Brutalism

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Issue 36 October/November 2017

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£4.50/€5.50 WHERE SOLD

V I N TA G E A N T I Q U E S D E C O R AT I V E S A LVA G E M I D - C E N T U R Y M A N T I Q U E S

DESIGN CLASSICS THAT STAND THE TEST OF TIME OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017

BRITAIN’S MOST EXTRAORDINARY COUNCIL HOUSE Page 15

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homeware

ARE YOU A

Concrete buildings, fireplaces, furniture, lighting, sculpture and jewellery – once you start looking, Brutalism can be found just about everywhere!

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So, where did this approach to architecture come from? Europe had just emerged from the most destructive war in history, with widespread devastation to housing and commercial buildings. So architecture that could be designed and executed quickly and efficiently, with a minimum of unnecessary decoration was attractive! However, the style declined in popularity after the 1970s, and as we know, many Brutalist buildings were sadly demolished.

But over the past decade or so, affection for Brutalism has been on the rise, spurred on by campaigns against demolition, which has generated greater public awareness. There’s even a Facebook group, the British Brutalism Appreciation Society, where members share images of Brutalist buildings across the UK

– it’s utterly fascinating!

I’ve seen Trellick Tower in Kensal Town, London, designed by Ernö Goldfinger – but who hasn’t? However the most impressive example of Brutalism I’ve seen to date is when I visited the Wotruba Church in Vienna (above), which is made up of 152 asymmetrically positioned concrete blocks and looks different from every viewpoint!

I’d really love to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s pioneering use of concrete in Fallingwater (left), which, in the 1930s, was seen as dangerously modern – however it’s more likely I’ll get to see the futuristic concrete monuments built in the former Yugoslavia between the 60s and 70s, they look like relics from an alien civilisation – truly amazing (see page 3)!

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BUT WHAT EXACTLY is Brutalism? The Brutalist label can be applied to the work of a number of architects working in the 1950s, 60s and 70s – such as British couple Alison and Peter Smithson, Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, and Miles Warren from New Zealand. They all used contemporary materials and techniques to create buildings that sat comfortably with the geography.

Characteristics of Brutalist buildings were to leave the concrete unfinished and use repeating patterns in a modular or grid-based way. They tend to show their construction materials rather than attempting to conceal them. The absence of decoration – something that Brutalism inherited from the earlier Bauhaus School – allows Brutalist designs to focus on the building’s purpose.

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homeware BRUTALISM AT HOME Today, furniture and accessories that most consider ‘brutal’ in appearance are given the Brutalist label. This is not strictly correct due to the reasons detailed previously – however when looking to buy such pieces, that’s the key word to search for, as dealers use it all the time! These items are always strong, dynamic and edgy.

We see this so-called Brutalist furniture blending into a variety of design styles nowadays.

I quickly discovered that most of the furniture was produced in America by key designers such as Paul Evans, Adrian Pearsall and the Lane Furniture Company, and yet it’s surprising how many pieces I’ve seen here in the UK.

Detail of a Paul Evans Sculpture Front cabinet from 1964, gilt, enamelled steel and painted wood

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Designer and sculptor, Paul Evans was a leading light of the American Studio Furniture movement, he had a seemingly contradictory appreciation for both Folk Art forms and for new materials and technologies. He preferred metal to wood, and his creations of metal sculpted furniture really set him apart from the rest.

He made his reputation on sculpted-front cabinets: wood cases faced with box-like highrelief, patinated steel mounts laid out in a grid

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PAUL EVANS

‘PAUL EVANS WAS A LEADING LIGHT OF THE AMERICAN STUDIO FURNITURE MOVEMENT’ Argente series horizontal cabinet made from welded aluminum, lacquered wood and welded steel

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Right: A wonderful Paul Evans Forge/ Sculpture Front cabinet 1973, made of brass, copper, steel, and gold leaf seen here with his Argente box table.

The Exchange Int have one of the most important Paul Evans collections, especially of his studio works

1970s Brutalist patchwork mirror and floating wall console designed by Paul Evans made of brass, copper and steel.

Available from Aaron Mapp, courtesy www.1stdibs.com A Burr and Chrome Cityscape extendable dining table 1970. Available from www.talismanlondon.com

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1970s, Lane Brutalist triple dresser with an intricately laid, highly textured pattern that adorns the front facade.

