Tag Archives: Exhibit

Duncan Phyfe

/ March 14, 2012
This small console or pier table, circa 1817-22, was crafted for the Beekman family of New York. It is made of rosewood, pine and ebony with ormolu mounts, string inlay and a marble top. This is an unusual and extremely rare example of Duncan Phyfe's work.

This small console or pier table, circa 1817-22, was crafted for the Beekman family of New York. It is made of rosewood, pine and ebony with ormolu mounts, string inlay and a marble top. This is an unusual and extremely rare example of Duncan Phyfe's work.Slideshow

Duncan Phyfe (1768 – 1854) was an extraordinary New York City cabinetmaker who holds a prominent place among those who made significant contributions to the design and style of furniture for some of the wealthiest figures of his time in New York and beyond. New York became the capital of the United States in 1785 and that set the city on a path to become a world power during the first half of the 19th century. The city was strategically located as a gateway for European imports and domestic exports. This commercial activity supported a cosmopolitan way of life that emulated the highest society abroad.

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Lots of Dots: Damien Hirst in Paris

/ February 24, 2012
A Damien Hirst painting of "Spots" created on a circle canvas. Gagosian Gallery, Paris.

A Damien Hirst painting of "Spots" created on a circle canvas. Gagosian Gallery, Paris.Slideshow

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My family at the show in front of one of the Spot paintings with large scale dots.
Gumball spots at the candy vendor near the Odeon Metro station.
Dots on paper bags. Unlike Damien Hirst the colors here are repetitive.
Lots of Spots or, in this case, dots. A mime in front of Centre Pompideau.
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Dots of a different sort by Robert Delaunay (1885-1941). Clearly, color and clarity have always been on the minds of artists.
More dots from Robert Delaunay. These are more complex that those by Damien Hirst but spots nonetheless.

When I was in Paris I finally got to see one of the 11 exhibits of Damien Hirst’s “Spots” paintings at the Gagosian Gallery. The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011 was conceived as a single exhibition shown in multiple locations all over the globe. There are more than 300 Spot paintings, the spots ranging in size from 1/2″ inch to a monumental painting that has only 4 spots, each 60″ in diameter. It is said that there is no single color that has been repeated. The paintings were lent to the exhibition by public institutions and private collections.

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Museum Exhibit: Crafting Modernism

/ January 23, 2012
A Noguchi sculpture in iron, wood and rope. I was thinking about propellers when I looked at this. The texture of the iron work is great against the rope.

A Noguchi sculpture in iron, wood and rope. I was thinking about propellers when I looked at this. The texture of the iron work is great against the rope.Slideshow

This wonderful, small and well formed table designed by Ray Eames, is still in production and as beautiful and practical today as it was the day it was designed.
This petal table was designed by Richard Schultz for Knoll. It is another familiar form. I love the white powder coat base against the teak top.
Edith Heath in 1949. She was a ceramics teacher in San Francisco who created dinnerware sold at Gumps. The name HEATH CERAMICS continues today. Their lovely dinnerware is available online.
Knoll was at the forefront of collaborating with studio designers. This Eero Saarinen chair of laminated birch and fabric was called the “Grasshopper".
Anni Albers, a New Haven based weaver, was an early advocate of weaving as an art form. Rather than follow the direction of some other weavers of the period, who adapted their art for industrial uses, she was influenced by modernist abstraction and her study of ancient weaving and continued to perfect her craft for museums and collectors.
The Onion teapot of silver and ebony was one of my favorite objects in the exhibit. It was designed and made by John Pripp who came from Copenhagen to teach at the School of American Craftsmen in Alfred, New York.
This elegant music stand, by Wendell Castle from 1964, feels like it was born of Shaker simplicity but shaped and formed for the music sheets it was to hold.
See below.
This untitled gauche on paper by Alexander Calder inspired the brooch above. His lyrical curves made wearable jewelry in brass and silver and often embellished with found objects such as beach glass and ceramic shards.

Several weeks ago I took the time while in New York to go to the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) to see the CRAFTING MODERNISM exhibit. The museum, formerly the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (MCC) and later the American Craft Museum (ACM) still retains its original vision by creating exhibits to examine and celebrate American craft in the 20th century. It charts the bold new direction in craft media from the postwar period through the mid 60′s, showing a range of works from the strictly functional but studio made, to beautiful objects integrated into the factory with the designer-craftsman serving as the bridge between hand and machine.

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Museum Exhibit: Crafting Modernism

/ January 11, 2012
A Noguchi sculpture in iron, wood and rope. I was thinking about propellers when I looked at this. The texture of the iron work is great against the rope.

A Noguchi sculpture in iron, wood and rope. I was thinking about propellers when I looked at this. The texture of the iron work is great against the rope.Slideshow

This wonderful, small and well formed table designed by Ray Eames, is still in production and as beautiful and practical today as it was the day it was designed.
This petal table was designed by Richard Schultz for Knoll. It is another familiar form. I love the white powder coat base against the teak top.

Several weeks ago I took the time while in New York to go to the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) to see the CRAFTING MODERNISM exhibit. The museum, formerly the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (MCC) and later the American Craft Museum (ACM) still retains its original vision by creating exhibits to examine and celebrate American craft in the 20th century. It charts the bold new direction in craft media from the postwar period through the mid 60′s, showing a range of works from the strictly functional but studio made, to beautiful objects integrated into the factory with the designer-craftsman serving as the bridge between hand and machine.

Full post →
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