Culture
- October 06, 2017
May Furniture at Twentieth
Based in New York, MAY is a small production furniture company. Every piece is created by hand with lasting craftsmanship, timeless design principals, and imagination. Travis James, a craftsman and multidisciplinary artist, is the founder and designer of May Furniture, which is now on display at Twentieth.
STRUTTURA CREDENZA
May Furniture's Struttura Credenza features a unique compressed hardwood case available in a variety of color ways with matching compressed or natural wood doors.Custom lengths, doors, and drawer configurations are available.
The Buoy Lamp is part of May Furniture's Brutalist inspired collection and is constructed from their unique raw but refined compressed hardwood. Each 1/4" wood shade's pattern is unique and disperses light from the bottom, top, and through the porous surface.
The Buoy Lamp is available as a table lamp, a floor light or a chandelier.
The Struttura Coffee Table is crafted from May Furniture's beautifully porous compressed hardwood and features a 1/2" edge profile tapering to an internal 3" thick summit.
The Sphere is a unique design and hand shaped to a smooth stone-like finish. It sits flat on the ground and can be used as a seat or simply a sculptural object.
The Sphere is available as an indoor (compressed wood) or outdoor (fiberglass) design.
The Hemisphere follows the indoor or outdoor construction path of May Furniture's Sphere, but is sliced in half, resulting in a unique circular table design.
As an outdoor object, the Hemishpere is cast from fiberglass. As an indoor design, the Hemisphere uses compressed hardwood. Both designs allude to a concrete construction.
Find more of May Furniture Company's collection at: MAY Furniture
- October 06, 2017
Design Miami Director Rodman Primack interviewed by Blouin ArtInfo
Rodman Primack - photo by Andrew Meredith "When I first started, very often you would see an incredible art collection surrounded with terrible furniture: meaningless, uninteresting, unimportant, empty furniture. Now, people are applying the same values and interests to every object in their home as to their art collection."
It is the third year that Rodman Primack has been at the reins of Design Miami, the fair dedicated to collectible design that takes place twice a year: in Miami every December, and in Basel every June.
With a background that includes chairing the auction house Phillips’s London office, directing Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles, and working as the specialist for Latin American art at Christie’s, Primack straddles the worlds of both art and design. A collector of both art and design in his own right, he has been described as the perfect person to broaden the reach of the fair.
Blouin ARTINFO has caught up with Primack in Basel, in preparation for next week’s Design Miami/ Basel.
Artinfo: What has been your agenda for Design Miami/ Basel?
Primack: When I was handed the reins, three years ago, the fair was in a very healthy place, ready to grow. Sometimes, when you take on a job, there’s a bunch of messes you have to clean up. But my predecessor, Marianne Goebl, had already done such a great job with the fair.
We have focused on expanding the platform. It’s less about trying to make the fair bigger, more about refining the experience, bringing other voices into the gallery program: this year, for the first time in a couple of years, we have a gallery that specializes in Art Deco. It’s less about quantity or scale, more about how in depth we can tell the story of the 20th and21st century design.Artinfo: You have previously spoken about connecting the fair to the broader developments in science and technology. Is that still an area of interest?
Primack: Certainly it is. Innovation in technology and materials is always interesting: to me, my colleagues, collectors of contemporary art and design, and to the world in general. Sometimes it’s not just about what’s showing up at a gallery, but concepts, ideas, conversations, that affect us in general. For example, Brynjar & Veronika – this year’s Designers of the Future – work with different materialities, from carbon fiber to rope, crystal, trying to push boundaries of both traditional and new materials.Artinfo: What new, exciting things can we look forward to in Basel 2016?
Primack: On Monday night [June 13], we are supporting UNAIDS with a vernissage, followed by dinner with Duran Duran, and an auction of design objects, curated by Simon de Pury. Using the platform for a philanthropic cause has not happened in Basel before.
Among the exciting exhibits this year is our Design at Large program, which I initiated when I took over, is curated by an invited figure from outside our world – someone who has an interest in design, and a vision, but isn’t an art curator. This year, it’s Martina Mondadori, the editor of Cabana Magazine. Martina is looking at gardens, the relationship between the constructed ‘natural’ world, and the world of [manmade] structures.
