From Modernism 101. Published in conjunction with an exhibition at Barry Friedman Ltd.It is hard to believe that the chair wasn’t a common piece of furniture until the Renaissance. By the 20th century, the chair became more than a piece of furniture—it became a reflection of the designer’s philosophy especially regarding his/her stance on technology. Sometimes form triumphed over function.

The designers for the 65 chairs featured include Henry Van de Velde, Antonio Gaudi y Cornet, Hector Guimard, Eugene Gaillard, Louis Majorelle, Carlo Bugatti, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Victor Horta, Josef Maria Olbrich, Bernard Pankok, Peter Behrens, Bruno Paul, Richard Riemerschmid, Adolf Loos, Otto Wagner, Josef Hoffmann, Wilhelm Schmidt, Hans Vollmer, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Rohlfs, Francis Jourdain, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Pierre Chareau, Jean-Michel Frank, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, Marcel Breuer, Bruno Mathsson, Marcel Louis Baugniet, Alvar Aalto, Gerald Summers, Elsie de Wolfe, Ray and Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen, Hans Wegner, Jean Prouvé, George Nelson, Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini, and Dan Johnson.