Brutalism was a term given to a particularly raw and rough design genre which emerged from Post-World War II Europe. It was most likely given that name due to the torched, twisted, torn and crimped materials, mostly metals, that designers willed into submission. Such designers as Paul Evans, Silas Seandel, Tom Greene, and Curtis Jere were among the high practioners of this artform. Today, many of these pieces, many by Evans in particular, are commanding stratospheric prices as new collectors discover the strange and abstract beauty of these pieces.
Paul Evans produced a line of pieces for Directional Furniture in the 1960’s. Here are some examples from his Argente and Cityscape series.
Silas Seandel is also an American trained sculpture producing both large scale metal installations such as the one he did recently for the World Trade Center Memorial, but is probably best known for bringing traditional sculpting techniques to furniture.
Tom Greene designed lighting for the Feldman Lighting Co. of Los Angeles. Feldman was a prominent lighting company from the 1940’s through the 1970’s. Greene was known for his fantastic torch cut chandeliers.
Curtis Jere is actually the nom de plume of artists Jerry Fels and Curtis Freiler. Together they produced metalworks for their company Artisan House. Although still in business today, it is the pieces from the 1960’s to the early 1970’s that have collectors clamoring. Below: Starburst Wall Decoration – a highly collected piece by Jere / Raindrop Mirror – probably one of the most sought after designs from Curtis Jere / Abstract wall decoration
