“Josef Hoffmann: Interiors, 1902–1913,” presents four complete interiors by the influential Austrian architect at Neue Galerie, on view through February 26. It is the first exhibition of its kind, and highlights material never before shown in the United States.
“This exhibition will surprise and, I hope, please many people,” said Ronald S. Lauder, president of the Neue Galerie. “These magnificent interiors contain all the color and sense of fantasy that Josef Hoffmann originally gave to them.”
“Hoffmann epitomizes early Twentieth Century Viennese design,” said Renee Price, director of the Neue Galerie. “His rigorously abstracted forms were essential in defining the style of the era.”
Hoffmann (1870–1956) is recognized as one of the leading figures in the modern movement. The four featured interiors are a girl’s bedroom from the Max Biach residence, Vienna 1902; the dining room from the residence of the Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler, Geneva 1913; a bedroom from the Hans Salzer residence, Vienna 1902; and the dining room from the residence of Jerome Stonborough and Margarete Stonborough-Wittgenstein, Berlin 1905.
Each interior has been furnished with numerous objects original to those rooms: furniture, wall and floor coverings, textiles, lighting, ceramics, glass, and metalwork. Many of these products were produced under the auspices of the influential Wiener Werkstätte, of which Hoffmann was the artistic director.
The exhibition was organized by decorative arts curator Christian Witt-Dorring, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog. The recent Neue Galerie acquisition, “Adele Bloch-Bauer,” 1907, by Gustav Klimt, will remain on view at the museum in its original Josef Hoffmann frame.
Neue Galerie New York is at 1048 Fifth Avenue. For more information, 212-628-6200 or www.neuegalerie.org.
