2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

Visionary Abstraction

     

The Guggenheim Museum in New York has unleashed a massive retrospective of Vasily Kandinsky that will make you revise everything you know about this voracious painter. 

As one winds their way up the curving ramps of the museum you see the evolution of Kandinsky the painter as he explores different modes of abstracting the world around him into two dimensions.   Kandinsky moves back and forth between quasi-surrealism - dark, moody hard edge abstraction - and optimistic works that capture the dynamic energy of the modern city.     

Kandinsky was one of the fathers of abstract painting.  He cast off the shackles of representation and played with form and color in order to induce an emotional effect in the viewer without regard to reality. But as the exhibit reveals, Kandinsky had strong surrealist tendencies, which express themselves to different degrees throughout his career.  Kandinsky is at this most powerful when he expresses himself in a private abstract language that only he can decipher. Kandinsky invites us to find our own meanings behind his forms. 

Oh!... this is pretty

At Oh Joy! Blog I found this pictures from the professional portfolio of the photographer Geordie Wood. I just love the idea of the dotty background for show the collection of Susan Woo.  The dots were hand painted.  I want dots in my own photos, right now!

Crown Fountain-

    The city of Chicago has done an impressive job with the re-development of Millennium Park over the last decade and I had the good fortune to see it while visiting last summer.  The Crown Fountain, located on one edge of the park, is the center of activity on a hot day and is fun to see from a lot of different angles.

    The fountains are enormous glass brick towers with images projected on their surfaces.  The faces change from one to the next at a slow, steady pace while water runs down the outside of the towers, splashing as it runs over the bricks.  Every few minutes there is a surge of water that comes out of the “mouth”.  All of this while people are walking around, splashing, looking at these columns and faces that are several times larger in scale.   It’s fantastic- equally as much fun to stand back and watch with the city in the background.

    One of the details that caught my eye and that I particularly liked was the glass brick that was used for the towers.  They were large, solid,  glass bricks, a detail that seemed to have been borrowed from a mid-century factory near by.  The bricks were set in rows as a standard brick but when put together in mass, were some how lighter.   It was a simple detail but I thought particularly fitting being Chicago, the “City of Industry”.  (The Crown Fountain  )

Millennium Park map

 

Best Seat In The House

The Stick Chair comes to us from the award winning Danish industrial designer Carlo Volf of the design firm Volf Design, The elegant lines and minimal aesthetic are appealing indeed.  Yet not inviting to rest ones weary bones from the looks of it.  Perhaps something straight out of an animated film where the hero or heroine does not necessarily need be comfortable nor cross their legs.  For in real life though they be thing of beauty, these look dangerous and to be admired from a far.  An interesting design or sculptural feature in the corner of a room or it can double as a coat hanger.  Not necessarily the best seat in the house.   Ouch.   Beware: cushion required!

            

The Net chair also needs padding if you wish to linger.  

       

To see more of Volf's creations visit  www.volfdesign.dk

Have an infinitely modern day!

Between the Lines: A Coloring Book of Drawings by Contemporary Artists, Volume 2

RxArt is a non-profit organization that uses art to promote healing and wellness in healthcare facilities. One of its popular projects is its contemporary artist coloring book, which I recently read about in the Art Issue of W magazine. The second volume of Between the Lines will be released in November, although it's available for pre-order now through RxArt's Web site. Artists such as Dan Colen, Raymond Pettibone, Ed Ruscha, and Kehinde Wiley contributed more than 50 line drawings to be finished by you! According to W, the coloring book comes with a set of crayons designed by KAWS, although I haven't been able to find any more info about that at the moment.

The happiest people on earth

In my first blog I wanted to capture the essence of Scandinavian Lifestyle. Being Danish a lot of things are taken for granted – including health care – so I got help from an American to take a look at our way of living.

During her first trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, Oprah is invited inside the Holscher family's home. Watch as she tours the organized kitchen, bright living space and small kids' bedroom. Why Danish people prefer to live simply in small spaces. 

http://www.oprah.com/media/20091021-tows-stine-home-tour

So what makes the Danes so happy? Maybe it all just comes down to simple Danish Design…

 

The only accessory in the house is the Kubus candleholder and even though it was designed in 1962 it is displayed in most Danish homes today. Mogens Lassen was a pioneer of Danish functionalism - the architectural expression "Form follows function" - where simplicity and functionality is highly prioritized. Mogens Lassen was ahead of his time when he designed the Kubus as a reaction to all the over-ornate and convoluted types prevalent at the time. 

vladimir kagan chair by ralph pucci

A 1950s chair design by Vladimir Kagan redesigned in fiberglass by Ralph Pucci.

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I Love Lamp...

We all love flat pack objects! They are eco-friendly with reduced packaging and we can assemble them ourselves and feel more involved in initiating the life cycle of the object. Not to mention, I'm obsessed with seeing how things are put together.

Check out the Flat Lamp...

"The lamp arrives at your house flat, with the few components ready to be assembled by your skilled hands. Within minutes, your world is illuminated not in 2D, but in wonderful, round, living 3D. You have the option of choosing what kind of light to see your world in - Light Veneer, Dark Veneer, White or Red."

Material - Stainless Steel, Veneer Polypropylene

You can grab it here.

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--sdot--

The Best Thing Since...

 I have a confession: I'm one of those boring Moleskine type kids. Black cover, black elastic, gridded paper. I haven't scribbled a single line in anything else since I hit my 10th birthday.

So, truth be told, I feel a little guilty to be lusting over Burak Kaynak's tasty Sliced Bread Notebooks.

I like to think I'm not really a sucker for mere novelty value, but there's something strangely alluring about popping down to the shops for some milk and a loaf of books.

Knowing me, I'd forget to get the milk...but I'd have 12 cute little notebooks in which to write my next shopping list, and then milk success is virtually assured.

Right?

Horse Lectures

Gillian Higgins, an equine science lecturer, had the idea to start Horses Inside Out, where she paints tthe anatomy of a horse onto the actual horse to help in her lectures. It's pretty striking to see horses painted like this.
 

Creepy but artistic too. And, obviously, educational! It take four hours to apply the safe paint, which is washed off after the lecture is finished. wacky.
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