conference & exhibitions – Page 3

elke walter connexxion – presents new work and a zaha hadid tribute at coam madrid.

Jul 1, 2018

above > connexxion exhibition images / exhibition open through 30 july 2018

zaha hadid defined a future architecture. a math background evolved into a geometry of planes, shapes, and spirals that wave with a spacial rhythm of time and space. hadid’s design vision extended to both buildings and objects.

zaha achieved a great deal in her lifetime. she was dame hadid. a winner of the stirling prize in architecture in 2010 and 2011. the first woman to win the pritzker architecture prize, in 2004. once described as a “paper” architect, hadid’s plans were once considered unbuildable. she was so ahead of the curve, she had to wait for technology to catch up. hadid’s vision was so strong and defined that her architectural practice continues.

there was one designer who the architect turned to design her clothes, elke walter.

a new exhibit at coam museum in madrid entitled, elke walter connexxion from dresses to sculptures & photography, a tribute to zaha hadid runs from 5-30 july 2018. the show will feature unique garments created during the time that zaha hadid was a client, as well as new directions in walter’s work. as with any visionary, elke walter expands her vision with jewelry, sculptures, and photography.

in a continuum, a young fan of zaha hadid reached out to walter to create the show. designapplause chats with elke walter about their unique relationship with zaha and her new direction.

[DesignApplause] you’re presenting new work at coam as well as a tribute to an old friend and colleague, zaha hadid. how did you meet zaha hadid?

[elke walter] i met zaha for the first time 2006 at luminaire in miami. nargis and nasir kassamali introduced me and my work to her and she immediately liked it. but despite our long relationship, we never became close friends. we respected each other and there was a strong connection between us based on a common taste and the strong will to work in a very singular and different way.

[DA] your style was already developed when you met zaha.
[EW] i’m not influenced by someone or something. it always felt like coming from an inner source, i started with some very rudimentary cuts and then little by little developed my own way of creating garments. i always wanted to do my very own ‘thing’, invent not copy. and when i met zaha, i already did these architectural shapes without having any idea of her’s or other architect’s work.

i am self-taught and created and made my first clothes 1998 when i lived with my husband and our 3 sons in montpellier, france. i’ve found my first clients there and when we moved back to hamburg in 2001, i opened my own store there one year later. in the beginning, i only made one-of-a-kind pieces, mainly in black and white. encouraged by a growing clientele, i started creating collections and showed them on fashion fairs and in showrooms in paris, new york, and milan.

i always preferred staying independent as well in my creativity as in business. i had my own style and felt very much attracted by structured fabrics. in my very personal way of cutting, folding and draping these materials, i created sculptural pieces with sometimes architectural shapes. it was a logical consequence for me to use the same skills for making sculptures and jewelry. almost all my photographs show my work or the material i’m using.

[DA] how did zaha choose pieces in your collection?

[EW] as long as i designed and made her unique pieces i always knew what she’d need and like. she designed extraordinary buildings and i designed extraordinary garments for her. her needs, her great style and her personality influenced my work. in everything i’m creating, in every new challenge i still feel this connection. she was very important to me.

[DA] you had an unusual road into fashion. you are now devoted to sculptures, jewelry, and photography. your fashion feels more like wearable sculpture.

[EW] the structure of the fashion business did not suit me. the repetition felt forced in line with the way l work.

when we moved to france again in 2012 i changed everything and did pop-ups in art and design galleries and architecture offices. several garments in this exhibit were on display at zhd gallery in london when zaha was present.

my sculptural objects are a continuation of my work on garments. i felt the need to create something non-wearable, to study the possibilities of manipulating fabrics, create volume and density. i always start with one small object and then, by making hundreds of them and attach them to each other, the sculpture grows and grows. it’s fascinating and has no limits. for these objects, i love working with pleated polyester fabrics that have a metal optic but feel soft.

[DA] your photos will also be on view. your photos feature strong and mysterious images. on instagram, you are very minimal and directional with your presentation.