Sold by Furnish Me Vintage, courtesy of www.1stdibs.com

pattern – each containing a metal emblem, or glyph.

Evans’s work falls into three distinct style groups. His sculpted-bronze pieces show Evans at his most expressive. He used a technique in which resin is hand-shaped, and later sprayed with a metal coating. Later in the decade he produced his Argente series: consoles and other furniture that feature aluminium and pigmentinfused metal surfaces welded into abstract organic forms and patterns. Evans’s 1970s ‘Cityscape’ series, are perfectly sleek, highly polished and high-tech. He constructed boxy forms and faced them with irregular mosaic

Mosaic line credenza by Lane, available from Avantiques, courtesy www.1stdibs.com

‘AS WITH ALL GOOD THINGS, LANE FURNITURE STARTED WITH A BIT OF IMAGINATION AND INVESTMENT’

patterns mixing plaques of chromed steel, bronze, or burr wood veneer. These, like all of Paul Evans’s designs, are incredibly eyecatching, clearly touched by an artist’s hand. His work quite rightly, commands very high prices and are dream pieces to any interior designer’s vision.

LANE & PEARSALL As with all good things, Lane Furniture started with a bit of imagination and investment. It all began when John Lane purchased a Virginia manufacturing plant, their original product being

Set of six walnut dining chairs by Lane.

Available from www.abtmodern.com

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Faux fireplace with a textured bronze finish

by Adrian Pearsall.

Available from ReMod Gallery. Price: £3,400, www.1stdibs.com

Cube table by Adrian Pearsall. Sold by Eerdmans Fine Art, www.1stdibs.com

Adrian Pearsall sofa. Available from Hudson Super Market.

Price: £4,926, www.1stdibs.com

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‘LANE RETAILED BRUTALIST FURNITURE THAT IS OFTEN WRONGLY ATTRIBUTED TO PAUL EVANS RATHER THAN ADRIAN PEARSALL’

1960s Adrian Pearsall credenza. Sold by Lynn Goode Vintage, www.1stdibs.com

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boxes. Thankfully his young son took his dad’s encouragement seriously and began to design and build cedar chests. Neither one was sure it would be a success, so their initial products were manufactured under the name Standard Red Cedar Chest Company. The brand became a hit and as they say, the rest is history! Growth came again in 1956 created under the Lane name.

Adrian Pearsall had founded Craft Associates with his brother in 1952. The company primarily produced designs in wrought iron, but soon came to specialise in wood furniture, especially walnut. Pearsall’s use of walnut in the structures of coffee tables and sofas became his signature look. Interestingly Craft Associates Inc was sold to the Lane Furniture company in 1968. Postpurchase, Lane retailed Brutalist furniture that is often wrongly attributed to Paul Evans rather than Adrian Pearsall. They produced a series of Brutalist-style coffee tables, dining tables, and chairs until eventually closing Craft Associates in the late 1970s, due to their unsuccessful aesthetic shift.

Lane were also producing their Brutalist inspired Staccato series in the 1970s, which they advertised as ‘Furniture for Lovers’, describing it within their adverts as: “It’s a very today design, with a geometric pattern of squares and oblongs standing out in bold relief for a striking

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‘HARD EDGES, JAGGED SHAPES AND ROUGH SURFACES, BEING BOTH ASYMMETRICAL AND ORGANIC’

three-dimensional façade.”

In homeware, the look is most commonly manifested in lighting and sculpture – hard edges, jagged shapes and rough surfaces, being both asymmetric and organic. Look out for lighting by Harry Balmer, Tom Green and Richard Barr. Pottery, such as the sculptural and tactile pieces produced by Peter Ellery for his Cornish Pottery Tremaen. Wall art – including abstract art made of rusty iron nails – and sculptures from a whole host of artists. There’s also plenty of jewellery that fits the bill... but where does it end?

I’ll leave that for you to decide! ve

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homeware

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Above left: Tremaen Bowjey lamp featuring an abstract brutalist design. Above right: Heavily textured Brutalist metal table sculpture, price: £950 Left: two 1970s mixed metals wall panel sculptures (£1,650 and £950) available from Talisman London.

Right: A lovely brutalist set of jewellery by Rey Urban, Sweden, c.1970.

Available from Grasilver (grasilver.com)

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