The Moderns: European Designers in Sydney
This object-rich exhibition tells the stories of Sydney’s émigré architects, interior designers and furniture makers working in the 1930s to 1960s and their impact on the development of modernist design in Sydney.
Predominantly well-educated, urbanised and middle class, Sydney’s émigrés brought a direct experience of European modernism then available to few Australians at the time. Supported by a network of European clients and assisted by émigré craftsmen, they made a significant contribution across many fields of design and in the media, and quickly recast the suburban, low-scale city into a modern metropolis.
Designers George Korody and Steven Kalmar sold lightweight furniture for the modern home, while cabinetmakers Michael Gerstl and Paul Kafka brought a European flavour to the custom made furniture market. Architects such as Henry Epstein and Hugh Buhrich designed starkly modernist houses in Sydney from the 1940s while Hugo Stossel and Hans Peter Oser formed large firms that helped transformed Sydney’s skyline. High profile and influential, Sydney's émigré designers also included commentators Eva Buhrich and George Molnar, regular contributors to some of the most noteworthy publications of the day, including The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian House & Garden and Architecture & Arts magazines.
While Austrian-born Harry Seidler AC, OBE became justifiably one of Australia’s most famous architects, the large, robust and interconnected community of European designers who were his contemporaries was all but forgotten.
Discover the vitality of this community, their stories of achievement, loss, adaptation and ingenuity in this celebration of both the richness that migration brings and the diverse history of our city.

Hillman House, Roseville
Designed by Dr Henry Epstein
Photo: Max Dupain, c1950

Travelodge hotel room
Interior of Travelodge hotel room with furniture designed and made by P E Kafka Modern Exclusive Furniture
Photo: Max Dupain, c1962

Interior of Stroud House, Clareville
Designed by Hans Peter Oser and Jean Fombertaux
Photo: Max Dupain, October 1956

Yarranabbe Gardens, Darling Point
Designed by Hugo Stossel
Photo: Max Dupain, 1960

Eva Buhrich
Architect and journalist Eva Buhrich with her two sons, Neil and Clive
Photo: Max Dupain, 1955

Frisco furniture store
Designed by Gabor Lukacs and Stephen Gergely
Photo: Max Dupain, January 1963

Migrants arrive in Sydney
Photographer unknown, 1947

Sheldon Leather Goods factory, Cleveland Street, Sydney
Designed by Gabor Lukacs and Stephen Gergely
Photo: Max Dupain, 1963