The Christmas Stocking

This Christmas we invited some of our friends to choose an object for The Design Edit Christmas Stocking. The stocking is a miraculous one  – infinitely expandable and accommodating of any shape. We then asked them to offer three reasons to explain why their object should find a place in this special collection. Have a merry festive season, wherever you are!

Niko Koronis, ‘Suku 1 Red’, 2019
COURTESY: Niko Koronis & Carpenters Workshop Gallery

CARPENTERS WORKSHOP GALLERY
Niko Koronis, ‘Suku 1 Red’, 2019

This work by Niko typifies what the gallery is about – working with art and sculpture in a manner that also addresses functionality.

It is a piece primarily about minimalism and colour, with its art historical reference to Josef Albers: taking the idea of the colour square and exploring it in three dimensions

… but also you can live with it!

Niko Koronis, ‘Suku 1 Red’, 2019
COURTESY: Niko Koronis & Carpenters Workshop Gallery

MODERNE
Dan Jackson, ‘Rocking Unicorn’, 1974

The ‘Rocking Unicorn’ expresses the joy, wonder and fantasy that are the most valuable parts of Christmas. It was made as a Christmas gift in 1974.

It’s a unique masterpiece, sculpted by hand. During the preparation for the 2003 retrospective, ‘Dan Jackson: Dovetailing History’ it couldn’t be located. So it was a Christmas miracle when Moderne Gallery received a call from Florida asking if we would be interested in acquiring what we were sure was a lost masterpiece. What could be more appropriate for this Christmas Stocking?

After 48 years of travel and storage, it remains in near pristine condition. Apparently, the ‘Unicorn’ was waiting for just the right time to magically reappear for The Design Edit Christmas Stocking and celebration.

Dan Jackson, ‘Rocking Unicorn’, 1974
COURTESY: Dan Jackson & Moderne

CRISTINA GRAJALES
Paula Hayes, ‘Comets’, 2022

This handmade glass object has a secret space where magical worlds are conjured from heterogeneous materials.

It’s just like a comet, whose tail carries ice like winter.

And it reminds us of the magic of snowglobes.

Paula Hayes, ‘Comets’, 2022
COURTESY: Paula Hayes & Cristina Grajales

GALLERY FUMI
Saelia Aparicio + Jochen Holz, ‘Aidan’, 2022

This playful piece is a collaborative work by Saelia Aparicio and Jochen Holz that is apt for the season spent having fun with friends and family.

Lit in a vibrant red with neon gas, ‘Aidan’ sits perfectly among the bright festive lights of the holidays.

This work was presented inside a large ceramic fireplace during the exhibition ‘A Sentient Space’, reminiscent of Santa Claus coming down the chimney.

DEMISCH DANANT
Jos Devriendt, ‘Night and Day 471’, 2022

It’s a unique, hand-crafted work. No two are alike. As a sculptor, Jos Devriendt creates his “night and day lamps” to work as a sculpture during the day and as a light object at night.

This new series explores the ancient ceramic technique of raku – characterised by distinctively textured surfaces and delicate, crackled glazes.

The lamp’s exuberant mushroom-like silhouettes are a touchstone for Devriendt, who has been perfecting this archetype for over 25 years.

GOKELAERE & ROBINSON
Norberto Nicola, ‘Meandros’, 1987

Norberto Nicola is a major Brazilian tapestry artist. He is regarded as one of the most innovative weavers of the twentieth-century and his works are part of museum collections in the USA and Brazil.

Combining the traditional art of weaving with references to nature, in a very modern composition, this tapestry was made in 1987 – considered the artist’s best period.

Its vivid colours and three-dimensional aspect bring a warm spirit to a contemporary interior.

Norberto Nicola, ‘Meandros’, 1987
COURTESY: Norberto Nicola & Gokelaere & Robinson

SOUTHERN GUILD
Zizipho Poswa, ‘Fang Ndom, Cameroon’, 2022

Zizipho Poswa’s current solo, ‘uBuhle boKhokho (Xhosa for “beauty of our ancestors”)’, draws inspiration from the elaborate art of hairstyling practised by many black women across the African continent. This particular one is derived from the name and country of origin of a female hairstylist living in Cape Town, whom the artist knows.

The textured surface of this earthenware form is painted with stripes mimicking the parallel patterns of cornrows. The protruding bronze forms are based on the sculptural ‘twists’ of threaded hair in an image of an elaborate hairstyle taken by Nigerian photographer J.D. ’Okhai Ojeikere.

In creating this work, Poswa’s intention is to build the material archive of this ancient African art, in the process, she highlights little-known facts of its relevance and history – such as that the slaves who made the trans-Atlantic crossing hid seeds, precious items such as gold, and incendiary messages in their cornrows patterns. This was why traders shaved off slaves’ hair before they were forced onto the ships heading to the Americas, and slaves on plantations commonly wore headwraps.

Zizipho Poswa, ‘Fang Ndom, Cameroon’, 2022
COURTESY: Zizipho Poswa & Southern Guild

SARAH MYERSCOUGH GALLERY
Helen Carnac, ‘Ammil VI (white)’, 2022 & ‘Ammil VII’, 2022; David Gates, ‘A Shift in Footing 1’, 2022

This installation is a gift that keeps on giving as there is continued delight and new perspectives to be found in the interiors, hidden passages and unexpected peepholes created by the artist-makers.

The powdery vitreous enamel on Helen’s corrugated vessels is elegantly festive – though also appropriate all year round.

It allows us to imagine a snow-dusted barn … perhaps with a manger waiting inside?

Helen Carnac, ‘Ammil VI (white)’, 2022 & ‘Ammil VII’, 2022; David Gates, ‘A Shift in Footing 1’, 2022
COURTESY: Helen Carnac & David Gates & Sarah Myerscough Gallery / PHOTOGRAPH: James Harris

MANIERA
Jonathan Muecke, ‘CTC4 (Carbon Tube Chair 4)’, 2022

This piece is part of a whole series of furniture with a carbon tube as the primary component. Specific joints and variations of the tube were developed to define a specific language and new methods of production were established to enable variation and material preservation. The ‘CTC4’ is one of the most recent outcomes.

The chair was recently acquired by the Vitra Design Museum.

The famous museum just released a new version of their Classic Chair Collection poster in which Jonathan’s chair is added.

Jonathan Muecke, ‘CTC4 (Carbon Tube Chair 4)’, 2022
COURTESY: Jonathan Muecke & Maniera

SIDE GALLERY
Mac Collins, ‘Boneyard’, 2022

Gift this chair with a game of dominoes so you have a playful Christmas.

Sit back and relax on it, so you can enjoy the festivities around you.

It will add something funky and fun to your living room

Mac Collins, ‘Boneyard’, 2022
COURTESY: Mac Collins & SIDE GALLERY