The Furniture and Lighting of Greta Magnusson Grossman

Greta Magnusson Grossman (1906-1999) worked as an architect and furniture designer in Southern California between 1940 and 1960. Trained in her native Sweden, she came to the States with a number of previous honors, among them the distinction of having been the first woman ever to win an award from the Swedish Society of Industrial Design. Grossman’s extensive training, as well as the popularity of European design in the 1950s helped her ease into the California industry with little difficulty.

Grossman’s work, like that of her contemporaries, Los Angeles designers Charles and Ray Eames, mixed natural and man-made materials– walnut, with steel and formica, for example– to produce light, formally interesting and even sculptural pieces. Working for Glenn of California, Grossman honed this design technique and showcased furniture that broke from her traditional Scandinavian background, situating her more comfortably in the predominant California modern style.

This exhibition is the first to showcase Greta Grossman’s work in the United States. The exhibition is accompanied by a full color catalogue featuring her furniture and architecture designs.