DesignMiami/ 2019

Moderne Gallery announces discovery of one of the most important original American Art Deco designs. This unique set was made for Frankl’s own apartment, using full cork sheets, a material that he began to experiment with in the early 1930’s. Letter from Professor Christopher Long, University of Texas Frankl expert & author, Paul T. Frankl and Modern American Design: “The chairs represent very fine examples of Frankl’s so-called “Speed” furniture designed to convey a sense of movement and flow. Frankl had developed this form in 1931-2. What makes these pieces unusual, indeed exceptional, is their cork veneer. It was a new material for Frankl at the time, and I have never seen another set exactly like this. Frankl started experimenting with cork in the early 1930s, but in his first versions he used the material sparingly, mostly on the arms of chairs (see version in the Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Waddell collection). Here he applied full sheets of cork to almost all of the surfaces. He made this ensemble for his New York City apartment not long before closing his New York City gallery and moving to Los Angeles. This ensemble represents a one-of-a-kind, and very important Frankl design, as good as anything that I have seen on the market. It is the consummate expression of the 1930s American modernist aesthetic and a superb example of Frankl’s work.”