, 1992
No Image Available

Leroy Schuette, producer

Wobbly Mirror, 1986-1987

Eero Saarinen, designer

Tulip Armchair (model 150), 1955-1956

Thomas Loeser

Folding Chair, 1988
No Image Available

Raymond William Olson

Folding Screen, 1933

Charles Eames, designer

Leg Splint, 1941-1942

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

Robert Trotman, cabinetmaker

Table with Walking Figures, 1989-1990

Tage Frid, designer

Stool, 1982
No Image Available

American, Mount Lebanon New York

Shaker Rocking Chair, early 1900s

Jere Osgood

Summer '99 Shell Desk, 1999
No Image Available

Kristina W. Madsen

Window Seat, 1991

Harry Bertoia, designer

Diamond Chair, ca. 1952

Charles Eames, designer

RAR (Rocking Armchair Rod), 1948

Charles Eames, designer

FSW (Folding Screen Wood), 1946

Leon Ransmeier, Inc.

Old Rocker, 2001

Verner Panton, designer

Heart Cone Chair, 1958-1959

Shaw-Walker Company, manufacturer

Side Chair, ca. 1945

John Dunnigan

Vestigial Bonheur du Jour and Chair, 2000
No Image Available

Josef Hofmann Successeurs, manufacturer

Rocking Chair, ca. 1893-1900

Le Klint, manufacturer

Hanging Lamp, ca. 1950

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, designer

Zig-Zag Chair, 1941

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, designer

MR 10 Chair, designed 1927

John Dunnigan

Vestigial Bonheur du Jour and Chair, 1997-2000

Charles Eames, designer

ESU (Eames Storage Unit) (model 270-C), 1950

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Zig-Zag Chairs and Wobbly Mirrors : Twentieth-Century Furniture from the RISD Museum

February 7 - April 27, 2003
View Checklist PDF

RISD Museum

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