Jacques Lacoste is bringing an important, intact collection of Giacometti, all coming from a single residence. The Design Curio exhibition by Dansk Mobelkunst has a very important and rare pair of lights, which come to life inblack light. Patrick Seguin has again done an incredible Prouvé structure, with an incredible story: originally at Maxéville factory near Nancy, it was intact but had been incorporated into a development, and had become a sex club. They’ve discovered it and restored it, and now it has come to the fair.Artinfo: How do the Basel and Miami fairs differ?
Primack: Basel is a bit more traditional: it’s original, longer established. All the fairs, not just Design Miami, end up being a bit more serious.
Miami has a different energy: more free, more experimental, both because of being in the Americas, and the way it has developed, the audience. Significantly more people come to Miami than to Basel.Artinfo: Is the collectible design market still catching up with the art market?
Primack: The collectible design market is smaller than the contemporary art market, but growing, consolidating. People are attracted to the pricing: there’s so much important work, with great provenance and history, that’s still relatively affordable. I think we’re still seeing it in its juvenile form. Even the vision and the idea is only 12-15 years old. It didn’t feel like a cohesive market until Design Miami was founded and gave a platform for international galleries to come together in one place, and not in an antiques fair. Today, the design collectors’ market is much more related to contemporary art, than to the antiques market.
When I first started, very often you would see an incredible art collection surrounded with terrible furniture: meaningless, uninteresting, unimportant, empty furniture. Now, people are applying the same values and interests to every object in their home as to their art collection.
I also noticed, years ago, that art collectors were trying to create residences that looked like art galleries: blond wood floors and white walls, the simplest of Modernist furniture. Now, they are getting more confident about mixing it up, challenging that look with color and pattern, and more interesting furniture combinations.Design Miami/Basel runs from June 14th through 19th in Basel, Switzerland.
- October 06, 2017
Fernando Mastrangelo Custom Installation
Fernando Mastrangelo Studios has completed their latest installation for THAKOON, at 70 Wooster Street in New York City.Mastrangelo, with the help of his studio hand-poured 2,000 sq.ft. of cement on site to create custom curved walls, the first of their kind.The THAKOON project was commissioned by SHoP Architects and the technique was adapted from the layered pours inherent to Mastrangelo's furniture line, MMaterial.FM/S' portion of the project took 9 weeks and 3,000 hours on site to complete. - October 05, 2017
Christopher Boots - Elemental at THE NEW
PRESS RELEASE: June 23, 2016 - (Los Angeles) On June 23rd 2016, THE NEW, a gallery project by Twentieth, will debut with “Elemental”, an exhibition by Christopher Boots featuring new and limited edition works. Coinciding with the Los Angeles Design Festival, the event also marks the launch of THE NEW, a separate exhibition space located adjacent to Twentieth.Based in Melbourne, Boots received an industrial design degree in 2005 from Australia’s National School of Design. Since founding his studio in 2011 his work has grown an international following and includes projects for Hermes and the National Gallery of Victoria.Smokey Asterix Nepenthes Using elemental materials such as iron, copper, quartz crystal and even gallium, Boots produces works that combine technical skill with a refined formal sensibility.
Boots references his Greek heritage frequently, and his embrace of foundational themes of Greek thought such as Geometry, Beauty and Mythology permeate the work.Greek philosophy’s quest was to distill all things to their essence, their most elemental. Whether in Euclid’s elements of geometry or Democritus’ first concept of the atom, Greek thought explored the possibilities of nature’s abstracted and universal essence.Diamond Ring Crystal Orp That a fascination with paring down nature to its essence coexisted in a culture that simultaneously embraced the elaborate dramas and narratives of mythology is not lost on Boots. Just as a fascination with nature’s elemental forms persist from ancient times to now, so does a celebration of the human theatricality that surrounds them.THE NEW is a gallery project by Stefan Lawrence focusing primarily on limited edition design and is co-curated by Daniele Albright.
