Salon — The Intersection of Art + Design 2023 by Sanford L. Smith + Associates

The power of collecting

William Hunt Diederich, 1884–1953 Hunting Scene Floor Lamp, circa 1925 Iron, steel, paper, electrical wire 74 1/2 x 26 inches

Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts, LLC

Rockwell Kent, 1882-1971 Man in Repose, 1934 Pen and ink on paper 9 x 6 1/4 inches

Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts, LLC exhibits art, architecture and important design of the early 20th century. The gallery focuses on a dialogue between the modernist movements of both America and Europe with an emphasis on art as energized by the best of design. Located on New York’s Upper East Side, the gallery is an established source of

scholarship for museum curators and architects, as well as a destination for collectors of high-end art and design. New York City bgfa.com

Philip and Kelvin LaVerne Rare and important four door “Chinois Cabinet” in patinated bronze and pewter with beautiful and subtle hand-painted enamels by Philip & Kelvin LaVerne, American 1960’s (signed “Philip Kelvin LaVerne” on the front left door).

Salon Art + Design 2023

Gio Ponti Rare and exceptional large six panel “Coromandel Screen”, hand carved and hand-decorated on the front with black and red lacquer and antiqued gold and silver leaf by Karl Springer, American 1978.

Lobel Modern Lobel Modern was established by Evan Lobel in New York City in 1998 to promote important 20th-century designers, whose originality and exceptional craftsmanship and materials transformed their works into art. The gallery showcases period furniture, lighting, art, and decorative arts. Lobel Modern is a critical resource for designers, architects and collectors the world over. Featured designers include: Karl Springer, Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, Gabriella Crespi, Paul Evans, Vladimir Kagan, Tommi Parzinger and Anzolo Fuga.

200 Lexington Ave, Suite 915 New York, NY, 10016 info@lobelmodern.com 12122429075 lobelmodern.com

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CONTENTS

Cover image: Janny Baek, Mineral, 2021. Color-stained porcelain hand-built form with applied Neriage veneer surface. Photo: cultureobject.com

Salon – The Intersection of Art + Design A welcome to this year’s magazine from Executive Director Jill Bokor

By design: Chris Schanck

By design: Jay Sae Jung Oh

By design: Joyce Lin

By design: Jolie Ngo

By design: Christopher Kurtz

Shaping a collection Contemporary ceramics are thriving. Dominic Lutyens explores the industry’s latest developments

The design market now Emma Crichton-Miller examines the global trends drawing serious collectors this year

The power of ceramics Kimiko Powers tells Claire Wrathall about her late husband, his legacy, and his deep love of ceramics

Green chic Caroline Roux discovers the ways artists are incorporating sustainability into their work

Curtain call How different designers have transformed curtains from decorative items to functional architectural tools

A silver touch Two Japanese silversmiths speak to Claire Wrathall about finding inspiration in tradition and music

Preview of Salon Art + Design 2023 Galleries and partners present pieces that will be on show at this year’s fair

H A N D M A D E IN O UR LO N DO N WO RKSHO P WWW.COX LO ND O N.CO M

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SALON – THE INTERSECTION OF ART + DESIGN by Jill Bokor On a sweltering July afternoon, we look ahead to the fall art season, excited about crisper days and for the snap and crackle of a new year in the world of art and collectible design. You are reading the fourth edition of Salon magazine which, along with a preview of the objects that will be shown at Salon Art + Design (November 9–13), brings you a look at the trends in the world of design from the perspectives of designers, collectors and curators. Our “By Design” columns in this issue spotlight American makers who have chosen to work not in large cosmopolitan centers, but rather in smaller cities such as Philadelphia, Detroit, Houston, Seattle, and New York’s Hudson Valley. We step into the studios of furniture designers, wood sculptors, an artist who sculpts everyday materials into furniture and highly collectible pieces, among others. Two articles on the making and collecting of ceramics brings into focus how this classic yet evergreen genre, once thought of as craft, has made its way into a noted collection sitting side by side with the best of post-war art by Johns, Oldenburg, Rosenquist, and Warhol. Now more than ever, curators seek contemporary ceramics and treat them as museum-worthy. Silver as an art form, one of the oldest elements to be employed in luxury goods, is coming into its own as a design category. Here we look at two Japanese designers who work in this sterling medium with fantastic results.

You’ll also find a breezy trend story about curtains, which are now considered textile art. Used creatively not only to frame windows, “curtains create a sense of arrival and discovery,” says one London-based designer, who employs them in non-traditional ways in the spaces he creates. A connecting thread throughout the issue is sustainability. Along with utilizing found objects, which brave new materials are designers considering in the context of a greener planet? Finally, as always, we offer news on the collectible design market here and abroad. At fairs and auctions, the most sought-after 20th-century names remain highly desirable. In Salon, we have chosen to bring you the lesser-known, on-the-cusp artists and designers who will be viewed as the leading lights of 21st-century design. As ever, thanks to the teams on both sides of the Atlantic who make Salon readable, elegant, and surprising. To our readers, we look forward to seeing many of you at the fair where you will see some new faces, along with gorgeous design objects both old and new. For those who can’t join us, we hope that the magazine provides a glimpse of the treasure to be found in these pages and farther afield. Jill Bokor is Executive Director, Salon Art + Design

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“THE MIDWEST IS THE REAL DEAL: THE AMERICA YOU SEE IN FILMS”

By design

CHRIS SCHANCK The Detroit-based designer explores themes of life and death inspired by the challenges the city has faced “Detroit was pretty beaten up when I arrived in 2009,” says Chris Schanck. “It was empty and derelict, and so bankrupt there was talk of selling off the permanent collection at the [Detroit Institute of Arts] museum. But there were enclaves of independent artists and makers who were pooling their resources. No one was giving them shows, or galleries, or money. When there’s no market to speak of, different things happen. It opens up different channels for creativity.” For Schanck, the city allowed him to reconsider his practice: “it completely freed up my thinking.” He has since started his Alufoil series, in which mundane materials are sculpted into furniture forms, then sealed in aluminum and coated with a luscious, wet-look resin. The work is fantastical and has a narrative force. A scattered-looking shelving suite called Banglatown, 2018, seems to have been subjected to a forceful gust of wind. His Mortal Bench, 2022, with its crowing effigy of Death and the Maiden, makes reference to memento mori. Both were on show at his 2022 solo exhibition in New York’s Museum of Art and Design. “I was in New York hustling for 15 or so years in total, being the starving artist,” says Schanck of his time in that city. “I felt very much on my own, it wasn’t the right place for me to find a community.” However, after growing up in Texas, he found the midwest “more shocking than Manhattan. It’s the real deal. It’s the America you see in films.” Having been given a house by a friend in exchange for one Alufoil chair, Schanck set up his studio and got to work. He is especially inspired by his local neighborhood, which is home to many people from Bangladesh. “They are a resourceful group,” he says. “People make things from what’s around them, they grow their own food. If someone’s getting married,

Left: Shuddering Cabinet, 2022, by Chris Schanck. Right: The artist surrounded by his fantastical furniture forms. Photos: Josh Scott; Clare Gatto; courtesy of Friedman Benda and Chris Shanck

they build a ceremonial arch covered in fabric. If you look underneath the textile, you’ll find an aircon unit, a ladder, and a bit of fencing.” Some neighbors became his first assistants. Two of them have now worked with him for seven and 10 years respectively. Schanck’s work garners great respect among curators and interest among collectors, and is shown by Friedman Benda in New York. Detroit, meanwhile, has revived its fortunes too. “As things began to restabilize in the city, there was a certain guilty tension about missing the old days. I admit that as an outsider I loved the way it was. But many people here were leading terrible lives.” Now with its economy on the up, designer boutiques have come to town, and there are a handful of contemporary art galleries. “Of course I see the advantages,” says Schanck. “But sometimes I’d love for things to slow back down again.”

