Mid-Century Modern: Australian Furniture Design
The first major exhibition dedicated to Australian furniture of the 1940s to 1970s – a period of dynamic social change – is set to open at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), in Australia.
As Australians embraced modern ideals to encapsulate a new, cosmopolitan mode of living during the 1940s to 1970s, this time was characterised by innovative and flexible furniture design. The exhibition, titled Mid-Century Modern: Australian Furniture Design will showcase more than 100 iconic pieces by significant designers including Grant Featherson and Clement Meadmore along with other key designers such as Douglas Snelling, Fred Lowen and Schulim Krimper. The exhibition will also present recreated interior vignettes including a full-scale living room based on the 1955 Age Dream Home.
“Mid-Century Modern is the first major Australian survey to provide an in-depth look at this period, revealing how Australian furniture designers moved away from traditional, conservative pre-war styles and forged a new language of design that was innovative in its use of materials, functional and often imbued with a good dose of style,” said Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV.
The exhibition also charts the dramatic changes that took place within Australian furniture design and the manufacturing industry across four decades. Tracing progression from a very modest industry in the post-war years, that produced well-designed and affordable furniture and which, by the 1960s, was able to manufacture designs that catered to the local market as well as being exported in vast quantities.
Mid-Century Modern: Australian Furniture Design will be on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from Friday 30 May to Sunday 19 October 2014.
—
