Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design
October 4, 2025 - January 25, 2026
2:00–4:00 PM | Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA)
West Bend, Wisconsin
About the Exhibition
Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design is more than an exhibition—it’s an experiential journey through Wright’s rarely seen experiments in furniture design and a comprehensive new look at how one of the greatest architects of all time fundamentally shaped modern living.
Curated by Eric Vogel, architectural historian, independent curator, and President of Docomomo US/Wisconsin, the exhibition reflects Vogel’s long-standing commitment to advancing public understanding of modern design. Presented in collaboration with the Museum of Wisconsin Art, this project continues Docomomo Wisconsin’s mission to document and celebrate modernist heritage throughout the state.
The exhibition reconsiders the Wisconsin-born architect’s innovative and often overlooked contributions to furniture design. While Wright is best known for his buildings and his role in shaping an American architectural vision, he also designed more than two hundred chairs over his seventy-year career. Modern Chair Design presents forty of Wright’s most significant domestic pieces—several on view for the first time—alongside working sketches and archival photographs.
Organized around five distinct design periods between 1911 and 1959, the show traces Wright’s evolution from his Prairie School years through experimental designs at Taliesin in Wisconsin and later innovations at Taliesin West in Arizona. These works illustrate how Wright’s homes and studios functioned as laboratories for modern design, testing ideas, materials, and forms that would influence generations to come.
History Reincarnated
Modern Chair Design takes an inventive approach to interpreting history by bringing a selection of Frank Lloyd Wright’s lost and unbuilt chairs to life through contemporary fabrication. Using original drawings, archival materials, and historical photographs, the exhibition includes the first-ever realized designs for projects such as the A.D. German Warehouse in Richland Center, Wisconsin, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Created in partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Taliesin Institute, these newly fabricated works now join MOWA’s permanent collection. Displayed alongside thirty historic pieces, they provide a comprehensive view of Wright’s design trajectory. This innovative curatorial approach—championed by Vogel—treats fabrication not as replication but as a living investigation into Wright’s process, philosophy, and material experimentation. It invites audiences to reconsider the boundaries between architecture, craft, and modern life.
Opening Party
Saturday, October 4 | 2:00–4:00 PM
Celebrate the opening of Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design with curator Eric Vogel, Museum of Wisconsin Art staff, and special guests.
Location: Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA), West Bend, WI
Admission: Visit wisconsinart.org for details
This event is shared for community interest and highlights the curatorial work of Docomomo US/Wisconsin President Eric Vogel. It is not hosted by Docomomo US/Wisconsin.
Stay tuned for Docomomo WI branded tours of this exhibition!
Image Credits:
Frank Lloyd Wright, Armchair for Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin, designed c. 1914, fabricated 2025 by Stafford Norris III, Cypress, upholstered fabric, gold leaf. Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend; © Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. Used with permission.