Australian post-war design is perhaps one of our countries best kept secrets, but with chairs by Grant Featherston tipping the $20,000 mark, it looks like the rest of the world has finally discovered why Australian mid-century design is a winner.
Influenced by Danish design, much of the furniture produced in this period featured exotic timbers and high levels of craftsmanship rarely seen in low cost manufactured furniture. If you would like to know more, please check out my blog.
http://australianmodern.wordpress.com/
Thats super
'Australian mid-century design is a winner' - nice, but who are the losers? I think its right that achievement be celebrated and you'll find that Grant Featherstone's work has been discussed with admiration here before. But I struggle to understand why its necessary to be so aggressive and jingoistic about it. The sports field is over there....
Forget the binary systems, no losers required
If drawing attention to post-war design from Australia makes me aggressive and jingoistic, then I guess the forum has failed to function as a place to share ideas, passion and enthusiasm for design. Why should there be losers, has there not been enough attention paid to U.S., Danish, British, French and Italian mid-century design?
This is not about Nationalism, it's just about offering an alternative to the usual designers who populate discussions on this forum. BTW, New Zealand also had some brilliant post-war designers.
I have also included a link to a collection furniture made and/or designed by sculptor Clement Meadmore. Yes, more shameless promotion of a talented artist who is finally being recognized for his contribution to design in Australia.
Enjoy!
P.S. The Sportsfield was full so I took in a comedy instead at the local cinema. I highly recommend it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54393527@N03/sets/72157625267067449/
I, for one, must admit have...
I, for one, must admit have no knowledge of vintage Australian design. Therefor I appreciate the effort of the poster to catch my attention.
Maybe if Austrialian design is as recognised as Paulana & Ball claim it, some DA-ers can post pics of there pieces.
Lots more where that came from....
In regards to the Número ottoman, yes I have seen the whole set (pictured) in a thrift shop about 15 years ago so they do exist, I didn't know he designed it at the time.
There is no doubting the popularity and beauty of grant Featherston's furniture, but I must admit that I prefer Meadmore and Gordon Andrews (see pic below). I just love the combination of steel rod and timber. For those who are interested, other designers include Dario Zoureff, Schulim Krimper, Rosando Bros, Fler, Danish De Luxe, Douglas Snelling, Hans Heysen, George Korody, and Doube.
Thanks all for taking the time to look.
Cheers,
Tick.
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