2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

Artists, Parvez Taj & James Dewulf Collaborate For ICFF 08'.

Two creative minds have come together recently to produce a progressive, urban and eco friendly table set to debut at this Spring's ICFF in NY.
Using innovative printing technologies with UV light to cure eco-friendly inks, the cement table is manufactured locally, a method which reduces massive amounts of fuel consumption often used by large quarries producing natural stones.
Taj, a visual artist has teamed up with Dewulf a concrete master and functional artist to create an edgy, functional and earth friendly piece that is worth stopping by in person to check out if you are in NY for ICFF.
Taj and Dewulf can be found at booth #111

Cai Guo-Qiang: I want to Believe

There are many exciting modern art shows in New York this Spring, Jeff Koons at the Metropolitan Museum, Olafur Eliasson at MoMA but none makes a more immediate first impression than Cai Guo-Qiang' s retrospective: I want to Believe.

Inspired by a car bomb, Inopportune Stage One occupies the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, New York and is the initial installation of Cai's work.  From the center of the floor nine cars tumble skywards while lasers of different colors shoot out of the vehicles, turning an image of destruction into one of beauty. Visitors can view the cars from all angles as they walk through the spiraling gallery, as if experiencing an explosion in slow-motion.

 

Further along the gallery a pack of wolves hurtles into a glass wall and a fishing boat pierced with 3,000 arrows is suspended from the ceiling. For such a large-scale exhibition the art is very accessible, even intimate. Visitors can walk among the exhibits, including the life-size clay figures in the Rent Collection Courtyard or paddle through a canal on an animal hide raft in An Arbitrary History: River.

The exhibition assaults the ears as well as the eyes. Apart from the giant installations there are video documentations of  Cai's work with gunpowder: controlled explosions along the Great Wall of China, canon shooting out clouds of smut that resemble ethereal but deadly butterflies, over Valencia and Edinburgh Castle. Large works of art created by exploding gunpowder on paper are hung on the upper floors of the gallery.
Most of the works were shown first at other galleries but there is something about the unique space of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum that is superbly suited to Cai's work. If you can't get to the show in person be sure to visit the website to see how some of the exhibits were installed.

The retrospective runs through May 28 2008.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 
1071 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10128-0173
212-423-3500

Perch!

Fun and fabulous new lighting from Perch! The sunny Zooey Chandelier will bring the sunshine inside, match with either a Hans Wall Sconce or a Frida Desk Lamp for a complete look! The alluring Perch Birdfeeder and Lunchbox Birdfeeder will have a full flock in your yard in no time! And the original and adorable Early Bird and Black Bird Pendant Lights fit in anywhere.

Traffic flows into Dubai

The Dubai design scene is booming, much like everything else here, and with the new opening of Traffic Gallery in the Al Barsha area of Dubai, the buzz from all the excitement is deafening. Not only are they having a FAB sale during May (first come first serve basis), with designers such as Droog, Magis and Tse & Tse being represented, but they have these awesome items from the Campana Brothers.

Warning: these are almost too cool.

Fernando and Humberto Campana are inspired by South American street life and successfully create vibrant, energetic & colorful unique pieces from found objects such as scraps of wood and fabric off-cuts. Coming from Brazil, one with a degree in law, the other with a degree in architecture, these brothers are establishing worldwide presence from Boston, USA to now, the UAE.

...and one for the kiddies!!!

Three Sheets 2 The Wind

Amazing new pillows and fabric prints from new vendor, Three Sheets 2 The Wind! 100% linen pillows with screen printed minimal designs like the Blossom Tree Pillow 12 x 20, or the Bent Tulip Pillow 18 x 18. Their prints come in three different sizes and are perfect in every room, such as the Dandelion 8 x 8 Wall Print. All pillows and prints come in a variety of fabrics and colors!

veer.

I have like a manic list of artists that I wanted to feature for this week's Monday morning lazies, but I just couldn't focus on anything but Veer this morning. Seriously--- have you BEEN there lately?

Veer has always been in the business of cutting edge typography and crazy awesome graphics, but since when has Veer stepped up to the inspiration plate? I mean, without Veer, I wouldn't have heard about this absurd story. And where else can you watch robots getting down with their bad selves? Or see your mother's entire high school yearbook in cartoon form?

Only Veer. And if you're short on inspiration this week, visit The Skinny and The Fat. You'll fill yourselves right up, without the extra calories.
[originally posted at Design for Mankind].

Hotel Everland: booking a forever memory.

   "Hotel Everland is a project by Swiss artist-duo L/B (Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann). L/B are known for their Installations that deal with architecture and space and invite the viewer to get involved and become part of the artwork.

Everland is a Hotel with only one room including a bathroom, a king-size bed and a lounge. The bounteous dimensioned room represents the subjective dream of a hotel: the architecture, the playful details, as well as the request to steal the golden embroidered bath towels. All Everland guests are partaking in the project.

                  

                   (Night view from Palais de Tokyo)

Also the concept for operating the hotel was defined by the artists. All facets are important constituents of the artistic idea: The room can be booked for one night only, the mini-bar is fully stocked and included in the price, breakfast is delivered to the door and a record collection stands at ones disposal."

(Looking back into module toward bedroom and bathroom, complete with shower)

Having been invited to different venues since its conception in 2002, Hotel Everland will be atop the Palais de Tokyo art gallery until the end of 2008.  You can book the room online at the hotel's website and obtain further details about the project.

Collectible Architecture: Louis Kahn's Esherick House

Another Modernist masterpiece will be sold as a work of art this month when Louis Kahn's Esherick House goes under the hammer on May 18th. Built between 1959 and 1961 in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania for Margaret Esherick, the house also features the original custom kitchen designed by sculptor Wharton Esherick, her uncle. The one-bedroom house, which is a Landmark Building, is symmetrical and demonstrates Kahn's fascination with the effects of light on the space within; large rectangular windows and a limited use of materials, concrete and warm wood add to the simplicity of the design.
Wright Auctions have produced an 80 page catalog with photographs by Todd Eberle and an essay by Wharton Esherick on the unique kitchen. The house will be offered in Wright's Important Design sale with an estimate of $2-3 million. That's a lot less than the  $15,000,00-$25,000,00 that The Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, CA is expected to fetch when it is auctioned at Christie's the preceding week.

New Items from K Studio

Brand new items from K Studio! All of these items are eco-friendly, made from either hemp or organic cotton. Check out their family-themed pillows such as the 4 Person Family Plus Cat and Dog Pillow and Remote Control Pillow, and new fabric wall art such as the Crying Wall Art. These fun, "green" items are perfect for any room in the house!

Wall Art Goes Green

Parvez Michel Inc, introduces 100% eco-friendly artwork - Hip designs printed on sustainable resources.

BEVERLY HILLS - Parvez Michel Inc., announced today the introduction of a 100% eco-friendly wall art. Parvez Michel provides the environmentally conscious, a selection of hip and progressive artwork. All pieces are printed on renewable, sustainable resources such as bamboo, wheatboard, hemp, cork, and kirei board - helping to reduce forest clear cutting and indoor air pollution. Using innovative mediums, artist Parvez Taj raises the bar in eco-friendly art. This adds to its current line up including; aluminum, acrylic, canvas and wallpaper murals.