Does a retrospective mean it is the end? Certainly not for Konstantin Grcic. To finish 2010 he was named Designer of the Year at Design Miami–with an impressive retrospective and also a site specific installation of swing seats.

Other achievements in 2010 include being admitted to the MoMA permanent collection and curating the COMFORT exhibition at the Saint-Etienne International Design Biennale, all this while maintaining an enviable design output–chairs and tables for Established  & Sons and a pressure cooker for Serafino Zani amongst others. Perhaps his most famous design, Chair One, was only his first attempt at industrial molded furniture. Imagine the second attempt.

–Mary Wallis

Perhaps the most literal expression of how Maassen designs what he thinks is the Brainwave Sofa. The shape of the chair is based on a readout of alpha activity in his brain the moment he closes his eyes. The 3D graph is reproduced on an enormous scale to create the sofa. It is suggested that this may be the way of design in the future–designers will only have to close their eyes while a computer “prints” the object.

Brainwave Sofa

Pushing even further towards the apex of technology and design, Maassen’s Nano Chair 2.0 is the smallest chair in the world. At 3 microns across, the chair is impossible to see with the naked eye. As Maassen says, “opposed to virtual reality in which unreal objects look real, these nano objects are physically real but seem virtual.”

Nano Chair 2.0

As well as exploring the limits of technology, Maassen is questioning our values. The Sitting Gold toy chair is made of a solid gold 1 kg ingot which has been melted and remoulded in the shape of a chair. Is it worth more now that it is a chair?

Sitting Gold

“You can sit on it, but it’s not made to be sat on; it’s just an object. It’s totally useless because the chair becomes the user of the chair.” The anthropomorphic Sitting Chairs appear to be playing together, not requiring any human interaction. While most chairs are waiting to be used, these seem to be set free.

Sitting Chairs

I left the exhibition with the feeling Maassen sees the future a little more clearly than the rest of us. “Conceivably, the object is what it seems” can be seen at the CITE showroom until October 10^th.

CITE Showroom

131 Greene Street

CiteNYC.com

–Mary Wallis

There are so many quirky touches to the space it is hard to convey in words.

Perhaps this picture best sums it up:

Brendt Barbur (BFF) / Dear Velo Exhibit

Or perhaps this:

Backdated confidence trophies. “Customize a trophy to instill confidence from a past shortcoming. Place it within your view until you believe it is true. You are a winner.”

The store has a continuously evolving collection of products, found objects, exhibitions and events.

The self-sustaining custom terrariums by Lindsey Taylor and Atlas Industries are wonderfully modern – finally a contemporary terrarium! They float precariously on spindly steel legs like aliens.

Amongst the found objects is this helicopter sprinkler. So nostalgic and whimsical it kills me.

Previous exhibitions include Sorrow for Sale; curated remnants of relationships that went bust. Held appropriately enough on February 14^th this year, who could not respond to a neti pot that was expected to be a Thakoon dress from Barney’s?

Keep an eye out for the pogo stick available for hire by the door.

Partners & Spade

40 Great Jones Street

New York, NY 10012

Sat 12-7, Sun 12-6

Closed for August

–Mary Wallis

The largest collection in the US of Roberto Giulio Rida’s work is now showing until July 17^th at the Donzella gallery (17 White Street, 212-965-8919) in New York City.

Virgola Cabinet (2009). A two-door sculptural cabinet covered in opaline glass. Turned brass legs and ebonized interior with one shelf.

Fragole Eight-Arm Hanging Fixture (2009). Silvered metal with hand-blown vintage glass strawberries by Fratelli Toso.

Trico 6-Drawer Chest (2008). Incorporates vintage San Gobain, champagne colored mirror, and contemporary glass elements. Solid brass cone feet.

Merlino Table Lamp (2009). Hand-patinated brass sculptural form, Murano glass cylinders with gold powder inclusions.

