As steam and steel reshaped the modern world, another, quieter revolution took place. While many artists and designers celebrated the machine’s precision, others turned to the vocabulary of nature: the unfolding leaf, the spiral shell, the architecture of growth itself. Living Forms explores this parallel modernism that developed across geographies and generations from the late 19th century well into the 20th. Equally radical yet rooted in organic inspiration, it was driven by the conviction that nature is not opposed to progress but a wellspring of invention.
By drawing from the vitality of living forms and materials, the proponents of this modernism created works with a distinct beauty and harmony. Photographers like Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham revealed the hidden geometries of plants. Designers including Sōri Yanagi and Lina Bo Bardi made furniture and objects that evoke the silhouettes of animals and insects, while ceramists María Martínez and Shōji Hamada renewed traditional craft knowledge. As we experience profound technological change today, these creators remind us that innovation need not conquer the natural world—it can collaborate with it, moving in synchrony with its living patterns.
Organized by Tanja Hwang, Curator, with Amanda Forment, Curatorial Associate, Department of Architecture and Design, and Rachel Remick, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture and Department of Curatorial Affairs.