The space is directly adjacent to Twentieth.Oracle Triplet Prometheus I and II For more information, press interviews and previews:
T. 323 904 1200
Email:info@thenew.gallery - October 05, 2017
Gabriel Scott Introduces New Designs
With the conclusion of NYC x Design we take a more comprehensive look at the recent release of products from Canadian based manufacturer Gabriel Scott.
Glass Welles
Constructed from the mold-blown glass techniques used for their Harlow series of pendants and chandeliers, Gabriel Scott has introduced a new take on the popular Welles series. The new glass Welles pendants retain the same shape as their former metallic predecessors but offer, as Gabriel Scott describes, "a new type of modular elegance that bridges feminine and masculine sensibilities for a perfect blend of strength and elegance."
The new Glass Welles pendants and chandeliers are available in Alabaster White and Smoked Black and are connected by a metallic armature, which references Gabriel Scott's Prong furniture line. Hardware finish options include Blackened Steel, Satin Brass, Satin Copper and Satin Nickel.
Bardot Chairs and Stools
Gabriel Scott's Bardot series of chairs and stools add table, desk and bar height seating options to their available lines for the first time.
The Bardot series features soft toned French leather for the seat cushions resting on matte black steel frames with contrasting hardware in the brand’s signature brass and copper finishes.
Tensegrity Table
With the Tensegrity table series, Gabriel Scott has introduced a complex geometric structure that uses floating compression to suspend the surface.
Gabriel Scott offers the Tensegrity coffee table in round and oval with 1/2 inch Tempered Clear, Smoked-Grey or Bronzed Glass surfaces. Numerous configurations can be achieved by mixing the metal and glass options.
The base options for Tensegrity include powder coated steel, brass or copper.
For more details on the Gabriel Scott Glass Welles, Bardot, and Tensegrity lines please contact Twentieth at 323.904.1200 or sales@twentieth.net.
- October 05, 2017
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair - Part 2
For the final portion of our NYC x Design coverage we look at more updates and product launches at ICFF from designers represented by Twentieth.
Christopher Boots
Australian designer Christopher Boots is showing his work for the first time in New York at this years' fair.Boots is showing a large selection of his lighting designs and has engaged international architectural firm Woods Bagot to "create a truly harmonious sanctuary of light" for this event.
Boots' exhibit includes many of his chandeliers, pendants and sconces as well as a few exclusive one-off lighting designs.
Find Christopher Boots' display at booth 1275.Rich Brilliant Willing
Rich Brilliant Willing is showing their new Cinema Chandelier along with a line of collaborations with the founder of the Rockwell Group, American architect and designer David Rockwell.Rich Brilliant Willing explains the Cinema Chandelier as "A subtle display of cutting-edge technology, both in the fine-tuned warmth of the LEDs and in the construction and craftsmanship."
RBW collaborated with David Rockwell on the design of three lights, a pendant and two sconces.
Rockwell states that "each piece in the collection has a transformative quality," and that "through variations in size, configurations, and light, each piece in the collection can solve any number of aesthetic and functional needs for residential, hospitality, and contract settings." Find Rich Brilliant Willing at booth 1432.
Skram
Skram, based out of North Carolina, has released a variety of new items including tables, case goods and for the first time, lighting, with their Arak line.Skram's new Piedmont chairs and stools are available in dining, counter, and bar heights. The line is offered with steel or wood frames in various finishes.
Skram's Altai Museum Bench has been nominated by Interior Design Magazine and ICFF as a finalist for a NYCxDESIGN Award.
Find Skram in booth 1910.
Asher Israelow
Asher Israelow, a furniture and architectural designer based in Brooklyn, will be at ICFF showing his studio's latest creations, which will include the Lincoln collection, the Codex desk, and a collaboration with furniture designer, Dmitriy & Co., titled the Ottone Club Chair.Israelow describes the Lincoln Lounge Chair, pictured above, as, "A seat to relax with the crossword, or plot global domination."
Asher Israelow Studios will be showing with Dmitriy and Co. in booth 2226.
