Posts Tagged ‘home furniture’
Frank Owen Gehry, Icon of Modern Architecture
Born Ephraim Owen Goldberg in 1929, a young boy discovered that almost anything could be molded into beauty; be it pieces of chain link fence, wood scraps or tossed aside corrugated steel. This creativity followed Goldberg into his adult life when he changed his name to Frank Owen Gehry. Still amazing the world with the impossible and intriguing designs of buildings, sculptures, jewelry and modern home furniture, Gehry does what he loves.
Gehrys architectural designs have received harsh criticism from designers who see his work as overshadowing a buildings intended use with an overwhelming nature. Others applaud the fresh, non-traditional role that a Gehry building offers to society and welcome his methods with awards and embrace his role as Distinguished Professor of Architecture at Columbia University and the Yale School of Architecture. He continues to receive many national, regional and local A.I.A. awards, in addition to the Pritzker Prize in 1989.
Sculpture, household items, furniture and even jewelry are other areas that employ much of Gehrys time with design ideas. Often referring to creating new lines of furniture as his quick fix, Gehrys first furniture collection debuted in 1969 and was made out of cardboard. Next came the Bentwood Furniture line, naming each piece after a different hockey team, his favorite pastime. His latest line is presented by Heller and consists of modular sections perfect for moving about but very attractive and comfortable.
Some of the most popular designs by Gehry include Vitra Design Museum, Vitra premises, Weil am Rhein, Germany; Dancing House (Fred and Ginger), Prague, Czech Republic; and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California, USA. A few current works in progress include the New World Symphony campus, Miami Beach, Florida, Suna Kirac Cultural Center, Istanbul, Turkey and the Performing Arts Complex at the World Trade Center site in New York City.
Frank often refers to his love of sculpting and designing simple modern furniture as his ‘quick fix’ as the work does not require the months and years of intensity in architecture. But this does not diminish the quality or thought that he portrays in every design that he completes. The Gehry furniture collection by Heller proves this by the sleek, pandemic nature of the pieces. Simple in design yet complex in presence, the modular units can stand-alone or be used in dozens of different ways as groupings.
A quiet boy from the 40s proves that imagination can grow into anything obtainable with hard work and structure. Owning a piece of Frank Owen Gehry can never go wrong with the extensive reputation that this man has made for himself and his modern contemporary furniture design.