Salon Art + Design 2023

Karl Kemp The preeminent gallery for fine furniture and decorative art in New York City. Presenting a focused collection of Continental 19th Century antiques, Art Deco and Mid-century design. 36 East 10th Street New York, NY, 10003 info@karlkemp.com (212) 254-1877 www.karlkemp.com

Jean Royère Tour Eiffel coffee table France circa 1950

Alba, Suspension; Ana, Chair; Champel, Table; Lava, Tray © Gaspard Hermach

Charles Zana Our method reveals our know-how. Projects insert themselves in a dialogue with the space, the location, and the clients. Thanks to the generosity of architect Charles Zana, the agency’s unique impulse is to treat each project as a humane and artistic adventure that offers a lifestyle philosophy. French traditions and culture are the foundation of Charles Zana’s creative commitment. At his office in the heart of the historic Paris Saint-Germain des Prés neighborhood, he welcomes clients with a cultivated elegance and an open mind. The subtle balance of his projects is enriched by a slightly shifted twist: “audaciousness within a certain classicism.” His team of specialists is broken down into different areas: architecture, decoration, the hotel trade, artistic creations, and furniture design that together cover the broad spectrum of the architect’s involvement. 13 Rue de Seine Paris, Ile de France, 75006 France agence@zana.fr 3301 45 48 05 25 www.zana.fr

By design

JAY SAE JUNG OH Born in South Korea and based in Seattle, the artist has made a name for herself by transforming discarded objects into pieces of art “My work isn’t planned in advance,” says Jay Sae Jung Oh, a 41-year-old from South Korea, who came to the United States 13 years ago to study at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. “The beauty is in the way it just happens; it depends so much on the underlying objects themselves.” Oh is talking about her Salvage series, in which she magically combines a hectic assemblage of scavenged things—from guitars to bottles, bicycle wheels, and broken plastic chairs—into one harmonious piece, by wrapping them together with a cover of jute or sleek leather strips. Once the process is complete, these magpie mounds become tables, chairs or planters—dynamic and sculptural pieces which can be used, albeit with care. Oh has lived in Seattle for around five years, which also wasn’t planned. “I married a guy who works in tech,” she says. She met her husband, who is now at Microsoft, 14 years ago, when he came to the Korean capital Seoul as an industrial design undergrad on an internship. Oh herself was just about to head to Cranbrook.

Oh presented her first Savage Chair, made with the fragrant but fragile jute, at her college graduation in 2011, after which she moved to New York and continued to develop the Salvage series. “That was tough in New York,” she says. “When I was in the middle of making a piece in my kitchen in Williamsburg, I wouldn’t be able to get into the bathroom.” She was also working by day in the studio of Gaetano Pesce. “He really influenced me,” she says of the Italian godfather of colored poured resin. “He told me: ‘if you think something is worth showing to people, then it is.’” Now in Seattle, Oh says she can focus more clearly, and is in the process of setting up a new studio in a 100-year-old house in the fancy Madrona district. She has also discovered the local Goodwill outlet, which is a treasure trove of unwanted objects upon which she can bestow a beautiful second life. “Life in New York was intense. Here you are close to nature and move at a better, calmer pace,” she says. “On the other hand, I was very involved in the design scene in New York, and that gave me a lot of energy and contact with the best galleries and other designers. I miss that.” (She has shown with Jeanne Greenberg’s Salon 94 since 2017.) “I don’t know anyone in Seattle who works as an independent artist,” she continues. “I think they all left and went to Portland. The tech guys are in Seattle, so artists can’t afford it anymore. I’m on my own here.”

Left: Jay Sae Jung Oh in her Seattle studio. Right: A piece from the Salvage series on display in Chatsworth House. Photos: © Jay Sae Jung Oh, courtesy of the artist and Salon 94 Design, by Ian Allen; © Chatsworth House Trust, Courtesy of the artists and Chatsworth House Trust, by India Hobson

“IN SEATTLE YOU ARE CLOSE TO NATURE AND MOVE AT A CALMER PACE”

Trunks Company Jaipur Since its inception in 2011, Trunks Company has been eternizing emotions and passions; those of aficionados, collectors and travelers through trunks. Each of our creations are imaginatively indeated & consciously crafted over hundreds of hours, as an expression of our affinity for our culture, craft & heritage.

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The metamorphosis of a trunk, from an assortment of raw materials to a treasure trove, is a journey of unwavering persistence & passion, brought to life through several stages of craftsmanship by our master artisans. As the know-how of crafting a trunk through artistry is unveiled, we explore a unique realm in the world of trunk-making by interpreting wood, metal, & leather in our unique signature. Trunks Company Atelier, 44, Lane #4, Kartarpura Industrial Area, 22 Godown, Jaipur 302 006 Ph: +91 99287 66444 www.trunkscompany.com

“WE NEED TO TALK TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO COMMUNICATE OUR IDEAS”

By design

JOYCE LIN An appreciation for wood and all its possibilities has led the artist to the burgeoning art scene of Houston, Texas “Houston seems like a business city, a lot of people here are transplants who have just come to work,” says Joyce Lin. The Taiwanese-American artist grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, before studying at both Brown University and RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) in Rhode Island. Lin, who is something of a genius, followed a dual degree in both interdisciplinary geology and design. “It’s a five-year program, and it’s very tough,” she admits. But now she’s in Texas: her family moved here while she was in college, then a job came up in the wood shop at the TXRX Labs makerspace in Houston. It could hardly have been better suited to the designer whose work frequently questions the values we associate with this natural material and how it is used. Her Wood Chair, 2023, for example, is made in both wood and MDF, covered in oil paint and epoxy resin but looks like it was hewn from a single trunk. “It’s about the duality between the artificial and the natural,” says the 29-year-old. Having run the wood shop at TXRX for five years, she has now moved to just teaching there, as she strives to fulfill the orders for her distinctive and often humorous limited-edition pieces, which resulted from her first show at R & Company in New York this April. “The Lab runs a variety of classes and does fabrication for places including NASA and Delorean,” she explains. “Teaching allows me access to various facilities, and it’s allowed me to develop much more tolerance and understanding of people who aren’t professional artists. We should be able to talk to the general public to communicate our ideas.”

Left: Joyce Lin, Root Chair (in foreground), and Wood Metal Stone (behind), 2023, on display at R & Company. Right: Joyce Lin. Photos: Joe Kramm; Rob Chron

There is no art school in Houston, “so it’s not easy to find an assistant, you can’t nab a recent graduate,” says Lin. But there is a blooming arts community. “The quality of life is good here, and I don’t see how I could make my work in a different city. When you’re working with 3D objects, it’s a question of space and equipment. It’s a huge undertaking.” When Lin left college, she tried living in New York and was an intern in the Chen Chen & Kai Williams design studio, which also focuses on the possibilities of materials including ceramic and wood. “But the economic cost was too much of a barrier,” Lin says. “Young designers are looking for somewhere else to go, and I think these centers will start to grow significantly. Philadelphia is already a magnet— and it’s close to New York. But in Houston, we have the great Museum of Fine Arts, with a new building focused on contemporary craft and design. There’s space to grow.” Something that Lin’s reputation is doing at a furious rate.

