2015 | Marcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer (1902–81) was a Bauhaus master, path-breaking furniture designer and a pioneer of post-war modern architecture. Born in Hungary, he worked in Germany and Switzerland developing exquisite furniture designs in tubular steel. Breuer left Nazi Germany for Britain in 1935, where he resided in the Isokon alongside former Bauhaus director Walter Gropius, and later László Moholy-Nagy. 

His time in Britain marked a fervent period of activity, as Breuer designed works in plywood for Jack Pritchard’s Isokon Furniture Company, including the celebrated Long Chair. The interior design of the Isobar, the Isokon’s legendary restaurant and social hub was also on the menu. 

Emigrating to the United States in 1937, his main focus became architecture. His work from this latter period is characterised by an expressive vocabulary in concrete and at times a breathtaking sense of drama. 

Download the exhibition panels (PDF)

Text: Magnus Englund, Christopher Wilk
Design: Sol Kawage