Luteca
New York based Luteca will be continuing their tribute to notable Mexican architect Pedro Ramirez Vazquez with the introduction of Vazquez's Equipal Table.
Also shown are Alexander Díaz Andersson's designs which fuse Mexican culture with Swedish design. And find new color options for Luteca's popular Air Sofa and Agave Dining Table, both
are exhibited in black, at their booth, 1826.Kenneth Cobonpue
This year Filipino designer Kenneth Cobonpue will be showing as part of Design Philippines.
Cobonepue's work incorporates Filipino cultural technique with a contemporary aesthetic. He explains, "Designers from across Southeast Asia are creating truly original designs from local natural fibers, making use of the abundance of skilled craftsman. Such consummate artisanal skills, passed through generations from master to apprentice and drawn from hundreds of years of tradition, not only embraces our rich culture, but uses it to create our future."Kenneth Cobonpue and Design Philippines are exhibiting in booth 1866.
We hope you've enjoyed our coverage of this year's NYC x Design festival.
- October 05, 2017
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair - Part 1
Ladies and Gentlemen...the main event! The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) starts off on May 14th and runs until the 17th.
With over 500 exhibitors and an estimated attendance of over 30 thousand, ICFF still remains the must see of NYC x Design. So many of the lines we represent are there that we will bring you two separate days of coverage.
Lambert et Fils
Montreal lighting designers and manufacturers Lambert et Fils will be releasing their new Laurent collection which include 6 new pendants and chandeliers with the theme of globes penetrated through their equators by brass and black steel ornaments.The company founder Samuel Lambert feels, "The different variations make it an apt lighting fixture for the home as well as for applications in the public realm where Laurent can really take on its fullest dimension through a rhythmic repetition."
Find Lambert et Fils at ICFF booth 1454.
Mater
The Danish Design brand Mater will be premiering their new contemporary LED Liuki Pendant. Created by Finnish designer Maija Puoskari the Liuku design uses "wood and glass with a sustainable long-lasting light source".Mater Design founder and CEO, Henrik Marstrand describes the Liuku Pendant as capturing the "beauty of Scandinavian elegance, characterized by the blond oak wood, calm colors and honest materials."
The various shapes of the Liuku Pendant's fixtures are made with European oak and the hand blown shades are available in several pastel tones.Mater will also be reintroducing a line titled, The Danish Classics, which feature designs dating back to the 1950's and honors Danish designers Ejvind A. Johansson and Jorgen Baekmark.
Mater will be displaying at booth 2156.Tom Dixon
At ICFF, British designer Tom Dixon will be continuing his tribute to the basic material building blocks used in many of his projects. He writes, "Visit us at ICFF New York to find out more about the substances that we shape, the raw matter that we form into these extraordinary objects for everyday use."For this exhibition, Dixon will be showing two collections that premiered at Salon del Mobile and one new line debuting at ICFF. These collections include Curve, Fade and Flask Oil. Pictured above is a pendant from the new Flask Oil line which features a fresnel lens.
Find Tom Dixon at Booth 1704 in the Javits Center during ICFF.
Stickbulb
New York based Stickbulb will be attending ICFF with their largest display to date. They will be showing their new Diamond X Chandelier along with many other designs from their current line.Find Stickbulb's display in booth 1848.
Our second day of ICFF coverage goes out this Monday.
- October 05, 2017
NYC Showroom Events and Openings
Starting this week many designers and brands are hosting exhibitions, talks and product reveals in their showrooms. This is a great opportunity to be immersed in their aesthetic!
Here are some of the events from the designers Twentieth represents.Moooi
As part of NYC x Design, Dutch design company Moooi will host a RSVP only preview of their 2016 carpet collection with a cocktail party and live performance by the Akie Bermiss Trio.This event will take place at Moooi's New York showroom from 6-9pm on Thursday May 12th. Moooi's showroom will be open from Tuesday to Friday and hold special weekend hours, from 11am-6pm.
Lee Broom
London designer Lee Broom crosses "the pond" to establish a month long pop up shop exhibition titled "Broom off Broome."Broom's temporary shop will include 50 individual designs ranging in price from $110 up to nearly $40 thousand dollars. For the visit he has also created a special light which will only be available here.