[EW] when i first started taking pictures, it was all about nature and architecture and it was just for fun. i used my samsung note and some apps and posted the result on instagram. @elkewalter

about 2 years ago, i thought it would be useful to have all my work photographed and systematically took pics of all my sculptures. or just parts of it. i always preferred black and white images, and it became a real pleasure to use filters and try new techniques. i only use my smartphone, that’s my personal challenge. i don’t want to think too much about it, just do it, quickly, in my studio, while i’m working. the show will feature photos of the fabrics i am using in my work.

i like to alienate these materials by using filters. often you don’t know if what you see on the image is organic or artificial. photography became a part of my universe, my very personal way of seeing and showing my creations.

[DA] the show at coam is called ‘connexxion’. there are so many invisible threads between your work and zaha including the formation of this show.

[EW] last year, i was contacted by juan antonio fuentes, an architectural student in madrid. juan reached out to me on social media and i enjoyed his work and followed him as well. he ordered a coat and then asked me if i’d ever come to madrid. as i told him that i’ve no contacts there, he proposed to care for this. juan showed my work to one of his teachers, guadalupe cantarrero, and together they had a meeting at coam, the chamber of architects.
coam’s vice dean carlos lahoz valacio knew my work. he agreed immediately to give me the opportunity for a solo exhibition in the context of my years of creating one-of-a-kind garments for zaha hadid.

[ elke walter ] has been creating sculptures as fashion since 1998. her fabrics are produced in a small rural france mill, using old techniques mixed with modern knowhow. there she gets her fabric ideas realized: pleated, twisted and finally dyed delicately on the structured outside. elke has always employed fabric as a medium for her creative expression, one which has been evolving from one-of-a-kind fashion to an increasingly sculptural work.

elke walter’s sculptural work creatively references the late zaha hadid, a person that she not only admired for her creative impetus, but with whom she had a personal relationship. elke walter was zaha hadid’s favorite designer for many years – understandably, as both considered fashion to be architectural. or intergalactic.

[ coam ] the official college of architects of madrid is the public law corporation that represents and defends the interests of architects.

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.

ore streams installation by formafantasma investigates recycling of electronic waste.

Dec 19, 2017

our human greed for metals has grown to such an extent that by 2080, the biggest metal reserves will not be underground. instead, they will be above the surface as ingots stored in private buildings or otherwise circulated within products such as building materials, appliances, furniture and an ever-growing market of consumer electronic products.

[ ore streams – introduction ]

the earth’s surface has been mined for millennia in search of resources such as metals and minerals to fulfill our production demands. in fact, forging metal changed the course of history: bronze empowered humans to weaponize and gold facilitated local and then global trade. even at this very moment, new cavities are being hollowed out, while existing excavated sites are abandoned or re-filled with new earth—a superficial recompense. our human greed for metals has grown to such an extent that by 2080, the biggest metal reserves will not be underground. instead, they will be above the surface as ingots stored in private buildings or otherwise circulated within products such as building materials, appliances, furniture and an ever-growing market of consumer electronic products.

on the surface of our planet, rivers of ore in the form of these discarded materials stream freely as if in a continuous, borderless continent. efforts to recycle this complex hardware remain new, uncharted and contentious. new logistic structures, technologies and cross-country alliances are being forged to allow for the renewal of metals at the lowest expense. as this shift ensues, the mining industry will be permanently altered. we will enter a new phase, where above-ground scavenging will out-perform and out-value digging below the surface for raw material.

commissioned by the national gallery of victoria in melbourne and developed over two years, ore streams is an ambitious investigation into the recycling of precious electronic waste. the project makes use of diverse media (including objects, video documentation and animation) to address the meaning of production from multiple perspectives, while offering an insight into how design can be an invaluable agent for change.

