I would be remiss if I didn't mention and encourage everyone to see the Arlington Museum of Art's Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. The exhibition explores the creation of a Wright house through the eyes of a client who spent more than fifty years fulfilling the renowned architect’s Usonian vision.
The thing I was most impressed with is was the fact that Frank Lloyd Wright designed furniture to compliment his houses. He made them streamlined and efficient in fun colors.
My friend Lana thought that some of the pieces were a little too…not stark, but just less emotional. For example, in this house he had an extremely long, long, long couch, which she felt didn't lend for socializing very easily and thought it looked kind of like you were sitting in a waiting room. The exhibit mentions that the lady of the house often consulted Mr. Wright for directions in décor. I'm guessing he didn't want his creation cluttered up with everyday living.
They had some of the actual furniture pieces, which were really cool with multi-functional and moving parts. I loved the dining chairs and would love to get my talented carpenter brother to re-create them for me (hint, hint). The metal outdoor light fixtures were works of art.
The exhibit also explains the Usonian vision and gives the audience an actual hands-on opportunity to put it together, with tabletop displays that encourage “please touch.”
So bravo to Arlington's little corner of the art world — it was an informative and interesting plunge into the F.L. Wright world. Many people may not know that there is an actual F.L. Wright home in Arlington — I wish a tour of that could have been coordinated with this exhibit.
The exhibit runs through February 17. Go see it and also check out the newly renovated areas of downtown Arlington (bet ya didn't know there was a downtown Arlington)!
To see the article from the December issue CLICK HERE.
