386: A second NY design week
Collectible design fair, squidgy delights, and a preview of the new Flynn McGarry spot.
Magasin’s pop-up Fashion Week newsletter-within-a-newsletter, where we go on the ground to suss out hot shopping gossip from scenes of interest: Collectible, Duet, and the rest of New York’s newest design week.
Weather report
73ºF / 23º C — The first two weeks of September have lately developed into a full-blown design event, converging with the Armory show and encroaching on the madness of NYFW. Anchored by the New York edition of the Collectible design fair (now in its second year), it’s become a cluster of back-to-it shows, book launches, cocktails, and brand activations.
What are we calling this period? Is it a second NY design week? Did it need to start immediately, and with full force, the day after Labor Day? Shouldn’t the end of summer have a grace period—say, a week for us all (especially those who spent the end of August on holiday) to settle back into our routines and catch up? Did all the designers and artists showing toil all summer in preparation, forgoing precious beach time?
I returned to New York this week ready to get into it and was immediately confronted by a fiasco at home, wherein some construction on an upper floor caused a massive cloud of soot and debris to explode out of the fireplace, covering the entire apartment in a layer of black dust. Naturally, I didn’t make it out for the opening night of New York back-to-school week (working title), but after the small army of cleaners finished wiping down every single surface, I ventured out to try and see it all.
Itinerary
Collectible design fair at WSA (September 4-7)
There was a lot of work shown here that I had seen exhibited at past fairs (partially answering my question about everyone working all summer), but even so, there were several moments of surprise and delight. Hannah Martin’s sharp curation of the show-within-a-show “In Praise of Folly” contained highlights such as an overgrown floral “stained glass” lamp by Autumn Casey (in quotations because it was not actually stained glass, but stitched fabric), an absurdist table by Italian studio Touch With Eyes made of stainless steel teapots, spoons, saucers, and other accoutrements.
Ready to Hang and Ana Luisa Corrigan (one of my favorite designers) were showing a shapely mirror set with little stones, and nearby Thomas Yang debuted a cherry table adorned with tiny, floral sterling silver nails, which was another standout—a quiet, delicate beauty.
There was a fun installation by Silence Please, the makers of the only sound system/speakers I want, and a nice combination of cork and metal by Studio Ahead (unrelated, but I am covering the walls of my office in large format terrazzo cork panels; Cork is an underused material in my opinion, and I think we should see more experimentation there).
I loved a Greek Key Candelabra by Platform Studio at Lyle Gallery that wouldn’t have felt out of place in Delia Deetz’s Beetlejuice renovation. The Greek themes were echoed in a trio of blown glass vases by Kiki Goti, inspired by the mythological graces.
Duet at WSA (September 4-8)
This was an expansive yet thematically tight group show curated by Kyle de Woody and Zoe Lukhov, not strictly bound by any medium or discipline. At Galerie Sardine’s booth was a magical presentation of paintings by Anthony Banks, whose use of color should serve as everyone’s palette inspiration for this fall, and strange, miniature cave-like abodes by artist Jenna Kaës, which were both cozy and sinister (a recurring combination in design these days, I’m noticing).
Over at Masa Gallery, I was captivated by a group of four chairs by artist Brian Thoreen made simply from stacked manila paper and wood glue—elegant, ephemeral, and subversive. More of this, please. And at Tiwa’s booth, a pair of spiral lamps by James Cherry came across as both otherworldly and classical.
Further afield…
I attended a dinner at a gorgeous private home in the North Fork of Long Island in celebration of Tom Kundig’s new retrospective book published by Monacelli. The highlight of the evening was a fully assembled Prouvé demountable house, mounted on a kinetic track designed to glide the structure smoothly out from a glass pavilion into the open air. It’s always funny when something designed to be so practical and utilitarian, like Prouvé’s flatpack postwar houses, becomes a rare collectible and is so far removed from its intended use.
At the dinner, there was a lot of talk about being shellshocked by the immediate onslaught of design events, so evidently I’m not alone. I sat next to Dan Howarth, who is methodically (and enviably) reviewing the world's best hotels for his new venture Far-Flung Corners.
At Tiwa Gallery, an exhibition of Rich Aybar’s “Rubberworks” lighting and furniture made from rubber, wood, and steel reinforced my feeling that elastic, translucent, and squidgy material is coming into the spotlight.
And at the Future Perfect, Chris Wolston collaborated with Beni on some gorgeous tapestries as part of a maximalist collection of surrealist work.
Shopping gossip
I got to preview a menu by Flynn McGarry for his forthcoming restaurant, Cove, which opens October 7. I was already excited, but now I’ve tasted the food and let me tell you, it was beyond. The space, just out now in T Mag looks beautiful with lots of warm millwork and Louis Poulsen pendants.
Before a panel we were both speaking on at Collectible, I chatted to Nick Ozemba of In Common With about the decision to cease regular bar operations at Quarters. He said that a main reason was the alarming amount of theft that went on during bar hours. Sadly unsurprising…having worked on many restaurants I know too well that anything not screwed in or glued down walks away.
This year’s Collectible fair was held at what I gather is a second WSA tower just a couple of blocks from the first one. I really am desperate to understand the strategy around this ever-expanding empire…and how it’s profitable.
Overall, this week has been a strong if not a bit abrupt start to the back to work season. I picked up on trends towards surreal, playful, and even disconcerting work—anything but sterile—which makes me happy. It’s nice to see humor and lightness come through in craft and curation. We need more of that. I’m also noticing a focus on small, delicate, and exquisite details over big loud statements, work that requires closeness or touch to be understood. Tactile, soft materials like rubber, latex, resin, and foam are definitely in vogue, and I bet we continue to see those take center stage this year.
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Loved this write up. Brian Thoreen’s Manila folder furniture is incredible!! Imagine four of those in your loving room! What a talent
Did you see the NYT piece on WSA, its really interesting and revealing. Overall feeling a bit fatigued about these design fairs but maybe they will pick up steam.