Design 
15 November 2023
Design 
182

Steve Rieman

Low rocker

USA, c. 1976
oak, cane 22¾ h × 18¾ w × 30½ d in (58 × 48 × 77 cm)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $1,008
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literature: Bentwood and Beyond: Thonet and Modern Furniture Design, Hackenschmidt and Thillmann, pg. 250 California Design 76, Pasadena Museum of Art Sunset: The Magazine of Western Living, March 1976, pg. 76

This work will ship from Los Angeles, California.

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In 1977 Steve and Ruth Rieman purchased a plot of land in Yucca Valley, California. They fell in love with the landscape while camping and riding motorcycles (now reformed off-roaders). The plan was to build a small habitat structure for a weekend retreat. At the time, they were living in Costa Mesa where Steve was running his design business and Ruth was working in the insurance industry.

Stepping back a bit to 1976, Steve had graduated from Art Center and was working as an industrial designer. He submitted two chair designs for inclusion in the Pasadena Museum of Art's exhibition, California Design 76. Steve said he was initially rejected but asked curator Eudorah Moore to take another look because the photos he submitted didn't do the chairs justice. After seeing the chairs in person, Eudorah decided to include them. A photo of his low rocker was also included in the catalogue. 


An example of Steve Reiman's Low rocker in the California Design 76 exhibition catalog.


From Esoteric Survey.

Design Curated by Esoteric Survey

LAMA is proud to present a special selection of design curated by Esoteric Survey, featuring more than 100 works that represent platform founder Steve Aldana's guiding fascination with mid-century design and design history in California. Drawing from Aldana's personal collection as well as from his design-minded community, this collection includes iconic works as well as deeper cuts that represent lesser-known, but nonetheless integral, achievements of postwar artists and designers. 

An urban planner by vocation, Aldana has nurtured his fascination with modern design, particularly the strains that emerged in mid-century Southern California, through Esoteric Survey for nearly 15 years. With a desire to share fascinating obscure design figures and document visits to architecture and design sites, he created the blog he named Esoteric Survey in 2009. What first served primarily as a private log for personal reference eventually blossomed into a valuable resource for like-minded design aficionados, and has since taken the form of an immensely popular Instagram account.

Explore Steve Aldana's Blog Esoteric Survey

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