Million Dollar Satellite Hanging Light by Eileen Gray

A rare pendant light designed by Eileen Gray is up for auction at Christie’s. It is expected to fetch just under 1 million dollars. It is part of a collection of the late Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge. The auction, described as the “sale of the century” also includes rare works by Brancusi, Léger, Braque, Matisse and Picasso.

The light is made of cream-painted aluminium, composed of three superimposed flat rings in ascending scale mounted in alternation with three stepped conical shades in descending scale.

Satellite Hanging Light, ca. 1925, by Eileen Gray, Estimate €600,000 - €800,000, Collection Yves Saint Laurent & Pierre Berge, Auction at Christie’s, 23 - 25 February

Yves Saint Laurent, Brancusi Sculpture on Auction at Christie’s

Constantin Brancusi owes its outstanding reputation mainly his sculptures in stone and bronze, cut or molded, smooth and polished to perfection. The public knows little wooden works, much less numerous and, at first, were not well received, as to be rejected by private collectors.
Madame LR is a wonderful example of the first wooden sculptures by Brancusi: By choosing the material and the technique of direct cutting through the iconography and the intent underlying its creation, this work is Indeed, far from the normal production of the sculptor. While the Bird in Space, amounts to heaven in a spiritual movement and almost intangible—wooden sculptures are massive, rooted in soil and mysteriously enigmatic.

It is difficult to assess accurately the number of wood sculptures by Brancusi realized, as some have been dismantled, reconstructed or destroyed, but it is estimated that there were still some thirty sculptures or fragments of sculpture. Most of them were executed between 1913 and 1925, during which Brancusi also produces oak stands to put his works in marble or bronze. Although he produced some great wooden sculptures after 1920 and continued to pedestals, the works of the early years remain the most surprising.

Portrait of Madame L.R., by Constantin Brancusi, Estimate €15,000,000 - €20,000,000, Collection Yves Saint Laurent & Pierre Berge, Auction at Christie’s, 23 - 25 February

Sculpture by Andreas Fischer

The data sculpture Fundament shows the allocation of the world’s gross domestic product in comparison to the worldwide derivatives volume. The statistical data was aquired from the CIA World Factbook and the International Monetary Fund.
Reflection is a sound data sculpture, which was inspired by and derived from the musical piece by Frans de Waard of the same title.

Fundament, Reflection, by Andreas Nicolas Fischer

Exhibition: Memory by Anish Kapoor

A major new site-specific work entitled Memory is currently on show in Berlin. The raw, brown, Cor-Ten steel structure, just 8mm thick, is like a landed alien pod or a relic from an old war, unwieldy, tightly fit into the otherwise bare white space.
The claustrophobic physicality deliberately impedes viewing the entire object at once. Instead the spectator is forced to creep around and piece together fragmented perspectives, the individualized creation of what Anish Kapoor calls ‘mental sculpture’, all the while wondering how on earth the thing stays upright.

Exhibition: Memory, by Anish Kapoor, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany
until February 1, 2009. via: Wallpaper*

Jaime Hayon is Guest of honour of Interieur 08

This Spanish enfant terrible, Jaime Hayon is considered as a trail-blazing talent in the world of design. For the 21st edition of the International biennial Interieur in Kortrijk, the Foundation Interieur managed to snare the Spanish designer Jaime Hayon. The youngest and the first Spanish guest of honour ever, is known for his frivolous design and unbridled imagination. Since the first edition in 1968, an international guest has been chosen carefully for his ability to surprise, to reflect and preferably outpace the spirit of the times. Famous designers such as Raymond Loewy, Verner Panton, Andrea Branzi and Jean Nouvel have filled this role.

Jaime Hayon, Guest of honour, Interieur 2008, Kortrijk, Belgium
via: Yatzer

Exhibition: Heart of Shapes by Keiko + Manabu

Countless massive structures will flood the Diesel Denim Gallery in Tokyo. Simple, playful shapes resembling cookie-cutters; an extraordinary experience that tickles your mind with nostalgia of secret hide-aways from our childhood.

Exhibition: Heart of Shapes by Keiko + Manabu at Diesel Denim Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

Isamu Noguchi Pylon, Detroit Civic Center Plaza

Pylon, 1971, Detroit Civic Center Plaza, Detroit, USA, by Isamu Noguchi

Objectified: Documentary About Industrial Design

Objectified is a feature-length independent documentary about industrial design. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. It’s about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them. Personalities include Paola Antonelli (Museum of Modern Art, New York), Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Naoto Fukasawa, IDEO, Jonathan Ive, Hella Jongerius, Marc Newson, Dieter Rams and more.

Objectified, Documentary, Produced and Directed by Gary Hustwit.

Paul Evans Architectural Dining Table

Paul Evans (1931-1987) studied sculpture, metal work, silver and gold smithing at several institutes, including the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He began making metal furniture and exhibited in a group show in 1957 at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York. In 1964 Evans became the designer of furniture manufacturer Directional. Most Paul Evans pieces are signed, and all of the custom items bear a signature and a date. Paul Evans furniture has been bringing record breaking prices at auctions across the US and Europe.

Dining Table, model PE631, $12,000, by Paul Evans Studio for Directional, c. 1974, Available for sale at Wright

Icon: Lewis Morley Portrait of Christine Keeler

Lewis Morley became world-famous in 1963 when he took what is considered by many to be one of the photographic icons of the period, his classic portrait of Christine Keeler. Then at the height of her fifteen minutes of fame as one of the protagonists of the infamous Profumo Affair. In 1963 a major political scandal developed in Britain due to model and call-girl Christine Keeler’s affairs with John Profumo, the Conservative Party’s Minister of War, and a Soviet naval attaché. The ensuing controversy was possibly even responsible for the downfall of the ‘Tory’ Party at the following election.

Morley photographed Ms Keeler sitting naked astride a knock-off of an Arne Jacobsen chair (sold by Habitat), her torso tantalizingly concealed by her arms and the back of the chair.

“It was the very last shot on the roll. I was walking away and turned back. She was in a perfect position and I just snapped it. I never found her sexy, though. She reminded me too much of Vera Lynn!”

Christine Keeler, 1963, by Lewis Morley at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London