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The University Art Museum, University of California Santa Barbara is organizing the first retrospective exhibition of Paul Tuttle’s design work, including furniture, architecture and sculptural constructions, dating from the 1950s to the present. Arranged chronologically and filling four of the Museum’s galleries, this comprehensive survey will feature 60 unique designs, mostly for a variety of seating and tables, produced in the United States and in Europe. Tuttle has divided his time between Santa Barbara, where he has lived and worked as a freelance designer since 1956, and Switzerland, where he was employed as a contract designer for Straessle International, a furniture manufacturing company based in Kirchberg. Working within a modernist tradition, Tuttle’s oeuvre is distinguished by an elegance of line, purity in materials, fascination with structure, and delight in small details. He stands out among mid- to late-20th century designers in his avoidance of trends or styles and his uncompromising commitment to solving design problems in a fresh and original way. In addition to his furniture, the exhibition will highlight the important architectural work Tuttle has done in Santa Barbara, including five houses designed early in his career and a number of more recent residential renovations and additions. Using extensive photographs to illustrate and contextualize his work, this is the first project to provide a summation of Paul Tuttle’s remarkable career.

PRESS RELEASE

Photographs by: Farshid Assassi