Michael Van Beuren
(Nueva York, 1911 – Cuernavaca, 2004)

 

A prodigy of the German Bauhaus school, Michael Van Beuren profoundly transformed furniture design trends in Mexico. He introduced new styles while reinventing the use of traditional Mexican materials and techniques such as mecate, tule, and backstrap loom weaving. Born in New York, Van Beuren arrived in Mexico in 1937 in search of opportunities in design and business. He partnered with Bauhaus designer Klaus Grabe to establish Grabe & Van Beuren and later Domus, furniture design companies that produced innovative styles at affordable prices. In 1941, the duo joined designer Morley Webb to present the award-winning Alacrán Chaise Lounge at the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition Organic Design in Home Furnishings. The Alacrán Chaise Lounge became a fashionable designer piece sold at Bloomingdale’s in the 1940s. Many of their creations went on to become icons of modernist design in Mexico.In 1942, the company was renamed Van Beuren S.A. de C.V., growing into a successful large-scale producer of accessible furniture design.