By design

JOLIE NGO Having spent her childhood on digital games, the Philadelphiabased artist uses the newest technology to create unique pieces Jolie Ngo is a digital native. She grew up playing The Sims and Minecraft, and this “world-building” phenomenon has gone on to influence the work she makes now. The 27-year-old’s composite ceramics reference both the traditions of the craft and the technological territory of today. Ngo uses 3D printing and rapid prototyping, then embellishes the forms with hand-applied glazes and paints, often as geometric patterns in pastel colors. Though much time is spent on the computer (“I still play The Sims, but I’m mostly on Rhino,” she says, referring to her most widely used design program), her work exudes a handmade quality, and traces of her Vietnamese heritage. Some vessels are composed in layers, like the rice fields she came across as she researched her father’s homeland. Others read as maquettes for furniture, or buildings. Ngo studied at Rhode Island School of Design, but returned to Philadelphia when she graduated, having grown up on its outskirts. “It’s a really great craft city,” she says. “There’s a big community of textile people—knitters and

quilters—and jewelers.” Her own studio is in the Bok Building in the south of the city—huge and handsome and built in 1936 as a vocational high school. It now houses maker studios and small businesses. “Community is important to me,” says Ngo. “I’m a social maker. I need to be around people to make my best work.” Ngo was already selling her extraordinary ceramics before she left college and has since been taken on by R & Company in New York. “They take great care of me,” she says. “I was pretty burnt out after finishing school, and it was hard to find my footing, to discover what it actually means to be a full-time studio artist. But I am now supporting myself with my work.” Of course, it is a time-worn tale that artists make neighborhoods desirable. It is only a matter of time before the developers swoop in, as they did in London’s Shoreditch, and then Brooklyn in New York. Ngo and her artist friends will need to stand their ground. “Philadelphia is super affordable now,” says Ngo. “But a lot of the big studios in warehouses are already being turned into condos. It’s happening so fast.”

Left: Jolie Ngo creating one of her pieces. Right: 3Leg Vessel in Cooler and Warmer, 2022. Photos: Courtesy of Joe Kramm and R & Company

“I’M A SOCIAL MAKER. I NEED TO BE AROUND PEOPLE”

Phoenix Ancient Art Offering antiquities of the highest artistic quality and beauty 55 years in business 56 curated themed gallery exhibitions 65 exhibitions at art fairs worldwide 41 scholarly publications 9

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Phoenix Ancient Art 725 Fifth Avenue, 19th floor New York, NY, 10022 info@phoenixancientart.com 12122887518 www.phoenixancientart.com

DIONYSUS Graeco-Roman, 1st century B.C. 1st century A.D. Bronze; silver with green gemstone inlays

30 East 10th Street, New York, 10003 // berndgoeckler.com // @bernd_goeckler

“THIS CAREER IS ABOUT COMPULSION. YOU CAN’T HAVE A PLAN B”

By design

CHRISTOPHER KURTZ Setting his roots in the historic town of Woodstock, New York, this sculptor never compromises on his visions “I am in the studio six days a week,” says Christopher Kurtz. “After years of going after a seat at the table, it really is going very well. This career is about compulsion, not just talent or luck. You can’t have a plan B.” His cabinets, with doors of wood so finely carved that they look like fabric, and Skipping Stone tables, with polished wooden tops placed on columns composed of smooth, wooden “pebbles”, are products of both his sculptor’s eye and his mastery of craft. Now working almost entirely to commission (Sarah Myerscough, the London gallerist, has proved a particularly adept advocate), the waiting list for Kurtz’s work has become long. Kurtz studied landscape design and sculpture, and found a job assisting the artist Martin Puryear, whose large-scale abstract outdoor works are layered with historical and cultural references from many places. “I saw someone who worked without compromise,” says Kurtz, 47. “His work is so sophisticated, yet his studio is quite humble. He is as potent in poetry as he is in making. I left him with the confidence that I could make anything I wanted, to the very highest level. And I knew how to behave in the world.” Puryear brought Kurtz to the Hudson Valley, where he has remained for 20 years, bringing up his daughter as a single parent.

Left: Blonde Drinks Cabinet, 2022, on display at Design Miami. Right: Christopher Kurtz in his studio. Photos: Courtesy of James Harris and Jennifer May

“My studio is in Woodstock, which is layered with culture. Philip Guston painted here. Bob Dylan recorded his most famous tracks in the Pink House, which is nearby.” While assistants come and go—“they come, but in a slightly touristic way, and don’t stay long”—Kurtz admits that the astonishing light and the beauty of the Hudson River make this a wonderful place to be. “But I’ve probably stayed more because it’s easier to get materials here. It’s tricky just getting a sheet of plywood in New York City. And it’s more affordable to have the larger space that I need here,” he says. “There are a lot of professional artists around. You can throw a rock and hit a MacArthur genius here no problem.” Kurtz travels into the city once or twice a week for business. “I have meetings with architects and upholsterers all the time. I find comfort in grids and joinery and woodworking,” he says. “It’s not about living upstate and doing craft. That’s folly. The deadlines are just as real. Even in Woodstock.”

FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING

Salon Art + Design 2023

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SHAPING A

Klara Kristalova, Camouflage, 2017, on display in Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art at London’s Hayward Gallery. Photo: Mark Blower

Dominic Lutyens explores how contemporary ceramics are breaking the mold and setting new trends for collectors

COLLECTION

A gradual assimilation of ceramics into the fine-art world has resulted in them becoming highly collectible. Yet the impact of the craft-loving zeitgeist extends beyond gallery walls, evidenced by a global boom in ceramics classes. Social media has fueled this with practitioners’ videos flaunting their pot-throwing prowess and wowing followers, especially during lockdowns. Public museums have been elevating ceramics from mere craft to art: “In the UK, a retrospective on Lucie Rie at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, and the show Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art at London’s Hayward Gallery introduced clay’s potential for artistic expression to a wide audience,” says Clare Wood, artistic director and chief executive of the British Ceramics Biennial in the UK. With its large-scale sculptures, Strange Clay challenged preconceptions of ceramics as politely tasteful and purely functional. If collectors once mainly bought work by Rie or Bernard Leach, the success of such contemporary artists as Edmund de Waal and Grayson Perry is broadening the repertoire of collectible ceramics. Debra Finn, co-founder of UK gallery Cavaliero Finn, cites de Waal, Lubna Chowdhary, and Magdalene Odundo—who, incidentally, participated in Strange Clay—as some of the most highly sought-after ceramicists working today. “From private collectors to institutions, the appeal of ceramics is more far-reaching as the line between craft and fine art becomes increasingly blurred,” argues Finn. “Functional ceramics tend to

Salon Art + Design 2023

Right: Kwak Hye-Young, Seeing the Sound of Rain, 2021. Below: Olivia Walker’s Tall Collapsed Bowl in Black and Tall Collapsed Bowl in Grey. Photos: Courtesy of Matteo Losurdo; courtesy of Agata Pec

Shaping a collection

“PUBLIC MUSEUMS ARE ELEVATING CERAMICS FROM MERE CRAFT TO ART” be more accessible and will always be collectible but the money will always be made in rarer, more sculptural, fine-art-based ceramics. With global galleries such as Gagosian and Hauser & Wirth getting in on the act, this market will keep growing.” Ceramics with subtle textures are embraced in the US, according to Damon Crain, owner of Manhattan galler y Culture Object . “The blob esthetic that ruled the past decade, in the raw, expressive manner of art brut [invented by French artist Jean Dubuffet], seems to be giving way to an interest in technical processes that, while still producing a raw effect, are highly skilled and refined.” According to Angel Monzon, co-founder of Vessel Galler y in London, whose collectors mainly hail from India and the Middle East, “Collectors are drawn to large-scale, sculptural pieces with intricate textures and interesting glazes. Two of our top ceramic artists are Steven Edwards and Olivia Walker. Steven’s work is within the permanent collections of Chatsworth House, and he shows internationally—at Swiss gallery Objects with Narratives, for example. Olivia’s wall-mounted porcelain installations sold almost instantly at Artefact and Cromwell Place.” Walker explores growth and decay and begins by throwing pieces on a wheel, then assembles them so they appear to grow organically. Edwards’ pieces include monumental vessels made of interwoven strands of clay.

