Pepe Mendoza | Magnificent Mexican Modernism

Designer, Pepe Mendoza ran a foundry in Mexico that produced a limited number of furniture pieces and decorative objects in the late 1950s and 60s. His work is characterized by a cloisonné type technique, utilizing turquoise and other colorful stones to create elaborate metalwork in exuberant forms. Rumor has it; Mendoza also produced hardware for other well known mid-century modern designers such as T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings as well as California designers Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman. Mendoza’s work has a distinct glamour and style to it, perfect for West coast living.

Pepe Mendoza coffee table
Coffee table in brass, ceramic and glass along with Mendoza’s classic cloisonné technique, c. 1960.


A rare pair of Mendoza leather lounge chairs constructed of rosewood and walnut, c. 1955.

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Donald Deskey | Industrial Designer with a Luxury Look

Donald Deskey, an innovate industrial designer was among the leading figures to introduce modern design to the United States in the late 1920s. Born in 1894, in Blue Earth Minnesota, studied architecture at the University of California Berkeley and then painting at the California School of Design, the Art Institute of Chicago and Art Students League in New York. While in Chicago and New York, Mr. Deskey began to work as a commercial artist for several advertising agencies, leading to a 20-year association with Procter & Gamble. His designs have graced many household products from the Crest toothpaste packaging (which has remained the same since its creating in the 1950s) to designs for Cheer, Prell and Jif peanut butter, shaping the look of American everyday living for years to come.

Moving in to furniture and textile design Donald Deskey won the competition to design the Radio City Music Hall in 1930. He worked on this important commission from 1931-1939. Mr. Deskey was also adept at luxurious interior design, creating interiors for such prominent clients as Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and Helena Rubinstein. He has been named one of the top 20 design influences of the 20th century by Architectural Digest.
Donald Deskey Chest of drawers

Chest of drawers, this six-drawer chest constructed of sienna micarta and walnut, with cast aluminum drawer pulls and formed legs. Mr. Deskey created this piece for the manufacturer Charak Modern in 1958.
Donald Deskey Art Deco Andiron

This pair of Art Deco Andiron, showcases Deskey’s passion for working with various metals, these examples in polished brass and painted iron, c. 1940s.

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Pierre Chareau | A Lyrical Machine and Master of Materials

Pierre Chareau (1883–1950), a French architect, interior and furniture designer born in Bordeaux, France attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from the age of 17 to a family of shipbuilders. Together with Le Corbusier, Pierre Chareau was one of the first modern architects of France to experiment with new materials such as glass and steel. His major architectural work and Modernist landmark, the Maison de Verre (1928-1931) in Paris, consists of three floors, with a central courtyard – its metal frame structure supported framed panels of glass. The rooms were separated by wood or metal closet doors that slid or rotated, while the structural elements remained visible, transforming the house’s functional elements into decorative ones – the house was conceived as a total space. Although trained as an architect, Chareau’s primary interest was furniture design. Pierre Chareau’s furniture was often dynamic – designed to perform multiple functions, pivoting, expanding, transformable. The influence of Neoplasticism, Cubism and De Stijl is seen boldly in his work. In 1939 Chareau, forced to leave Paris came to the United States and in the mid-1940s the artist Robert Motherwell commissioned him to design a small studio house in the Hamptons, demolished in 1985.
Pierre Chareau lamp LP180

This important Chareau lamp, model LP 180, boasts 2 quarter circle alabaster shades atop a trapezoid plied metal base, c. 1923.
Pierre Chareau desk

A play on contrasts, this Chareau desk combines his signature metal with precious woods, c. 1927.

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Warren Platner | From Steel Wire to Sculptural Form

Warren Platner, architect, furniture and interior designer is an icon of 1960’s Modernism. As a graduate from Cornell University in 1941 with a degree in architecture, he worked for some of the most prominent architectural practices in the country, including the iconic firms of Raymond Loewy, I.M. Pei, Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche – before opening his own firm, Warren Platner Associates. In the mid-60s, while working in the firms of Saarinen and Roche, Platner unveiled his collection of chairs, ottomans and tables, known as the Platner Collection. Produced by Knoll International, with the aid of a grant from the Graham Foundation, each piece rested on a sculptural base of nickel-plated steel rods resembling a “shiny sheaf of wheat. Production was complicated because the sculptural bases were made of hundreds of rods and for some chairs required more than 1,000 welds. An intricate cylindrical mesh steel base, creating a unique architectural play between the interior and exterior space, supported the upholstered seat. Platner designed other office furniture and was also involved in a number of large architecture and interior design commissions in which he was often responsible for details down to the dishes and textiles. One of Platner’s most well know interior projects was Windows on the World, which opened at the World Trade Center in 1976.
Warren Platner Settee
A rare Warren Platner Settee c.1968, only 50 of these were produced. This piece has not been re-issued by Knoll and is highly sought after.

Custom Warren Platner Rosewood Credenza c. 1972. Exceptional monumental book-matched Rosewood veneer and topped with a granite slab by Platner for Lehigh-Leopold.

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The Design Culture and Whimsical Work of Ettore Sottsass

Born in 1917, in Innsbruck Austria, Ettore Sottsass brought ironic wit, bold colors and contemporary styling to everyday objects. In 1958, he started to work with Olivetti as a design consultant for more than twenty years. In 1967, together with Fernanda Pivano and the poet Allen Ginsberg, he founded the magazine ‘pianeta fresco’. In the 1980’s he created the Memphis group of international postmodern designers and architects. This design collective is known for neon colors, odd, angled shapes, kitsch suburban motifs and laminate patterns containing squiggle graphics.
Ettore Sottsass Carlton book case

The Carlton book case c.1981. Boasts the classic Memphis movement elements, wood and plastic laminate constructed in an array of colors, unusual angles and whimsy.
Ettore Sottsass Eastside lounge chairs
The ‘Eastside’ lounge chairs, c.1980 were commissioned by Knoll, in wool upholstery with metal frames.

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