I'm seeing Rex Ray's work a lot these days – in print magazines and stationary shops. This weekend I’ll finally get to see the real deal and I can’t wait. In conjunction with the release of Chronicle Books' Rex Ray, Art + Design, Gallery 16 in San Francisco is presenting its sixth solo exhibition of Ray’s new paintings and collages. For gallery hours and directions click here.
Posted by Kristine Langevin
Gift season is upon us, and DWR’s Tribeca Studio has partnered with the brand new website Supermarket to put together another great lineup of independent product designers for their third annual ModernMart. Most items will be under $100, and the objects range from gourmet soaps to handmade journals to modern jewelry, t-shirts, wallets, trays, and ties. The first 100 people in the door will receive a goodie bag, complete with the latest issue of Domino. Champagne, chocolates, and brownies from Mari’s New York will be served. As a special treat, Tim Harrington, who is not only half of featured design team Deadly Squire, but also the lead singer of Les Savy Fav, will be acting as the resident DJ for the evening, playing his iPod on the Geneva Sound System.
November 29, 2007 | Kimberly Oliver
DWR has ventured into the realm of consumer electronics with the addition of the Geneva Sound System to our collection. When I first saw it, the Geneva stereo inspired a classic case of purely superficial design lust. Apparently the Geneva sounds as sophisticated as it looks. While this doesn't really affect my personal purchasing decision, those of you in the New York area who ARE concerned with the interior and exterior capabilities of the stereo are invited to DWR SoHo's Studio on Tuesday, November 27 to hear Fabian Meier, CTO of Geneva Lab and a leader of Geneva's in-house design team, explain the technology behind the stereo and how it fits into the tradition of furniture for music that started a century ago with the Victrola. You can bring your CDs, turntables, or MP3 player and try out the system with your own musical selections. As a bonus, one lucky attendee will go home with a black iPod Nano, perfectly suited for use with the Geneva.
November 26, 2007 | Erin Brown
Michael Moreau, proprietor of our Cambridge Studio, is one snappy illustrator. His turkey seems to be channeling Poiret.
Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at DWR. Our offices and Studios are closed for the holiday but you can shop online all day and in between courses.
As the buyer for our new Tools for Living assortment, I had the pleasure of attending last month’s 100% Design Tokyo event. The conference was the impetus for the trip, but the real goal was to get lost on the streets of the city and learn how design plays a role in Japanese culture.
That role is huge. From the delicately wrapped packages in the Daikanyama boutiques to the careful preparation of my Yakitori (skewers of chicken and vegetables), presentation is fundamental here. There was a woman who was working on a relatively small flower arrangement (Ikebana) outside of my hotel room when I left at 8am. I returned to my room around 4pm, and she was just putting the finishing touches on the arrangement.
I ended my trip with a quick stop by the Senso-ji temple. Although a bit of a tourist trap, I came by the temple on a surprisingly quiet day. Looking at the gentle sloping roof of the temple and the Buddhas guarding the parks outside of it, I saw the principles of Tools for Living abound: The simplicity of structures from times past, purposeful in their design and function.
Posted by Kari Woldum, Tools for Living buyer
November 21, 2007 | DWR
I was in Manhattan late last month to view MoMA’s Lost Vanguard: Soviet Modernist Architecture, 1922–32. Those of us waiting for the corresponding lecture were queued in a corner of the second floor, overlooking the main gallery where an installation of work by Martin Puryear was taking place. As much as I was focused on Soviet modernism, I was transfixed by what was going on below. Puryear’s art is gloriously accessible, with its use of traditional materials (mostly wood) and craftsmanship that evoke the elegantly functional Shaker style or that of Isamu Noguchi. Unfortunately for me, the show was opening days later, when I’d be back on the West Coast. Still, I’m grateful for the look I had. To read more about the exhibit and Puryear click here.
Posted by Kristine Langevin
I knew of the California College for the Arts’ (CCA) command in the design world (afterall, our chief creative officer Jennifer Morla teaches there and last fall we sponsored a furniture production class), but it wasn’t until the New York Times article, “Where ‘ART’ Has Met Craft For 100 Years” that I learned of its history and inclusion of craft. Jazzed from the article, I took Bart across the bay to check out the Oakland Museum of California and Artists of Invention: A Century of CCA. The show is packed with more than 120 works ranging from painting and photography to video and mixed media. Some names were familiar to me – Richard Diebenkorn, Squeak Carnwath, John McCraken and Peter Voulkos – but many weren’t, so it was cool to get a visual history lesson of West Coast art. The exhibit runs though mid March and is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Posted by Kristine Langevin
This week we opened a 2nd DWR Studio in Las Vegas. Like all other DWR Studios, this new Studio has custom wall graphics depicting images tied to their home city. I think this may be the coolest Studio graphic in the country: Liberace in a bathtub. Need I say more? It’s fun, fabulous and oh so Vegas, baby.
We often write about museums here at Design Notes, but none have gotten me as excited Nestlé’s Chocolate Museum in Mexico City. I am a chocoholic and I must make this trip.
The museum is also an incredible modernist structure that was built in less then three months. Conceived by Rojkind Arquitectos, it is reminiscent of a giant, red origami worm. It leaves me wondering if I’d be more impressed with the building’s design or its sugary contents.
At the Venice Biennale (the bi-annual international art exhibit in Venice), I spotted Ero/S/ Chairs in a work of art by Isa Genzken at the German Pavilion. Genzken’s work employs wood, plaster, epoxy resins and above all concrete – the materials of modernism – but primarily synthetics, as well as everyday objects. She places design classics alongside cheap camping chairs, clothing, kitschy figures and plastic dolls and animals.
Running through November 21, there are 76 countries represented at the Biennal. This year’s exhibition is tilted Think with the Senses – Feel with the Mind: Art in the Present was curtated by Robert Storr. If your travels take you nearby in the next couple weeks, be sure to make the stop.
Posted by Jackie Hoving
