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

upcoming events › neocon

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production motorcycles turn into icons but what about custom bikes?

Feb 15, 2019

above/below > white falcon / ian barry / 2013 / unique

how can one-off machines compare to production models beloved by the masses? can we draw any conclusions looking at a few very exceptional motorcycles ? and if you’re more comfortable comparing another category of objects go ahead, the rules apply to anything:

[ the production objects ]
production motorcycles can be judged somewhat objectively: by their performance, innovation, their pedigree, their impact on the larger motorcycle world.

above> vincent black shadow / built 1948 – 55 / hunter s. thompson once remarked that “if you rode the black shadow at top speed for any length of time, you would almost certainly die.” the 50-degree v-twin was completely baked in black enamel and produced enough grunt to carry riders to 125 mph in an era where the 100 mph benchmark was barely attainable. the vincent employed extensive amounts of aluminum throughout, and its motor hung from the cross-bar, acting as a stressed member. this kept weight down to 450 pounds, which meant the vincent black shadow would balance a see-saw with contemporary 500cc singles. innovative front forks, a four-speed transmission and finned brakes at both front and rear rounded out a package widely regarded as the world’s first superbike.

above > harley-davidson xr750 street tracker / built 1970 – 79 / essentially a parts-bin special slapped together to meet changing ama dirt-track rules, the xr750 is an example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. after years of domination, harley’s racing department were forced to completely rethink their efforts for the 1970 season. so in under a year they did — and in doing so created the winningest race bike in the history of the ama. thankfully, homologation rules stipulated that 200 race-ready road-goers be made available to the public; a legend was born. evel knievel began jumping the xr-750 at the height of his career between december 1970 and october 1976 (although a failed practice jump was made in january 1977 and captured on film). prior to the failed practice jump, knievel jumped either cars or trucks (or a combination of the two) on the xr-750.

above> ducati desmosedici rr / built 2007 – 08 / only 1,500 models of this street-legal version of ducati’s 2006 motogp entrant were produced. the all-new 200 hp, 90-degree “double-l twin” v-4 engine would scream through its vertical exits in the rear tail all the way to its 10,500 rpm redline and 194 mph top speed. componentry was top notch all around with ohlins, brembo and marchesini put to the task of keeping riders alive and justifying the $72,500 sticker price. the desmosedici rr is often regarded as the ultimate ducati experience, a mechanically and aesthetically faithful reproduction of a genuine motogp racer — it even came with sponsorship stickers, were you so inclined.

[ the custom objects ]
custom motorcycles, as they divert toward art, demand a more subjective judgment: the celebrity of the artist, a track record of recognized style and quality, and in the artworld’s subjective judgment, the black and white of the price of the art for confirmation.

above> white falcon / built in 2013 / acrylic, 7075 + 6061 aluminum, brass, cloth, chromally, copper, enamel, epoxy, glass, light-emitting diodes, leather, magnesium, nickel, pyrex, rubber, silver, springs, stainless mesh, stainless steel, steel, titanium, 1967 works ‘squish head’ velocette venom thruxton engine, gp carburetors, avon venom tires, 21″ wm1 avon, 19″ wm2 borrani, archimedes mount / 33 x 30 x 73 inches – sold for a rumored $750,000 at the kohn gallery in los angeles.

below> bsa 500 black / hazen motorworks

“every bike that I create is 1 of 1, made by my own 2 hands here in my workshop, each bike is unique and never replicated. i push myself to make something new with every project and build the most interesting designs that i can think of in the most elegant way possible.” ~ max hazen

below > captain america / built c 1967 – 68 / arguably the most famous iconic custom bike because of the 1969 movie, easy rider. called “captain america” and before it was customized it was a 1952 harley-davidson hydra-glide police bike built by two chopper builders, cliff vaughs and ben hardy. the bike kept its original h-d panhead engine. two captain america bikes were made but before the movie aired one was stolen and parted and the other bike was crashed in the last scene of the movie.
[ npr backstory ] [ captain america sells for $ 1.3 million ]

[ 51 most iconic motorcycles of all time ] [ art demystified: what determines an artwork’s value ? ] –

chicago design museum and thirst’s beautifools / memoir provides some great ideas.