Salon Art + Design 2023

South Korean ceramics are also increasingly coveted for their fine surfaces and sparing use of glazes, says Lloyd Choi, founder of the eponymous gallery specializing in contemporary Korean studio ceramics: “Korean ceramic artists minimize use of glazes to achieve a more natural look. Ree Soo-jong throws sheer glaze onto the ceramic with a brush to create abstract textures, while Kwak Hye-Young incorporates rainwater into glazes that give a subtle shimmer to her Seeing the Sounds of Rain series.” British ceramicists such as Grayson Perry and Carol McNicoll have addressed political issues for some time, and this tendency is gathering pace. “Ceramic artists also tell stories and make political statements,” says Wood. “We’re living through a politically volatile period, and this is reflected artistically as well as in collectors’ choices since they, too, engage with their times.” At London art fair Collect this year, the Victoria and Alber t Museum snapped up an imposing piece by Xanthe Somers, represented by Galerie Revel, which examined Zimbabwe’s colonial history. At the British Ceramics Biennial, Mella Shaw will show work spotlighting the relationship between sonar pollution—noise generated by devices that transpose underwater objects—and whales stranded on beaches. Ceramicists are also concerned about creating work more sustainably. “Artists such as Jim Gladwin and Louise Frances Smith use local materials, digging their own clay and making natural glazes or working with unfired clay,” says Wood. With ceramicists giving free rein to self- expression and experimentation, this field is expanding in unforeseen ways. As Finn summarizes, “It’s artists who have a strong individual narrative and carry out extensive experimentation with the material that produce the most collectible work.”

Above: Mella Shaw’s Turn the Other Cheek, 2021. Left: Two large vessels from Xanthe Somers’ RANCID collection. Photos: Shannon Tofts; courtesy of Deniz Guzel

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A lounge chair and ottoman by Hervé Baley, circa 1991–92. Photo: Courtesy of Magen H Gallery

THE DESIGN MARKET NOW

Serious collectors are back, and they are interested in the old and new. Emma Crichton-Miller explores this year’s leading trends

The art and design market is like a kaleidoscope: nothing is fixed. Every year, a different shake sees different patterns, with some years the overall palette hotter or cooler. The fundamental elements, however—the most sought-after artists and designers, the leading galleries— largely remain the same. Salon Art + Design is one place to take the measure of the changes, as galleries choose which pieces from their roster to showcase. This year, the galler y line-up is subtly different, as economic conditions require businesses to make tough choices about the fairs they do. But the mix of vintage, modern and contemporary design, including furniture, studio glass, and studio ceramics, with tribal art and a sprinkling of blue-chip 20th-century art, is still proving a resilient sector within the market—a recognisable area of interest for both serious collectors and interior designers. The design auction sales this summer showed that the resurgent interest in art deco furniture has not yet reached its peak. Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Eugène Printz both saw competitive bidding. It was also clear that collectors were playing it safe, bidding confidently on blue-chip pieces by the Giacometti brothers, Alberto and Diego, and the husband and wife artists, Les Lalanne. This analysis was reinforced at Design Miami Basel where a smaller selection of leading galleries offered rare museum-quality historic pieces from their inventory, and contemporary galleries foregrounded stars such as Misha Kahn and Marc Newson. Galerie Jacques Lacoste’s Table Aux Cariatides (Cariatides Table) (circa 1976) by Diego Giacometti, sold early on, while Edward Mitterrand, president of Galerie Mitterrand, reported being in discussions with an important US collection “regarding the centerpiece of our booth, a one-of-a-kind sculpture of a donkey created by Lalanne between 1990 and 2002, titled L’Âne Planté, estimated at €5 million to €6 million.” But what about the mood in New York? Some galleries reported lukewarm sales at TEFAF New York Art Fair, but when I spoke to Cristina Grajales, a Salon stalwart, her mood was buoyant.

Salon Art + Design 2023

Above: L Trois Tristes by Reynold Rodriguez. Right: Christophe Côme’s Tall Triscota Cabinet, 2014. Photos: Graham Pearson, courtesy of Charles Burnand Gallery; Mia Cruz

“OUR CLIENTS ARE LOOKING FOR NEW FORMS AND IDEAS, DESIGNERS THAT ARE LESS MAINSTREAM, AS LONG AS THE PIECES ARE BEAUTIFUL”

The design market now

“People are slowly losing their fear. At our last opening, the gallery was packed. There is a sense of joy.” She also notes that clients have started to commission again. “Christophe [Côme] always has a ver y big following—once again people are prepared to wait for a piece. Textiles are very popular, and we are seeing interest in lighting and mirrors.” She explains that while the demographic profile of their audience has changed little, the pandemic inspired more people to think about and value their interiors, and take the time to look and learn. As Grajales says: “These are the future collectors.” They will bring to Salon a selection of new works by the Colombian weaving atelier Hechizoo, some newly commissioned sconces from artist Ann McCoy, and some experimental pieces by Brooklyn-based ceramicist and furniture designer Aaron Poritz “blending lighting and furniture together.” Another cheerful New Yorker is Paul Donzella. He comments, “Our business has been ver y strong for the past two years. Covid really made an impression on our clients. They realized that they could still buy property and work with interior designers to decorate it, even remotely.” Italian post-war design is at the center of their offering. Donzella notes that his clients— predominantly interior designers from the New York region but involved in projects globally—are knowledgeable about the design he offers. As he puts it: “It makes sense that they would be— the value of this work has gone up tremendously over the past 30 years.” While his Italian clients almost exclusively favor Italian design, his US clients are more wide-ranging, prepared to look at his choice of French, Scandinavian, Brazilian, and American vintage pieces. He will show at Salon a large, iconic Trumeau display cabinet

Above: A moment from the Diego, the Other Giacometti exhibition at the Luigi Rovati Foundation in Milan. Right: Aaron Poritz’s Sculptural Floor Lamp, 2023. Photos: Daniele Portanome per Fondazione Luigi Rovati © Diego Giacometti, by SIAE 2023; Courtesy of Aaron Poritz

The design market now

“THINGS HAVE COME RIGHT BACK UP TO SPEED. THE FACT IS THAT PEOPLE LOVE COLLECTING”

by Gio Ponti and Fornasetti and a rare pair of big leather chairs from 1939 by the US Hollywood star turned interior decorator, Billy Haines. “I have been coveting these in books for the past 30 years,” Donzella remarks. “It is so exciting to briefly own them.” If Donzella’s specialty is Italian 20th-century art, for New York-based Magen H Galler y, it is French mid-century design. This older established market is also strong. Hugues Magen, the gallery’s founder says: “There is always a demand for the renowned designers we carr y in the collection, such as Jean Prouvé or Charlotte Perriand, but we do realize that our clients are also looking for new forms and ideas, designers that are less mainstream, as long as the pieces are beautiful and have a historical importance.” He adds: “Our Hervé Baley collection, for example, to which we dedicated a show and publication last year, has been truly well-received by our audience.” Magen believes that, while the pandemic had an undeniable impact on global economics, “it really narrowed the difference in market behavior between the US and Europe. It is more of an international market now, with a lot more online opportunities.” Despite this, foreign galleries still feel that it is important to be present at Salon, to show their pieces in person to the receptive US audience. Sam Pratt of London galler y FUMI, sp ecialists in contemporar y collectible design , says : “The American attitude and mindset is quite different from others. Americans are arguably much more decisive, easier to engage,

Salon Art + Design 2023

and have greater depth in their views as collectors.” He notes that for this audience, as for their clients in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, “the handmade and materiality elements always shine.” Simon Stewart of Charles Burnand Gallery confirms that this is an important factor currently. When discussing the work of Puer to Rican ar tist Rey nold Ro driguez , for instance , Stewart noted “the materiality is ver y interesting to people.” One of his artists, Pierre Bonnefille—the French artist who is known for making his own pigments—will produce new work for Salon which employs sand, mud, and clay gathered from different locations, as well as fresh bronze pieces. Finally, David Gill, the pioneering London gallerist, says of the market: “Things have come right back up to speed. The fact is that people love collecting.” He adds: “America has been at the forefront of the practice of contemporary furniture since the 1950s. There are big collectors and interior designers.” And, while the US remains an important market for him, new markets have opened up in Korea and the Middle East. Gill will bring, as ever, his most ambitious pieces to Salon—by artists including Sebastian Brajkovic and Fredrikson Stallard. “I say to them: ‘Make for me what you cannot make for anyone else.’ The audiences are there.” Sebastian Brajkovic’s Garnier Chair, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of David Gill Gallery

