Asheville Art Museum, 2 South Pack Square
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
30 January – 10 May 2009
The designs that introduced mid-century modern to daily life in the 1950s and have remained important today await visitors to the Asheville Art Museum’s exhibition Eva Zeisel: The Shape of Life. In addition to designing for companies such as General Mills, Rosenthal China and Castleton China, she taught one of the first courses in industrial design at the Pratt Institute in New York and had the first one-woman show at the Museum of Modern Art in 1946.
Zeisel’s designs are made for use. The inspiration for her sensuous forms often comes from the natural organic curves of the body, taking advantage of the softness of clay.
Zeisel’s approach to modernism most likely comes as a reaction to the Bauhaus aesthetics that were popular at the time of her early training. Her sense of form and color show influence from the Hungarian folk art she grew up seeing.
Zeisel’s designs are often made in sets or in relationship to other objects. Many of Zeisel’s designs nest together creating modular pieces that also function to save space.
Recent designs have included a teakettle for Chantal, glasses for Nambé, a sink and bathtub for Signature, ceramics for KleinReid as well as of one of Crate and Barrel’s best-selling dinner services.
Her best-known work includes the eccentric, biomorphic “Town and Country” line of dishes produced by Red Wing Pottery, The “Tomorrow’s Classic” and “Century” lines for Hallcraft, the “Museum” line from Castleton, which was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, and the “Tri-Tone” line by Hall.
This news message is supported by The Bazaar, a marketplace to buy and sell creative objects. Earn more revenue by selling your prints, downloadable images, or custom products. Set up your store today and stand a chance to have your products featured on DesignTAXI, towards millions of lovers of creative content!
