A spread from a Wright catalog celebrates the graphic quality of the Bertoia Diamond Chair. Image courtesy of Wright.
Many a gem of the mid-century modern period has passed through a certain 40,000 square foot warehouse in Chicago, its cultural and material value invariably ballooning in the process. At the helm of the operation is Richard Wright, the founder of the eponymous auction house that has defined its purview as twentieth century design, whatever form that may take. Since 2000, Wright has tested the limits of the traditional auction house, defying precedent in both its digital and physical reach.
The driving force behind the auction one-offs, mobile apps, and catalog overhauls, Richard Wright harbors an undeniable love of all things modern, the desire to share it with the world, and a willingness to take risks. In 2006, he organized the auction of Pierre Koenig’s iconic Case Study House #21, its record sale further cementing the fact that modernism, and its contemporary patronage, can involve a nebulous spectrum of objects, seats, and spaces. Knoll Inspiration caught up with the auctioneer to discuss the persistence of mid-century modern, the legacy of Knoll, and the online future of the auction industry.