THE POWER OF CERAMICS

Art collector Kimiko Powers discusses her late husband’s legacy and love for Japanese pottery

A pot by Takashi Nakazato Photo: © Ryobi Foundation, exhibited at the Powers Art Center

Nearly 30 miles outside Aspen in Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley lies the Powers Art Center, a foundation housed in a strikingly beautiful building by the Japanese architect Hiroshi Nanamori and “dedicated to the study, display, and dissemination of work by Jasper Johns.” In reality it exhibits a whole lot more. Its founder Kimiko Powers— w ho established the center in memor y of her husband , the late American publisher John Powers—commissioned it not just to display works from the extensive collection of Pop art the couple amassed, but also to house their collection of contemporary Japanese ceramics, especially the work of Takashi Nakazato. “My husband’s love for art inspired me to build it,” she tells me from Tokyo, where she lives when she is not on the 460-acre cattle ranch where the museum is located. “He loved art and devoted the latter part of his life to it . I wanted to make something for his descendants, to help all the people who come after him to look back on their ancestor.” Works by Jasper Johns were those that “John loved the best. But I found Takashi’s works complimented them very well. Takashi investigates color and texture, developing new surfaces for his pots,” she notes, much as Johns created almost sculptural textures with paint on canvas. And shown alongside one another, the works speak of the Powers’ partnership, both in life and as collectors. Kimiko grew up in post-war Tokyo, enjoying a liberal arts education and determined to follow the example set by her mother, who was a doctor, and pursue a career. “Women in Japan did not work very much at that time,” she says. “But I wanted to do more than run a household and raise children. I wanted to be someone and to see the world. But the Japanese government would not allow anyone to travel abroad then, and there were a lot of restrictions on changing yen to dollars.” So having perfected her English, she applied to the British Overseas Airways Corporation (now British Airways), joining the airline as a stewardess. She met her husband on a flight, marrying him in 1963, and settling in New York. John was already collecting “in a small way ” when they met, having met Leo C a s te l li , th e d e al e r c r e di te d w i th discovering Jasper Johns. “Leo became a ver y go o d friend , ” she recalls . “ He introduced us to a lot of artists and, as the years went by, we became friends with some of the ones we collected.” Among them were Johns, Claes Oldenburg, Jim Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol. “We were very good friends with Andy,” for whom she sat four times. “Every time I changed my hair or my clothes, he’d say: ‘I’ll have to make another portrait.’” But both John and Kimiko had an interest in Japanese art, especially antique decorative arts. And having first acquired

Salon Art + Design 2023

Right: The Powers Art Center houses Pop art and a collection of Japanese ceramics. Below: A Karatsu vessel by Takashi Nakazato. Photos: © Ryobi Foundation, exhibited at the Powers Art Center

Salon Art + Design 2023

a pair of six-panel landscape screens by the 17th-century Edo period painter Kusumi Morikage and a scroll by Shiba Kōkan, they went on to amass what Christine Starkman, now the consulting curator of Asian art at the Toledo Museum of Art (and previously of the Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), has called “one of the three most important collections of Japanese art in the United States,” up there with those at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. As Kimiko points out, however, the Colorado climate and humidity “isn’t ver y friendly ” to such fragile works. Ceramics, though, are resistant to fluctuations in temperature, hence her decision to include vessels by, in particular, Nakazato, alongside a rotating display of works by the likes of Roy Lichtenstein, Warhol, Oldenburg, Rauschenberg, and of course, Johns, to whom all four galleries on the building’s upper floor are dedicated. To broaden their knowledge of contemporary Japanese studio ceramics, the Powers began to visit “a great many ” potters. “John and I traveled all over Japan with my mother,” she recalls. “And when we visited [the Nakazato] family kiln on the island of Kyushu in the Saga Prefecture, John just fell in love with his work,” and a lifelong friendship was born. As aficionados of the genre will know, the name Nakazato is all but synonymous with the understated style known as Karatsu, after the port city it comes from. The family has been making

“MY HUSBAND FELL IN LOVE WITH NAKAZATO’S WORK AND A LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP WAS BORN” ceramics since the 16th century, an unbroken line of 13 generations of potters, and Takashi is the fifth son of Muan Nakazato (1895– 1985), who was designated a Preserver of Important Intangible Cultural Property, popularly known as Living National Treasures. “But Takashi is ver y much his own person,” she stresses. Unlike his brothers, “he did not follow the traditional family style.” Rather, he developed his own distinctive forms and textures, forging an esthetic that is rooted in traditional techniques, but that incorporates influences from other styles. (He was the first Japanese potter to have a residency at the renowned porcelain manufacturer Royal Copenhagen in Denmark.) In working with the grainy, unrefined Tanegashima clay, which gets its distinctive red color from its high iron content, Takashi became a master of yakishime, a style that is fired at high temperatures and left unglazed. He has also

The power of ceramics

experimented with terra sigillata, another form of red pottery that first became popular in ancient Rome. As Masaaki Arakawa, professor of Japanese art history at Gakushuin University, Tokyo, has written, “One of the characteristics of this ware is the metallic texture created by polishing the surface, which has been coated with slip made from diluted clay consisting of extremely fine particles that lend the final surface a glossy finish.” If Takashi makes works that merit museum display, he also makes tableware intended for use, for as Arakawa says, Takashi is a “highly accomplished culinary artist as well.” Kimiko agrees. “It seems potters like to cook,” she observes. Both art forms after all are based on the transformative—almost alchemical—application of heat. As with his pots, Takashi favors simplicity, purity of form, and a focus on materials in his cooking, “using fresh organic vegetables and mainly fish. But his dishes are very delicious. And his ceramics add aesthetic value” to the way he serves them. For his vessels are meant to be used. “When John passed away,” she tells me, “Takashi came from Japan. And John’s ashes now sleep in the beautiful pot he brought with him.”

Words by Claire Wrathall

Limited edition works on paper by Jasper Johns. Photo: © Jasper Johns and ULAE / VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Published by Universal Limited Art Editions

Salon Art + Design 2023

Humans since 1982 Presented by the Spaceless Gallery Stockholm-based studio Humans since 1982 was established in 2009 by Bastian Bischoff (b. 1982, Germany) and Per Emanuelsson (b. 1982, Sweden). With a diverse and complex practice that traverses art, design, and technology, Humans since 1982 defy easy categorization. Their provocative sculptures and experiential installations are driven by a shared curiosity and desire to make sense of the world. The studio is co-owned with engineer David Cox (b. 1983, Australia) and comprises a growing multidisciplinary team of international specialists. Imagined, engineered, and created within a warehouse studio in an industrial part of Stockholm, Sweden, everything that leaves the Humans since 1982 studio door is hand-assembled on-site by the studio team. The Spaceless Gallery is a neo-gallery where collaborations are at the heart of the gallery’s activities - operated through an ever-growing circuit of ephemeral locations all over the world. The gallery’s nomadic nature ties in with decentralized art programs that aim to establish fresh dialogues between the exhibition venue, the works, and the viewer integrating all art forms, including music and performance art.

A million Times 120 is crafted and milled in a stone like solid surface material and available in either white or black.