Jun 10, 2018

the chicago design museum and chicago design firm thirst provide two venues of inspiration in close proximity to neocon happenings at block 37 located on state and randolph.

the museum show runs through 18 august and thirst’s pop-up through 13 june 2018.

chicago design museum reimagines container corporation of america’s stunning advertising campaign, great ideas of western man, great ideas of humanity: out of the container highlights a broad spectrum of human thought and reminds us that, sometimes, looking to the past helps to comprehend the present.

a portion of the show will highlight the great ideas of 826chi students, encouraging us to think about who decides what “great” means, and reminding us that great ideas can come from anywhere.

as a special component to the exhibition, 10 pieces reflect the quotes of distinguished chicagoans such as ida b. wells, buckminster fuller, and lászló moholy-nagy, designed by chicago artists and designers. learn more about great ideas of humanity, and see all of the artwork on the great ideas website

several steps from the museum is a pop-up one finds a display banner with drawings of two sets of hands being busy on their phones. the banner reads beautifools / memoir.

something is going on and this particular retail experience is luring its visitors into a very private, albeit abstracted, intimate relationship — a memoir.

in this pop-up installation we encounter fragmented relics and emotional dioramas left in the wake of two fools who were unable to swipe away an over-heated desire to feel intense closeness. longing for more under their index fingers, these two hid for some time behind many foolish masks… for crying out loud.

chicago designer rick valicenti, tells us that this installation is all an experiment in story telling. in the world of stories we are all familiar with film, novels, comics, opera, but here the designed setting is serving as a narrative platform.

valicenti is the recipient of the nation’s highest design honor bestowed by the smithsonian cooper-hewitt national design museum and he is chicago’s only graphic designer to hold this award. chicago architect, jeanne gang, and chicago product designer, scott wilson also holds this recognition.

valicenti is joined in the creation of beautifools / memoir by members of his branding design studio,thirst, and the 2018 thirst artist in residence, satoru nihei. mohamed dardiri added his craftsmanship to the many fascinating artifacts that compromise this very unique installation which even includes shou-sugi-ban, a japanese term that translates to burnt cedar board. the lost technique has been commonplace in japan since the 1700s and describes the art of charring ‘sugi” (cedar) planks used to protect the home.

revoliutsiia! demonstratisiia! soviet art put to the test.

Oct 25, 2017

revoliutsiia! demonstratisiia! soviet art put to the test | the art institute of chicago | 29 october 2017 > 15 january 2018

the october revolution of 1917 changed the course of world history; it also turned russia into a showcase filled with models. every object and sphere of activity had to demonstrate how society could be remade according to revolutionary principles. it would take intensive experimentation and discussion to determine the shape of this unprecedented society. to be realized in any concrete way, communism had to be modeled and put on display.

revoliutsiia! demonstratisiia! soviet art put to the test accordingly fills regenstein hall with ten model displays from the early soviet era. each of these sections holds rare works of art and features expert, life-size reconstructions of early soviet display objects or spaces, commissioned especially for this exhibition.

it’s well documented that the russian art scene, beginning c 1895 and leading up to a 1917 communist revolution, was an avante garde, graphically primed, and prolific force. movements included neo-primitivism, rayonism, cubofuturism, italian futurism, and the first abstract constructivist and suprematist paintings. artists included mikhail larionov, natalia goncharova, aristarkh lentulov, lyubov popova, olga rozanova, el lissitzky, vladmir tatlin, kazimir malevich, alexander rodchenko, wassily kandinsky. kandinsky would later join the bauhaus design faculty, as well as hungarian artist lászló moholy-nagy who was inspired by the constructivists.

artists were asked to remake society according to revolutionary principles – to find new answers to old questions.

the revolution not only incited a political / social movement, but also inspired two monumental design genres – russian contructivism and in 1919, weimar, germany, the founding of the bauhaus. constructivism would dominate the graphic messaging for the revolution. constructivism would also evolve into an iconic bauhaus style.

the art institute of chicago presents ten displays containing nearly 550 works, the largest exhibition of soviet art to take place in the united states in 25 years. visitors have the opportunity to explore the trajectory of early soviet art in all its forms and consider what it tells us about socially minded art now.

revoliutsiia! demonstratsiia! soviet art put to the test is organized by the art institute of chicago and the v-a-c foundation.

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production motorcycles turn into icons but what about custom bikes?

chicago design museum and thirst’s beautifools / memoir provides some great ideas.

revoliutsiia! demonstratisiia! soviet art put to the test.