[ video installation ]

currently, electronics are the fastest growing waste stream. electronic waste is considered especially valuable due to the use of precious metals such as gold and silver in the production of chip boards. while there are efforts to improve the recovery of metals, only 30% of the west’s e-waste makes its way to the appropriate recycling facilities. the remaining 70% are often shipped illegally to developing countries where they are disassembled in poor working conditions and, with no better means, toxic components of electronics are disposed of inappropriately. this proves harmful to both the environment and laborer.

in several countries legislations is now in place to ban such exportation of e-waste and to establish directives to ensure correct processing. yet, lawmakers underestimate the design possibilities that could improve recycling both in developed and developing countries. designers and engineers alike are often unaware of recycling processes and new technologies in place and therefore cannot consider the complications caused.

ore streams includes an eighteen-channel video installation that aims to unpack the problematics of e-waste and offer global strategies that can be applied in order to design products for more efficient recycling. developed as research material, a series documentaries were made that feature interviews conducted by formafantasma with practitioners of the recycling sector including european e-waste recyclers, academic researchers, electronics producers, ngos working in developing countries and interpol, the the international criminal police organization which is responsible for environmental crimes and developing guidelines for government lawmakers.

the video installation also includes four videos where a selection of electronic products are carefully disassembled and recomposed. this acts as a taxonomy, highlighting the material and design complexity of the products.

the core of the video installation is an animation where formafantasma make use of 3d rendering as a tool to visualise possible strategies. the concepts displayed are conceived considering the recycling technologies now in place and the limitations of facilities across developed and developing countries.

a few examples shown include: 1) a common trend in electronics is the miniaturization of products. this has increased the already wide-spread use of glue to attach components in order to save space. designing objects with space efficient connections/clamping systems will guarantee precise separation of materials; 2) the most common problem for both recycling in developed and developing countries, is removal of batteries and hazardous components. the use of visual recognition technologies in the sorting of waste has great potential but remains unexplored. electric cables are very commonly covered in black rubber. yet, due to the dark color and opacity of the surface, they are not recognized by visual detectors. a simple design choice such as using coloured rubber or even a patterned surface, could dramatically improve the recycling of the copper used in electric cables; 3) too often e-waste objects are not labeled with information about their materiality. constant development of new polymers makes it difficult to identify materials and separate them precisely. in developing countries, rudimentary and oft toxic methods are used to determine what a material is, for instance burning is used to understand the composition of a material based on how it melts and the colour of the flames. as a response the designers envision a scenario in which objects would be delivered to recyclers with an embedded digital material passport in the form of a qr code and universal colour coding.

[ objects ]

in ore streams, formafantasma have set out to identify ways in which design can be deployed to correct the flaws in the current waste-stream system. but beyond systemic improvements, design can be used to seduce and to elicit a less conscious attitudinal shift for the better. the collection of objects created for ore streams act as a trojan horse, using form and color to initiate a deeper exploration of ‘above ground mining’ and the complex role design plays in transforming natural resources into desirable products.

the collection is composed of a range of office furniture constructed using dead-stock and recycled materials: a cabinet, desk, table, low chair, two self standing structures to be used as cubicles, and a series of supplementary objects: a lamp, shelf and waste basket.

at first glance the objects appear austere, gold-clad and slickly coated. yet, within moments familiar elements begin to emerge. an aerating grid from a microwave under the surface of the table and two piles of mobile phone castings under that. the body of the microwave is integrated on a shelf hanging from one of the cubicles, while a computer keyboard has been inserted into its side. a standing cabinet pairs transparent glass with six empty computer towers used as drawers.
gold scavenged from electronic waste recurs as a finish throughout the series: most visibly, as cladding on the inside of a leather trash bin, as one thin section of the cnc-milled aluminium chair and in two iphones and a keyboard placed in the table and cubicle, respectively.

the office is where modern design principles are most visible; the search for efficiency, ideal standards and a universal style are epitomised by furniture such as the filing cabinet and the modular cubicle. the designers’ choice to reference this environment is a nod not only to these principles, but to the same pragmatic approach of quantification, organisation and efficiency which runs the bureaucracies responsible for regulating and capitalising on the circulation of natural resources, minerals and waste used in the global production of goods.

as is often the case in their work, formafantasma integrate apparently distant elements calling attention to their relationship. in ore streams they juxtaposing these objects with nasa-released images of planet mars’ crateral surface. the images refer to the alien origins of many of earth’s metals. they arrived here in rainstorm of meteorites billions of years ago. so, while the gold used in the furniture is recuperated from electronic waste, the images take a wide view and show how the material does not only belong to this planet but the ecosystem at large–it is only a random crash that landed it here.

while ore streams is a highly specialized project, delving into the details of sourcing raw materials from electronic waste, the imagery from another planet-it’s craters, and soft surface-allow for moments of broader reflection to consider, at least for a moment, how to contemplate these issues from a further vantage point than our own.

in ore streams formafantasma stretch the boundaries of design using it not only as a pragmatic tool for understanding, communicating and solving complex issues, they delve further into the psyche of our design language, problematising the relationship between design and production.

