Decor Arts Now

By Lynn Byrne. You are never ever going to guess what inspired the carving on the chair back of this famous piece of oak furniture by designer Charles Rohlfs, shown above. It is the exact cellular structure of oak. Yep, if you looked at oak through a microscope, that pattern is what you see. And that is exactly what designer Charles Rohlfs did. Then he magnified the pattern for this chair.

Another surprise. This chair was handmade in the early 1900s. Pretty amazing.

Rohlfs’ furniture is currently on view at the Met and will be there until January 23, 2011. Go.

I went last week and I was especially lucky because I was privy to a guided tour by the curator and author of the exhibition catalog, Joseph Cunningham. He was totally dynamic. I was mesmerized.

For example, how about this clock? Joe aptly pointed out how much the face resembled a George Nelson iconic bubble clock. Except of course it was made about 50 years earlier.

Here is the George Nelson clock. Hard to miss the similarities, no?

And fashionistas, Joe told us that fashion designer Anna Sui was inspired by Charles Rohlfs when she did her Fall 2010 collection. Joe and Anna are giving a lecture at the Met January 14, 2011 at 6:00. Mark your calendars.

Here is one of the outfits.

I don’t know which exact Rohlfs’ pieces inspired Sui, but look at this chair. The sleeves on the blouse are suggestive of the chair carving. I hope to attend that lecture–how interesting.

Rohlfs himself was inspired by architect Louis Sullivan, who was working on a building in Buffalo, NY around the tine Rohlfs made this chair. Here is a sketch from the building.

So who is Charles Rohlfs?

He is a furniture designer who worked for about a decade around the turn of the last century. Click here to read more about him.

Some say he fits within the Arts and Crafts movement. He certainly influenced Gustav Stickley. These early tables by Rohlfs were nearly copied by Stickley.

Here is a photo of a similar Stickley piece made after Rohlf made his tables.

Others point to the organic feel of his work (as seen in the chairs above), and call him more “Art Nouveau.”

Joseph Cunningham suggested at our talk that Rohlfs may have been the first in the “furntiure as art” studio movement–-working half a century earlier than George Nakashima, Wharton Escherick and Sam Maloof. (Click here to read about studio furniture.)

At any rate, it is a beautiful and fascinating exhibition.

Oh, and one last fun fact. Joseph Cunningham pointed out another object made by Rohlfs–a chafing dish that was used like today’s slow cooker! Yep, the original crock pot.

Photos not taken by me are linked to their sources.

By Lynn Byrne. So what is “Studio Furniture?”  Essentially it is furniture and other decorative art pieces created as art and all made by hand.   Here in the United States the pioneers included people like George Nakashima (click here to read about him), Wharton Escherick and Sam Maloof.

Right now there is a fairly large group of Irish artisans working in a variety of materials, including wood, basketry, silver and ceramics that are making a significant contribution to the Studio Furniture Movement.   All of them have pieces in Irish museums, and some have work in museums here in the US.

You can see this cutting edge work at the American Irish Historical Society located at 991 Fifth Avenue in NYC.  Many believe these pieces to be the “heirlooms” of the future.   Most feel the pieces are extremely well priced now, so you can get in on the ground floor!

The exhibit is quite interesting.  Curator Brian Kennedy created unique energy by juxtaposing the contemporary pieces against the ambience of the historical mansion that houses the Society.

Take a look.

Rachel McKnight created this large white necklace adorning the bust from polypropylene, silver, and nylon coated stainless steel.

This beautiful red lacquer writing desk by Nest, and vessel by Sara Flynn with hardwood base by Nest greet visitors in the lobby of the mansion.  So cool that Nest lacquered the beautiful dovetailing on the desk.

Nest also designed this white lacquered console which looks right at home under the antique mirror and crystal sconces.

I love how the rolling waves of this chair play against the turbulent sea in the painting.

I also love how the simplicity of this plywood hanging desk relates to the colors and calmness of the painting’s beach setting.

Some of the most interesting furniture in the exhibition is created by Joseph Walsh. The first photo above by Andrew Bradley is a snap of his table entitled, Erosion.  Here is the Erosion table as seen at the exhibition.

Joseph Walsh also created these chairs.  His website says he is self taught.

I wish I could take home this salt and pepper server, entitled Furrows, or this tea service both created in sterling silver by Cara Murphy.

Another fascinating aspect to the exhibition is a section devoted to the design process.   You can see sketches and models of some of the pieces.

There is much more to see at the exhibition.  It runs through November 18.

You can learn more about the individual artists by contacting Causey Contemporary Art.

Photos from the exhibition by Lynn Byrne for Decor Arts Now.