Modern Design

The upcoming auction, presented by Rago, features several furniture and decorative art pieces influenced by Modern design. Among these is Johnny Swing’s furniture piece titled Fortune Cookie. Furniture made from nickels, quarters, half-dollars, or dollar coins has become the hallmark of Swing’s work. “Assembled together to form the furniture they become part of the play in swirls, lines, and patterns,” the artist wrote on his website.

A 1962 coffee table will be available from American designer George Nakashima. The furniture features a single slab top with sap grain detail. An important figure of the American craft movement, Nakashima was influenced by the designs of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe of the International Style. He believed that wood must be shaped in a way that displays “its true potential.” Another key lot is glasswork by Toots Zynsky, who introduced the filet de verre method of layering multicolored glass threads onto a flat, heat-resistant plate. This method made the artist widely known in the glasswork industry. View each of the lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.