Art Deco was a major international design movement that reached its height during the 1920s and 1930s. It expressed the confidence, speed, and luxury associated with the modern machine age through architecture, furniture, jewelry, fashion, graphics, transportation, and decorative objects.
Origins and Context
The movement became widely recognized after the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris. Art Deco designers combined influences from Cubism, Futurism, ancient Egyptian and Mesoamerican art, African sculpture, luxury craftsmanship, and industrial technology.
Visual Characteristics
Art Deco is known for geometric patterns, stepped forms, symmetry, sunbursts, zigzags, fans, and streamlined silhouettes. Designers often used rich materials such as chrome, lacquer, glass, ivory, and exotic woods, balancing mass production with a sense of glamour and refinement.
Architecture and Design
Art Deco shaped skyscrapers, cinemas, ocean liners, radios, automobiles, interiors, textiles, and posters. Buildings frequently emphasize verticality, dramatic setbacks, decorative entrances, and carefully controlled ornament. The style adapted especially well to cities that wanted architecture to symbolize progress and ambition.
Legacy
Art Deco declined during the austerity of the Second World War, but it never disappeared. Its elegant geometry continues to influence architecture, fashion, branding, illustration, interior design, and contemporary objects that seek a balance between modernity and luxury.