art & literature & education

2024 paris olympics branding. a salute to inclusiveness and french culture.

Jul 15, 2024

the 2024 olympic and paralympic games says paris 2024 is about celebrating sport, style and culture

having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, paris becomes the second city ever to host the summer olympics three times after london, which hosted the 1908, 1948, and 2012 games. now let’s talk about the 2024 olympics edition. way back in 2018, anyone in the world who could write and speak french was able to participate in a competition to design the logo for the 2024 paris olympics. sylvain boyer, the founder of ecobranding and its partner agency, royalties, participated in the creative exercise to represent his roots as a paris-based artist. in 2019, the logo and visual identity for paris 2024 was launched. the logo combines two iconic symbols associated with the games – a gold medal and the olympic torch – with an image of marianne, a female figure representing the french republic. for the first time the logo will be the same for both the olympic and paralympic games.

boyer knew he wanted to represent french culture and do something that had never been done before. but his team never imagined they would win. “we were just a small, young company, not a big advertising group,” he said. “on paper, we were not the type to win a competition like this.” and yet they did win.

now, boyer’s logo — which is either a woman’s face or flames, depending on how you view it — will be seen by billions. one year after the logo reveal, the paris olympic committee announced a total parity between male and female participants, with 50 percent of this year’s athletes being women — a historic first! (in los angeles in 1984, only 23 percent of the participants were women, and in tokyo 2020, only 48.8 percent.)

here, boyer takes us inside his process of designing the emblem, including the underdog story of how he did it inside his paris apartment, part of the backdrop of the city’s protests; why we need the olympics today more than ever; and what it means to create a logo that can elicit so many reactions around the globe.

above>the story of the paris olympic logo goes back to 2018 when sylvain boyer watched his city change before his eyes. all images courtesy of sylvain boyer.

this is the first olympic logo with a woman on it. when we first designed the logo in 2018, paris began seeing a greater movement for social equality for women. we saw this movement everywhere, from the streets of paris to tv to cinema. every week in 2018 there was a strike for a social cause, whether it was a women’s march or fridays for the future.

in this environment, i started drawing these designs with the initial idea of making a moniker that represents sports in europe. but this type of imagery is always one of a male’s performance. we wanted to do something different. we thought, what happens if we take a woman’s face and put it in the performance arena? and so the shock, the semantic shock, comes from that. our country has an allegory, marianne, who is the symbol of democracy and the republic. in fact, we see a lot of women’s allegories all over the world — think of the statue of liberty, for instance. when we designed our logo, we jumped off of our country’s cultural context and historical legacy.

paris was an important city to make this choice because it was the first city where women participated in the olympic games, exactly 100 years ago. when we presented it for the first time to the olympic committee, we showed a survey showing the remarkable evolution of female participation in the olympics since 1924. it got everyone excited. but this choice was a more interesting one for the olympic committee than it was for us — because it was the olympic committee who decided to be represented by a woman. today, it’s still a delicate subject matter.

this is the first time in the olympics a dual identity was presented at the same time. one that tied the legacy with the more current paralympics brand.

for the paris 2024 president tony estanguet, the primary statement of the evening was the shared logo. “it was key for us since the beginning of this project,” in the crowded aftermath of an event that had been witnessed by french sports minister roxana mărăcineanu, paris mayor anne hidalgo and athletes such renaud lavillenie, the world pole vault record holder. “we will have the same venues, at the foot of the eiffel tower, the chateau versailles, all those kind of iconic venues will be used for the olympic and paralympic games.

in the beginning, the idea was to make a female logo, and in fact, it used to be more feminine than it is today. we first designed it with red lips, but the olympic committee said we had to change that. a lot of people only see the flames and they don’t see a woman when they first look at it, and that used to bother me, but today i like that. it’s like a game of perception. if you want to see only the flame, you see only the flame. if you want to see the woman, you see the woman. if you want to see a gold medal, you see a gold medal.

i didn’t expect to get the response that it did. we knew before revealing it that it might be an offense to some people. it was a huge conversation through the media. within 24 hours of revealing it, there were about 500 press releases about it. on social media, we saw so many mixed reactions. i don’t use social media, and people told me, “don’t go on twitter.” but i was too curious. all of the violence online was weird and new to me. looking back, i feel like it was a good experience because it changed how i do my job today. it’s a good thing that a logo can elicit so many reactions, and it makes it even more popular. i’m sure this logo will have an impact on the story of the games.

it is even more important to have this logo now than when i designed it six years ago. as a designer, you design for the future. back then, i couldn’t have imagined what the world would look like today. usually, when you think about the future, it’s always about a more positive future. so i didn’t imagine the pandemic, financial crisis, or the european emergency with ukraine and russia. today, we need the olympics now more than ever, because the games have a clear promise. it’s the promise of peace.

above> it’s like a game of perception. if you want to see only the flame, you see only the flame.

the next phase of the visual identity, along with a series of pictograms, has just been launched and it continues this approach of blending past and present. inspired by the parisian spirit and french culture, the identity has been influenced by fashion, food, architecture and history.

above> an example of the pictograms system that will appear via the way finding system // below> paris 2024 olympics mascots, “phryges,” symbolize french freedom

medallists at the paris olympics will be rewarded with a piece of the eiffel tower, organisers said on thursday as they unveiled the hexagon-shaped medals forged out of scrap metal from the monument. the idea was to link the games with symbols of france, said thierry reboul, creative director of paris 2024.