From art curation, to sourcing for private collectors and interior designers, the Spaceless Gallery showcases eclectic contemporary artists across all mediums in unique locations around the world. We welcome all cross-industry collaborations as the gallery continues to push boundaries in art and collecting. The Spaceless Gallery, Paris, France &, Miami, FL, United States beatrice@thespacelessgallery.com +1786 890 8885 www.thespacelessgallery.com

Andrew Lord, Two Vases, Fist and Palm, 1988, Ceramic with crackle glaze and gilding

GREEN CHIC

How artists are embracing and incorporating sustainability into their craft and work

The Tortello sofa was designed last year by the British design partnership of Jay Osgerby and Ed Barber for the upscale Italian company, B&B Italia. With its squashed elliptical form, its sculptural qualities are striking and ver y contemporar y. (Rather cutely, it’s named after a filled pasta shape.) But what makes it really of the moment is its regard for sustainability. The Tortello is made without any adhesives—harmful mainstays of the traditional furniture industry. Instead its component parts slot snugly together, and the entire sofa can be dismantled and reassembled for moving, storage, and future use. Finally, it seems, the furniture industry is finding innovative and responsible solutions, even at the highest level of production. Luxury and sustainability haven’t always gone hand in hand, but there are significant and encouraging signs of change. There is the Butter fly Mark , for example, a cer tification applied by a company called Positive Luxury, which has been assessing and assisting top-level producers (Dior, Ruinart, and Tag Heuer are among them) for more than a decade. Founded by Karen Hanton— creator of restaurant booking service toptable.com (now OpenTable)— and Diana Verde Nieto, a pioneering sustainability expert, it offers frameworks for good practice. “We look at the aims of a company, and the budget that has been put in place to achieve them, and the training,” says Nieto. “It has to be a total commitment to change.”

Blue and yellow Tortello sofas by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby for B&B Italia

“IT’S IMPORTANT NOT TO MAKE SOMETHING NEW IF SOMETHING OLD AND WONDERFUL ALREADY EXISTS”

The British design practice, David Collins Studio—which works internationally and has this year completed Evan Funke’s restaurant in the St Regis, Chicago, and is creating a spectacular lobby at the Las Vegas Fontainebleau—is also a member of Positive Luxury. “We’re on our way to getting our accreditation,” says managing director Iain Watson. “We’ve changed our materials library, which has already had a huge effect, encouraging clients and suppliers to look harder at sustainable options. But it needs to be part of every area of practice in the studio.” Rose Uniacke, a London-based designer who is currently working on two major hospitality projects in New York, has long championed the reuse of historic pieces in her elegant interior design projects. “I just love furniture, it’s my absolute passion,” she says of her frequent use of historic pieces. “But it’s also important not to make something new if something old and wonderful already exists.” In her recent renovation of a coach house—part of her London home—she has used exclusively reclaimed wood for its warm oak floors, and plenty of wooden pieces by Swedish master craftsman Axel Einar Hjorth. “It’s the countryside furniture he made in the 1930s, and it’s become so collectible,” she says. But she has extended the level of responsibility she can bring to bigger design projects with a range of paint she has created with Graphenstone, which are mineral-based and offer the best

Salon Art + Design 2023

Below: Evan Funke’s restaurant, Tre Dita, in the St Regis, Chicago, designed by David Collins Studio. Right: Bleached, 2021, by Erez Nevi Pana, a chair made of salt crystallized loofah on a wood and aluminum structure. Photos: Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Erez Nevi Pana; courtesy of David Collins studio

possible finish. “ They have no toxic chemicals, and as little environmental impact as possible,” explains Uniacke. “Our pure lime paint even absorbs and captures carbon dioxide.” While she has long used entirely natural dyes and fibers in the textiles she creates, Uniacke has now taken things one step further with an antibacterial woven fabric made completely from recycled plastic bottles. “It requires almost no water in its production, and it has the look and feel of linen,” she says. “Our aim is to keep taking steps forward like this.” It’s still too early to tell whether a work’s sustainable credentials make it more attractive to high-end consumers. “Collectors tend to go for the design first, but museums are increasingly interested in artists and designers who are working this way,” says Carole Hochman, director at Friedman Benda in New York. “ There’s a keenness there to develop collections around sustainability and new materials.” She cites two of the gallery’s artists—Fernando Laposse and Erez Nevi Pana. Laposse is known for his work with agave fibers that look like exotic horsehair and chic marquetry pieces made in a corn starch. Pana uses waste salt from the Dead Sea to create extraordinary sculptural works. Anyone intrigued by these amazing material investigations might like to also consider the work of 33-year- old Basse Stittgen, who has developed a way to make a material from cows’ blood, which is a mass waste product from the slaughterhouse industry. Or Ori Orisun Merhav,

Salon Art + Design 2023

who is reviving the making of “lac”—a polymer derived from a natural product made by insects. Neither have been commercialized, but it is definitely a space to keep an eye on. Simon Stewart, director of London gallery Charles Burnand, however, recently sold a pair of chairs by the Puerto Rican designer Reynold Rodriguez to a prolific British collector. “The businesses she runs are ver y much about the natural and the organic, and I think Rodriguez’s work chimed with her values,” says Stewart. Rodriguez is based in San Juan, which is still showing the devastation caused by 2017’s Hurricane Maria. “It was hard to miss the surplus of wood piling up in the city,” says Rodriguez, who set up as an independent maker four years ago. “In the 1920s, the US forest service replanted the island to create a lumber industry,” he explains. “They planted mostly teak and mahogany, and it thrived. Now we never have to cut down a tree. They have been brought down by nature, and it’s great to find a use for this beautiful material.” Rodriguez is currently crafting a huge sofa—“like three or four overscale river pebbles assembled together”—from a single piece of mahogany. “I think people do respond to signs of endeavor, and the presence of the natural world.”

“PEOPLE RESPOND TO THE PRESENCE OF THE NATURAL WORLD”

Green chic

Laposse’s work also encapsulates deep narratives. A 40m-long narrative textile he has created for the 2023 Triennale at the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia tells the story of a community of women who have fought against the monoculture of avocado production in his native Mexico and the cartels who control it. The same women have worked with Laposse to make the tapestry, which is woven from sisal and is dyed with avocado. “Fernando makes a deep emotional connection first. He needs to understand every part of a community, and a material. With the agave, for example, he is there for every planting season and every harvest,” says Renata del Riego, his artist manager at Friedman Benda. Paula Hayes, a landscape artist and designer based in upstate New York, who has become known for her stylish plant-filled terrariums, is now busy finding the solution to creating less-waterdependent gardens. “Even if it’s the Hamptons, or New Mexico, people come to me as an artist or consultant based on my existing projects. Increasingly I have clients who are really focused on maintaining existing trees, even though they could afford to start with a tabula rasa,” she says. “But then I’m known for work that is very relaxed and natural. I don’t think I’m likely to attract the sort who want to break water laws.”

Words by Caroline Roux

Above, from left: The lighting sculptures L Trois Tristes, Continue, and the Gravity and Grace chair by Reynold Rodriguez. Left: Pink Furry Armchair, 2022, by Fernando Laposse. Photos: Courtesy of Graham Pearson; Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Fernando Laposse, by Timothy Doyon

CURTAIN CALL Not just for windows, curtains are increasingly being used as dynamic, architectural devices. Here, two pioneers of the textile trend tell Claudia Baillie why versatile drapes are their design tool of choice Petra Blaisse’s design firm, Inside Outside, changes the quality of a space with curtains in a private house near Amsterdam (left) and a French villa (right). Photos: Courtesy of Inside Outside

“The appeal for me lies in the drape of the cloth,” says British-born Dutch designer Petra Blaisse, whose team at multidisciplinary studio Inside Outside are masters at using curtains as architectural tools. “How its character changes when in movement,” she continues, “and the theatrical and technical effects that fabric can create.” It’s an area of expertise that her innovative practice has pioneered over the years and, as a result, its dynamic, site-specific work, designed to transform and reinvent the locations in which it sits, can be found in museums, theaters, offices, hotels, and a wealth of other public spaces around the globe. Blaisse, a former collaborator of architect Rem Koolhaas and OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) also works in residential homes, which, she says, require a specialist approach.

