i strive to create top quality items that are cheap enough for the poor and good enough for the rich. —wilhelm wagenfeld

Wilhelm Wagenfeld at work

Wilhelm Wagenfeld, 1953. Photo: courtesy of Wilhelm Wagenfeld Stiftung.

 

bauhaus years

Wilhelm Wagenfeld enrolled to study metal and glass at the Bauhaus under the guidance of László Moholy-Nagy. Wagenfeld’s most iconic design came during his first year of studies; in collaboration with his teacher Carl J. Jucker, Wilhelm created the “MT9” table lamp, universally known as the “Wagenfeld lamp”. A simple globe of opaline glass and a shaft of nickel-plated steel, this legendary piece is still produced today.

Building of the School of Art in Weimar

Building of the School of Art in Weimar. Photo by Louis Held, around 1911. © Klassik Stiftung Weimar.

Ladislav Sutnar looking sideways
László Moholy-Nagy wearing glasses, looking sideways

László Moholy-Nagy. Photo by Lucia Moholy, 1926. Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin / © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2016.

Ladislav Sutnar, 1934.

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the simpler an industrial product, the harder it to make, because simplicity comes from a degree of self-assuredness on the part of the designer.  —wilhelm wagenfeld

Wilhelm Wagenfeld smoking his pipe, looking sideways

Wilhelm Wagenfeld, 1949. Photo: courtesy of Wilhelm Wagenfeld Stiftung.

 

organic modernism in glass

At the beginning of his career, Wagenfeld designed mostly glassware: vases, cups, and lamps. These all epitomize so-called organic modernism, which champions smooth shapes paired with high functionality. The most famous creation of this era is a tea service from heat-resistant glass, which Wagenfeld designed with Czech graphic designer Ladislav Sutnar, as well as a blue vase of mouth-blown glass. Both were produced at the Schott & Gen. glassworks in Jena. In 1937, Wagenfeld received the Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Paris for the vase.

 

i consider artistic efficacy in our industries as a personal creative input that does not dissipate in some purportedly original items, but rather must recognize that an anonymous shape can be the perfection of an object. —wilhelm wagenfeld

Wilhelm Wagenfeld explains his award-winning glasses, vases, and cutlery
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