“the absolute symbol of paris and france is the eiffel tower,” said reboul. “it’s the opportunity for the athletes to bring back a piece of paris with them.” designed by jeweller chaumet, the 18-gram hexagon tokens, representing the shape of france, are made of iron from past refurbishments of the tower stored for years in a warehouse whose location is secret.

above> thierry reboul, creative director of paris 2024.

[ 2024 paris olympic games ]

design museum of chicago asks me to design a street banner saluting chicago’s theatres.

Jun 21, 2024

above and below> left to right daniel brady lynch and my banner

tanner woodford, co-founder of the design museum of chicago, asked me and other chicago designers to create a chicago theatre district banner. my challenge was to represent steppenwolf theatre using only shapes, colors, and textures; no words. tanner provided the words as well a white template to create consistency among the set of banners. the banners will be on randolph, between michigan and wabash.

above > l to r david salkin and sophie calhoun // below angela stucky

above > l to r janell nelson and john robert hatherly // below chuck anderson and lashun tines

above > l to r luke elder and raymond hayen // below havid alavi and cody hudson

[ design museum of chicago ]

the design of me by ron kovach. peek #1.

Feb 22, 2024

i wanted to let you know I’ve written a book. it looks like a design book and reads like a memoir. it’s an 11 X 11 inch, over 300 image in a 450-plus page art object book geared towards anyone who has had a stake in design and architecture and appreciates design-related storytelling. here are some pages from the beginning of the design of me and from select pages.

above> front cover of my book // below> inside front spread.

about this book — this is my first book. i wrote it to chronicle my own history. that’s what you do if you care about who you are and/or what you did, and when you get an incurable rare cancer diagnosis. writing a memoir might seem self-serving, especially when the title is the design of me. i’ve concluded it is. unless you add content that you deem driven to inform your readers, something useful to them, content that will benefit them rather than just info all about you.

as the book materialized, i found solace in thinking about my potential audience, that it didn’t matter if they knew me or not. i told myself that someone will find what i say more useful than useless. that’s all the motivation i needed.

i bring to this enterprise a 50-year design career, 30 years of which have made me an expert in my field. at least i think so. however, in the past 10 years, my thoughts, beliefs, and ideas defining what a designer does have greatly changed. so have my opinions about what constitutes good design.

i’ve also been a teacher of design. my interactions with students, me teaching them as well as them teaching me, caused me to rethink how to teach as well as what to teach.

and lastly, as i’ve shaped design, with its unusual expansion of touching so many walks-of-life endeavors, i’ve learned about how design ultimately shaped me as a designer and as a person.
~ron kovach

above> photo artist david rosen casts me in an homage to maxell’s blown-away man

above> structured around nine chapters the design of me was developed with three objectives in mind. 1] to communicate through the eyes of a designer 2] to tell a unique and compelling story 3] to be appropriate, useful, and educational.

above> an at-a-glance navigational aid of my networking during my 50-year design career.

above> throughout the book there is original fine art, pivotal graphics, captivating photography, and notable words. original and unique, the design of me was written to entertain, enlighten, and inspire those people drawn to design. And it raises a reflective question. design hugely impacted my life. how might it affect yours?

the design of me offers glances at worldwide design shows as seen through my eyes. here are images from london while at london design week 2018 and milan design week 2018 as featured in DesignApplause. above> because DesignApplause covers design events around the world, i’ve been exposed to different cultural aesthetics, such as this efficient london bus stop and [opposite] beautiful tube stop near the victoria & albert museum. below> another off-site venue celebrating the 25th anniversary of surface magazine with visitors united around a quintessentially american concept: the diner. designed by american architect david rockwell and the lab at rockwell group. renowned design studio 2×4 created the project’s graphic identity.

the design of me presents over 300 powerful examples of visual communication. above> a graphic created by me using turner duckworth packaging graphics exemplifying how brand graphics can stand out more in a competitive marketplace than the coca-cola wordmark by itself. below> a 2024 mural proposal to the american cancer society also created by me while undergoing cancer treatment.

prominent contributors to the design world are featured in the design of me. above> walter and elizabeth paepcke, design patrons, commissioned eero saarinen to design the tent for their aspen design conference, large enough for a full orchestra and an audience of 2,000 people. below> the most powerful, elite, and intimidating brand identity designers ever assembled were invited by me to jury sta trademark usa2. front from left—walter marguiles, robert vogele [sta president], walter landor, saul bass. back from left—ivan chermeyeff, john massey, me [co-chairman], and wayne webb. i was very disappointed that design legend paul rand pulled out after he saw the jury. he felt he wasn’t needed, that this jury didn’t need another opinion. photo ron gordon. 1983.

innovative and memorable design concepts are presented throughout the design of me. above> as a judge at the inspired home show competition in 2016, i found these visible measuring spoons designed by pam daniels and brandon williams for welcome industries to be award winners. bottom> when i ask design students to create one-page info sheets about themselves in order to assess their abilities i look for high concept solutions such as these. l to r—info sheets from jeff stark, kora kopieniak, christian terzich, kora kopieniak.

