Art Deco: A true NYC style

July 30, 2012 by guillaume 1 Comment

 

Although the style of Art Deco began in Paris in the 1920s, it quickly became an international style and influenced all areas of design: architecture, art, furniture, fashion, housewares, and film.  A departure from the organic, sensuous lines of the Art Nouveau movement, Art Deco is characterized by linear symmetry, sleek lines, and geometric elements.  It is inspired by ancient Aztec and Egyptian elements, as well as modern art movements such as cubism, neoclassicism, constructivism, modernism, and futurism.

 

The city of New York is filled with many Art Deco gems- the energy and modernism still lives on in the architecture, even though they were built almost a century ago! The ideals of the Art Deco movement seek to represent glamour, functionality, and elegant modernity.  The Chrysler building is a grand example of these ideas!

 

 

The interiors of these buildings, such as the Chrysler building, still have grand lobbies with Decorative, yet modern elements.  Metal, wood, and stone decorative motifs are often used together.

Here is a great example of a metal decorative motif on the facade of a building on 42nd street.  It was also the inspiration for part of a gorgeous Art-Deco style eglomise I made for a client!

 

Here is a cabinet I constructed when I found these beautiful metal doors in a Paris Flea market.  It made a beautiful addition to my client’s apartment, and is perfect with the antique tortoise-shell on top!

 

A great example of an AD decorative screen design.

 

One of the great artists of the Art Deco movement was Tamara De Lempicka, a Polish painter who created glamourous, dynamic images that perfectly capture the spirit of the times.  Here is a fabulous glamour girl in a green dress!

Next time you’re out and about in NYC, keep an eye out for fabulous Art Deco buildings and motifs (especially along 5th ave and Rockefeller center)- they have been a classic New York icon!