2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

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.

Jeff Koons on the Roof

On the rooftop of the Met, in NYC, is the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. It offers amazing views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline and is a great place on Friday and Saturday evenings to sip on some cocktails and check out the Jeff Koons sculptures that will be there till October.

NORMANN Copenhagen

Souk al Bahar (the new souk open at The Palace Hotel in Downtown Burj, Dubai, where we live) has opened some great little places since it's grand opening a few months ago - shopping, cafes, restaurants, furniture...and as in most of the souks in the city, some great one-of-a-kind boutiques. We are lucky enough to have 50 degrees (check out Kitsch22 for more on their brands, links, etc.) - a kitschy, groovy hipster boutique selling things for your home, music, journals and all things cool - lighting (think Tord Boontje), music (think Ennio Morricone remixes) and all things NORMANN Copenhagen.
Founded in 1999, this is what their catalog has to say about them:
"...honored with numerous international design awards, the brand continues to challenge convention, and reinvent the everyday to make even the ordinary extraordinary through great design."
From silicone vases and pen/toothbrush holders to brushed steel and rubber money clips and card holders, NORMANN Copenhagen I am certain can provide you something to use, showcase or just admire...
Some of my faves are below, as well as a list of upcoming fairs you are invited to, to see a presentation of their collection:

ICFF
New York - 17th to the 20th of May 2008 - stand # 904
www.icff.com

Pulse
London - 1st to the 3th of June 2008 - stand # M1
www.pulse-london.com

Decorate Life
Frankfurt- 4th to the 8th of July 2008 - stand Nordic Design, hal 4.1

Hayon and Wanders at Milan Design Week 2008

With all the Earth Day events and green hype, have we forgotten about the world's largest furniture fair that just occurred last week in Milan? It was amazing. I have to thank Kay from Wallpaper Magazine for providing hundreds of photos of the show for me and all of the readers. Unfortunately, space is at a premium, so I've distilled the photos down to five. Three from Marcel Wander's Poliform show called My House of Dreams and two from Jaime Hayon's Bisazza Home Showroom.

Both Designers, I think, are projecting a much more baroque and fantastical future for contemporary design for years to come. Their work is predominated by white, smooth finishes with punctuations of color and shiny metals like gold. For lack of a better analogy, I would even say their styles, which were the most popular shows of the year, feel like stepping into Alice in Wonderland. Only time will prove if either designer's visions will be fully realized in mass consumer products, already, both designers make a large host of beutiful products that exude similar whimsy. To see  and buy some of these designer's great stuff, check out:

• Hayon Studio
• MarcelWanders.com

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's, "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy" exhibition aims to explore the associations between fashion and the superhero. Set to begin May 7th, it will feature superpowered movies, costumes, avant-garde haute couture, and high performance sportswear.

I've seen a Ghost, and it's fantastic!

Finally, the Milan Salone del Mobile has come around again, and with it brings all the fantastical chairs from design houses all over the world. One chair that has received enormous buzz (with good reason) is the Ghost Chair by Drift, a Dutch Design Collective.

The chair as you can see is the acrylic equivalent of the shroud of Turin. The shroud, as you may know, is a wispy and worn piece of cloth that has an ethereal, dreamy head and body of Christ soiled onto the cloth. The effect is a spooky artifact that if you look at just right can raise the hair clear off your neck.

The Ghost Chair is that powerful. At first glance, it looks like one large chunk of clear acrylic that needs to be cleaned. Then, you realize there is something inside. Something light and airy, almost alive. The shape is amorphous and simultaneously perfectly structured. You almost don't want to sit on it for fear that it will absorb into your body and touch your soul. But what else would you do with a chair?

Design and the Elastic Mind

Already half way through its run, Design and the Elastic Mind at the Museum of Modern Art in New York is an exhilarating exploration of the synergy between science and design. Taking as its basis the idea that because humans are bombarded by new technology and information at a greater pace and volume than ever before, they are required to do more than simply adapt to take advantage of the changes in the world around them, they have to become more flexible, too .  Adaptability + acceleration= elasticity

The exhibition is a fascinating combination of science, technology, art and design. Some of the exhibits are simply beautiful, like GROW a wall of moving photovoltaic panels that generate both wind and solar energy, which was inspired by ivy.

Many of the designers explore ways in which we can harness new technologies to reduce our carbon footprint, as in the Non-Stop Shoes, where energy produced by everyday activities could be used to power light bulbs or a radio.

You do need to be adaptable and not given to claustrophobia to get the most out of the exhibition. The space is half the size it needs to be to allow visitors time to explore all the exhibits on show, some of which require time just to process the information presented. My advice is to get there early to try to beat the crowds.

Otherwise stand back and watch the effect they have on Sonumbra, a kind of sonic umbrella with solar cells woven into textiles providing shade during the day and light at night. The movement of the visitors around it is translated into sound and light to which the Sonumbra responds.

Go to the exhibition if you possibly can, it is a thrilling and informative experience but if you can't get there in person make sure to visit the exhibition's website. It's a comprehensive overview presented in a user-friendly interface, and you can spend as much time as like at each installation.

Design and the Elastic Mind runs through May 12 2008 at MoMa, 11 West 53rd St, New York, NY 10019

 

Chanel Mobile Art

This is not an spaceship, is a futuristic pabilion that has been specially created by the architect Zaha Hadid, for Chanel.  It will be travelling at a global tour by: Tokyo, Londres, Moscou, New York, Los Angeles and Paris.

And it seems it will not be just fashion, because the show also will have an art installation, sculptures, photography, videos, music, etc...  In short, a banquet for the senses.

Do you want to know more about it? visit the Chanel Mobile Art site.

Via Blographic.

A Celebration of Color

Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today

At the Museum of Modern Art through May 12th.  And if that isn't fascinating enough, you don't even have to go there to see what this cool show is all about.  Head on over to the website and it'll be almost as good as being there, I promise.

The cool thing about shows like these (besides the show itself) are all the offshoots from putting something like this on, such as the above totally interactive website, but also wandering off into MOMA's store and finding these little goodies, Alex Finger Crayons.  Kinda makes you want to be a kid again, or at least have one so you can get these for him or her and give a lesson on sharing (with you). MOMA store, Finger Crayons include 24 stackable crayons perfectly sized for little hands and fingertips.  $15.00 for the set.

Be a part of art history!

American artist Allan Kaprow (1927-2006) was a pioneer in establishing the concepts of performance art. In the 50s and 60s he began to coordinate 'happenings' in which carefully coordinated and scripted volunteers would act out a very ordinary series of events. Kaprow's 1967 happening, FLUIDS, consisted of teams of volunteers building temporary enclosures out of ice blocks which are then left to melt. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is recreating this moment in performance art history on April 25-27 and is looking for volunteers. It's a little last minute, but today, March 6th at 3pm there is a meeting at the Brown Auditorium at LACMA to begin coordinating the project. If you live in Los Angeles, this is an amazing opportunity to take part in live art and pay homage to the innovative, modern artist Allan Kaprow. Get involved or read more  here.

more art, design, and craft at andrapandra