“My greatest satisfaction is when the sketch looks as though I had drawn it from the final piece, instead of the other way around”. Vladimir Kagan
PIASA’s American Design sale, on Wednesday, May 30th, offers four pieces emblematic of Vladimir Kagan’s talent. His mid-century modern style blends purity, decorative arts, and organic shapes.
Lot 177 - Vladimir Kagan (1927-2016)
Paire de fauteuils
Sold 9 562 €
Kagan was born in 1927 in Worms, Germany, to a family of craftsmen deeply attached to decorative arts. His father is a cabinetmaker and his grandfather a printed fabric and folkloric art objects salesman. In 1938, he emigrates to the US along with his family. As a student, he begins by drawing and sculpting, before focusing on design and architecture. After graduating from the School of Industrial Arts in 1946, he continues his studies at the University of Columbia. The following year, he joins his father’s cabinetmaker’s workshop, where he discovers the art of creating furniture. Kagan Father & Son work with many artists and craftsmen. Vladimir opens his first personal shop in 1949 in New York. A year later, he creates the Kagan-Dreyfuss showroom on East 57th Street, along with Hugo Dreyfuss.
Kagan’s inspirations are then, already, nature, antiquities and the Bauhaus movement. Initially, his knowledge of architecture is noticeable in his linear designs. Kagan advocates the Bahaus philosophy and the ‘less is more’ movement. His works are made of wood, fabric, iron or forged aluminum. Later on, it is the sculpture of wood into organic shapes that sets him apart, as showcased by the Rocking Chair and its footrest presented in the sale. Success is quick to come, and Kagan works as soon as 1950 for prestigious commissions for clients such as the UN for a cocktail lounge, Marylin Monroe, or Walt Disney.
Lot 123 - Vladimir Kagan (1927-2016)
Rocking chair et ottoman
Sold 13 000 €
Another of Kagan’s main concepts is function. Shape must follow function in order to build practical and comfortable furniture. Kagan’s inventiveness is demonstrated in his Floating Back Sofa, rid of armrests in order to save space. The organic shapes of the tri-symmetric armchairs (lot 124), from the eponymous series, follow the human anatomy. These chairs made the cover of New York Magazine, a popular bi-weekly publication, in 2002.
Lot 121 - Vladimir Kagan (1927-2016)
Canapé
Sold 13 000 €
Throughout his career, multiple awards show the major role played by Vladimir Kagan in design, notably from the MoMA and the American Society of Furniture Designers.
