Gilbert Rohde (American, 1894–1944)
Herman Miller Furniture Company (American, founded 1923)
Zeeland, Michigan
Paldao Ectoplastic Desk (no. 4106)
INV-2020
Gilbert Rohde (American, 1894–1944)
Herman Miller Furniture Company (American, founded 1923)
Zeeland, Michiganc. 1940
Paldao Ectoplastic Desk (no. 4106)
Gilbert Rohde (American, 1894–1944) Herman Miller Furniture Company (American, founded 1923) Zeeland, Michigan →SurrealismModernismdeskfurniture
Date
c. 1940
Medium
Paldao, acacia burl, imitation leather, and brass tacks
Dimensions
74.9 × 132.1 × 81.3 cm (29 1/2 × 52 × 32 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Stanley and Polly Stone Endowment; American Art Purchase Fund
Gibert Rohde’s “Ectoplastic” desk is one of the earliest examples of furniture in the United States featuring the biomorphic shapes associated with Surrealism, a global movement that explored the accidental, the irrational, and the subconscious workings of the mind. Melding fantasy and functionalism, the curvilinear work surface appears to float on top of the leg and base. Rohde designed this desk for the Herman Miller Furniture Company as part of the Paldao Group, an 80-piece furniture suite named for the distinct wood with contrasting grain that appears on the desktop.
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