–Mary Wallis

The Art of Craftsmanship Revisited: New York exhibition is based on a beautiful concept. Groups of students from Parsons, the New School for Design have been teamed with New York artisans sponsored by the luxury brand LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. The resulting collaborations are intended to celebrate the work of these skilled craftspeople, and to ensure that their unique knowledge is understood and carried forth by the next generation. Enhancing this gorgeous premise, the exhibition is being shown in the idyllic historic houses of Nolan Park on Governor’s Island.

This show is a wonderful forum to explore bite size samples of really fine craftsmanship–here are some highlights:

Les Métalliers Champenois (LMC Corp.)

Les Métalliers Champenois fits perfectly with the philosophy of the exhibition. The makers of fine ornamental metalwork, Les Métalliers Champenois make museum-quality pieces with modern machinery and old-age hand tools. As their video presentation explains “an artisan is a craftsman who has a full knowledge of his craft…[then a] craftsman may touch the border of artestry”. Look out for their Statue of Liberty lips.

Atelier de France

The purpose of Atelier de France is somewhat obscure–it is to promote knowledge of the hidden techniques of traditional upholstery from the 15th century to the first half of the 20th century. To do this Atelier de France create picture libraries documenting the inner workings of fine examples of furniture. They also sell organic and fully recyclable upholstered furniture, and the chair they presented (below) was an exercise in precision.

Lothar Osterburg

A true revelation for me was work of the photogravurist Lothar Osterburg. Photogravue is an early form of photography–a copper plate is etched after being coated with light-sensitive gelatin that has been exposed to create an image. Osterburg creates beautiful photogravues of an incredibly intricate miniature castle, and he has taken this project one step further to create a stop-motion animation of the process of making the model castle. Impressively, the technical wizardry is surpassed by the emotion in the piece.

The Art of Craftsmanship Revisited: New York is now showing every weekend at Governor’s Island until June 27th. Visit ArtofCraftmanship.com for more information.

–Mary Wallis

The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) swept through the Javits Convention Centre  recently and it was design overload per usual. It can be exhausting traversing all those booths so here are the Design Brief’s top five picks from the show.

Roll & Hill

Launching at ICFF, Roll & Hill is the brainchild of Jason Miller, who is already famous for his antler chandeliers. Focused just on lighting, Roll & Hill will produce fixtures from some of the who’s who of American contemporary design talent. Standout pieces include the Excel floor lamp by Rich, Brilliant, Willing with adorable matching sconces. The lights use compact fluorescent bulbs with a gold diffuser to banish that pasty fluorescent glow. Ingenious.

Excel Floor Lamp by Rich, Brilliant, Willing

Successful Living by Diesel

Fashion brand Diesel has collaborated with lighting brand Foscarini and furniture brand Moroso to create a collection for the home called Diesel Successful Living. Presented at the ICFF by the Manhattan distributor The Future Perfect, the range is a cross between vintage and rock. Must-have pieces are the Nebula white sofa with matching Cloudscape chair–think dreamy 70′s Californian beach vibe.

Cloudscape Chair by Diesel Successful Living

Lindsey Adelman

Lindsey Adelman makes custom light fixtures in Manhattan with glass globes blown in Brooklyn. The Branching Bubble chandeliers are spidery and organic and  industrial all at once. Due to their modular construction, the armatures are available in an infinite number of configurations, and the abundance of 14k gold foil only adds to their enchantment.

Branching Bubble chandelier by Lindsey Adelman

Neo-Utility

Exquisitely curated, Neo-Utility takes the little things and makes them somehow better. For their debut at the ICFF, Neo-Utility presented the ShapeMaker Toy Blocks by Miller Goodman, two designers from Brighton, England. So cute, and I think the video explains it best.

John Reeves

A unique voice, John Reeves’ CAS1 side chair is produced without synthetics from sand cast 100% recycled aluminum and oak. The casting process allows for optimum efficiency, as any mistakes can be melted down and cast again. Thoughtful and beautiful.

John Reeves CAS1 Side Chair

–Mary Wallis