Recreations of Frank Lloyd Wright chairs alongside the originals will be on display in Wisconsin until January 2026

The Wisconsin Museum of Art has opened the exhibition Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design, a showcase dedicated to the furniture designs of the renowned American architect, featuring several replicas created especially for the occasion.

The exhibition brings together more than thirty chairs designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, highlighting these pieces as a fundamental yet often overlooked aspect of his architectural work.

Spanning from the early 1900s to the late 1950s, the exhibition explores both the evolution and the constants in Wright’s design approach throughout his career. It includes original pieces produced during his lifetime as well as recreations of designs that were never built, among them those conceived for the AD German Warehouse and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

The curators aim to emphasize the importance of chair design as a key element in the transformation of American design driven by Wright.

“Wright’s chairs offer a fascinating perspective on both his evolving design philosophy and the changing nature of American domestic life,” explained Thomas Szolwinski, curator of architecture and design at the Wisconsin Museum of Art.

“Early in his career, his furniture reflected the Arts and Crafts ideal: solid, handcrafted, and designed for large, often luxurious homes.”

“As his work progressed through the Taliesin and Usonian periods, his designs became lighter, more modular, and more in tune with the realities of modern life,” added Szolwinski.

“He favored efficiency, flexibility, and new materials such as plywood, aligning with broader cultural shifts toward informality and efficiency in the American home.”

Szolwinski and co-curator Eric Vogel spent several years researching archival materials to trace the development of Wright’s chair designs in relation to his architecture. They collaborated with craftsmen, including S. Lloyd Natof, Wright’s great-grandson, to reconstruct lost pieces based on historical photographs.

In total, twelve chairs were recreated specifically for the exhibition, including an armchair designed for the James Kibben Ingalls House in River Forest, Illinois. The team also reproduced the coffee table originally designed for the Guggenheim Museum.

“Created in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and the Taliesin Institute, these newly fabricated works are displayed alongside thirty historical pieces to present a more complete view of Wright’s design trajectory,” said Szolwinski.

“The project treats fabrication not as replication, but as a form of research—an active investigation into Wright’s evolving process, philosophy, and material language.”

The pieces are displayed in chronological order, accompanied by interpretive texts that contextualize the origin and purpose of each design. Highlights include the cane-panel armchair designed for the Emil Bach House in Chicago and the Origami chairs created for Wright’s studio at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The exhibition Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design will be on view from October 4, 2025, through January 26, 2026.