events – DesignApplause

what’s the difference between art and design? expo chicago 2022.

Apr 8, 2022

above > collectors enjoying video art by a former graphic designer gregory scott / catherine edelman gallery booth 169

note: this post in ‘in-progress’ as we await more details…

more than 140 leading art galleries from 65 cities in 25 countries show off their stable of talent at expo chicago 2022 which is the perfect confabulation and launchpad to contemplate what inspires the art. in this instance, DesignApplause submits that architecture, design, and engineering are one and the same and art is not.

> “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. 24 of 30 (80%) galleries point out the following:

above > artist virginia jaramillo was inspired by product designers charles and ray eames – jaramillo and a selected group of other students would make weekly visits to the celebrated designer charles and ray eames’s studio. there, jaramillo was introduced to design, architecture, and “a philosophy of structure and the purity of form.” these discoveries opened “a different way of seeing” for jaramillo and would guide her artistic thinking and output in the following decades. even as she was learning from the eameses, she began to explore japanese woodcuts and a related aesthetic philosophy, called ma, which she would ultimately channel into “the curvilinear paintings,” her best-known series. / hales gallery booth 323

artist margaret wharton worked in advertising before she received a bfa from the school of the art institute in sculpture. whorton, who passed away in 2014, left behind fantastically crafted sculptural assemblages as well as a body of raely seen conceptual photographs. hers is the story of women artists who came out in the 1970s declaring their feminisst credos. and many, like warton, used the very trappings of their domestic environment as form and content. wharton tells us, “the bandsaw was her paintbrush.’ / jean albano gallery booth 317

above> artist sara cwynar has a degree in design from york university in toronto / foxy production booth 314

above > fredrickson stallard – ian stallard earned a degree in product design and studied architecture (red chair, chrome coffee and side tables) david gill gallery 234

above > artist tomokazu matsuyama has a pratt degree in communications design / gavi gupta booth 211

above> an interesting chat with gallery owner who says none of his artists studied architecture or design / however gallery is overly represented in typographic art – the image above was created by an art & architecture department chairperson (awaiting name of artist) gallery rene schmitt booth 128

above > timothy taylor booth 205

above> featuring designer jonathan meuke (works in the middle) / volume gallery booth 332

note: teh following updated 15 may 2022…
[ expo chicago ], the international exposition of contemporary and modern art, concluded its ninth edition on sunday, april 10, with a high attendance of international collectors and curators alongside 30,000 visitors, exceptional presentations from exhibiting galleries and strong sales, in what was its most global edition to date. on opening day alone, the exposition welcomed more than 8,000 vip guests while raising $260,000 to benefit the museum of contemporary art chicago during the fair’s vernissage. collectors, curators, artists and art professionals enjoyed an exclusive first look at over 140 leading galleries from 25 countries and 65 cities throughout navy pier’s iconic festival hall. expo chicago will return april 13 – 16, 2023.

“we are thrilled with the enthusiastic return of expo chicago as we once again welcomed a global network of art dealers, curators, museum directors, collectors, artists, and arts enthusiasts to our great city,” said tony karman, president | director. “the city galvanized to provide a vibrant, robust week of activities in support of local and visiting patrons and i am deeply proud that our success proved the importance of this marketplace and re-established our place on the international art world calendar in this april timeslot.”

a pre-show peek of the inspired home show 2022.

Mar 5, 2022

this is my 11th year as a gia innovations award judge. today was judgement day to scrutinize five product design finalists in 10 categories. that meant a visit to mccormick place and an attempt at a pre-show peek of this year’s the inspired home‘s 2022 show. i didn’t go into the great halls however because i didn’t bring a hard hat. the photos give an idea of a very different presentation, a refreshing new experience.