[ formafantasma ]

2017 design miami/ design visionary and collaborations preview 1.

Dec 3, 2017

above > mwabwindo school which will serve primary school students in rural zambia

design miami/ 2017 exhibitions feature
utopian aspirations, robotic fabrications, americana, monumental scale, world debuts, and solo exhibitions

/ 33 galleries represent 14 countries, and include 8 founding galleries & 3 first-time galleries
/ design for a better world is a narrative that runs across galleries and through time periods
/ computer numerical control (cnc) continues to change manufacturing forever––see examples on-site
/ natural wood and craft furniture make a resurgence
/ galleries bring the large and the statuesque from the outside in, showing works of unprecedented scale

[ design visionary/ ]
an exhibition space within the fair will be dedicated to honoring the recipient of the 2017 panerai design miami/ visionary award – mwabwindo school which will serve primary school students in rural zambia. developed and operated by 14+ foundation, designed by selldorf architects, with artwork by rashid johnson, and newly commissioned furniture by christ & gantenbein, all of whom have provided their services pro bono. opening in 2018, the school will provide quality arts-based education to the community. below >

[ collaborations / ]
fendi/ welcome! to celebrate its tenth edition at design miami/, fendi presents welcome!, a luxurious living room setting designed by chiara andreatti that creates a survey of the fendi universe. this sophisticated, open environment, incorporates fendi selleria leather and stitching, fur craftsmanship and other iconic elements of the house’s dna. below >

audi/ the audi/ motherboard audi presents the audi a8 featuring a new design language, an innovative touchscreen operating concept, and a systematically electrified drive. the audi a8 is also the first production automobile in the world to have been developed for conditional automated driving. audi engineers are giving visitors an intimate look into the core of audi’s research and development facility: a mock-up for testing of the electronic components from the various stages in the development process of the audi a8 is on display. below >

maison perrier jouët/ becoming in collaboration with artists petra bachmaier and sean gallero of luftwerk, chicago, maison perrier-jouët’s becoming takes over miami in key locations throughout art basel miami beach including design miami/, eden by perrier-jouët, and miami international airport, using projected color and light to reimagine familiar environments in unexpected ways. the immersive space at design miami/ features a rhythmic ebb and flow of colored light that results in a bold, contemporary reinterpretation of the maison’s historic links with art nouveau. below >

airbnb/ a wild thing designer duo fien muller and hannes van severen of muller van severen invite design miami/ visitors into their own home in a complete replica of their actual living room in belgium. the installation includes their personal items, such as works of art by the designers’ family members, souvenirs they’ve collected over time, and original furniture of their own design. but there’s more than meets the eye––listen closely for whispered stories detailing the hidden lives of the room’s objects, which discreetly guide visitors through the space. below >

louis vuitton objets/ nomades presents an exclusive objet nomade: the turquoise-colored edition of the bomboca sofa, a new piece by fernando and humberto campana. other objets nomades making their design miami/ 2017 debut include atelier oï’s swing boat and belt chair; patricia urquiola’s palaver chair; india mahdavi’s talisman table; and marcel wanders’s lune chair and diamond screen. louis vuitton objets nomades is an ever-expanding collection of limited edition, collectible furniture inspired by louis vuitton’s storied art of travel. below >

preview day (by invitation only)
tuesday, december 5/
collectors preview/ 12–6pm
opening night preview/ 6–8pm
vernissage (by invitation only)
wednesday, december 6/
10am–12pm

public show days
wednesday, december 6/ 12–8pm
thursday, december 7/ 10am–8pm
friday, december 8/ 11am–8pm
saturday, december 9/ 12–8pm
sunday, december 10/ 12–6pm

[ design miami/ ] is the global forum for design. each fair brings together the most influential collectors, gallerists, designers, curators, and critics from around the world in celebration of design culture and commerce. occurring alongside the art basel fairs in miami, florida, each december and basel, switzerland, each june, design miami/ has become the premier venue for collecting, exhibiting, discussing, and creating collectible design. http://www.designmiami.com

luminaire a highlight among many 2017 design miami/ satellite offerings.