See it at "Broom off Broome" at 63 Greene Street, adjacent to Broome Street from May 12th until it closes on June 10th.Gabriel Scott
New York based Furniture and Lighting Design studio Gabriel Scott will be adding a new series of chairs and bar-stools to their collection. Fashioned out of complimentary materials to their Dean and Prong line, the new series, Bardot, will use blackened steel, cooper and brass for the base hardware construction and utilize soft toned French-leather for the seat cushions.Gabriel Scott will premier this collection, as well as an accompanying series of lights at 6pm on Thursday, May 12th at an RSVP only party held in their 372 Broome Street, New York City flagship store. Following this event, new items will be on display for the remainder of NYC x Design.
Roll and Hill
To coincide with NYC x Design, Roll & Hill will open their first showroom, a 4,000 square foot space located at 3 Mercer Street in Manhattan.Roll and Hill will be launching several new products, including a line titled Esper that was developed by Visibility Design Studio. Roll and Hill will also launch table lamps to compliment several already existing lines. The Modo table lamp by Jason Miller Studio, pictured above, is but one example.
Roll and Hill's brand new 3 Mercer Street showroom will open Thursday May 14th.We'll have more updates from the upcoming ICFF fair as the week progresses.
- October 05, 2017
The Collective Design Fair
From April to May the focus of the design world shifts from Milan to New York City. NYC x Design events begin with the Collective Design fair. Created by Steven Learner, the fair concentrates on more of the limited edition, higher end Design/Art world than the other events of the week. In this email we've highlighted the designers we represent that showed in the Collective Design fair.
Fernando Mastrangelo
New York based designer Fernando Mastrangelo showed his Drift Collection as part of the Collective Design fair. This series is comprised of works built from sand and cement that shift from white to a deep blue.In a recent short film on his Drift collection, Mastrangelo explained that his inspiration stemmed from a recent trip to the South America region of Patagonia. He says, "There are six pieces in the [Drift] collection. Each one an attempt to capture the simplicity and elegance that nature does so...effortlessly."
Mastrangelo continues, "The forms, the pallet were all inspired by seeing the endless horizons [of Patagonia]. I was awe inspired by their sheer mass, grace and boundlessness. Cast sand mimicking the glacial formations. Mirrors recalling the calmness of the sea. Glaciers breaking, disrupting that stillness."
Lindsey Adelman
The Manhattan based designer's short film, "Some Relationships Are Better Than Others,"premiered at the Collective Design fair, along with drawings and a Branching Disc chandelier.
The slow motion film depicts two Branching Burst chandeliers colliding and obliterating each other upon impact. To view the film in its entirety click here...The massive Branching Disc chandelier featured Nymphenburg porcelain discs and a brushed brass structure. This large work organically roots down from the ceiling into the space. Photo courtesy Wallpaper* Magazine.
Julian Mayor
The British artist and designer, Julian Mayor, exhibited his latest creation, Solaris. This chair has a copper finish over varnished steel.Above, Mayor's work pictured in situ at the Collective Design fair, alongside other designers represented by Twenty First Gallery (his NYC representation).
The annual Collective Design Fair opened on May 4th and ran through the weekend. It featured 31 international galleries showing a variety of contemporary designers as well as important twentieth century design.
NYC x Design began on the 3rd of May, and will stretch just past the middle of the month.
Many contemporary lighting and furniture designers will host openings, product reveals and talks during this two week period which we will continue to highlight in a series of updates. - October 05, 2017
Christopher Boots at THE NEW
Opening Launch of THE NEW, a gallery project by
Featuring the work of Christopher Boots.As part of the Los Angeles Design Festival, Twentieth will open THE NEW and present the inaugural US solo exhibition of the Australian designer Christopher Boots.
Running Thursday June 23rd, 2016 and running until August 23rd, 2016
Join us at the opening event Thusday, June 23rd, from 6pm to 8pm.
THE NEW
7468 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, Ca
90036