the design of me celebrates people who impact design and architecture. seven creative masters are specifically showcased because of their attention to creativity, technology, environment, social impact, sustainability, and climate in their design—yves behar, guillio cappellini, formafantasma, jeanne gang, nicolae halmaghi, jasper morrison, and jean nouvel. above> chicago architect jeanne gang designed the st. regis, a mixed-use skyscraper that undulates as it rises and looks like an art object. at 1.9 million square feet and 101 stories, it is the tallest building in the world designed by a woman. below> tokyo designer jasper morrison designed 1-inch chairs for always sustainable emeco.

because one goal of the design of me is to foster learning, design education is featured. above> in my brand identity class, student serafin lopez learned about the importance of a persuasive presentation. below> when in college, i learned about the importance of design philosophy from professor victor papanek. shown here are his infographics from design for the real world, illustrating some of his revolutionary ideas that are still relevant today, that design is a tool for political transformation and should consider social and ethical points of view.

below> recognizing some of the people and companies who inspired and collaborated with me through my design career.

below> The synopsis of the design of me. How design shaped me and in turn I shaped design.

epilogue
to quote mark twain, “the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” when creating the design of me i didn’t think much about the day i was born, but did reflect a lot about why. one of my goals in writing this book was to tell the world what i knew and felt about design and how i came to obtain this knowledge. i wanted to explain how design shaped me and in turn how i shaped design.
when i think about my own design forages, the japanese philosophy ikigai comes to mind. ikigai is about one’s reason for being. in its westernized rendition, ikigai is what gives your life worth, meaning, or purpose and is composed of four interrelated elements. your ikigia is at the intersection of these four elements.

1. what you love = your passion
2. what you are good at = your vocation
3. what you get paid for = your profession
4. what the world needs = your mission

i love design. it is truly my passion. however, my life didn’t start out with me loving design or feeling passionate about it. as a matter of fact, i had no exposure to design until professor victor papanek approached me at a college party because he wanted the marine corps jacket i was wearing. however, within a few minutes he started recruiting me to become part of his new product design department at purdue university. what he said intrigued me. so what did the professor really want—my jacket or a new design student? whatever the answer, this was certainly a key moment in my life; it’s when i decided to follow the pathway of design.

i graduated from college with a degree in product design and entered the job market, in my opinion now, with a marginal design education, an unfabulous portfolio, and little business knowledge. but i had some sales experience and was a very good networker. i was also six years older than the normal graduate as i had been in the marines prior to college. so with effective networking and lots of luck, i landed my first job as a designer. that’s when my design education really started. that’s when my love affair with design began too.

from my first design job to being second in command at a significant corporation, from freelancing to partnerships, from running my own design offices to teaching design. that’s how i learned about navigating the design universe. i worked with incredible designers who i admired and learned from, who helped me formulate my own design philosophies. i was presented with opportunities to discover and use my visual skills to the best of my creative ability. i collaborated on significant exhibits and installations which made me feel like i was part of and contributing to a very important community. and i got to travel internationally, learning about worldwide design.

through my 40-plus years as a designer, my vocation—what i’m good at—and my profession—what i got paid for—grew, developed, and evolved. my design talent blossomed as well into mostly satisfying fruits of my labor. and along the way my mission—what the world needs—was being defined too. if my mission was to make a real impact in my design work, how could i best do it? the answer came as i learned about and promoted sustainability and social responsibility. my strongest endorsements of products and designers now are those that demonstrate the ability to combine creativity, technology, environments, social impact, sustainability, and climate issues in their design.

yes, i won design awards. and yes, those awards brought national recognition to me and to chicago as well. i also wanted to preserve design history. so i co-founded and conceived the chicago design archive, an online repository of chicago graphic, product, and experiential designers and their work. additionally, i wanted to promote the best design in the world. so i created and launched DesignApplause, an online design and architecture publication. the reward for me was international recognition as a design curator. and finally when i felt that it was important to pass on significant design information to potential new designers, i taught college design classes. to feel that i contributed something significant to the design world has really given me some proudhearted moments.

writing the design of me has been a revealing experience. a journey that helped me recognize the incredible significance design has had on my life. a process that has revealed my life’s purpose, that design is at the heart of who i am. did design shape and impact my life? definitely. do i feel that what i did for design was worthwhile? i hope so. did i choose design or did design choose me? i’m not sure.
and that is the design of me.

below> back cover of the design of me

peeks of the design of me will be appearing in DesignApplause. also, keep an eye open for our launch announcement of the printed book!

design miami 2021 offers a long awaited hybrid format a best of both worlds.

