Pierre Chareau's Functional Decoration

We were captivated by this gueridon-bobliothque “MB 960” by Pierre Chareau circa 1930 at Artcurial last week. It is one of the top lots in the upcoming Art Deco sale on March 28th.

This sumptuous solid mahogany table is supported by a metal pedestal with a rolling ball foot. This foot and the hinged arm attached to the bookshelf allows it to rotate out into the room or be tucked into the bookcase. His design process incorporated the functional elements into the overall concept and lifted up these otherwise mundane elements to a new level of intrigue.

Chareau also turned functional elements such as pipes and beams into decorative ones in his iconic  Maison de Verre (1928-1932) in Paris,( 31 Rue Saint Guillaume 75007). This is the first house built exclusively of steel and glass, and one of the first loft spaces!

Another version of his adaptable furniture is the expanding ‘fan-effect’ table. There are two examples of this work in the interior image above - just in front and to either side of the painting on the easel. 

His work while very luxurious and inline with the tenets of art deco also blurred the lines between the functional and decorative elements by treating them all with the same respect.

Philip Johnson's Glass House 1949

The Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut was designed and built by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster in 1949. Heavily influenced by the Bauhaus ideals, they designed along minimalist lines with the aim of  achieving transparency in a standing structure. It is an extraordinary building in its severe and rigid minimalism and is often compared to Farnsworth House (1951) by Mies van der Rohe as the two are very similar in form and principal.

Have a look at this amazing photograph taken in 1964 in Philip Johnson’s Glass House by David McCabe for ‘The Glass House Conversations’. In the photo are Andy Warhol, David Whitney, Philip Johnson, Dr John Dalton and Robert A.M. Stern. Described by architectural historian Vincent Scully as ‘the longest running salon in America’,  Philip Johnson and David Whitney gathered together figures of design, art and architecture, who were at the forefront of their fields in their day, and have since moved into the realms of legend.  Imagine being a fly on the wall in that room!

 Murray Moss gave a sold-out talk on 2 May at the Glass House. It must have been amazing. We would have loved to have been there but were business-bound in Paris. Hopefully he’ll give another soon…..

http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/programs/conversationsincontext/

Should you understand the inspiration? A look at Gaetano Pesce

The first Collective Design Fair in New York closed last week after a reported successful debut. Another fair - is it necessary? Some of the galleries involved are seen on so many other circuits that it does seem a bit repetitive, however many were new and exciting and the cohesiveness and concentration on design was exciting! We found the exhibition/retrospective on Gaetano Pesce to be particularly significant. 

Pesce’s work is provocative, full of possibilities and very much worth understanding. 

This is one of his first chairs (1969). The form - inspired by the suffering of women in the world - suggests that she has a ball and chain attached to her.  This is unmistakeable in the original version - the first photo here.  In the subsequent photos the ‘chain’ seems nothing more than a practical element preventing the ottoman from rolling away and the stripes are fun and light-hearted. 

Would it be important to you to understand the inspiration of this chair before you purchased it for your living room or your child’s room? Should it be? It’s worth noting that this is a very commercially successful chair!

Here is a wonderful video done by the NYTimes on Pesce’s work.

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/by-design-the-legendary-gaetano-pesce-on-work-and-life/

14 Billion years of light evolution in one chandelier - Daniel Libeskind's 'el chandelier

Polish-American architect, Daniel Libeskind designed this ‘el’ chandelier for Sawaya & Moroni in 2012. It simulates the evolution of light from the Big Bang to the present day, reflecting light through the use of around 2000 LEDs. Each light has its own micro-controller and the system is based on an algorithm developed by astrophysicist Noam Libeskind. The striking shapes of the chandelier are emphasized by the virtual movement of light.

What an amazing concept - condensing the evolution of 14 billion years of light into a 14-minute light show. Just imagine having this in your home!

We’d love to hear what you think of this piece!

Wendell Castle at Chanel in Paris

This is Peter Marino’s recently completed project for Chanel on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. The interior features Wendell Castle’s gilt-fibreglass Triad chairs (2006).  The master prototype of this design was acquired by Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in 2008.

It’s aggressively voluptuous and exaggerated form seems to lurch through the space that is otherwise decorated with monochrome rectilinear patterns and fashion.  Castle is known for his organic and even slightly surreal tendencies.  This chair reflects the most feminine aspect of this interior and upstages the understated elegance of the clothes. Maybe that is why we found it pushed back into a corner when we recently visited the store.  

