Description

A leader and drum beater for the Postmodern movement, Robert Venturi designed a collection of furniture alongside his partner in design and life, Denise Scott Brown, for Knoll in 1984. The Venturi Collection epitomized both architect’s cerebral, pioneering writings that defined the next wave of Modernism that Venturi and Scott Brown themselves led. Working with Knoll Design Director Jeffrey Osborne, the architect’s series of tables and chairs were a contradiction of classical form – an abstraction of historic furniture styles intended to be representational rather than literal.

Using their characteristic wit and charm, Venturi and Scott Brown reinterpreted prominent styles of Chippendale, Empire, Queen Anne, Art Deco, Gothic Revival, Hepplewhite, Art Noveau and Biedermeier. The resulting collection combined symbolism and modern technology in an expression that looked to the past, present and future of furniture design.