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Neue Galerie New York
Museum for German and Austrian Art
www.neuegalerie.org
1048 Fifth Avenue
NYC, NY 10028
212.628.6200
Josef Hoffmann: Interiors, 1902-1913
(Hoffmann Bio)
November 2, 2006-February 26, 2007
Laura Lander, Press
Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
November 1, 2006
(See a Neue Galerie Photo-Review of Gustav Klimt Paintings)
After a delicious apple strudel, hot with crème fresh, and the best Viennese cappuccino ever, at Neue Galerie’s Café Sabarsky, (which, as it happens, also houses a Bösendorfer piano for musical events, courtesy of Bösendorfer New York), I wandered through the four elegantly furnished rooms in the style of and with the furnishings crafted by Austrian architect, Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956), between 1902-1913. He is considered a force that influenced the modern movement in art and design. The four featured interiors are: a girl’s bedroom from Vienna, 1902, a master bedroom from Vienna,1902, a Berlin dining room from 1905, and a dining room from Geneva, 1913. Furniture and objects, original to these rooms, are on display, such as lighting, wall stenciling and painting, floor coverings, metalwork, textiles, and ceramics.
High points, which I will re-visit, are a chandelier for the Wiener Werkstätte, 1903, of silver-plated brass and glass, and a card table with geometrically arranged horses and formally dressed riders. The wood in much of the furniture is chocolate brown, rich and heavy, but of simple and clean lines. Linens and chairs are uncluttered and intrinsic to the gestalt. The walls of Neue Galerie have black polka dots on white, shining surfaces, mathematically organized stripes and intricate designs. There is early twentieth century music wafting throughout the halls, in such a way to enhance the aesthetic experience. Silverware, vases, tables, and other objets d-art, are strategically placed alla round. Art work is minimal, always worked into the whole. Additional juxtaposed galleries exhibit black/white photographs that illuminate the original interiors and Hoffmann’s work.
Josef HOFFMANN (1870-1956)
Cupboard from Katharina Biach's room, 1902-03
Execution: unknown>br>Painted pine with maple veneer and inlays of black-stained wood, metal mounts
Private collection, Courtesy Neue Galerie New York
Josef HOFFMANN (1870-1956)
Washstand and toilette table in the master bedroom of the Salzer apartment, Vienna 1902
Illustration from Das Interieur, 1903
Josef Hoffmann in the studio of Koloman Moser, Vienna ca. 1898
Photographer unknown
Vintage gelatin silver print
Neue Galerie New York
Josef HOFFMANN (1870-1956)
Chair for the dining room of Purkersdorf Sanatorium, 1904
Execution: J. & J. Kohn
Beechwood, stained brown, partly bent and lathe-turned; laminated wood, red leather covering (formerly red oilcloth)
Neue Galerie New York
Josef HOFFMANN (1870-1956) and
Carl Otto CZESCHKA (1878-1960)
Card table for Karl Wittgenstein, 1907
Execution: Wiener Werkstätte
Macassar ebony, carved wood, gold-plated; marquetry in various types of wood, ivory and mother-of-pearl
Private collection, Vienna
Josef HOFFMANN (1870-1956) and
Carl Otto CZESCHKA (1878-1960)
Card table for Karl Wittgenstein, 1907
Execution: Wiener Werkstätte
Macassar ebony, carved wood, gold-plated; marquetry in various types of wood, ivory and mother-of-pearl
Private collection, Vienna
Josef HOFFMANN (1870-1956)
Textile design 6015, 1906
Pencil, Japan ink, and watercolor on graph paper
Archive of the firm Johann Backhausen & Söhne, Vienna, pattern protected by copyright
Josef HOFFMANN (1870-1956)
Dress design, 1910
Execution: Wiener Werkstätte
Photograph from a Wiener Werkstätte fashion album
MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Arts, Vienna
Josef HOFFMANN (1870-1956)
Tobacco case for Otto Primavesi, Vienna 1912
Execution: Wiener Werkstätte
Gold; lapis lazuli, pearl, turquoise, coral, opal, cornelian, and other semi-precious stones
Private collection, Courtesy Neue Galerie New York
Josef HOFFMANN (1870-1956) and Koloman MOSER (1868-1918)
Chandelier for the Wiener Werkstätte, 1903
Silver-plated brass, alpacca, glass
Neue Galerie New York
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