Union des Artistes Modernes
About
The Union des Artistes Modernes was a group of French architects and designers founded in 1929 by Robert Mallet-Stevens. Rejecting the tradition of elite luxury crafts exemplified by the Société des Artistes-Décorateurs and the Art Deco movement, the UAM embraced industrial materials like glass and steel and emphasized functionality over ornament. Members utilized new materials like Plexiglas in industrial designs that aimed to affordably to meet the needs of the modern everyman. A prime example of the group's spare aesthetic is Jean Prouvé's utilitarian Chair No. 4, made from sheet steel and molded plywood. Well-known members of the group include Sonia Delaunay, Le Corbusier, and Charlotte Perriand. The UAM disbanded during World War II, but regrouped thereafter and produced objects until its definitive dissolution in 1958.
