Frederick Kiesler (1890 – 1965) Austrian Architect Designer

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Frederick Kiegler - chair MoMA

Frederick Kiesler (1890 – 1965) was an Austrian architect designer. He was professionally active in Vienna and New York.

Education

Between 1910 -1912 he studied at the Akademie de bildenden Künste. Between 1912 -1914 he studied at the Technische Hocschule, both in Vienna.

Architect Frederick Kiesler seated in a child's chair, smoking a cigar, at Gjon Mili's studio.
Architect Frederick Kiesler seated in a child’s chair, smoking a cigar, at Gjon Mili’s studio.

Biography

From 1920 to 1920, he briefly collaborated with Adolf Loos, designing theatre sets and interiors. In 1923, he became a member of the De Stijl group, and that same year, he developed the design for his innovative ‘Endless’ house and theatre. The concept was based on an egg shape and included a flexible interior, cost-effective heating, and fewer joints.

He was closely associated with group G, founded by Werner Graeff, Hans Richter, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In 1924, he created the L+T (Leger und Trager) hanging system for galleries and museums. He also was the artistic director and architect for the 1924 International Exhibition of New Theater Technique’ at the Konzerthaus in Vienna. Furthermore, he took on the role of architect and director for the Austrian pavilion at the 1925 Paris ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes,’ where he designed the theatre and architecture sections.

Raumbühne stage design by Frederick Kiesler at the 1924 International Exhibition of New Theater Technique in Vienna
The Raumbühne, a radical circular stage concept by Frederick Kiesler, transformed theater space at the 1924 Vienna exhibition.

In 1926, he relocated to the United States and partnered with Harvey Wiley Corbett in New York from 1926 to 1928. Between 1930 and approximately 1933, he was a member of the American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen (AUDAC). From 1934 to 1937, he served as the scenic design director at the Julliard School of Music in New York. Additionally, from 1936 to 1942, he acted as the Laboratory for Design Correlation director at the School of Architecture, Columbia University, in New York. He even supervised the installation of the 1947 Exposition Internationale de Surréalisme’ in Paris. Finally, from 1956 to 1962, he partnered with Armand Bartos in New York.

Austrian-American architect, designer, artist and sculptor, Frederick Kiesler
Austrian-American architect, designer, artist and sculptor, Frederick Kiesler (1890 – 1965), New York State, circa 1955. (Photo by Evelyn Hofer/Getty Images)

Interior Design

Although he built few buildings, his inventions influenced architects and artists. From 1936, he concentrated on interior and furniture design; in 1937, he designed his space house furniture, which included the biomorphic 1935—38 Two-Part Nesting Tables in cast aluminium and the 1942 Multi-Use Rocker and Multi-Use Chair for Peggy Guggenheim’s 1942 Art of This Century gallery, New York, in which Kiesler put Surrealist canvases to spatial use. Initially intended for mass production, the Two-Part Nesting Tables were put into production by New York gallery Jason McCoy in 1990 and subsequently produced in Italy.

Shrine of the Book

Shrine of the Book, 1965, by the architects Frederick John Kiesler (1890-1965) and Armand Phillip Bartos (1910-2005)
The black basalt monolith and the Shrine of the Book, 1965, by the architects Frederick John Kiesler (1890-1965) and Armand Phillip Bartos (1910-2005)


Frederick John Kiesler played a formative conceptual role in the design of the Shrine of the Book through his long-standing exploration of organic architecture, spatial symbolism, and the relationship between form, meaning, and the human body. Although the building was ultimately designed and realised by Armand Bartos and Frederick Kiesler’s influence was indirect, his theoretical work—particularly his ideas around sculptural architecture, biomorphic form, and architecture as a symbolic vessel—shaped the intellectual climate in which the Shrine emerged. The building’s iconic contrast between the white hemispherical dome and the dark basalt wall resonates with Kiesler’s belief that architecture should embody metaphysical ideas rather than merely serve functional ends, aligning closely with his vision of architecture as a total, experiential environment.

Exhibitions

Work subject of 1975 exhibition, Vienna; and 1990 and 1992 exhibitions, Jason McCoy gallery, New York; 1988 ‘Friedrich Kiesler—Visionar, 1890-1965’ exhibition, Museum moderner Kunst, Vienna, and traveling. Work (drawings) shown at 1982 ‘Shape and Environment: Furniture by American Architects,’ Whitney Museum of American Art, Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Chair-Pedestal Picture Rack (1942) by Frederick Kiesler
Frederick Kiegler - chair MoMA

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL

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