not a plethora of design galleries at the sixth edition of expo chicago but those who showed up are gems.
above & below > r and company creates and delivers superdesign with a film: superdesign: when design wanted to change the world. in addition there are two series of talks, one of on radical italian design 1965-1975.
above> half dollar chair | johnny swing | 2003 | r & company | 231
r & company represents a distinguished group of historical and contemporary designers whose goal is promoting a closer study, appreciation and preservation of 20th and 21st century design. gallery owner zesty meyers is a founding member of design miami.
johnny swing artist’s statement: art making is a social responsibility. to honor the privilege of being an artist, there are expectations i have for my work. first, it needs to be entertaining; second, it needs to spark curiosity, so that it creates a dialogue with the viewer; and third, it should have a formal quality, so that when the work is or approximates furniture, it must be comfortable.
above > laguna (lagoon) glass collection | michela cattai | 2017 | casati gallery 615
the gallery focuses on furniture, lighting, objects and art from post-war italian to global contemporary. gallery owner ugo alfano casati is a founding member of design miami.
cattai’s interest in the glass, coupled with her appreciation for italian design, led her to experiment with and eventually reinterpret centuries old murano glass crafting traditions.
above > dinnerware from furnification movement | joep van lieshout | carpenter’s workshop gallery 443
sculpture, visionary, and enfant terrible sculpter joep van lieshout produces work that breaks the boundries of art, design, and architecture.
carpenters workshop gallery proposal of functional sculptures stands just at the intersection of these two universes: reaching precisely a symbiosis of art and design.
above > horse cabinet | gaetano pesce | 2006 | salon 94 435
pesce, a playful italian architect, product designer, film-maker, and artist. a founding member of group n and an important figure in the radical design group. pesce notice ! offsite at the peninsula hotel see pesce’s introspective installation what it is to be human. thru 8 october 2017
above> serpentine sofa | vladimir kagan | c. 1950
petalas coffee table | jorge zalszupin | 1962
fried egg chair | hans olsen | c. 1956comfort’ armchair | antoine philippon & jacqueline lecoq | c. 1950
peter blake gallery 558
the gallery’s program is focused on monochrome, concrete, and reductive abstraction, with an emphasis on california minimalism and light and space.