Oct 23, 2021

above> r & company gallery

design miami/ returns to pride park with new curatorial director, wava carpenter. the 17th edition of the fair will explore the theme of human kind and how design can impact the world for the better.

above> wava carpenter / photo karli evans

edited official release — design miami/ is delighted to present the 17th edition of it’s fair in miami beach from 1 – 5 december 2021. taking place in pride park, opposite the miami beach convention center, the fair will feature over 35 gallery and curio exhibitions to be presented alongside an exciting lineup of partnerships and collaborations. in addition, design miami/ will be presented in a hybrid physical and digital format. all exhibited works on the show floor will be available to purchase at designmiami.com for a limited time, alongside a robust online program of design talks and 3d virtual tours.

jennifer roberts, ceo of design miami/, says: “the 17th edition of design miami/ brings a myriad of reasons for celebration – from returning to our home in pride park to our human kind theme, which will look at how design can play a role in shaping the world for the better. as we continue to see the collectible design market grow, in both physical and digital spaces, we’re pleased to also welcome many new members to the design miami/ family – galleries, curios and partners – all of which are bringing thoughtful contributions to the fair”.

the theme of human kind, shining a spotlight on design-led visions for a more equitable and interconnected future. those operating at the cutting-edge of design thinking will bring together works, ideas, and presentations to spark conversations around the current state of the world and where we need to go. the galleries and partners have planned thoughtful and diverse responses to this timely theme.

carpenter says: “the practice of design, at its heart, has always aimed to create a better future. but in recent years, as the global challenges that humanity faces have approached existential proportions, the future that designers envision increasingly demands a fundamental reorientation of what it means to be human in this world, calling on all of us to become better stewards of nature and of each other.”

[ aesthetics of the moment: the fantastical & the primordial/ ]

perhaps as an escape from the realities of the world as it is now, designers and collectors are drawn to truly extraordinary forms that evoke another time and place. this larger trend finds two expressions: the fantastical and the primordial. the former aesthetic is exuberant, vibrant, surreal, as if created for a fairy tale or science fiction story, often inflected with a tongue-in-cheek wink. the second expression has a minimalist yet striking aura that calls to mind relics of the ancient past, prehistory and beyond time.

above > extraño 1 / tanya aguiñiga / volume gallery / 2020

at objective gallery, ‘reincarnation’ presents the work of brecht wright gander, fernando mastrangelo, j mcdonald, vincent pocsik, eny lee parker, and charlotte kingsnorth, which as an ensemble conjures objects of past lives and nostalgia for bygone ways of living. in the age of industrial and mass production, it is less possible to commune with one’s environment and the art of everyday life. the works in reincarnation revive pre-industrial artisanal processes and mastery of materials. jason jacques gallery presents ‘ceremony’, an ayahuasca ceremony from the planet zeefromzeglop. the ceremony posits that all that exists in the universe is connected through cracks in time-space that are universally opened by plant medicine. on show are tapestry depictions of great spirit animals and plants. meanwhile, volume gallery presents new braided and draped woven works from renowned craftsperson tanya aguiñiga. forming part of the designer’s ‘extraño’ series, the objects are a craftful expression of the grief, gratitude, rage, and exhaustion aguiñiga has felt in response to the constant threats faced by the bipoc community, as well as the diverse effects and losses of the pandemic.

above> tomorrow land / studio proba and enjoy the weather / miami design district

the miami design district has named creative studios, studio proba and enjoy the weather, this year’s winners of its highly anticipated 2021 annual design commission. curated by wava carpenter and anna carnick of anava projects and design miami/, this year’s installation, titled tomorrow land, will transform the neighborhood—as well as the entrance to design miami/—into an interactive playground through a series of joyful sculptures, seating, and ornamentation designed by studio proba. the physical installation will serve as the basis for an interactive, virtual game created by enjoy the weather. a dedicated app that uses ar technology and proximity beacons will allow visitors to ‘collect’ and customize studio proba’s shapes and place their own custom totems throughout the neighborhood and beyond.

[ material of the moment: ceramics/ ]

through their direct, hands-on and hands-in nature of production, ceramic works are an ideal medium for storytelling, especially autobiographical and sociological stories, which resonate deeply with audiences in this time of disruption and separation. it seems that, more than ever, ceramics artists are working with clay in new ways to share perspectives on and insights into who they are, where they came from, and where they want to see the world go. this has resulted in a thriving market for ceramics, and this year’s fair presents a strong representation of both contemporary and historical ceramics.

above> zizipho poswa / southern guild

southern guild presents an exhibition of ceramics specifically commissioned for the fair from four of south africa’s most accomplished artists working in clay – andile dyalvane, zizipho poswa, madoda fani and chuma maweni. these contemporary artists use the medium to explore aspects of traditional xhosa culture and spirituality while drawing on their personal experiences and deep belief systems. titled ‘studio visit’, the booth will take visitors behind the scenes of the artists’ practices as they foreground new techniques and achieve some of their most technically ambitious work to date. at friedman benda, the gallery will introduce a series of never-before-seen portrait works produced in glazed stoneware by nigerian american ceramicist and sculptor ebitenyefa baralaye – the first collaboration between the designer and the gallery. interpreted through a diasporic lens and abstracted through the aesthetics of craft and design, baralaye’s work explores cultural, spiritual, and material translations of form, objects, text, and symbols – this new series being a vehicle through which to offer reflections on his experience of being a black man in america.

mindy solomon presents ‘free flowing geometry’, a striking presentation of works by john gill, kelsie rudolph, and minkyu lee. exploring the boundaries of form and function, each artist builds pieces that are carefully crafted with functionality in mind, taking artistic license to bring movement and vibrant color to the mix. moderne gallery offers contemporary and 20th century ceramic pieces, including a masterful ceramic representation of the planet, glazed ceramic globe (2021) by japanese ceramicist hashimoto tomonari, presented alongside estelle halper’s 1960s organic sculptural work.specialized in nordic design and decorative arts, hostler burrows also presents a beautifully curated selection of contemporary scandinavian ceramics alongside a few exceptional historic design pieces, including works by steen ipsen, martin bodilsen kaldahl, taher asad-bakhtiari, bjorn friborg, frida fjellman, maren kloppman, torbjorn kvasbo.

