Mid-Century Modern Furniture Evolution: 7 Designers Who Changed the Industry Part 2

Imagine yourself inside of a floating bubble, or cocooned into a sleek, plastic ball...a plastic ball that is actually comfortable inside! The Ball Chair design was one of the many creations of Eero Aarnio that caused him to stand out among designers, and brought him fame around the world.

Aarnio created useful, good-humored, sculptural designs made of fiberglass, colored plastic, and acrylic. These innovative and unique designs have helped Aarnio become a very esteemed designer, that stands out among the others. His collection includes more than just furniture. He has produced an array of products, including chairs, tables, lamps, children's collections, miniatures, guitars, and room dividers.

Biography of Aarnio:

Eero Aarnio was born in 1932, in Helsinki, Finland. He has continued to be one of the most influential designers in Finland and around the world, and his work has stood the test of time. His designs have been featured in movie sets and magazine covers, and are well recognized by many.

In 1963, Aarnio introduced the Ball Chair to the world, and it soon became known as the Globe Chair. This design features a hollow sphere on a stand, which is opened on one side.

In 1968, Aarnio was inspired to design a chair similar to the Ball Chair. This chair however, was suspended from above and was clear in color, lending it the appropriate moniker of the Bubble Chair. Some of Aarnio's other famed works include:

• The Ball Chair
• The Bubble Chair
• Pastil Chair - a floating plastic chair, similar in shape to a solid inner tube Tomato Chair - looks like a tomato with a hollowed out area to sit in
• Screw Table - shaped like a giant screw Room Dividers called The Tree and The Swan

For over 45 years, Aarnio has been creating many great designs that continue to astound. His works are featured in numerous prestigious museums around the world, and he has received a number of coveted awards. One of these awards includes Europe's most prestigious award, the "ADI Compasso d'Oro Award", presented to Aarnio for his "Trioli Chair" design.

"If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them." - Harry Bertoia

Harry Bertoia, born in Italy in 1915, designed a line of chairs that were the antithesis to the typical 1950's style of rigid wood. His most famous collection of furniture were steel chairs comprised of welded wire which possessed a "springy" feel. Of these, the most well known was the Diamond Chair, which, as the name suggests, was shaped like a diamond. The highest point in the diamond forms the chair's back support. Bertoia's chairs were produced in 1952 by Knoll International, and they continue to produce them today.

Like fellow furniture designers, Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen, Bertoia attended Cranbook Academy, and was exposed to the world of modern furniture. In fact, it is said that Bertoia was very instrumental in the design and development of the Eames Chair, while he was working alongside Charles Eames in the late 1940's. During his time at Cranbook, Bertoia won the Organic Furniture Design Competition sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art.

After leaving Eames, Bertoia was asked to join the Point Loma New Atomics Laboratory, which worked in an effort to scrutinize the human body and utilize this in the design of equipment that was created in respect to the comfort of human reach and grip. This is known today as "ergonomic".

Bertoia used this knowledge in his later designs of practical, comfortable chairs.

Many would classify Bertoia as a true artist. In addition to furniture, his unique and innovative visions inspired him to create original sculptures, jewelry, prints, and sound recordings.

Bertoia's chairs were likened to a sculpture, and remains a popular choice in modern furniture. Following his time with Knoll Associates, Bertoia went on to pursue a career in sculpture full time. Some of his most famous pieces are now on permanent display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City and the Marshall University Fountain in West Virginia.

Although our list of designers is slightly male dominant, this female designer was one of the pioneers of the modernist design movement and has made a significant name for herself in the world of design. Her work attracted the attention of many, in a time when entrepreneurial women had far greater challenges to face in their efforts to make a name for themselves.

Eileen Gray has been described as "elegant, intelligent, and independent". She was a nonconformist in the turn of the century, and chose to settle in Paris to explore her unique creativity.

Gray was born into an aristocratic family in South-Eastern Ireland in 1878. She inherited an interest in design from her father, who was an amateur painter, and took her with him touring through various countries.

She is considered one of the pioneers of International Style aesthetic and modernist design, and possessed a great passion for precious furniture design. This later transformed into a taste for more functional, modern design.

In 1919, Gray received her first commission for interior design. This project spawned the creation of her famous lacquered "block screens". In 1922, she opened her own shop and drew the attention of Jan Wils, a respected Dutch architect.

Gray later began to create her own unique furniture designs which she claimed were, "suited to our existence, in proportion to our rooms and in accordance with our aspirations and feelings."

Although Gray primarily worked as an architect, she continued to create minimalist furniture such as this daybed. One of her most famous designs is a piece called the Adjustable Table, which is an asymmetrical design that demonstrates her nonconformist attitude, while adhering to the rational principals of modernism.

Meet Isamu Noguchi, 1904-1988. Noguchi is a Japanese-American designer who had a vision of making sculpture useful in our everyday life. He was quoted as saying:

"New concepts of the physical world and of psychology may give insights into knowledge, but the visible world, in human terms, is more than scientific truths. It enters our consciousness as emotion as well as knowledge; trees grow in vigor, flowers hang evanescent, and mountains lie somnolent -- with meaning. The promise of sculpture is to project these inner presences into forms that can be recognized as important and meaningful in themselves. Our heritage is now the world. Art for the first time may be said to have a world consciousness."

Noguchi was the son of a Japanese poet, Yone Noguchi, and an American writer, Leonie Gilmour. Following his parents separation, he was sent to Japanese and Jesuit schools. In 1918, he was sent to the United States to attend Interlaken School in Indiana, and lived with the family of a Swedenborgian minister.