Dec 3, 2017

above > luminaire lab² / 4100 ne 2nd avenue – suite 104

in addition to its distinguished gallery program presenting 34 design galleries from around the world, design miami/ – 6 > 10 december 2017 – offers an extensive series of collaborations, satellites, events, retail and hospitality offerings as well as site-specific design commissions for visitors to enjoy throughout the fair week.

above > luminaire’s latest design district outpost, lab², comes alive with an illuminating investigation of the future of domestic design. in conjunction with the launch of the monograph, this will be the place, cassina’s recently appointed art director, patricia urquiola will join the book’s editor and pin-up magazine founder and editor felix burrichter along with renowned german industrial designer konstantin grcic to interact with guests and sign copies.

event > cassina: this will be the place
venue > luminaire lab² / 4100 ne 2nd avenue – suite 104
date > wednesday 6 december / 6 > 9p
[ rsvp ]

above > homage to kuramata by synthesizing the familiar with the avant-garde, japanese designer shiro kuramata created a dynamic and wide-ranging oeuvre that is still celebrated today. on thursday, december 7, luminaire lab opens its latest exhibition with a look at prolific designer featuring a collection of pieces produced by cappellini that highlight his sensitivity to form an abundance of creativity.

event > luminaire to open shiro kuramata exhibition during art basel 2017
venue > luminaire lab / 3901 ne 2nd avenue
date > thursday 7 december / 6 > 9p
[ rsvp ]

above > luminairex in collaboration with neushop will host creativemornings / miami presenting designer and dj lia figueredo who will share her experience throughout her career in design, marketing, and music through an interactive talk over breakfast. creativemornings has reunited new york’s creative community and engaged the city’s creative talent, connecting like-minded individuals based on a global theme. today, attendees gather in cities around the world to enjoy fresh coffee, friendly people, and an international array of experts on different topics.

event > creativemornings / miami
venue > luminaire lab / 3901 ne 2nd avenue
date > friday 8 december / 8:30am > 10:30am
[ register ] [ free / details ]

2017 chicago architecture biennial week of 29 october > 4 november.

Oct 28, 2017

above > vertical city

vertical city brings together 15 architects to revisit the 1922 chicago tribune tower competition that attracted 263 entries from the united states and around the world. the influence and reach of this particular project drove many responses and copies.

the most famous of these was an exhibition of late-entry drawings organzied in 1980 by the chicago seven, let vy stanley tigerman, that gathered a contemporaneious cross section of architectural ideas and influences. the chicago seven’s version of the competition was decidedly paper-oriented. the 2017 chicago architecture biennial eschews drawings and presents a scaled model, 16 feet hight. a most exciting sight and experience to walk among them.

[ 22 > 28 october calendar ]

the second edition of the chicago architecture biennial (cab) is the largest architecture and design exhibition in north america, showcasing the transformative global impact of creativity and innovation in these fields. this year’s biennial features over 141 practitioners from more than 20 countries addressing the 2017 theme “make new history.” artistic directors sharon johnston and mark lee have selected architects and artists whose eye-opening creations will invite the public to explore how the latest architecture can and will make new history in places around the world. the main exhibition is free and open to the public from september 16, 2017 through january 7, 2018. we are particularly proud to premiere our opening in 2017 in alignment with expo chicago.

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.

sofa chicago 2017. preview 1.