[ the best of the best/ ]

as always, design miami will host galleries representing work that tops today’s collectible design market, both vintage and contemporary. masterpieces from icons of the 20th century include works by pierre jeanneret, charlotte perriand, george nakashima, harry bertoia, joaquim tenreiro, and verner panton, while contemporary highlights are found in works by daniel arsham, katie stout, the haas brothers, and more.

moderne gallery presents a strong selection of rare and unique mid-century design, with a focus on studio craft movement pieces. a particular highlight is george nakashima’s first furniture design: the karuizawa chair (1935), made for st. paul’s catholic church in karuizawa, japan. until recently, only two chairs were known to exist worldwide. across the chair’s peeled cryptomeria frame is suspended a seat made of woven grass threads, a design that displays both traditional materials and a modern sensibility. it’s clearly the precursor for what is now nakashima’s most popular, grass-seated chair (designed 1944).

above> amnesia or platelet apparition? / samuel ross / friedman benda / 2020

at friedman benda, the gallery will present a solo booth of work by artist and creative director samuel ross, celebrating the launch of the gallery’s partnership with the acclaimed british designer. emblematic of his all encompassing, conceptually rigorous approach, ross will transmute the traditional fair booth into a quasi-industrial setting. the space, caught between construction and deconstruction, acts as a liminal staging ground for select works from three discrete but intersecting series: signal, rupture and amorphous strand.

[ design miami/ 2021 curios/ ]

curio is an exhibition platform that invites designers, architects, curators, innovators and gallerists to present total environments of objects, textures, artifacts and ideas that challenge and contextualize familiar design narratives. curios are interspersed amongst design miami’s gallery program, infusing the fair with inventive snapshots of today’s design landscape. the 2021 miami fair presents a diverse range of 19 curios that question and respond to the theme of human kind, including 13 fresh faces this including: apical reform & zeel studio, bea interiors design, bohinc studio, james de wulf, objective gallery, pelle, tuleste factory, twenty first gallery and verdi.

non-profit organization and platform, house of today returns to miami after their debut curio presentation in 2017, this year showcasing a solo exhibition of work by lebanese designer khaled el-mays. this new series of work has been made in collaboration with craftspeople in mexico city and is a continuation of the long relationship between el-mays and house of today, founded by cherine magrabi tayeb. entitled new nature, the five-piece series features two mirrors, a bar, bench and the designer’s first ever chair, made from leather, wood, raffia, and wicker as well as ceramics which is a new material for the designer who has collaborated with master company anfora who has over 100 years experience in the industry. also returning to miami is harry nuriev with his sixth curio presentation, a continuation of the designer’s recent explorations of transitory spaces that serve as a metaphor for “traveling through different layers of space, reality, and consciousness”—a theme found in much of nuriev’s work. the bedroom is a silver bedroom installation that will feature a ryokan-style mattress, situated within a zen-like cube that underscored the value of the bedroom as a space to escape reality, meditate, experience vulnerability, and access different levels of consciousness.

above> mass table / tom dixon / mass research studio / 2020 // below> emotional rocks / apical reform & zeel studio / 2021

amongst this year’s debut curio presentations, highlights include first time exhibitors apical reform & zeel studio – a collaboration between designers amrish patel, darshan soni, and gordana zgonjanin that brings apical reform’s innovative work that encompasses functional, bespoke and kinetic art – presented by miami based zeel studio. for design miami/ they will debut emotional rocks, an installation that aims to capture the essence of time through the impact of the intangible aspects of emotions on hard objects such as rocks. the emotional rocks and blurry stars kinetic benches will also be installed throughout the common spaces of design miami, offering visitors a spot to rest and to take the time to evaluate their relationship with the world. also new to miami is new york-based twenty first gallery who will showcase an exhibition of new work by london-based polish designer marcin ruask.

[design miami/ 2021 galleries/ ]

ago projects/ mexico city
ateliers courbet/ new york
bernard goldberg fine arts/ new york
carpenters workshop gallery/ new york
converso/ chicago
friedman benda/ new york
hostler burrows/ new york
jason jacques gallery/ clinton corners
john keith russell/ south salem
magen h gallery/ new york
moderne gallery/ philadelphia
ornamentum/ hudson
r & company/ new york
side gallery/ barcelona
southern guild/ cape town
the future perfect/ san francisco
thomsen gallery/ new york
todd merrill studio/ new york
volume gallery/ chicago
wexler gallery/ philadelphia

[ design miami/ 2021 curios/ ]

apical reform & zeel studio/ gujarat
atra/ mexico city
bea interiors design/ miami bohinc studio/ london
gallery all/ alhambra, beijing harry nuriev/ new york
house of today/ beirut
j. lohmann gallery/ new york james de wulf/ los angeles mercado moderno/ rio de janeiro mindy solomon gallery/ miami objective gallery/ shanghai pelle/ brooklyn
reinaldo leandro/ new york room 57 gallery/ new york
tom dixon/ new york
tuleste factory/ new york twenty first gallery/ new york verdi/ bogota

