“Dining Chairs,” for the Malcolm Willey House, Minneapolis, designed c. 1932–34. (Courtesy the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation)
When curators Thomas Szolwinski and Eric Vogel realized how many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s furniture designs remained unbuilt, they asked themselves a simple but provocative question. What if these pieces could be seen again? Thus began the foundational work behind Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design, now on view at the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) in West Bend.
Co-curated by Szolwinski and Vogel, whose original research grounds the exhibition, Modern Chair Design traces Wright’s creative ethos through the lens of furniture and, specifically, chairs. The intention, Szolwinski says, is not only to uplift Wright’s furniture design in its own right, but to highlight just how intertwined his functional and architectural visions were.
“Wright’s furniture designs really mirror the evolution of his architecture, but they also show a more personal, experimental side of his process,” Szolwinski tells My Modern Met. “Even though he consistently worked within his idea of ‘organic design,’ he often recycled and reimagined earlier pieces, redesigning or adapting them for new projects.”
To illustrate that trajectory, the exhibition is organized into five distinct design periods between 1911 and 1959. Throughout, visitors receive a comprehensive overview of how Wright’s early work, which Szolwinski describes as “very rectilinear,” eventually transformed into more rigorous experiments in craft, form, and texture. Perhaps nothing encapsulates that evolution better than the Origami Armchair, designed in 1946 for Taliesin West, Wright’s studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. Forgoing boxy silhouettes and rigid geometric shapes, Origami Armchair is instead organic and fluid, its arms folding outward like a pair of wings.
“By focusing on chairs, we wanted to show how even in the most functional object, Wright was experimenting with space, geometry, and material in ways that paralleled, and sometimes eclipsed, his buildings,” Szolwinski explains. “Our goal was to reintroduce Wright’s furniture as a vital part of his design philosophy—one that’s often overshadowed by his architecture.”
That’s precisely why Szolwinski found himself gravitating toward the designs that were never realized during Wright’s lifetime or that had been lost to history. In partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright and Taliesin Institutes, MOWA fabricated eight chairs for the first time, alongside contemporary reconstructions of four other chairs that no longer exist. All 12 of these objects are directly informed by archival materials, including original drawings and sketches.
“The project began with two chairs known to have existed at Wright’s Taliesin dining table, documented only in archival photographs,” Szolwinski says. “From there, we expanded our scope to include designs that existed solely in drawings but had never been made.”
When accompanied by the 30 historic pieces in the exhibition, these newly fabricated works offer a more corrective—and unprecedented—glimpse into Wright’s creative practice. Modern Chair Design makes clear that Wright not only helped to shape America’s architectural future, but he was also a pioneer in furniture design. That history is reincarnated as living objects activated through construction.
“Modern Chair Design treats fabrication not as replication, but as a form of research—an active investigation into Wright’s process, philosophy, and evolving material language,” Szolwinski notes. “My hope is that people come away with a deeper appreciation for Wright not just as an architect, but as a prolific designer who worked vigorously and inventively for seven decades to shape an original American vision. I also hope they recognize that his furniture was central to that vision, not secondary to it.”
Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design is now on view at the Museum of Wisconsin Art through January 26, 2026.
Now open at the Museum of Wisconsin Art, Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design explores the architect’s singular vision for modern furniture.
Installation view of “Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design,” now open at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. (Courtesy MOWA)
“Chair and Table,” for the Tree Room, Taliesin Fellowship Complex, Spring Green, WI, designed 1932. (Courtesy the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation)
“Origami Armchair,” for Taliesin West, Scottsdale, AZ, designed 1946. (Courtesy the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation)
“Armchair,” for Taliesin, Spring Green, WI, designed c. 1914. (Courtesy the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation)
Installation view of “Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design,” now open at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. (Courtesy MOWA)
The exhibition includes several of Wright’s iconic furniture designs, many of which are contemporary fabrications.
“Hillside Dining Room Chair,” for the Taliesin Fellowship Complex, Spring Green, WI, designed c. 1939–40. (Courtesy the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation)
Installation view of “Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design,” now open at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. (Courtesy MOWA)
“Café Chairs,” for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, designed c. 1957. (Courtesy the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation)
Installation view of “Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design,” now open at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. (Courtesy MOWA)
“Mori Chair,” for the S. Mori Oriental Art Studio and Japanese Print Shop, Chicago, design c. 1914–15. (Courtesy the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation)
Exhibition Information:
Frank Lloyd Wright
Modern Chair Design
October 4, 2025–January 25, 2026
Museum of Wisconsin Art
205 Veterans Ave., West Bend, WI 53095
Museum of Wisconsin Art: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by MOWA.
Related Articles:
Airstream Trailer Combines Frank Lloyd Wright’s Exquisite Design With Sleek Functionality
Designers Help Bring Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unbuilt Projects to Life
Organic Beauty of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater Celebrated in New Coffee Table Book