Art Deco Furniture Workshop

On 9 December 2025, a workshop entitled “Art Deco Furniture” was held at the Architecture of Evolution Permanent Gallery, presented by Bijan Shafiei. The workshop was organized to introduce, examine, and interpret furniture within the context of design history, with a particular focus on the Art Deco movement. It sought to explain the historical, cultural, and artistic foundations that led to the emergence of this style.
The workshop began with an overview of the history of design and the evolution of furniture from ancient times. It then explored the development and transformation of furniture across different historical periods, including the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the emergence of modern movements.
A major part of the workshop was dedicated to the origins of Art Deco. This section examined the major exhibitions and events held in France during the early decades of the twentieth century, which played a significant role in the emergence and development of the movement.
The workshop continued with the presentation of notable Art Deco buildings, artworks, and objects, followed by a discussion of the movement’s influence on different fields of design. These examples demonstrated that Art Deco was not merely an architectural or decorative style, but a broader design approach that influenced architecture, interior design, furniture, graphic design, fashion, and the decorative arts.
The final and main section of the workshop focused on Art Deco furniture. It examined the design characteristics of Art Deco furniture, its construction methods, materials, craftsmanship, and aesthetic approaches. Examples of works by leading designers and furniture makers of the period were presented, and the relationship between furniture design and other artistic disciplines within the Art Deco movement was analyzed.
One of the distinctive features of the workshop was that it went beyond purely theoretical discussions by providing participants with the opportunity to engage directly with an authentic example from the period. During this part of the program, an original Art Deco object, designed and produced during the period itself, was examined and interpreted in person.