Gerrit Rietveld

Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964) was a highly influential Dutch designer, architect and painter. In 1919, Rietveld joined Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, and other prominent artists to found the De Stijl movement. The celebrated De Stijl artists formulated a language of forms that was intended to attain the greatest objectivity and autonomy in a work of art; their works are stringently non-representational, radically reduced to a geometric arrangement of horizontals and verticals and a palette consisting of the primary colors red, yellow, and blue with the addition of black and white. De Stijl applied these principles to both two-dimensional and three-dimensional work, such as furnishings and architecture. In 1928 Gerret Rietveld became a member of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM). As an architect, Rietveld designed many buildings and interiors. His biggest and most famous architectural project was the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, realized nine years after his death in 1964. Spectrum now produces Gerrit Rietveld's iconic Berlin and Steltman chair designs to exacting standards based on his original drawings and specifications.