His diverse upbringing was evident in Noguchi's unique expression of creativity through clay, wood, and stone. He relentlessly strove for perfection in all of his work, though it was not always understood.

After spending time in New York, Paris, and Japan, with frequent travel between the East and West, Noguchi was hired by Mexico City to produce a "land sculpture" in 1936. This was a 20-meter long piece called, "History as Seen from Mexico".

Isamu Noguchi returned to New York in 1937 and lived in an internment camp on an Indian reservation, where he designed parks and recreational areas. However, he soon came to the sad realization that the authorities had no intent of implementing the designs, so he left and returned to New York.

Back in New York, Noguchi's work consisted of abstract, surrealist sculptures, created with interlocking slabs. His work became very popular among well known music producers and choreographers.

In the realm of furniture, Noguchi was well known for his paper light designs, coffee tables, couches, and dining tables. His furniture had the appearance of unique, abstract sculpture, but provided the necessary functionality of furniture.

Experience the Noguchi Coffee Table and other brilliant works from mid-century modern designers at Paradigm Gallery.

George Nelson is an iconic American designer, who was an extremely influential figure in the later half of the 20th Century. George was a widely respected architect, designer, journalist, lecturer, curator, photographer, and teacher. He attended Yale University from 1928-1931, where he received both a BA and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Following that, Nelson studied at the American Academy in Rome, and returned to the U.S. in 1935 to pursue a career as an editor and journalist for "Architectural Forum" journal and "Pencil Point" magazine. George took this opportunity to introduce American readers to the European avant-garde.

In 1946, Nelson began working as the director of design at Herman Miller, and remained there for over 25 years. During this time, he introduced many innovative office furniture designs, including the Swagged Leg Group. This group includes the "DAF Chair" and the "MAA Chair" which has a flexible back that can be adjusted backwards at a 90-degree angle.

In addition to office furniture, Nelson also designed some very popular pieces, such as the:

• "Platform" - a simple and functional bench
• "Coconut Chair" - a triangular seat inspired by a piece of coconut shell "Marshmallow" or "Pop Art" Sofa - a seat and back made of individual round cushions
• "Ball" Clock - wall clock with the hours marked by balls of wood

Nelson, along with designers such as Gray, Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Breur, and Jacobsen, are some of the most famous Bauhaus architects and designers of the Bauhaus era.

Danish designer, Verner Panton, was a visionary. Born in 1926, he is a quality brand in Danish instrumental furniture design, interior design, and architecture. Panton's furniture and lamp creations are extremely innovative, and make use of unusual and creative materials.

The Panton Chair was the first example of single-formed injection moulded plastic seating. With this design, Panton succeeded in creating one of the most daring and famous chair designs of the twentieth century.

Like many of his colleagues, Panton studied architecture at the Academy of Art in Copenhagen. After graduating, he went on to work as an apprentice for Arne Jacobsen, and was assigned to assist in the design of the iconic "Ant" Chair.

Panton first established himself in the world of avant-garde design with furniture that was based on extravagant, geometric forms and use of strong colors. A good example of this is the "Cone" Chair of 1958.

Verner Panton has worked with renowned manufacturers such as Fritz Hansen, Louis Poulsen, and Vitra. He pushed technology to its limits with productions of designs such as the "Flowerpot" Lamp and the "Pantower".

In his designs, Panton had a knack for fusing the various elements of an interior, including floors, walls, furniture, lighting, and textiles.

He combined these elements into an indivisible, melded space that exuded emotion through the unique, geometric shapes and intense colors. This complimented the emerging psychedelic trend of the times very nicely.

Poul Volther (1923-2001) had an amazing ability to find potential in things that others could not. His first famed work was the Corona Chair or "Petal Chair", introduced in 1964. This chair was crafted out of solid oak, and was a design unlike any other of the time. He incorporated every aspect of the various phases of design into one piece. These phases included futuristic, modern, and naturalistic.

The Corona Chair was used by the chiefs of state in Europe during the EU summit in Copenhagen in December 2002. The chair possesses a rare combination of organic expression and technical streamlining. It has four upholstered shells, which are said to give maximum support of the body with associations to both the spinal column and ribs of the human anatomy. The chair has a sort of "floating constellation", which gives it a look of transparency that allows it to blend in with the room.

As a teacher at The Danish School of Art and Design, Volther has influenced hundreds of young designers' sense of craft quality. He was not a proponent of fads and "aesthetic smartness", but he loved the simple manufacture of fine materials.

Since the debut of the Corona chair, it has become a highly requested piece, and has brought acclaim to Volther. In addition to its use in the EU Summit, the chair has also graced many movie screens, television shows, and music videos. The official manufacturer today is Erik Jorgensen. Poul M. Volther will always be remembered for this magnificent piece of artistry.

Paradigm Gallery is the destination for Mid-Century Modern inspired furniture. The inception of the Bauhaus Movement signaled the beginning of a new direction of aesthetic relevance for furniture design.

If you're a mid-century modern furniture junkie like us, we invite you to explore our gallery at PGMod.com. Here, you will not only find "Mid Century Modern Furniture Evolution: 7 Designers Who Changed the Industry - Part 2" wrapped up in a convenient, free eBook, you'll also find stylish modern furniture reproductions to complement your impeccable taste.

Ask us for a free color swatch or call 1-877-746-6307 to inquire about our furniture.