New York Dispatch / May 2022

Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance for Maison Intègre, ‘Palabre Chair’, 2022
COURTESY: Maison Intègre & Les Atelier Courbet

ON PRE-PANDEMIC ART and design world calendars, May was traditionally New York’s moment. As things have ostensibly returned to normal, this unspoken rule is yet again in effect. Between art and collectible design fairs like TEFAF, Independent, Frieze and furniture design agora ICFF, the city is buzzing with an almost overwhelming tide of creative activity.

Ian Alistair Cochran, ‘Plump Red Side Table’, 2019
COURTESY: Ian Alistair Cochran & Alien Days

Brands clambering to finally reveal new products are being joined by ranks of New York, national and international galleries seeking to capitalise on the moment and reach a buyer base eager to physically engage with sought-after wares.

Bailey Fontaine, ‘Palette Table’, 2021
COURTESY: Bailey Fontaine & ADORNO

It’s a lot to sort through; but if the past two years has taught us anything, quality should supersede quantity. The Design Edit’s New York correspondent Adrian Madlener has highlighted six standout showcases that demonstrate the latest industry trends and developments – but also reflect the wider world.

Installation view, ‘Gloria Kisch, As Above, So Is Below’, 2022
COURTESY: Gloria Kisch & Salon 94 Design © Gloria Kisch Estate / PHOTOGRAPH: Clemens Kois

Salon 94 Design: Gloria Kisch As Above, So is Below
Every so often, a gallery will excel at rediscovering the unsung heroes of a bygone era, revealing their relevance in the present moment. Case in point: Salon 94 Design directors Zoe Fisher and Trang Tran, who have uncovered the rarely-seen-before furnishing and functional sculptures of the late, ostensibly forgotten, 20^th-century metal master Gloria Kisch.

Gloria Kisch, ‘Sliding Down the Mountain IV’, 1990
COURTESY: Gloria Kisch & Salon 94 Design © Gloria Kisch Estate / PHOTOGRAPH: Clemens Kois

Currently on view in the gallery’s Freeman Alley outpost, her retrospective includes everything from the ‘Sliding down the Mountain IV’ steel rocking chair to the wall-mounted ‘Immortal Flowers’ series. Kisch’s playful process – riffing on the iconography of functional, everyday objects and the banality of recognised shapes – stemmed from her explorations of duality: dissonance and harmony, permanence and impermanence, and the deft use of rigid metals to articulate soft forms.

Gloria Kisch, ‘Immortal Flowers’, 2007-2009
COURTESY: Gloria Kisch & Salon 94 Design © Gloria Kisch Estate / PHOTOGRAPH: Clemens Kois

Future Fair 2022: Alien Days
Launched in 2020 but hosting its first physical event this month, Future Fair is a new event that advocates transparency and equitability within the ever-evolving art market. Among the 40 odd exhibitors, many of who are newcomers to the circuit, is a carefully curated selection of collectible design galleries. Mounted by culturemaker Julia Haney Montanex – who is also founder of design news platform The Design Release – Alien Days is an in-show exhibition featuring eight experimental studios driving current material and aesthetic trends.

Ian Alistair Cochran with ‘Dew Drop’ table
COURTESY: Ian Alistair Cochran & Alien Days

“This show blends my two loves of innovative, emerging design and the traditional foundations of interior design to create a space that feels alien yet welcoming,” Haney Montanez says. “We are not looking into the future, but rather at a parallel reality of singular design works in the traditional context of a living room, thus adding familiarity among otherworldly examples of the current collectible design movement.”

Moses Nadel, ottomans
COURTESY: Moses Nadel & Alien Days

Among the featured galleries is Tuleste Factory, which will be presenting candy-coloured tables and mirrors by Ian Alistair Cochran and Quincy Ellis, with Moses Nadel’s furry ottoman adding a playful dimension. Other participants include Cranbrook alumni and Hudson Valley-based designer and craftswoman Hannah Vaughan; architecturally-minded Justin Kwash and Paul Crump; Donzella gallery talent Lorin Silverman; Detroit Art Week co-founder and furniture designer Aleiya Lindsey Olu; and the organically-minimal Swell Studio.