Oct 23, 2017

above> corona | oil on canvas | courtesy of george bilis gallery

2 > 5 november 2017 | navy pier chicago

the sculpture objects functional art and design (sofa) fair in chicago is the premier gallery-presented art fair dedicated to three-dimensional art and design. on par with art basel and tefaf maastricht, sofa is produced by urban expositions, a clarion events company.

critically acclaimed and continuously running since 1994, what distinguishes sofa from other top art events is its focus on three-dimensional artworks that cross the boundaries of fine art, decorative art and design. sofa is noted for its exceptional presentation, with an elite selection of international dealers presenting for sale one-of-a-kind masterworks in handsome, custom-designed gallery exhibits.

below> a sampling of sofa selects, the top pieces chosen as the “favorites” by curators, collectors and more. selects participants this year include: sarah arison, president, arison arts foundation; hannah b higgins, writer/academic; suzanne lovell, architect/designer, suzanne lovell inc; nicholas moriarty, principal/owner, nicholas moriarty interiors; michael del piero, founder, michael del piero good design; and linc thalen, architect/designer, linc thelen designschicago

2017 chicago architecture biennial 22 > 28 october weekly calendar.

Oct 22, 2017

above> prima materia | prima studio mumbai ( mumbai india )

studio mumbai brings architects into the making process with workshop team of over 100 crafts-people, artisans, and builders to what principal bijoy jain calls making a sound and getting a response. these projects involve testing material systems and assemblies resulting in singular objects and large scale mockups at 1:1 scale. this project titled prima materia (first materials) is two towers made of bamboo, tied together with cotton thread, and highlighted by gold leaf, reminiscent of structures carried in the tazia rituals in india.

[ 22 > 28 october calendar ]

design galleries that showed up at expo chicago 2017.

Sep 17, 2017

not a plethora of design galleries at the sixth edition of expo chicago but those who showed up are gems.

above & below > r and company creates and delivers superdesign with a film: superdesign: when design wanted to change the world. in addition there are two series of talks, one of on radical italian design 1965-1975.

trailer of superdesign: italian radical design 1965-1975 from r & company

the film includes interview with the following – emilio ambasz, franco audrito, dario bartolini, lapo binazzi, andrea branzi, germano celant, gilberto coretti, pietro derossi, piero gilardi, ugo la pietra, roberta meloni, alessandro mendini, adolfo natalini, gaetano pesce, gianni pettena, franco raggi, charlie stendig, cristiano toraldo di francia, jim walrod. dedicated to jim walrod, a film by maria cristina didero and francesca molteni – directed by francesca molteni / 62 minutes

above> half dollar chair | johnny swing | 2003 | r & company | 231

r & company represents a distinguished group of historical and contemporary designers whose goal is promoting a closer study, appreciation and preservation of 20th and 21st century design. gallery owner zesty meyers is a founding member of design miami.

johnny swing artist’s statement: art making is a social responsibility. to honor the privilege of being an artist, there are expectations i have for my work. first, it needs to be entertaining; second, it needs to spark curiosity, so that it creates a dialogue with the viewer; and third, it should have a formal quality, so that when the work is or approximates furniture, it must be comfortable.

above > laguna (lagoon) glass collection | michela cattai | 2017 | casati gallery 615

the gallery focuses on furniture, lighting, objects and art from post-war italian to global contemporary. gallery owner ugo alfano casati is a founding member of design miami.

cattai’s interest in the glass, coupled with her appreciation for italian design, led her to experiment with and eventually reinterpret centuries old murano glass crafting traditions.

above > boardroom crockery from slave city 2005-2009 | joep van lieshout | carpenter’s workshop gallery 443

sculpture, visionary, and enfant terrible sculpter joep van lieshout produces work that breaks the boundries of art, design, and architecture.

carpenters workshop gallery proposal of functional sculptures stands just at the intersection of two universes: reaching precisely a symbiosis of art and design.

above > horse cabinet | gaetano pesce | 2006 | salon 94 435

pesce, a playful italian architect, product designer, film-maker, and artist. a founding member of group n and an important figure in the radical design group. pesce notice ! offsite at the peninsula hotel see pesce’s introspective installation what it is to be human. thru 8 october 2017

the gallery’s program is focused on monochrome, concrete, and reductive abstraction, with an emphasis on california minimalism and light and space.