January 19, 2018

Los Angeles Designers Honor Rudolph Schindler at MAK Center

Fitzpatrick Leland House (R.M. Schindler 1936). Julius Shulman Photography Archive © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)

Austrian-American architect Rudolph Schindler was a maverick of modernism. In the early 1920’s, the Frank Lloyd Wright protege amassed a portfolio of avant-garde residences emblematic of California modernism—well before Pierre Koenig or Richard Neutra popularized the style. Despite his prescience, Schindler mainly received posthumous recognition. Philip Johnson famously rejected him from MoMA’s landmark International Style exhibition, nor was he included in the Case Study Houses program.

Atelier de Troupe’s pendant fixture illuminates a Schindler sofa. Photography by Esteban Schimpf.

Los Angeles’s MAK Center for Art and Architecture is paying homage to Schindler through a series of exhibitions, starting with “Pin-Up: A Designed Tribute to Schindler’s L.A” at the architect’s Fitzpatrick-Leland House. The show evolves from “Schindler Goes West,” an exhibition at Paris’s Triode Gallery during the city’s design week in September, in which five Schindler enthusiasts (who all practice in Los Angeles) showcased furnishings and light fixtures that riff on his style. The designers—Atelier de Troupe creative director Gabriel Abraham, furniture guru Brendan Ravenhill, Interior Design Hall of Fame members Marmol Radziner, designer Pamela Shamshiri, and artist John Williams—reunite for “Pin-Up,” which shows original pieces alongside reinterpretations.  

Table, chairs, and light fixture by Brendan Ravenhill Studio. Photography by Esteban Schimpf.

“Pin-Up: A Designed Tribute to Schindler’s L.A.” will display until February 11. By appointment only. The Fitzpatrick-Leland House is located at 8078 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90046.

Sideboard and table lamp by Pamela Shamshiri. Photography by Esteban Schimpf.
Schindler armchairs flank Pamela Shamshiri’s trolley; overhead, Brendan Ravenhill’s light fixture. Photography by Esteban Schimpf.

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