the global innovation awards (gia) program was launched in january 2000 with the goal of recognizing and honoring excellence in home and housewares retailing on a global scale. in the 20 years since its inception, the gia program has expanded to recognize innovation in four different facets of home and housewares excellence: retail excellence, product design, booth design, and student design. the photo below may be the display case build-out where the winners will reside. in 2022 over 250 entries were viewed by 20 judges to select the 2022 gia awards winners:

discover design is seven years old in 2022 and is a destination of more than 100 design-centric exhibitors from around the world. the confines includes the discover design gallery – the photo below may be the display case build-out featuring the products submitted for the gia awards; and design debut, an incubator program within discover design, featuring new companies.

on the way out after judging and in the great concourse we find, well not really, you have to pass the pantone booth to get to the great halls or the buses. this venue is way better than their previous location in the lakeside building. here, though the architecture is a bit busy, an abundant amount of natural ambient light means a correct color presentation, a rarity seldom realized in a trade show environment.

this sunday leatrice eiseman, director of the pantone color institute will speak sunday – check your inspired home app for more details. leatrice is also the creator of the annual pantone color forecasts illustrated in the colorwatch display. color is such a vital component to good design, we recommend taking this opportunity to hear what this highly esteemed color expert has to say.

i also met this year’s student winners. this category is one of my favorite happenings and manages to showoff amazing talent and their winning effort.

below > we see the six winners and in the foreground vicki montranga. i’ve known her for over 20 years. vicki is a chicago product design historian without peer. she’s also an advisor to the chicago design archive. she conceived the student competition in 1993 and 2022 is the 29th year. i’m told there’s a box of anniversary booklets on site and one has my name on it. please do not miss this special opportunity to hear their presentations and share ideas of what does good design mean.

below > les mendelson, founder of umbra, said these student competitions are the future of design. he shared his story of his company’s history and had two of his design managers do a walk-thru of the students booth.

below > evan dash, left, founder of storebound, outlined his company’s history and design determination. dash and mendelson have both hired past winners of iha’s competition. dash hired an arizona state student who then grew the design department and manages production in china.

formerly the international home + housewares show, the inspired home show is north america’s largest housewares trade show! we connect not only buyer to seller, but also product to lifestyle and the industry to the consumer mindset. every year, more than 52,000 home and housewares professionals from more than 130 countries converge upon chicago to discover new housewares products and industry trends, meet face-to-face with executives from top retail and manufacturer brands, and gain the insights, leads and exposure to jump-start a successful year. the show is owned and operated by the international housewares association (iha), which has a rich history within the housewares industry dating back more than 80 years.

@TIH_Show #TIHS22 #giaAwards @DesignApplause #DesignApplause @pantone @umbra #design #productdesign #designinspiration #modernkitchen #modernhome #homedesign #kitchendesign #cooking

2021 chicago architecture biennial kicks off in a new format.

Sep 10, 2021

an architecture biennial unveils avant-garde ideas, materials, technologies and practices and serves as a forum for architects to make connections, collaborate with others and engage the public in issues and concerns in the field. the biennial also recognizes outstanding work in the industry.

the 2021 fourth edition of the chicago architecture bienniel kicks off 17 september organized in an entirely new format from previous years. all earlier editions were held at the chicago cultural center, an architectural masterpiece in itself, filling all three floors and greeting over 500,000 visitors in 2019.

because of the pandemic which affected long-established global venues, such as the venice architecture biennale, whose dates were put off twice — first, from may to august 2020, then to may 2021, chicago’s events will offer content within a neighborhood-centric format throughout the city.

the 2021 chicago event, titled the available city, builds on a chicago architecture professor’s long-term efforts to find creative uses for thousands of vacant city-owned lots. it will ask us to ponder how shared spaces, like community playgrounds, affect cities’ quality of life.

the biennial’s theme dovetails with mayor lori lightfoot’s $750 million “invest south/west” program to boost investment in struggling neighborhoods on the city’s south and west sides.

the mayor said in a news release, she was “thrilled” that the biennial “will be focused and grounded in our neighborhoods that can benefit from it the most.”

david brown, the 2021 chicago architecture biennial artistic director, is a professor at the university of illinois at chicago. brown participated in the inaugural 2015 biennial with an exhibition, also called the available city, which explored how 15,000 city-owned vacant lots could be transformed into usable public spaces rather than conventional reuses like urban farms.

