reconstructed frank lloyd wright chairs debut at MOWA show

mowa spotlights frank lloyd wright’s radical chair designs

From October 4th, 2025, to January 25th, 2026, the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) presents Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design, the first exhibition to treat the architect’s furniture as essential to his vision. Bringing together more than 40 chairs, many never exhibited before, alongside sketches, photographs, digital renderings, and newly constructed works, the show reveals how Wright’s furniture was integral to the environments he created.

The project is grounded in new research by architectural historian Eric Vogel, scholar-in-residence at the Taliesin Institute, who uncovered connections that recast Wright’s furniture as experimental and often ahead of its time. ‘When Wright rebuilt Taliesin after two major fires, he paired the new architecture with significant new and unprecedented furniture forms that were rejected by his clients at the time for their unconventionality,’ Vogel explains. To make these lost works visible again, MOWA collaborates with master woodworkers, including Wright’s great-grandson S. Lloyd Natof, to reconstruct designs that were never produced during the architect’s lifetime.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Armchair, for Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin, designed c. 1914, fabricated 2025 by Stafford Norris, III, Cypress, upholstered fabric, gold leaf. Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend; Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ.

lost works reconstructed to reveal new narratives

Between 1911 and 1959, Wright conceived more than 200 distinct chair designs, often tied to specific commissions but too unconventional for the clients who commissioned them. Modern Chair Design traces this body of work across five design periods, from Taliesin East in Wisconsin to Taliesin West in Arizona, revealing how these pieces served as extensions of his architectural spaces. ‘By viewing Wright’s furniture, specifically his chair designs, through the lens of Taliesin as a creative incubator, this exhibition reveals the experimental nature of his process and offers a fresh perspective on his architectural vision,’ says Thomas Szolwinski, MOWA’s Associate Curator of Architecture and Design.

Exhibition highlights include the first-ever construction of chairs designed for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum café, as well as reconstructions of pieces long thought lost. Loans from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the Minneapolis Museum of Art, and the Milwaukee Art Museum situate these works within the larger story of American modernism. Together, they demonstrate Wright’s conviction that furniture should be understood not only as functional but as ‘living designs,’ inseparable from the buildings they occupied. ‘The Museum of Wisconsin Art is delighted to contribute new research and conversations about this iconic figure in American architecture,’ says Laurie Winters, MOWA’s Executive Director.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Café Chairs (two), for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, designed c. 1957; fabricated 2025 by Butler Metal Spinning Corp., spun aluminum, upholstered fabric. Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend; Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ.

Origami Armchair

Frank Lloyd Wright, Dining Chairs (two), for the Malcolm Willey House, Minneapolis, designed c. 1932–34, Tidewater Cypress, plywood. Steve Sikora and Lynette Erickson-Sikora, Minneapolis; Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Hillside Dining Room Chair, for the Taliesin Fellowship Complex, Spring Green, Wisconsin, designed c. 1939–40, oak, paint, upholstered fabric. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Collections, 3301.2061; Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ.

Frank Lloyd Wright, “Mori” Chair, for the S. Mori Oriental Art Studio and Japanese Print Shop, Chicago, designed c. 1914–15, oak. Collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, Oak Park, Illinois, with permission from the University of Illinois, Chicago; Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ.