ART DECO MOULDINGS, TRIM AND ARCHITECTURE GALLERY
ABOUT ART DECO ARCHITECTURE
The term Art Deco refers to an eclectic design style introduced at the Paris Exposition of 1925. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior decoration, industrial design, and fashion. Its use in the visual arts and cinema made it synonymous with elegance, glamour, functionality, and modernity.
ART DECO ARCHITECTURE CHARACTERISTICS
Art Deco design employed stylized and simplified versions of Neoclassical, Egyptian, Constructivist, and Cubist forms and drew inspiration from both machines and nature. The style used motifs such as the scallop shell, ionic volute, deer, leopards, palm leaves, sunbursts, cloud forms, and repetitive geometries.
Notable characteristics of Art Deco design include:
- Horizontal and vertical lines
- Geometric shapes such as triangles, zigzags, trapezoids, and chevrons
- Sweeping curves
- Ornate interior details such as gold, chrome, and lacquered wood
- Symmetry
- Bright, contrasting colors
- Intricate carvings and other details
ART DECO STYLE MOULDINGS
Art Deco style mouldings are a combination of simple S4S shapes with eased edges, repetitive curves, clean lines, and simple geometric design. Decorative crown mouldings were especially popular interior details in the Art Deco movement.
ART DECO IN AMERICA
Following an American fair called “A Selected Collection of Objects from the International Exposition Modern, Industrial and Decorative Arts,” Art Deco architecture became popular in the United States. However, the American version of this style was not as opulent and often used less expensive materials. Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) created many Art Deco style public buildings, such as municipal buildings, libraries, and schools.
Art Deco style came to be associated with the Roaring ’20s in America since it was most popular during this decade. Famous examples of Art Deco buildings include the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and the Chrysler building.
Some of the most influential architects in the Art Deco movement include Josef Hoffman, Le Corbusier, and Auguste Perret. Notably, Art Deco architecture was used primarily in commercial buildings rather than residential homes. Today, Art Deco remains a popular style for interior decorating and furniture.
HISTORY OF ART DECO STYLE
Art Deco architecture took shape in France during the early twentieth century as society entered an era of profound cultural, industrial, and artistic transformation. In the years following the First World War, designers sought to create a distinctly contemporary aesthetic that reflected a renewed confidence in the future while maintaining a commitment to exceptional craftsmanship. Championed by the Société des Artistes Décorateurs (Society of Decorative Artists), whose members believed that architecture and the decorative arts deserved the same artistic recognition as painting and sculpture, the movement was introduced to an international audience at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, an event that gave Art Deco its name and established it as a leading architectural style.
As Art Deco gained international recognition, it became a powerful expression of the creativity and progressive spirit that shaped early twentieth-century architecture. Although the Great Depression slowed large-scale construction, the style continued to evolve throughout the 1930s before gradually giving way to the simpler forms of Modernism following the Second World War.