above > david brown

since then, brown has worked with community-based organizations, connecting them with architects and designers to develop plans to turn individual lots or combinations of lots into small parks, plazas and buildings of various sizes.

this time around, the available city includes 15 site-specific architectural installations: located on public and private lots located in chicago’s neighborhoods of north lawndale, bronzeville, woodlawn, englewood, pilsen, collateral projects and the south loop. there are also two exhibition-based explorations located in an unused storefront space in bronzeville and at the graham foundation.

the host again is the graham foundation. and rather than starting from the ground up, the 2021 biennial will expand on brown’s work.

“that’s one of the reasons we’re really confident we can do this,” said sarah herda, the co-artistic director of the 2015 biennial and a member of the organization’s board. “we feel like it’s really a good moment” to reunite with brown and take his research forward, she said.

the biennial to date has featured models, drawings, installations and other work by more than 350 architects, designers and artists from more than 40 nations.

stressing that the 2021 biennial will seek to retain that international flavor, herda said the event might display projects from around the world that deal with issues like those brown has explored in his research.

out-of-town architects might communicate with chicago community groups via zoom or other online forums, she said.

the biennial’s first event will be an online conversation between brown and california landscape architect walter hood, winner of a macarthur foundation “genius” grant, who participated in the 2019 biennial.

as in previous years, the nonprofit organization that runs the biennial will present the event in cooperation with the chicago department of cultural affairs and special events.

the biennial becomes the second chicago architecture organization to shift from indoor activity to outdoor events and online platforms in response to the pandemic. the chicago architecture center presents it’s annual open house chicago, which normally gives participants access to the interiors of chicago buildings, is presenting outdoor and online tours.

[ contributors ]
ana miljački – critical broadcasting lab at mit (boston);
ania jaworska (chicago);
atelier bow-wow (tokyo);
borderless studio (chicago);
central park theater restoration committee (chicago);
christophe hutin architecture (bordeaux);
counterspace (johannesburg + republic of london + united kingdom)
craig wilkins (detroit);
departamento del distrito (mexico city);
drawing architecture studio (beijing);
el cielo (mexico city);
elleza kelly (new haven + new york);
englewood nature trail (chicago);
enlace arquitectura + ciudad laboratorio (caracas);
fala (porto);
gensler (stone soup group) (los angeles + chicago);
hood design studio (oakland);
in care of black women (chicago);
jill desimini (cambridge);
jovanna jackson (chicago);
maite borjabad lopex-pastor (chicago + madrid);
manuel hertz architecture (basel);
matri-archi(tecture) (basel + cape town);
michelle joan wilkinson (washington dc);
open architecture + under the grid (chicago);
outpost office (columbus);
port (chicago + philadelphia);
projecthood (chicago);
rayna rezmilic (santiago);
riff studio (new york city);
sekou cooke studio (charlotte);
shau (bendung);
soil lab (copenhagen + dublin);
sonja henderson and alphonso nieves (chicago);
stefan gruber (pittsburg);
studioapt (ann arbor);
studio barnes with shawhin roudbari and mas context (miami);
studio ossidiana (rotterdam + venice);
the bittertang farm (chicago + bainbridge island);
the open workshop (san francisco + toronto);
urban american city (new york city).

contributor/tokyo atelier bow wow

contributor/niger mariam kamara/a>

contributor/chicago ania jaworska

contributor/detroit craig wilkins

the graham foundation is pleased to present the available city, part of the fourth edition of the chicago architecture biennial (cab). this edition marks a new approach to the biennial model, bridging the traditional exhibition format to a deeper engagement with the community to expand access and impact. offering opportunities to discover installations, exhibitions, and programs that explore transformative possibilities for vacant spaces in communities worldwide.

visit the [ chicago architecture biennial ] to explore more about the biennial, what is on view throughout the city, and upcoming programs and events. look for DesignApplause to spell out these events in weekly separate articles.

[ upcoming programming! ] #cab21 #chicagoarchitecturebiennial

this is a developing story…

from dark to light honoring covid-19 victims during national memorial service. like the concept.

