Wolfsonian

If one piece of furniture could chronicle the history of furniture making over a 100-year period, what would it be? According to The Wolfsonian-Florida International University in Miami Beach, it’s the chair —the focus of its current exhibition on view through June 5, 2005.
“Evolution/Revolution: A Century of Modern Seating” offers a historical overview of seating from 1849 to 1946. Drawing primarily on the museum’s permanent collection of chairs from Europe and North America, the exhibition examines changes in styles, the ideals of individual designers and manufacturers, and different design movements. Presented as a series of case studies, the exhibition also explores the relationship between form and function, and symbolism and meaning.
By focusing on one design expression — seating — the museum gives viewers the opportunity to reflect on the many stories that a single, ordinary object can communicate: social and political issues, technical achievements, and economic conditions.
Among the chairs on display are pieces by legendary designers Marcel Breuer, Peter Behrens and Kem Weber. Breuer rose to fame for his experimentation with bending steel. His work produced chairs such as the “Wohnbedarf Model No. 301,” which combines tubular aluminum and bent plywood.
Originally trained as a painter, Behrens later moved into the arena of graphic and applied arts, and played a key role in the evolution of German Modernism. He lived in Darmstadt, an artists’ colony in Germany, for which he designed a pair of armchairs and side chairs for the dining room. The Wolfsonian’s collection includes one of these prized armchairs, which is showcased in the exhibit.
Karl Emanuel Martin — or Kem — Weber was one of the earliest advocates of the “Moderne” movement in California. In the late 1920s, he designed “The Kem Weber Group” for Grand Rapids Chair Co. comprising a dining table, side and armchairs, a serving table, a sideboard, and a china cabinet. Only two sets of this group were made: a sage-green painted-wood one and a coral-red leather set that the armchair in this exhibit comes from.
Like these chairs, the others chosen for the exhibition both crystallize a designer’s philosophy and reflect the spirit of the times.
For more information on the exhibit, please call the museum at 305/531-1001 or go to www.wolfsonian.org.

	Marcel Breuer de-signed the “Wohnbedarf Model No. 301” side chair for Embru-Werke. Photography by Silvia Ros.
If one piece of furniture could chronicle the history of furniture making over a 100-year period, what would it be? According to The Wolfsonian-Florida International University in Miami Beach, it’s the chair —the focus of its current exhibition on view through June 5, 2005. “Evolution/Revolution: A Century of Modern Seating” offers a historical overview of seating from 1849 to 1946. Drawing primarily on the museum’s permanent collection of chairs from Europe and North America, the exhibition examines changes in styles, the ideals of individual designers and manufacturers, and different design movements. Presented as a series of case studies, the exhibition also explores the relationship between form and function, and symbolism and meaning. By focusing on one design expression — seating — the museum gives viewers the opportunity to reflect on the many stories that a single, ordinary object can communicate: social and political issues, technical achievements, and economic conditions. Among the chairs on display are pieces by legendary designers Marcel Breuer, Peter Behrens and Kem Weber. Breuer rose to fame for his experimentation with bending steel. His work produced chairs such as the “Wohnbedarf Model No. 301,” which combines tubular aluminum and bent plywood. Originally trained as a painter, Behrens later moved into the arena of graphic and applied arts, and played a key role in the evolution of German Modernism. He lived in Darmstadt, an artists’ colony in Germany, for which he designed a pair of armchairs and side chairs for the dining room. The Wolfsonian’s collection includes one of these prized armchairs, which is showcased in the exhibit. Karl Emanuel Martin — or Kem — Weber was one of the earliest advocates of the “Moderne” movement in California. In the late 1920s, he designed “The Kem Weber Group” for Grand Rapids Chair Co. comprising a dining table, side and armchairs, a serving table, a sideboard, and a china cabinet. Only two sets of this group were made: a sage-green painted-wood one and a coral-red leather set that the armchair in this exhibit comes from. Like these chairs, the others chosen for the exhibition both crystallize a designer’s philosophy and reflect the spirit of the times. For more information on the exhibit, please call the museum at 305/531-1001 or go to www.wolfsonian.org.
	Italian designer Agostino Lauro created this mahogany side chair, circa 1900. Silk covers the chair back and seat.
	Leather and beech wood come together in this stylish armchair designed by Kem Weber for Grand Rapids Chair Co. in 1928.
	Created by Peter Behrens in 1900, this wood-and-leather armchair was part of a dining room set. Photography by Bruce White.
	Gebrüder Thonet Co., pioneers of the Bentwood chair, manufactured “Chaise Model No. 2” in 1888. It combines beech and wicker.