Exhibition: Geometric Study by Ann Van Hoey

Ann Van Hoey was an industrial engineer before she discovered ceramics. “Étude Géométrique” (“Geometric Study”) is the name for a series of five bowls which impressively embody the quintessence of her artistry in a contemporary manner. The basis for these pieces, i.e. thinly rolled pieces of clay cut into semicircles, are first joined and shaped into perfectly hemispherical bowls on the potter’s wheel. When the clay has dried so as to be leather-hard, Van Hoey uses a pair of scissors to cut triangular segments from it and joins the ends so as to overlap, thus opening up the path towards new three-dimensional shapes whose logic and clarity do not only fascinate minimalists alone. Without any décor, the clay’s colour and material characteristics are displayed to perfection. The combination of lines and surfaces makes for charming sculptural effects. Inspired by origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, Van Hoey’s crafting technique results in unusual creations that trigger new chains of associations.

Exhibition: Ann Van Hoey and Carine Neutjens, at Cultuurcentrum Mechelen,
Mechelen, Belgium, 7 May – 20 June, via: Art Aurea

Exhibition: Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance at Galerie BSL

Architect and designer, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance designed the gallery space for BSL. He also designed the displays for jewelry which include four models in white resin which are at the confluence of paleontology and design.

Opening Exhibition, May 7 – July 24, by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, for Galerie BSL, Paris

Exhibition: Fiona Banner at Tate Britain

“I remember long sublime walks in the Welsh mountains with my father, when suddenly a fighter plane would rip through the sky, and shatter everything. It was so exciting, loud and overwhelming; it would literally take our breath away. The sound would arrive from nowhere, all you would see was a shadow and then the plane was gone.
At the time harrier jump jets were at the cutting edge of technology but to me they were like dinosaurs, prehistoric, from a time before words.”
– Fiona Banner

Tate Britain Duveens Commission 2010, by Fiona Banner,
at Tate Britain, 28 June 2010 – 3 January 2011

Mandarin Oriental Barcelona by Patricia Urquiola

While the 1950s Catalan façade has been left untouched stylistically, architects Carlos Ferrater and Juan Trias de Bes have made some major changes to the former bank while retaining its symmetrical simplicity. The nine-storey building’s unassuming façade opens to a light-drenched atrium, around which the hotel rooms have been designed. Crossing the atrium via a floating catwalk, guests pass into a lobby before being drawn to a split-level mezzanine platform – flanked on one side by Moments restaurant and on the other by Banker’s Bar – from where they view the central Blanc lounge below. “Previously visitors walked down into the building, so we designed an elevated ramp for the gallery entrance to make it feel as though you are walking on air,” says de Bes. “By placing black reflective stone at floor level, there is a multiplying effect to the perceived height of the windows and atrium.”

The building’s character also provided much inspiration to Patricia Urquiola, who knew she must come up with a visual story specific to Barcelona while hinting at the Oriental roots of the Mandarin Oriental brand. “I noticed all this light flooding into the building, and wanted to harness it to mirror the light that shines in this Mediterranean city,” comments Urquiola. “Then I thought of how a white glove represents elegance and service. Closing my eyes, I knew there had to be a continuity of design flowing through the spaces; one point of view. But I also wanted there to be a sense of memory here.”

Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona, Spain, by Patricia Urquiola
Read more: Sleeper

Kulango Pounder Spoon at Sotheby’s Auction

The recent Oceanic and African Art Auction at Sotheby’s in Paris included this Kulango Pounder Spoon from Côte d’Ivoire.

Kulango Pounder Spoon, Hammer Price: € 78,750, Oceanic and African Art Auction,
Sale PF1017, Sotheby’s, Paris

Mangier by Smarin

Smarin have created a collection of objects of celebration, in collaboration with celebrity chef Mauro Colagrec. Mangier is a tree that can be decorated with various types of food, and is made of untreated wood. The range consists of three different models from 20 to 100 ‘branches’.

Mangier, by Smarin Design, for Mauro Colagrec

Marc Newson Works at Phillips de Pury Auction

The upcoming Design auction at Phillips de Pury in New York includes some important early works by Marc Newson as well as some more recent prototypes.

Top to Bottom:
Pod of Drawers, 1987, by Marc Newson
Fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin core, blind-riveted sheet aluminum, paint. Produced by Basecraft for Pod, Australia. From the edition of ten plus two artist’s proofs and one prototype. Estimate $300,000-500,000

Prototype Micarta desk, 2006, by Marc Newson
Linen phenolic composite. Prototype for the edition of ten plus two artist’s proofs.
Estimate $150,000-200,000

Prototype Voronoi Shelf, 2006, by Marc Newson
Bardiglio marble. Prototype for the edition of eight plus two artist’s proofs.
Estimate $100,000-150,000

Event Horizon Table, 1992, by Marc Newson
Enameled aluminum, polished aluminum. Produced by Pod Edition, UK. Artist’s proof for the edition of ten. only example produced with a yellow body. Estimate $250,000-350,000

Marc Newson Works, Design Auction at Phillips de Pury & Company,
June 9, 2010, New York

Unstable Variables by Kjell Varvin

“Frequent manipulations of insignificant objects in a naked corner of my studio for digital documentation and publication on the internet as temporary installations in the context of art.”

Unstable Variables, by Kjell Varvin, Installart

Photography: Horizons by Bruno Cals

Horizons, a series of architectural photographs by Brazilian photographer Bruno Cals, will be on view at 1500 Gallery. The six photographs in the exhibition are part of a personal artistic project that Cals, a well-known fashion/advertising photographer based in São Paulo, Brazil, has been working on since 2008.

The photographs in the Horizons series are suggestive of something beyond the record presented. The images of the buildings in São Paulo, Tokyo and Buenos Aires explore the limits of two-dimensionality, and articulate a radically different perspective on a commonplace visual scenario. In expressing this fresh point of view, Bruno Cals has invoked contrasting themes of possibility versus impossibility, presence versus emptiness, and search versus satisfaction.

Horizons, by Bruno Cals, May 6-July 31, 1500 Gallery, New York

Exhibition: Richard Neutra in Europe

Austro-American architect Richard Neutra (born 1892 in Vienna, died 1970 in Wuppertal), one of the most important representatives of “classic Modernism”, was best known for his houses in Southern California. His designs combined light metal structures with stucco elements to create light, pervious ensembles, which he embedded with great sensitivity in carefully arranged gardens and landscapes.

For the first time ever architectural projects will be shown that he realized in Europe in his 10 final creative years (1960 – 1970). He created eight villas, four in Switzerland, three in Germany and one in France.

Richard Neutra in Europe: Buildings and projects 1960 – 1970, 8 May – 1 August 2010, at MARTa Herford Museum, Herford, Germany
Photography (top to bottom): Iwan Baan, Karl-Hugo Schmölz, Unknown, Charles E. Young Research Library UCLA, Martin Hesse, and Martin Hesse.