[ design miami/ 2021 partners/ ]

doha design district
fendi
grand seiko
kohler
lexus
maestro dobel
miami design district
perrier jouet
panerai
scad
usm

[ schedule of events/ ]

preview day/ by invitation only
tuesday, november 30/
members preview/ 11am – 12pm
collector’s preview/ 12-7pm
wednesday, december 1/
vip preview/ 11am – 1pm

public show days/
wednesday, december 1/ 1–8pm
thursday, december 2/ 11am–8pm
friday, december 3/ 12–8pm
saturday, december 4/ 12–8pm
sunday, december 5/ 12–6pm

[ about design miami/ ]

design miami/ connects the world through extraordinary collectible design, with live fairs and experiences on four continents that bring together galleries, designers’ studios, brands, experts, collectors, and enthusiasts, and designmiami.com, a content-rich digital marketplace. each edition of design miami/ features museum-quality 20th and 21st century furniture, lighting, and objets d’art from the world’s top, expertly vetted galleries with flagship fairs taking place alongside art basel in miami, florida, each december and basel, switzerland, each june. design miami/ is also accessible 365-days a year through designmiami.com, featuring shoppable works from design miami’s expert galleries, dm/bx – a curation of more accessible one-of-a-kind, limited edition, and small batch design objects, as well as virtual programming, and engaging storytelling at the forum magazine.

this is a developing story…

be original americas launches worldwide virtual fellowship.

Jun 3, 2020

be original americas, a nonprofit advocacy organization, committed to informing, educating and influencing manufacturers, design professionals and consumers about the economic, ethical, and environmental value of authentic design. each year, the organization has hosted an annual summer fellowship in which two undergraduate design students roll up their sleeves for an immersive five-week exploration to a multitude of member brands—invaluable exposure for rising design talents.

thanks to the coronavirus and the ongoing quarantine, however, this year’s fellowship will unfold in a slightly different way. from 15 june to 17 july, more than 25 member companies of be original americas will present a series of webinars to a global audience of design students. each session will provide exclusive insights and access to their factories, architecture, and design studios, ranging from emeco’s make things that last culture to herman miller’s inspirational archives. currently enrolled design students are welcome to attend.

so, attention all university students worldwide! want to see behind-the-scenes of what it takes to create and make original design? register now for one or all of the first be original americas virtual fellowship sessions. our member companies will welcome you from all over the world to help you discover your future career path and follow your passion.

#beoriginal @beoriginalusa

art + design auction part 1. wright.

Apr 3, 2020

above > untitled | marilynn gelfman-karp b.1939 | soldered wire, plexiglas 15 h × 25 w × 7¼ d in – 38 × 63 × 18 cm | 1970 | estimate: $1,500–2,000

wright’s art + design auction, split over two days, features a diverse and lively collection of mid-century furniture and modern and contemporary art. highlights from art + design part 1 include robust collections of works by miguel berrocal, rochester-based artist william sellers, robert loughlin, cleve gray, and jim dine. this sale also features carpets, seating and lighting from the 1950s to now.

above > bright day | cleve gray 1918–2004 | acrylic on canvas 36 h × 60 w in – 91 × 152 cm | 1969 /estimate: $15,000–20,000

floor lamp | koch & lowy | enameled steel 73 h × 21 dia in – 185 × 53 cm | usa, c. 1980 | estimate: $2,000–3,000

above > landscape screen | jim dine b.1935 | screenprint on linen canvas 71¾ h × 86 w × 7 d in – 182 × 218 × 18 cm | 1969 | estimate: $7,000–9,000

above > wall sconces, set of eight charlotte perriand | galerie steph simon france, | enameled steel 7 h × 5 w × 2¾ d in – 18 × 13 × 7 cm | 1963 | estimate: $4,000–6,000

above > sunrise | roy lichtenstein 1923–1997 | offset lithograph in colors 17½ h × 23¼ w in – 44 × 59 cm | 1965 | estimate: $5,000–7,000

[ important design design ] includes many works of exceptional design. each item will be featured in our award-winning, full-color auction catalog as well as presented in our online preview at [ view lots ] | 1440 west hubbard street chicago | 312 563 0020 [ auction / chicago ]

auction > 11 december 2014 | 12 noon cst

https://www.wright20.com/auctions/2020/04/art-design-part-1

life-size sand traffic jam seen on miami beach during design miami/ 2019. leandro erlich.

Nov 10, 2019

above > traffic jam (order of importance)

the beach has been a symbol of leisure and prosperity for so many years, and in particular for miami but now there is a frontline feeling about the beach. it has become a different kind of stage. ~ leandro erlich

last year at art basel 2018 in ruth benzacar‘s booth (above) a maquette of buenos aires artist leandro erlich was shown for $18,000. titled ‘traffic jam (order of importance) – the art is a miami beach-appropriate installation where cars, suv’s, taxis, etc., are moulded in sand – actually a mix of sand three types of salt which form a hardened crust. the vehicles seem to rise from nowhere, form a traffic jam, and then fade away.

erlich has a reputation for whimsical perception-bending optical-illusions. this 2018 maquette became the concept presented to the city of miami that will be shown life-size on miami beach during art basel 2019. the city has contributed $300,000 towards his most monumental work. the work will have a life of just fifteen days. but…there may be more to this concept though details are not fully available at this writing. possibly, this concept may become an off-shore reef. the reasoning comes from erlich’s interest in climate change and all that threatens humans, animals, architecture, and civilization.

his first climate related work was for the 2015 climate change summit in paris, maison fond. to evoke global warming his installation was an image of a building melting: the ground floor of this small parisian building has already almost completely disappeared.

and the world’s coral reefs are dying. this artificial structure (traffic jam) could both be a symbol as well as an artful prototype.

