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Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban

Presented by Cincinnati Art Museum at Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati OH

Jul 08 2022
-
Oct 02 2022
Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban

This exhibition unlocks new scholarship on this rare interior and the significant contributions of Joseph Urban to the development of American modern design.

In 1929, Viennese-born architect and designer Joseph Urban was commissioned to create a bedroom for seventeen-year-old Elaine Wormser who lived with her parents in the Drake Tower, Chicago. Urban (1872–1933) was a prolific and broadly recognized artist whose work ranged from film, theatre and operatic sets to buildings, textiles, even cars. The modern, fanciful bedroom that Urban designed for Elaine Wormser featured a daring combination of colors and pattern, black glass walls and a reflective silvered ceiling. Elements from this bespoke interior now reside in the Cincinnati Art Museum and constitute the largest collection of Urban-designed furnishings in a public institution.

Over 90 years after its completion, the Wormser bedroom will go on public view for the first time, fully conserved and installed to reflect its original state as photographed in 1930. One of Urban’s last commissions, this interior embodies the distinct modern design vocabulary that Urban developed and employed throughout his career, highlighting his talent as a colorist, his flair for the dramatic, and his skillful blend of Viennese artistic influences with the prevailing modern style now known as Art Deco.

This exhibition unlocks new scholarship on this rare interior and the significant contributions of Joseph Urban to the development of American modern design. It also investigates the messaging conveyed by consumers when choosing modernism and the changing roles for women in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In addition to the bedroom, paintings, works on paper, costumes and related furnishings flesh out this exploration of Joseph Urban, the Wormser bedroom and the era. Behind-the-scenes investigations and processes necessary to reintroduce the room to the public are also featured.

The exhibition is accompanied by a full color illustrated catalogue and includes essays by leading authorities on the Wormser bedroom, Joseph Urban, and the introduction of modernism to the American public.

ADMISSION INFO

Free for members.

Ticketed for non-members.

Phone: (513) 639-2995

Email: CAMlistens@cincyart.org

LOCATION

Cincinnati Art Museum

953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202

Full map and directions

PARKING INFO

Parking: FREE. Bike Racks are available outside the Main Entrance of the Art Museum. Hook up to one of our Marcel Duchamp-inspired racks during your visit! Accessible Parking is available in our north parking lot, just past the main visitor parking lot and entrance. Wheelchair + Stroller Entry is available via our DeWitt Entrance, on the east side of the museum, near the accessible parking. Access to the Mary R. Schiff Library + Archives is available via our Castellini Foundation Entrance, just to the right of the main entrance on the west side of the building.

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