Jan 19, 2021

the chicago skyline will go dark on 19 january, for a national covid-19 memorial service. as will many other cities throughout our country.

at 6 p.m. on tuesday mayor lori lightfoot is asking chicagoans to turn off lights, go outside and light a candle in honor of the 2 million people that have lost their lives to covid-19 worldwide. the event is happening across the united states.

navy pier and the group that organizes the skyline’s holiday-themed lights have already signed on to go dark.

the concept, after 10 minutes, everyone is supposed to turn their power and electronics back on. if you can, gradually relight your building and set your exterior color to orange. this process is meant to simulate the lighting of a candle as part of a nation-wide memorial. this symbolizes the movement from darkness to light.

president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect kamala harris will preside over a lighting ceremony for victims in washington d.c. at the lincoln memorial reflecting pool.

earth day 2020 is themed climate action and designed to watch from home.

Apr 21, 2020

[ earth day ] the organization, created the first earth day on 22 april 1970. since then over 1 billion individuals have mobilized for the future of the planet via the earth day network. 75,000+ partners in over 190 countries are now working to drive positive action.

their mission? to build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and planet.

above > new york city’s fifth avenue is filled with thousands of people when the street was closed to motor traffic for the first earth day on 22 april 22 1970 / image by © bettmann/corbis | photo credit: tommy japan

the theme for earth day 2020 is climate action. the enormous challenge — but also the vast opportunities — of action on climate change have distinguished the issue as the most pressing topic for the 50th anniversary.

above > climate strikers take to the streets of new york city in september 2019 for global strikes coordinated by the fridays for future youth climate movement | photo credit: inma galvez-shorts

on 22 april most of us will be staying at home. but, there are a lot of events to see ! [ earth day live ! ] [ earth day instagram ] [ american museum of natural history ] [ nasa ] [ space.com ] [ the world around ]

[ take action register your digital earth day event ]

#climateaction #earthdayathome #earth #environment #earthday2020

venice biennale architettura 2020

Apr 5, 2020

the venice biennale architettura 2020, curated by hashim sarkis, will be held in venice (giardini and arsenale) from saturday 29 august (preview thursday 27th and friday 28th) through sunday 29 november, instead of from 23 may through 29 november, as previously announced.

the new dates for the biennale architettura have been established as a consequence of the recent precautionary measures in the matter of mobility taken by the governments of a growing number of countries around the world, which will have a domino effect on the movement of people and works in coming weeks. this period of time coincides with the delicate initial phase of setting up an international exhibition as complex as the biennale architettura, which involves architects and institutions from over 60 countries on all continents.

this situation poses a risk to the realization of the exhibition in its entirety in time for the announced opening date (23 may), thereby jeopardizing its quality. furthermore, a short-term postponement could be ineffective, considering the complexity of the organizational machine, the number and importance of the subjects involved and the probable absence of many of them.

unwilling to open an incomplete exhibition, la biennale, having heard the curator hashim sarkis and in consideration of the difficulties faced by the participating countries and invited architects, has decided to postpone the inauguration until 29 august, bringing the duration of this year’s edition of the biennale architettura back to three months, from the end of august to the end of november.

this way, considering that the following week, 2 september is the opening date of the 77th venice international film festival directed by alberto barbera (through 12 september), at the end of the summer, with the almost concurrent opening of these two historic exhibitions, la biennale will offer venice and the world a moment of great cultural interest and international appeal.

salone del mobile.milano postponed to 2021. milan design week. covid-19.