Swell Studio, ‘Taba’ wall sconce,
COURTESY: Swell Studio & Alien Days

ADORNO x HNH Gallery: MELT
Online curatorial and e-commerce platform ADORNO has teamed up with Williamsburg-based HNH Gallery to mount a comprehensive group show of 30 contemporary talents who have come to define the experimental, expressionist, drippy and trippy aesthetic of the past few years.

Gustavo Barroso, ‘Pink Slime Side Table’, 2021
COURTESY: Gustavo Barroso & ADORNO

The MELT exhibition will survey seminal works by Brooklyn-based designers like Jumbo, J McDonald, Studio Poa, and Joseph Algieri. New commissions by Nicholas Devlin, Gustavo Barroso, and Michal Cihlar will also be on display in HNH Gallery’s space.

Michal Cihlar, ‘Pleated Chair’, 2021
COURTESY: Michal Cihlar & ADORNO

“The pieces on display resemble a constant flow or movement which makes us feel dynamic and present at the same time. This is what I hope visitors will feel when visiting,” says Martin Clausen, ADORNO co-founder and creative director. “Despite the objects being static, they give an opportunity to grasp a moment in time, almost like time stands still.”

Joseph Algieri, ‘Pleated Lamp’, 2021
COURTESY: Joseph Algieri & ADORNO

Les Atelier Courbet: Maison Intègre
Ever the arbiter of artisanal innovation and champion of its virtues, New York gallery Les Atelier Courbet is mounting a show dedicated to the prowess of Burkina Faso-based bronze workshop Maison Intègre.

Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance for Maison Intègre, ‘Y Lamp’, 2022
COURTESY: Maison Intègre & Les Atelier Courbet

Founded in 2017, this institution helps support Burkinabe craftspeople and protect their age-old lost-wax casting technique. Collaborating with French designer Noé Duchaufour- Lawrance over the past two years, Maison Intègre produced a series of limited edition bronze designs: sinuous tables, mask-like sconces and even a full-scale settee.

Maison Intègre, ‘Mask Sconce’, 2022
COURTESY: Maison Intègre & Les Atelier Courbet

Colony: Phila
Top New York cooperative gallery, design studio and strategy firm Colony is launching its latest venture Phila: a series of one-off designs that will be sold to help support various charities. The inaugural ‘Phila|Terra’ collection of 100 organically glass blown vases was designed by the platform’s founder Jean Lin and produced by noted artist Deborah Czeresko. As the sale of these works is intendent to benefit The Environmental Defense Fund and the Rainforest Foundation US, the pieces are coloured to reflect the rich palette of Earth’s many ecosystems.

Jean Lin and Deborah Czeresko, ‘Phila|Terra’ collection
COURTESY: Colony

“My hope is that the new Phila series will invite a broader audience to engage with design and charitable giving with Colony,” says Lin. “These vases are singularly beautiful, yet visually transformative as a group. Similarly, we as individuals are small, unique and fragile, but when we come together in the spirit of community and the greater good, we can change a landscape.”

Jean Lin and Deborah Czeresko, ‘Phila|Terra’ collection
COURTESY: Colony

Valerie Goodman Gallery: Jacques Jarrige, Upstrokes and Downstrokes
French sculptor and sometimes designer Jacques Jarrige has made a name for himself by masterfully shaping raw materials like wood and metal into emphatically organic compositions. This prowess stems from years of self-guided experimentation and an almost metaphysical and spiritual understanding of form, figuration and matter. A mid-career retrospective at Valerie Goodman Gallery incorporates seminal pieces such as the suspended ‘Cloud’ sculpture and the adjoining ‘Nazca’ dining table.

Installation view, ‘Jacques Jarrige, Upstrokes and Downstrokes’
COURTESY: Jacques Jarrige & Valerie Goodman Gallery

Coinciding with the ‘Upstrokes and Downstrokes’ solo show is the display of Jarrige’s ‘Christ’ work at Saint John the Divine in the city and a new anthology including texts by craft specialist Glenn Adamson.

Jacques Jarrige, large Christ sculptures, Saint John the Divine Cathedral, New York
COURTESY: Jacques Jarrige & Valerie Goodman Gallery / PHOTOGRAPH: Peter Ferberger