Tag Archives for furniture
Focus on George Nakashima
George Nakashima was a Japanese-American woodworker born in Spokane, Washington, who studied architecture at the esteemed École Américaine des Beaux Arts outside of Paris, and then received a Master’s degree in Architecture from M.I.T. Though this architectonic training would impact his woodwork and style, it was perhaps his forced internment during World War II which had one of the greatest effects.
A Visual Recap of Design Miami/ 2012
The amount of activity at Design Miami/ 2012 was truly astounding. More than 30,000 design collectors and enthusiasts visited Design Miami/ 2012…
Sitting Naturally/ Cristina Grajales Gallery at Fairchild
Cristina Grajales Gallery is the first to organize a design exhibition at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens. Running from December 3rd, 2012 – May 31st, 2013, the exhibition showcases a number of seats that integrate the man-made and naturally-wrought, playing into Fairchild’s Art Program by showing works that inspire thoughts of nature, conservation, and the role of humans in their environment.
Design Pioneer Talk/ Wendell Castle
Design Miami/’s Design Pioneers talks continued on Friday with Wendell Castle – a true pioneer in furniture design who skirted the limits of functionality and art with objects that both served a purpose and were fundamentally sculptural. He spoke with Alastair Gordon, an art critic, curator and author of the book “Wendell Castle: Wandering Forms: Works from 1959-1979.” The two had a highly detailed discussion about the early and definitive works by Castle, who also shared stories about how he came to the revolutionary concepts and methods for which he’s known.
The R18 Ultra Chair/ An Intimate Look
For this year’s fair, Audi teamed up with design stars Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram to construct the R18 Ultra Chair – a super-lightweight seat modeled after the Audi R18 Ultra race car, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race held in France.
Transformations/ Maarten de Ceulaer and Fendi
As part of the Design Performance series, Belgian designer Maarten de Ceulaer was invited by Fendi to construct a project that responded to Fendi’s Modernist aesthetic and brand identity. What’s resulted is an inspired and playful space…
Caroline Baumann’s Favorite Work at DM/12
“Here’s to Charlotte Perriand, one of the most influential furniture designers of the early modern movement! I love of course the 1928 tubular steel chair, which she’s best known for, but it’s nice to see this 1963 piece here at Design Miami, very resonant with today’s trends. Functional, elegant, modern, and sculptural with simple lines and an innovative mix of materials for the period – still very much at the heart of contemporary lifestyle!”
CAROLINE BAUMANN/ Acting Director, Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
Robert Couturier’s Favorite Work at DM/ 2012
“We love the swan chair and stool in marble from Gabrielle Ammann gallery – simply sublime and very poetic. One of our favorite things about the “Swan” chair is its simultaneously contradicting and complementary features. The seat flows and curves organically, appearing supple and soft, yet is of unyielding marble. Those same organic lines are themselves complemented by the regularity of the rectangular back, which forms a natural contour of one’s back.”
ROBERT COUTURIER/ Interior Architect
The Enigmatic Robert Loughlin
Robert Loughlin was a figure of legend. During his lifetime, his uncanny talent for scouting important design work on the secondhand market – together with his nearly compulsive penchant for painting a particular motif on the objects he found – made him an icon among a select group of art and design collectors…
Fernando Romero’s Favorite Work at DM/12
“Even though this Jeanneret chair is a work of clasical modernism, it is still atemporal.”
FERNANDO ROMERO/ Architect and Founder of FREE, Fernando Romero EnterprisE