“the beach has been a symbol of leisure and prosperity for so many years, and in particular for miami,” says erlich. ‘but now there is a frontline feeling about the beach. it has become a different kind of stage.”

[ information ]
leandro erlich; design miami/ @designmiami #climatechange

expo chicago 2019: expression vs communication look #2.

Sep 21, 2019

above > study for homage to the square / josef albers / david zwirner (new york, london, paris, hong kong) – booth 239 / 1954 – 1960

what is the difference between art and design? i think it comes down to function. design can have many functions, whereas art has one single function. the function of art.

the question of what’s the difference between art and design often comes up at art expositions, perfect launchpads for such a confabulation. in this instance, DesignApplause submits that architecture, design, and engineering are one and the same.

> “what is the difference between art and design? as it applies to graphic design, i will say that the difference between art and design or artist and designers, is expression vs communication. … expression is about the artist and their view, design is about the audience and viewer. expression can be abstract and intangible but design has to be clear for the most part.” ~ anonymous

> “when one attempts to define art, there will be an artist to prove it wrong. ‘art is beautiful’ art becomes ugly. ‘art is emotional’ art becomes emotionless. ‘art is form’ art becomes idea. that’s the problem, art will always shatter definitions.

having said that, i will ignore my own advice and take a crack. i think it comes down to function. design can have many functions, whereas art has one single function. the function of art. digging deeper, the art concept can be portrayed in many different ways. the function of art isn’t singular, its endless.

so design is applied art? or maybe an eames chair is a design object when you’re trying to sell it or sit in it, and an art object when you’re observing it, etc. ~ anonymous

DesignApplause asked galleries if their artists in this show pursued any architectural or design studies in their background. 25 of 39 (64%) galleries point out the following:

above > elevator / gregory scott / catherine edelman gallery (chicago) – booth 167 / 2019

gregory has always blurred the lines between painting and photography, incorporating paintings he did of himself, or his body, back into his photographs. the resulting images were both humorous and odd, challenging the viewer’s perception of photographic truth. then, at the age of 49, scott decided to go to graduate school to strengthen his knowledge of art history and video making. having successfully merged his love of painting and photographs, his interest turned to video and its ability to move and manipulate still images. he received his bachelor degree in graphic design from the institute of design at iit in chicago in 1979 and his master of fine art from indiana university in 2008.

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above > horizontal obeah golio / remy jungerman / fridman gallery (new york) – booth 365 / 2016-18

remy brings together motifs from the de stijl movement with the maroon culture and the winti religion of his native suriname. he is interested in the journey of patterns and textures across time periods and continents. in jungerman’s works, the pared-down, highly stylized forms and primary colors of dutch modernism with inspiration from masters artist/designer piet mondrian and designer gerrit rietveld.

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above >jigawatts / sarah pichilkostner / josh lilly gallery (london) – booth 249 / 2019

the long-term research by sarah is focused on the representation of energy, time, space, self-optimization, productivity, self-reflection and empathy created by objects. solutions involve an interest and understanding of mechanical engineering. through a deep study of the behavior of materials, that combines effortless contemporary methods with laborious and outmoded fabrication techniques, pichlkostner reflects on the social behavior of and towards objects.

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above > tropic of cancer II / john little / mccormick gallery (chicago) – vallarino fine art (new york) – booth 255 / 1960

john started as a very successful textile and wallpaper designer. in 1933 he began classes at the art students league with george grosz, painting mainly cezannesque landscapes and then with hans hofmann in both new york and provincetown, which pushed him towards abstraction and his first serious involvement as a painter. he also happened to be a neighbor of lee krasner and jackson pollock, whom he became close friends.

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above > flow / emi ozawa / richard levy gallery (albuquerque) – booth 424 / 2019

emi strategically arranges color, form, and shadow to create compositions that shift when viewed from different perspectives. originally from tokyo, she studied woodworking at the university of the arts in philadelphia and later an mfa in furniture design from risd.

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above > sound landscape / void /galerie papillon (paris) – booth 413 / 2019

two artists arnaud eeckhout and mauro vitturini founded void to use sound as a medium to represent reality. the medium give shape to move through different fields of design in the form of installations, sculptures, objects, videos, paintings, and performances.

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above > mappings / kay rosen / rené schmitt (berlin) – booth 132 / 2019

kay works with language using words and letters and strategically lays out the content to manipulate the meanings in a very clever and insightful way. though not formally trained as a graphic designer, her typography and design skills inspire.