Mar 26, 2020

the 2020 59th edition of the salone del mobile.milano has been suspended. the 60th edition will now take place from 13th to 18th april 2021. the decision to postpone was made by the board of the salone del mobile.milano in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that is spreading to almost every country in the world.

the situation that led to the original change of date from april to june, announced on 25th february, has fundamentally changed. although we were determined to keep to the june date, to allow the annual event to take place as planned, the present, unprecedented circumstances and medium-term uncertainties now mean that this year’s salone can no longer go ahead.

the 2021 edition, which will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the salone, will be a special event for the entire sector. for the first time ever, all the biennial exhibitions will be held in conjunction with the salone internazionale del mobile, the international furnishing accessories exhibition, workplace3.0, s.project and salonesatellite. this means that eurocucina, ftk (technology for the kitchen) and the international bathroom exhibition will also take place next year, along with euroluce, which was already scheduled for 2021.

this single, great sector-wide trade fair will represent a fresh opportunity to pull together to revitalize our businesses, the entire supply chain that works in synergy with the salone, and milan.

neocon 2020 transitions from “postponed” to “cancelled” as best course for covid-19.

Mar 22, 2020

after consultation with leaders and partners within the commercial design industry, themart has decided cancelling neocon 2020 is the best course of action considering the on-going covid-19 outbreak and the unknown duration for social distancing and other measures.

the next neocon will be neocon 14 to 16 june 2021.

additional updates, including creative new ways to connect the community in the interim, will be communicated soon.

if you booked hotel accommodations in the neocon hotel block via our official housing vendor, onpeak, your reservation will be automatically cancelled.

if you registered for neocon ceu seminars, an automatic refund will be applied to your original form of payment.

every neocon 2020 exhibitor will be given the option for a full refund or to roll booth fees forward to the 2021 neocon show. more details will be communicated shortly.

2020 inspired home show cancelled by coronavirus covid-19 concerns.

Mar 2, 2020

after careful consideration regarding the ongoing spread of covid-19 (coronavirus) overseas and recent cases in the united states, the international housewares association‘s board of directors has decided not to hold the inspired home show 2020, scheduled to take place 14-17 march 2020 at mccormick place in chicago.

“for the last several weeks, we have been watching this situation very carefully, with our primary concern being the safety and well-being of the home + housewares industry,” said derek miller, iha president. “the iha board of directors made this decision after consulting with industry constituents including exhibitors and retailers. in the end, the global nature of our event, combined with the worldwide concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak and ongoing travel restrictions make it impossible for us to hold the inspired home show next week.”

the iha board of directors and iha staff will be working together over the next several weeks to measure the financial impact on the industry and the association. once an analysis is complete, additional information regarding exhibitor refunds will be made available.

iha had previously announced that the international sourcing expo, which primarily houses chinese-based suppliers, would not open in 2020 due to the restrictions on travel between china and the united states.

the inspired home show 2021 will be held march 13-16 at chicago’s mccormick place complex.

the international housewares association is the 82-year-old voice of the housewares industry, which accounted for (us)$394.3 billion at retail worldwide in 2018. the not-for-profit, full-service association sponsors the world’s premier exposition of products for the home, the inspired home show, iha’s global home + housewares market (theinspiredhomeshow.com), and offers its 1,400 member companies a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy, export assistance, industry and consumer trends through the iha market watch, executive management peer groups, a b2b community at www.housewares.org, group buying discounts on business solutions services and direct-to-consumer engagement through theinspiredhome.com.

source international housewares association

for further information: deborah a. teschke, senior manager, public relations & communications, dteschke@housewares.org, 847-692-0110

covid-19 postpones salone del mobile.milano until 16 – 21 june 2020. milan design week.

Feb 25, 2020

salone del mobile.milano has been postponed amid growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in italy, show officials have confirmed that the show originally scheduled for 21 – 26 april 2020, will be rescheduled for june 16 – 21. the show will still be held at rho fiera milano. statement from salone del mobile below:

“following an extraordinary meeting today of the board of federlegno arredo eventi, and in view of the ongoing public health emergency, the decision has been taken to postpone the upcoming edition of the salone del mobile.milan to 16th – 21st june.

confirmation of the change of date for the trade fair – strongly supported by the mayor of milan giuseppe sala – means that the manufacturers, in a major show of responsibility, will be able to present their finalised work to an international public that sees the annual appointment with the salone del mobile.milano as a benchmark for creativity and design.”

as we await further information, the official statement and video with english captions will be made available in the upcoming days.