“CURTAINS CREATE A SENSE OF ARRIVAL, SUSPENSE, AND DISCOVERY”

Curtain call

“ S m al l e r s p a c e s , p e r s o n al t a s te s , habits, privacy needs, and the views out ward and in —there are many issues that influence the concept for a private place,” she explains. A case in point is the studio’s latest residential project, located on a polder (a tract of land reclaimed from the sea) not far from Amsterdam. A new structure with glazed facades facing south and west, the studio was asked to provide light-regulating, area-defining curtains for the living, dining, and open kitchen spaces. The team installed two curtains, easily moved by hand , which when adjusted alter both the atmosphere and the layout . “ The white taffeta has a reflective lining and isn’t completely opaque, which creates a vibrant surface that plays with light,” says Blaisse. “Every movement of the adjacent lake is reflected and ever y passerby casts a shadow.” In contrast , a dark blue swathe of blackout-lined silk features a circular gauze window that frames the exterior landscape. Both are edged with a “frame” that mimics that of a painting. Another designer for whom curtains are an invaluable device is London-based Hubert Zandberg, who cleverly integrates str uctured drap es into his smar t , decorative projects. From sectioning hallways and covering front doors, French bistro style, to screening off kitchens, office nooks, and wardrobes— particularly in pied-à-terres where door swing space is limited— curtains are a versatile tool in his professional interior design kit. “What I love is that they bridge the gap between architecture and interior design,” he says. “Curtains create a sense of arrival, suspense, and discovery while adding color and pattern in a less overpowering way that wallpaper might. You can control how much pattern you see, depending on how open or closed they are, so curtains can also become quite abstract, with literally just two columns framing an opening. Then there’s the softening of acoustics and with lower ceilings, an increased sense of height.” The feeling of luxury that fabric can bring, even via the most minimal of curtains, is something that Zandberg relishes, too. “You can completely change the mood of a room, which is really quite extraordinary,” he continues. “Especially in a smaller space they create a glamourous, gift-box vibe, and the beauty is, if you decide to move, you can always take them with you.”

Find out more at insideoutside.nl and hzinteriors.com

From far left: The dining room of an Elgin Crescent townhouse, designed by Hubert Zandberg; Zandberg uses curtains to create a nook inside a Berlin apartment. Photos: Courtesy of Simon Upton

THROCKMORTON FINE ART

RUVEN AFANADOR, José Manuel Sánchez, Madrid, Spain, (Torero Series), 2001

145 East 57th Street, 3rd Floor, NY, NY 10022 Tel. 212. 223. 1059 l Info@throckmorton-nyc.com l www.throckmorton-nyc.com

Details of Hiroshi Suzuki’s A Pair of Miyabi-Fire Vases, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London. Photography by Sylvain Deleu

A SILVER TOUCH How two Japanese silversmiths learn from tradition and music to reshape the metal into intricate vessels

Look at a vase, a bowl, or a cup by the Japanese master silversmiths Hiroshi Suzuki or Shinta Nakajima, and it seems incredible that it was created from a single sheet of silver without cuts or joints. Each artist uses a technique known as hand raising, a repetitive process that involves heating the metal with a torch, then hammering it in a circular motion over a progression of differentshaped anvils until eventually the edge of the metal begins to fold in on itself, and it morphs into a concave vessel. “It takes so long—maybe three weeks—to finish a piece,” says Nakajima, 34, and the younger of the two by a generation. After each “course”, he explains, the silver needs to be heated again for the metal to revert to its crystalline structure. Otherwise, it becomes brittle and might crack or shatter. Once the form of the vessel is more or less established, lines can be scored on the outer surface as a guide to where the artist might decide to “raise ribs” or other decorative features. It is an intricate procedure that requires hammering from within the interior of the vessel, or “chasing.” “It’s a very simple, meditative process for me,” says Nakajima. “Rhythm is really important. Speed, too, has a bearing on the reaction of the metal. I don’t try to control the tempo,” he says. But he is always aware of what he calls, as a musician would, the bpm, beats per minute. “A silversmith needs to be responsive to the way

Salon Art + Design 2023

Below: Shinta Nakajima surrounded by his silver vessels. Right: Hiroshi Suzuki with a vase he crafted from a single sheet of silver. Photos: Courtesy of Thomas Joseph Wright PenguinsEgg for Gallery FUMI; courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London. Photography by Sylvain Deleu

“A SILVERSMITH NEEDS TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE WAY THE METAL RESPONDS” the metal responds. You have to work in sympathy with the material, because its reaction is crucial. And the sound tells you everything.” “Some of the chasing requires a fine surface finish, so you need to work at a very high tempo,” speeds of up to three hammer beats per second, or more than 10,000 an hour. His conversation is full of musical allusions—silversmithing is a compellingly percussive practice—and it comes as no surprise that he loves music, with which he sees an analogy. “I made some techno music when I was about 20. It also consisted of small grains of energy and sound, so it was kind of related to my making process.” Though these days the cans he wears while working are ear defenders, not headphones. As a student at Musashino Art University in Tokyo, Nakajima was taught by Suzuki, 62, whose distinctive vessels are immediately recognisable from their pleat-like yet flowing and undulating indentations. “My professor was [already] one of the famous silversmiths at the time,” he says, not least because he had recently returned to Tokyo after 15 years in London. Indeed, Suzuki’s sinuous vases can now be found in, among many institutions, the Metropolitan

Salon Art + Design 2023

“YOU HAVE TO WORK IN SYMPATHY WITH THE MATERIAL , BECAUSE ITS REACTION IS CRUCIAL . AND THE SOUND TELLS YOU EVERYTHING” Museum of art in New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Art Gallery of South Australia; Cheongju National Museum, South Korea; and the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London, which has three of his works in its collection. The V&A bought the first, a 27.5cm-high vase in Britannia silver (slightly purer, softer, and less susceptible to tarnish than sterling, though not as pliable as the almost ethereal-looking fine silver 999 he uses now) named Aqua-Poesy IV, from his degree show at London’s Royal College of Art in 1999. “I think his work is unique,” says Nakajima. “And I am really inspired by the way he uses lines to capture the flow of the five elements [wood, fire, earth, metal, and water], to express invisible matter [and the way] he uses flowing lines to create three-dimensional forms.” Suzuki, in turn, saw great potential in Nakajima. “He was diligent and capable and could do anything on his own,” recalls Suzuki of his former student. By Nakajima’s four th year, he was working for Suzuki. “Since he showed the desire to become an artist, I enabled him to gain experience by having him help me with my own creative activities,” Suzuki continues. “And for the next five years, he assisted me in my educational and research activities at the university.” But all the while, Nakajima “was seeking his own path,” Suzuki says, and developing techniques and production processes of his own. “His recent works show his originality ver y well [and attain] a high degree of perfection,” he says. “I believe he is a very promising young artist with a great talent.” Suzuki has described his own work as “always coming from nature: I like to express its ever-changing forms, such as the shift from one season to another.” And it’s clear from Nakajima’s recent work—for example, the exquisitely delicate Acanthus vessels he made for his solo show at London’s Gallery

A silver touch

FUMI earlier this year—that he too has an interest in plants, leaves, and especially the rounded “forms of seeds and fruits” and the way they symbolize life and the passing of time. T h ough h e gr ew up in To k yo — “so I didn’t have much opportunity to have a relationship with nature”—his mother was a florist who became a practitioner of oshibana, or pressed -flower ar t . “She pressed mainly wedding bouquets. She would get the bouquet from the bride, remove all the petals , press them , and assemble them again” in an original 2D form. “So there were always ver y many tiny pieces of nature spread throughout the house.” Both artists also use color in their work; enamel in Suzuki’s case. “But there are lots of variations of color in silver itself,” says Nakajima. Not just gray, white, or black, but “right the way through to blue.” Copper, with which he also works, has an even wider spectrum of colors given the way exposure to oxygen causes it to patinate—one hesitates to use the word tarnish—a reaction, he says, that “expresses its fragility. For me the patination is not negative. It’s just changing with time and symbolizes imperfection and impermanence, I think. I believe wabi sabi [the idea that there is beauty in aging and imper fection] contains that meaning .” Does he mind the thought of overzealous polishing? “It will always become patinated again. It can be a nice chance to have a reset.” If, in the words of the dealer Adrian Sassoon, Suzuki has become, thanks to his years in London, “part of the history of English silver ”, Nakajima too combines “British silversmithing techniques with the Japanese way.” Speaking by video call from his studio in Sheffield in England, where he now lives and is studying for an MFA at Sheffield Hallam University, Suzuki shows me one of the 30 or so hammers he uses. “The head I bought in Japan,” he says. “But then I put an English handle on it.” He reaches for another. “But this one is completely made by myself. The handle is very fancy. It’s called snakewood,” one of the hardest , heaviest , and most expensive woods . “But my tools are kind of an extension of my body,” he says, lest it sounds extravagant. “I have to love them. They need to work in harmony with my hands.”