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above > untitled / devin reynolds / royale projects (los angeles) – booth 272 / 2019

raised in venice, ca, reynolds grew up working on fishing boats, scavenging flea markets with his mother, and surfing crudely painted boards emulating artists such as drew brophy and sean spoto, memories that have greatly informed his practice. inspired by barry mcgee and margaret killgallen, his obsession with marking his alias on the sides of boxcars moved into the studio where graffiti still greatly informs the scale and application of materials used in his work today. reynolds left southern california for new orleans, la to study at tulane university where he received his ba in architecture.

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above > rossiniére / georges rousse / sous les etoliles gallery (new york) – booth 263 / 2015

georges has been a photographer since the age of 9 and evolved into architectural photography, inventing a unique approach that shifted the relationship of painting to space. he began making installations in the types of abandoned or derelict buildings that have long held an attraction for him – creating ephemeral, one-of-a-kind artworks by transforming these sites into pictorial spaces that are visible only in his photographs. he fits well into oscar niemeyer‘s definition of architecture, “”architecture is invention.”

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above > study for homage to the square / josef albers / david zwirner (new york, london, paris, hong kong) – booth 239 / 1954 – 1960

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above > corona & bar cabaret / robert cottingham / tandem press & apex gallery (madison) – booth 262 / 2015 & 2019

although robert is known for his photorealistic depictions of signs, storefront marquees, railroad boxcars and letter forms, he does not consider himself a photorealist artist. his imagery, while derived from the photographs he takes, expands on the photographic image, it does not replicate it. he received his bfa degree from the pratt institute. he later studied art at the arts center college of design.

[ expo chicago 2019: expression vs communication look #1 ]

expo chicago 2019: expression vs communication look #1.

Sep 20, 2019

above > shelves ‘dune’ / zaha hadid / david gill gallery (london) – booth 105 / 2007

what is the difference between art and design? i think it comes down to function. design can have many functions, whereas art has one single function. the function of art.

so design is applied art? or maybe an eames chair is a design object when you’re trying to sell it or sit in it, and an art object when you’re observing it, etc. ~ anonymous

DesignApplause asked galleries if their artists in this show pursued any architectural or design studies in their background. 25 of 39 (64%) galleries point out the following:

physichromie no. 2406 / carlos cruz-diez / ascaso gallery (miami, caracas) – booth 442 / 2002

carlos (1923 – 2019) was an artist and designer.

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cadeira tripe de ferro / lina bo bardi / bergamin & gomide (sao paulo) – booth 311 / 1948-89

pmr chase longue / mendes da rocha / bergamin & gomide (sao paulo) – booth 311 / 1985

patrona alta / oscar niemeyer / bergamin & gomide (sao paulo) – booth 311 / 1971

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above > a fake history of humanity / octavio abúndez / galeria curro (guadadalajara) – booth 101 / 2019

galeria curro‘s proposal deals with knowledge and its representation and reception throughout the history of art and science. octavio abúndez’s new painting project a fake history of humanity offers alternative versions of history to our post-truth era, while deconstructing and creating a tribute relationship with the richter’s color charts. octavia is an architect.

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above > holiday greetings / herbert bayer / stephen daiter gallery (chicago) – booth 143 / 1941

above > the measure of man: a study in perspective / herbert bayer / stephen daiter gallery (chicago) – booth 143 / 1940

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above > coffee table ‘megalith in motion’ / david libeskind / david gill gallery (london) – booth 105 / 2018

above > shelves ‘dune’ / zaha hadid / david gill gallery (london) – booth 105 / 2007

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above > highway with mountain / theaster gates / richard gray gallery (chicago) – booth 139 / 2019

theaster gates is a chicago social practice installation artist, designer with a b.s degree in urban planning and ceramics.

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above > we hold these truths / bob faust / kavi gupta (chicago) – booth 121 / 2019

bob faust is a chicago graphic designer.

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above > chair ‘abrigo’ / mameluca studio (rio de janeiro, miami, new york) – booth 440 / mercado moderno / 2019

above > cafofo / mameluca studio (rio de janeiro, miami, new york) – booth 440 / mercado moderno / 2015

gallery mercado moderno is based in rio de janeiro, miami and new york. founded in 2001 by alberto vicente and marcelo vasconcellos, mercado moderno is a gallery dedicated to brazilian design from the 1950s to 80s and contemporary design-art.

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above > untitled / richard koppe (1916-1973) / richard norton gallery (chicago) – booth 275 / 1951

above > postcard of chicago restaurant well of the sea

richard was the first design student for lazlo moholy-nagy at the new bauhaus chicago. he later turned to painting and some interior design where he created murals and chandeliers for a famous chicago restaurant well of the sea.

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above > various paintings / danielle tegeder / carrie secrist gallery (chicago) – booth 137 / 2017

dannielle is chicago artist integrating languages of architecture, planning and design, and urban construction. inspired by her father who was a pipe fitter in commercial architecture.

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[ expo chicago 2019: expression vs communication look #2 ]

neocon 2019 and satellite event happenings.

Jun 1, 2019

[ neocon’s 51st edition ] since 1969 neocon continues to serve as the world’s premier platform and most important event of the year for the commercial design industry. below are events with the merchandise mart as well as off-site satellite offerings.

neocon at the merchandise mart | 222 west merchandise mart plaza chicago [ directions ] /
[ show info ] /
monday 10 june 9am > 5pm
tuesday 11 june 9am > 5pm
wednesday 12 june 9am > 3pm