The Modern Chair / Palm Springs Art Museum

The Modern Chair at the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center

This exhibition is organized by Palm Springs Art Museum and curated by Brad Dunning, architecture and design specialist, with support from Rochelle Steiner.

The Modern Chair traces the evolution from the first cantilevered example by Mart Stam, and then onward to designs of current times including examples by Cini Boeri, Charles and Ray Eames, Frank Gehry, Eileen Gray, George Nakashima, Charlotte Perriand, Rudolph Schindler, among many others.

Technological and stylistic advances pushed chair design forward at a breakneck speed in the 20th century like no other time before. The exhibition will also contain important examples of 21st century as well.

The exhibition starts with two Dutch designs by Gerrit Rietveld and Mart Stam.

R.M. Schindler

Cantilevered chair, 1926-1940

Alvin Lustig

Paramount Chair, 1948

I'm without my one comfortable chair until April.

Only 55 chairs were produced.

Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen

Organic Chair, 1940

Collection of Michael and Susan Rich, in memory of Peter Loughery (a real lover of Eames)

This is a super rare and important one.

It was designed for the MoMA "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition in 1940.

The exhibition was Curated by Eliot Noyes

The drawing submitted by Eames and Saarinen originally specified aluminum legs. Due to WWII aluminum was in short supply, so wood legs had to be substituted.

Richard Neutra

Tremaine Chair, 1948

Collection of Brad Dunning

Source: Richard Neutra Furniture, The Body and Sense

Pipsan Saarinen Swanson

Sol Air Chair, 1950

Alvar Aalto

31 Armchair, 1931

Collection of Joel Chen

The grain is just insane on this example.

I watched the documentary Aalto: Architect of Emotions several months ago. It discusses how Alvar's first wife Aino was also an architect. She was one of the founding members of Artek and most likely had a large role in designing the Aalto furniture that Alvar gets all the credit for.