Chanel and Wendell Castle … a good match?

Mattia Bonetti

The imposing forms of Mattia Bonetti’s furniture are often quite evocative. The first three examples here are some of his more rigorous works, which we find to be arresting. They speak to the present and possibility and freedom without being sentimental. We can imagine them working well with modern and antique objects. The last two images (the coffee table and armoire) are more playful examples of his work.  

Whether or not they appeal to you aesthetically, this is an artist who is forcing the discussion of design as art, design vs. art etc. into our awareness and that’s important! 

The Swiss-born, Paris-based designer is currently showing his work at the Paul Kasmin Gallery in NYC. 

Do you like this work? 

Voluminous Sculptural Design from Japan

Sculptural Design is a theme we are drawn to along with the idea of creating a world (interior) that evokes the aspirations and inspirations of the owner.

Oki Sato Nendo’s ‘Deep Sea’ table for Glas Italia presented at Salone di Mobile in Milan this week is a serene experience of expanding volume evoking warm, calm tropical waters (to our minds!), through a process of fusing multiple layers of blue film onto each surface to create varying degrees of saturation. The restricted overall form simultaneously imposes order while seemingly levitating. 

It brought to mind another object we’ve been coveting by another Japanese artist: Go Segawa. His ‘Cobalt’ presented last month at Design Days Dubai, is a meditative experience of floating volume evoking a relationship between sculpture and painting and challenging the viewers perceptions of form. On a practical level it is clear PVC ‘painted’ with ink and varnish but the experience is something quite ethereal and exciting! 

Did you like what you read today? If so we would love you to share this article with your friends and follow us! Thanks so much!

Eric Schmitt

Exploring serpentine forms using metal, marble and glass is the metier of the talented French designer Eric Schmitt, whose works we admire for the subtle and sculptural elegance they bring to an interior.  The lamp on the lower left was shown at Art Paris Art Fair last week at the Cat-Berro Galerie stand. It seems to be made in two pieces of alabaster. (The top can be lifted off so you can change the light bulb!) We will be visiting him  soon at his atelier near Fontainebleu to learn about his new works for the June issue of Cultured Magazine. Do you have any questions about his work? 

We’d love to hear form you.

Art Paris Art Fair Article for AAD!

We invite you to read our coverage of Art Paris Art Fair for AAD!  It is a fair bursting with exciting new design, like this Glacier  chaise by Brodie Neill that is presented by Patrick Brillet Fine Art.  Please leave your comments at the end of the article and check back soon for our coverage of PAD Paris as well!  Thanks! It is sunny in Paris and we are heading back to the fairs! Have a great day!

Erwan Boulloud at Art Paris Art Fair

ArtParis is electric! Young designers are breaking new ground with works that are thoughtful, playful and experimental in turns. We are very excited about the energy and quality presented last evening at the vernissage! Stay tuned from more on this fair in our upcoming article for AAD!

The two works presented above by Erwan Boulloud are presented by Parisian Galerie Acabas. The intertwining floor lamps play with movement and shadow while absorbing and emitting light simultaneously. The designers furniture ideas each began as sculptural explorations making their there functionality secondary. In the designers words, ‘Each creation represents the snapshot of a history in ongoing evolution bearing the imprint of a perceptible movement. Works succeed each other, creating lines, junctions, crossings, disappearances and mutations.’

A Million Times by Humans since 1982

This clock above, by Humans since 1982, was sold in the first few hours after the opening of Design Days Dubai. The hands move at different speeds - chaos, yet arrive at the properly arranged forms in to order display the time for several seconds each minute. A much larger version entitled A million times, can be seen here.  It is an experience with time - mesmerizing! The music in the video definitely helps transport the viewer.  Watch this video!  Love!

This desk version, might take a little getting used to but worth it!

Ann Toots Zynsky Glass Bowl

This glass bowl appears to be moving, writhing gently in a warm breeze. How can a stationary object evoke such an ‘experience’?  We learned in carnet de notes by Paolo Rinaldi, that Toots Zynsky’s work is in an exhibition at Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporanea, in Venice.  There is a magnificent striped version in the permanent collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs here in Paris which we blogged in November here. 

Eileen Gray at the Centre George Pompidou

We invite you to read our latest article on AAD!
Lets go to Roquebrune Cap Martin
We review the recently opened Eileen Gray retrospective at the Centre George Pompidou and also explore her soon to be reopened house in Roquebrune Cap Martin (right next to Monte Carlo). Who wants to go!?