Week 12: Mar. 24, 2024

Four pieces - Bauhaus collection; (Left to right) Gaberndorf II, Lyonel Feininger, American, 1924, Oil on canvas; Rose with Gray, Vasily Kandinsky, Russian, 1924, Oil on pulp board; Armchair: Model MR20, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German, 1927, Nickel-plated steel, steel, and cane; Standard Lamp, Wilhelm Wagenfeld, German, 1926, Nickel-plated brass, glass, brass, and resin.

Room with a vision…

Each piece in this installation was designed within a three-year time span and all grew out of the Bauhaus school in Germany. The school only operated between the two world wars (1919-1933) and was based on the idea of bringing all the arts together.

This was the first time I noticed the installation - so I believe it was set up this way relatively recently. I loved the way it really created a sense of a room from a moment in time and brought interior design, painting, and furnishings together.

I photographed it from multiple angles trying to create the sense of a space that I saw in person - and this angle was closest. Other artwork around the gallery mirrored the same aesthetic and I’ll probably use some for future posts. I have always known of Bauhaus and their modernism influense, and of Kandinsky’s painting, but the piece by Feininger was new to me and really powerful in person. Both artists focused on the connection between color and music. While I can imagine music when I look at the work of Kandinsky I didn’t initially recognize that influence in Feininger’s work. However, the Feininger painting is influenced by his love of Bach and uses layered colors the way that Bach used layered musical compositions and interwoven pieces in his music.