Words by Claire Wrathall

Above: Shinta Nakajima’s Acanthus II, 2023, crafted from patinated copper. Left: Seni Vase, 2022, by Hiroshi Suzuki. Photos: Courtesy of Thomas Joseph Wright PenguinsEgg for Gallery FUMI; courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London. Photography by Sylvain Deleu

Didier Ltd

66b Kensington Church Street London W8 4BY, UK open by appointment info@didierltd.com www.didierltd.com +44 (0)7973 800415 @didierltd @artistjewel Jewelry by artists, architects, and designers from the secondary art market

PREVIEW OF SALON ART + DESIGN 2023

Every year Intersection Magazine publishes a portfolio of works that will be shown at Salon Art + Design, running this year from November 9–13 at Park Avenue Armory. For those of you who will attend the fair, here’s a sampling of what you’ll have to look forward to. For those who are reading this, but won’t be able to make it, we hope you’ll enjoy a taste of what we do. If you see pieces that intrigue you, reach out to the gallery or check out their websites. This is an amuse bouche—there’s much much more in store. The fair sprints through all the decades of the 20th and 21st centuries highlighting furniture, art, ceramics, glass, lighting and, this year, jewelry. Enjoy and we hope to see you at Salon. For more information visit thesalonny.com

Achille Salvagni Atelier Tutankhamun lounge chair

Bo Design Group Sanne Terweij, Luminous Skies

Carole Davenport Japanese Art 17th-century tea ceremony dish, porcelain Fired in Arita, Japan

David Gill Gallery Sebastian Brajkovic, Garnier, 2022 Patinated bronze

Galerie Chastel-Maréchal Joy de Rohan Chabot, Promenade de mai, 2023 Bronze, gilded metal. Photo: Marina Gusina

Galerie Marcilhac Eugene Printz, pair of armchairs, circa 1930. Photo: Stephane Briolant

Galerie Mathivet Carlo Bugatti, desk, circa 1902 Parchment, copper, bronze

Galerie Negropontes Erwan Boulloud, FÉTICHE II Enfilades, 2023. Charred wood, bronze. Photo: Harry Matenaer

Lobel Modern Karl Springer, Coromandel screen, 1978

Maison Rapin Robert Goossens, Rye Table, circa 1970. Gilt bronze and brass, glass top

Mercado Moderno Móveis Novo Rumo, tea cart, 1950s. Plywood, metal, wood veneer

Spazio Nobile Garnier & Linker, Diatomée, 2019–ongoing Molten glass

Twenty First Gallery Giuseppe-Ducrot, white console. Photo: Antoine Duhamel

WonderGlass Richard Woods, Glass and Wood. Photo: Studio Visus

YVEL From the Art to Wear Collection, 2023

Charles Burnand Gallery Gareth Devonald Smith

www.phillipthomasinc.com | info@phillipthomasinc.com | IG @phillipthomasinteriors

TO BENEFIT

HENRY STREET SETTLEMENT ORGANIZED BY

ART DEALERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

NOVEMBER 2–5, 2023 BENEFIT PREVIEW WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1 PARK AVENUE ARMORY, NYC

THEARTSHOW.ORG Sonja Sekula, Untitled (detail), 1947. Courtesy Peter Blum Gallery. Photo Credit: Jason Wyche.

ART + DESIGN

T I C K E T S AVA I L A B L E N O W

November 9–13, 2023 Park Avenue Armory New York City

thesalonny.com | @thesalonny Produced by Sanford L. Smith + Associates

Ted Kurahura, cadmium red medium and deep, 36 by 36, acrylic on canvas, 2015

C A R O L E DAV E N P O R T J A PA N E S E A R T

98-year-old Japanese American artist Ted Kurahara works in a minimal style, transforming color planes into infinite depth. Combining painting with teaching, Kurahara-san moved to New York in 1959, where he exhibited more frequently. He began showing in New York and throughout the US and Europe. After a series of white canvases coupled with a colored one, he settled on the clear, quiet, enigmatic blocks of color that we now know.

Kurahara-san was awarded a Yaddo Residency Fellowship in 1978 and a Ford Foundation Visiting Artist Program at the University of Washington in 1979. He was also awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1984 and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1985, allowing him to take a one-year sabbatical, and a Creating a Living Legacy recipient from the Joan Mitchell Foundation (2015–16). Although retired from teaching, he still maintains his studio and poetically paints.

131 EAST 83 STREET NEW YORK CITY +1 646 249 8500 BY APPOINTMENT ONLY CAROLE@CAROLE DAVENPORT.COM CAROLEDAVENPORT.COM

ANNUAL

April 4-7, 2024

PARK AVENUE ARMORY PREVIEW, THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 5:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M.

FOR INFORMATION, GO TO

NYBOOKFAIR.COM #NYIABF24 @NYBOOKFAIR

Maison Pouenat Maison Pouenat presents two chimney coverings, in limited edition of 12 pieces. Following the traditions of French Decorative Arts, it combines a perfect mastery of traditional decorative ironworking techniques with rich forms and innovative finishes in a contemporary spirit. Since the 1960s, it has expended its classic ironworking activities into bespoke architectural design projects, and developed its first furniture and lighting collection. The House manufactures pieces made in collaboration with great names in contemporary design. By presenting signed creations in limited edition, it established itself as the first Edition Gallery in contemporary design. Through each creation, its craftsmen are committed to perpetuating and reinventing the ancestral know-how. From the drawings to models, manufacturing to the decoration, Maison Pouenat offers a technical and artistic bespoke approach to give life to timeless artistic work. Pouenat Gallery 22 bis Passage Dauphine Paris, 76 006 France

www.pouenat.com

« Faubourg » Chimney, Stéphane Parmentier. Rubbed, etched and patinated brass. 2 parts. « Camini » Chimney, Yann Le Coadic. Sanded and polished aluminium. Stone in Volvic lava. 3 parts. Limited edition of 12 pieces, 2023.

Salon Art + Design November 9 – 13, 2023 Booth #D6

Celebrating

40 Years of Fantasia

Natural pearls and tourmalines, nestled within lustrous gold and accented with diamonds

Flagship Store Worth Ave, Palm Beach . Jerusalem . Haifa . Herzliya . usaservice@yvel.com . yvel.com . (562) 248 4838

COTTAGESGARDENS.COM | MAY/JUNE 2023

ARTFUL LIVING

Interior Design • Staging • Creative Direction frenchca.com | info@frenchca.com

Four Seasons Residences – San Francisco Photo Credit: Brendan Mainini

40 East End Avenue, Penthouse. Photo by Michael Mundy.

4 3 & 5 3 E a s t 10 t h S t r e e t, N e w Yo r k 212- 674 -7611 m a i s o n g e r a r d . c o m