Widely acclaimed for the range of case pieces he designed for Michigan manufacturer Mastercraft during the 1970s, metal artist and furniture designer Bernhard Rohne has been creating distinctive acid-etched brutalist furnishings, home accessories, sculptures and other works for decades. The German-born Vancouver-based designer’s cabinets, coffee tables, credenzas and more are statement pieces in any interior and can introduce contrast and vigor into living rooms and dining rooms.
Born in Peine, Rohne attended the WKS Hanover art school. It was in his material science class that Rohne immersed a small painted copper plate into a container of acid. After some time, he couldn’t detect whether or not any kind of chemical reaction had taken place, so he left the plate in the acid and went to lunch.
When Rohne returned, yellow clouds had filled the room and the school had to be evacuated. However, when he was able to retrieve the copper plate, Rohne saw that there had indeed been a reaction between the metal and the chemical. The incident, while most definitely dangerous, sparked his interest and set him on a path of material exploration and design that collectors and art enthusiasts continue to celebrate to this day.
Rohne moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1967. During the 1970s, Grand Rapids-based furniture manufacturer Mastercraft — known to collectors of mid-century modern and Hollywood Regency design — partnered with Rohne and produced a large group of case pieces featuring applied brass plaques and panels, acid-etched with forms and patterns that are marked by the influence of Abstract Expressionism and Geometric Abstraction.
For his best known pieces, Rohne worked with brass, aluminum, copper and zinc metal sheets, which he oxidized and etched in order to create fascinating surface panels for his walnut console cabinets and sideboards that, with their patinated bronze and black lacquer doors, are sculptural attention-grabbing works in today’s interiors.
Rohne’s work, like many pieces of brutalist furniture and sculptures designed by him or like-minded metalworker Paul Evans, remains popular with interior designers and can lend unique, eccentric, human notes to an art and design collection in any home.
Find vintage Bernhard Rohne tables, storage pieces and wall decor on 1stDibs.
Bernhard Rohne's 1971 Brutalist Masterpiece for the Baker Showroom
By Bernhard Rohne
Located in Dallas, TX
This work was commissioned in 1977 by the Baker Furniture Company and featured in the entryway of one of their flagship showrooms when they first introduced their Mastercraft line em...
Brass
Untitled (Life Fragment) Various Colors
By Nick Hunt
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Nick Hunt grew up in in Newport Beach in the 80’s and early 90’s. As Hunt states, “It was an unknown area to a lot of the world. Development was in progress, but at that point in time it was still mostly open land, populated with surfers and desert-beach dreamers. My work is inspired by this desert-ocean dangerous allure.” Hunt’s work, while abstract, conjures a sense of history - both in their Light and Space influences and in the the rough beauty of the objects themselves. The scumbled, dented, sometimes bullet riddled surfaces reveal layers of color, painted on metal, and hint at a romantic complexity beneath the glossy enameled surfaces. Hunt spent a lot of time in Mexico as a boy, where he got to know Billy Al Bengston, Peter Alexander, Chuck Arnoldi...
Enamel
$3,800
H 20 in W 30 in
"Art/Golf" Pop-Art Americana, Humorous. Red/ Black /White Construction, Sports
By Charlotte Andry Gibbs
Located in Wellesley, MA
Charlotte Gibbs’ constructions and "flag"and "star" paintings often reference the artist's interest in Pop art and sometimes incorporate 23 karat gold leaf in addition to oil paint,...
Metal
$5,435
H 33.08 in W 33.08 in D 1.58 in
Sweet Grass-original modern abstract floral oil painting - contemporary Art
By Antoinette Ferwerda
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Copper
$5,435
H 33.08 in W 33.08 in D 1.58 in
Sweet Grass II -original abstract oil painting-contemporary modern Art
By Antoinette Ferwerda
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Copper
Pushing Wake
By Ben Watkins
Located in Lincoln, RI
This piece is made by casting Hydrocal FGR95 (a very hard plaster) on top of an oil clay pattern. Once cured, the oil clay is removed, then paint and brass leaf are applied to the su...
Brass
Dye Painting #1
By Jennifer Wolf
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Interested in communicating ideas of history, place and nature in her painting practice, Jennifer Wolf utilizes natural dyes and minerals to feature a historically significant palett...
Copper
Sculptural Wall Art: 'Woven #2'
By Megan Klim
Located in New York, NY
Megan Klim's mixed media work juxtaposes several materials on one picture plane. She highlights their inherent qualities to create surface tension which sparks a conversation and in...
Wire
Fenced
By Ben Watkins
Located in Lincoln, RI
This piece is made by casting Hydrocal FGR95 (a very hard plaster) on top of an oil clay pattern. Once cured, the oil clay is removed, then paint and brass leaf are applied to the s...
Brass
$5,500
H 36 in W 30 in
Sennedem, Abstract Italian Modernist Oil Painting in Brass Frame
By Ezio Gribaudo
Located in Surfside, FL
36X30 framed, 31X26.5 unframed. Ezio Gribaudo was born in Turin on January 10, 1929. He trained at the Accademia di Brera, Milan (1949–52), and attended the Faculty of Architecture ...
Brass
Untitled (Triptych 5) : contemporary abstract work of art
By Gerald Wolfe
Located in New York, NY
Abstract geometric artwork by a contemporary artist Gerald Wolfe. Gerald Wolfe’s wall pieces have a three-dimensional, architectural feel. The artist’s approach to his paintings is intuitive. He meticulously creates his works step by step, imbuing shapes and lines with energy. The interplay of forms, color, and texture creates tension between flatness and depth. His work can become a unique gift and will be a wonderful addition to any space, be it a living room of a modern home or a lobby of a commercial building. Gerald Wolfe received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Maryland in 1972, discovered his interest in art and went on to study fine arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In the summer of 1974, he also studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. From his first show in 1979, a summer invitational at OK Harris Gallery, Gerald has shown his work on a consistent basis in New York, including such galleries as Denise Bibro Fine Art, NYC, and Kim Foster Gallery, NYC . In addition, he has had solo exhibits at the Paterson Museum in Paterson, New Jersey...
Enamel
Prints
By Anthony Adcock
Located in East Quogue, NY
Hyperreal oil painting by Anthony Adcock of a dirt footprint - gold and silver on paper, presented in wood frame. Image is hand drawn on paper. Anthony Adcock's hyperreal oil pain...
Gold, Silver
$9,500
H 39.38 in Dm 39.38 in
French Contemporary Art by Murielle Argoud - Eternal Ephemeral - Venus
By Murielle Argoud
Located in Paris, IDF
Mixed Media (oil color, pigments, gold leaf, sand, lava) on canvas and wood Signature at the bottom right Murielle Argoud is a French artist born in...
Gold Leaf
Sold
H 24 in W 24 in D 2 in
Acid Etched Oxidized Brass Wall Art by Bernard Rohne for Metallic Design Studio
By Bernhard Rohne
Located in Hudson, NY
Etched brass artwork plaque by Bernhard Rohne for Metallic Design Studio, circa 1960s. Rohne has become famous for his work with Mastercraft, but also pr...
Brass, Copper
Acid Etched Bronze Abstract
By Bernhard Rohne
Located in Soquel, CA
Amazing and intricate acid etched bronze artwork. Can be hung Horizontal or vertical. Also this piece could also be re-fabricated as a table, as other wo...
Bronze