Vienna in 1900 was a melting pot of creativity. Composer Gustav Mahler underwent psychoanalysis with Sigmund Freud, while Gustav Klimt’s life partner Emilie Flöge founded the Schwestern Flöge fashion salon and was the subject of Klimt’s iconic work ‘The Kiss’. In this atmosphere, the artist and craftsman collective Wiener Werkstätte was established by architect Josef Hoffmann, artist Koloman Moser and patron Fritz Waerndorfer in 1903. They questioned the progress of industrialisation and were dedicated to promoting the status of craftsmen and the value of their craftsmanship. Art and design would encompass a wide range of media from architecture, furniture, fashion and jewellery to toys and functional items. The idea of eliminating the distinction between art and craft would also become central to Swedish architecture and design.
The Wiener Werkstätte exhibition at Millesgården is the first comprehensive presentation of this important period of art and design history to a Swedish audience. Over 200 significant works and objects ̶ furniture, textiles, graphic arts, bookbinding, toys, fashion, jewellery, silver, glass and ceramics ̶ illustrate the history of the movement from its beginnings in 1903 to its end in 1932.
At the turn of the 20th century, Vienna was a metropolis and a melting pot of creativity within all art forms. Composer Gustav Mahler underwent psychoanalysis with Sigmund Freud, while Gustav Klimt’s life partner Emilie Flöge founded the Schwestern Flöge fashion salon and inspired Klimt’s iconic work ‘The Kiss’. In the Viennese coffee houses, there was an extraordinary cross-fertilisation of ideas between poets, artists, musicians, writers and other creative figures. In this atmosphere, architect Josef Hoffmann, artist Koloman Moser and patron Fritz Waerndorfer founded the collective Wiener Werkstätte in 1903.
The Wiener Werkstätte was inspired by the British Arts and Crafts movement. It questioned the progress of industrialisation and what it meant for people’s working conditions and the quality of our existence. Unlike the Arts and Crafts movement, which was inspired by the past, the Wiener Werkstätte looked to the future, toward a new design for the new man. The Wiener Werkstätte was dedicated to promoting the craftsmen’s status, and thus the value of their craftsmanship. Art and design would encompass a wide range of media, from architecture, furniture design, fashion and jewellery, to toys and functional items. The idea of eliminating the distinction between art and craft would also become central in Swedish architecture and design. In the interwar period, the concept of the home as a functional work of art, in which the house and its furnishings are both practical and enriching to the senses, pervades all areas ̶ from pioneering city planning to cutlery ̶ simply a more beautiful everyday life.
In its early days, the Wiener Werkstätte accepted extensive commissions, including the construction of the Sanatorium Purkersdorf and other comprehensive designs such as the Fledermaus Cabaret and private villas like Villa Stoclet. Wiener Werkstätte soon gained recognition, opening branches in Zürich, Berlin and New York.
These trends in Swedish architecture and design history and the Wiener Werkstätte share a common element, namely Josef Frank. Before emigrating to Sweden in 1933, the Swedish-Austrian architect and designer was active in Vienna, where he created designs for furniture, patterns, light fixtures and functional items for the Wiener Werkstätte. He also founded the company Haus und Garten, which sprang from the same body of thought. Many of the visions that Frank brought with him to Sweden sprang from the culture that flourished in Vienna in the 1910s and 1920s and thus, by extension, helped shape Swedish design.
In this exhibition, the visitor can follow a chronological presentation, divided into four sections: 1903–1907 is characterised by Josef Hoffmann’s and Koloman Moser’s radical and geometric design, which has come to be associated with the Wiener Werkstätte. Next, the period 1908–1914, in which the strict frameworks dissolve and the style becomes more fluid. In the period from 1915 to 1923, Dagobert Peche’s undulating and floral style ushers an explosion of ornamental design. The final section, 1924–1932, is the women’s era, and sees the international launch of the workshop. Over 200 significant works and objects - furniture, textiles, graphic arts, bookbinding, toys, fashion, jewellery, silver, glass and ceramics - illustrate the history of the movement from its beginning in 1903 to its end in 1932.
In addition to the Wiener Werkstätte exhibition, Josef Frank and Haus und Garten are also presented in Anne’s House. There, visitors can learn about Frank’s early productions, many of which he later brought with him to Sweden.
The Wiener Werkstätte exhibition at Millesgården is the first comprehensive presentation of this essential period of art and design history to Swedish audiences.
About the exhibition
This exhibition is a collaboration with MAK (Museum für Angewandte Kunst) in Vienna. The works on loan are mainly from MAK, Decorative Arts Consult, the Leopold Museum, the Klimt Foundation and private lenders.
For further press information, interview requests, invitations to press showings or other press matters, please contact: Thomas Hägg, thomas.hagg@millesgarden.se or +46 708723806.
High-resolution press images and press material are available to download here: https://imagebank.thomashagg.com/shared/ZygMh9vppRiyk9Gda0D451fWGWEqSvjE
Millesgården Museum
Millesgården Museum, open all year round, is a haven located on the island of Lidingö just 20 minutes from central Stockholm. The Artist’s Home was constructed by sculptor Carl Milles and his wife, artist Olga Milles in 1908. Today, Millesgården Museum comprises an artist’s home, a collection of antiquities, a vast sculpture park, an Art Gallery, a museum shop and a restaurant.