Wright

Milan Day 2: Lunch with Renny of Droog, viewed the new light by Olafur Ellison at Sawaya & Moroni (disappointing) but was surprised by the power of the Liebskind tea service in silver, confused by the launch of Skitch which seems more hype than quality (although they had a great candle design) and was wowed by Maarten Baas’ video installation Real Time. His grandfather clock is the hit of the Salon – a groundbreaking fusion of computer video technology, physical form and wit. Arik Levy opening party Swarovski where he deconstructed the crystal - best part was an interactive video/soundscape which we talked about bringing to Chicago.

Milan Day 3: Salone proper - best booth goes to Kartell - each product juxtaposed with a 3-D photo montage that played off the design. No clear classics, but of interest was Pesce’s latest sofa for Mertitalia in the form of a mountain landscape rendered in photo-realist fabric ala 70s (sounds horrible I know, but it worked). Bouroullec Brothers chair for Vitra was strong. Ron Gilad’s lamps for Flos stood out as a new interpretation of light.



There was nothing else like at all of Euroluce and made me damn proud to be showing the original iteration of the design next week in Chicago. In the satellite section, the School of the Art Institute had a well organized and conceived booth “Objects for the age of Obama” deriving inspiration from five of Obama’s leadership characteristics. Alice Wang had the best conceived booth designing chairs that confront awkward or challenging social situations.

Back in town, Rosana Orlandi gallery/shop/studio of design a more bohemian version of Corso Como brought together dozens of emerging designers, but still her retail space is the best, a grandmother’s attic filled with treasures to explore.

Established & Sons is doing the best work in product development - Matali Crasset’s Open Room #1 is a utilitarian work station that combines scale, color, form and light to form a new completely new aesthetic statement, sublime table-bench-chair by Sam Hecht, his refined rational voice is well-heard in these times and the Flatliner lights by Jason Bruges - the desk lamp is magical (LED light adjusts with your touch). It is a sure hit. Established is simply doing it better than anybody else - and their parties are legendary.

Milan Day 4: Slower day as the fatigue sets in - more satellite events in town - started with a Branzi show where we saw a beautiful stand made from a branch of a tree and silver-plate disks to create a 5 foot stand/sculpture. Very nice, but not tempting at 8000 Euros, but Branzi was there and we were able to meet the maestro. The same gallery organized a Sottsass show exhibiting their collaborations with Ettore during the last 10 years of his life. The work was not his best, but it was exhibited with love in a beautiful old palazzo. Some of these aggressive Italian post-modern works look their best in these beautiful old interiors, the pieces require the historic backdrop to fully express their concepts.

Rosella Colombari is a treasure. She had some fine vintage pieces and had just sold an early bookshelf by Studio Alchimia. She is passionate about the connection of historical Italian design with modern/contemporary. She will be showing for the first time in the Miami Design Basel fair this year with that mix.

Attended the Design Academy Eindhoven display of “Dutchness”. Part of the exhibition juxtaposed old historical works from the national museum with contemporary objects inspired by them created by Scholten & Baijings. The design work from this school displays a superior grasp of materials and their simple expression combined with wry wit. After a week of Italian Style, the quieter Dutch sensibilities look good. All of the work was likable, but the Layers of Time chair by Roland Pieter Smit stood out - it is an interesting form created from layers of recycled paper that wear and reveal themselves like Wirkkala’s plywood platters. Again, looks better than it sounds (fyi, I do have a camera but the shots are bad and I don’t have the time and energy to upload, just taking notes as I move around the city).

Nina Yashar of Nilafur was showing Martino Gamper - table forms made from Gio Ponti laminate furniture from the Parco di Principi hotel. I am a true fan and supporter of the work, but he has used this same material to better effect in the past. I would love to see him create more designs for production. He is truly talented.

Evening party at Fendi Design/Punk - great concept with young designers creating in the space, great party courtesy of Ambra Medda and crew, rather poor design results I’m afraid. I finally got to meet Marcus Fairs of Dezeen and hear his pick of the Salone - Tom Dixon.

Milan - Final thoughts: Overall, the spirit of the fair was surprisingly upbeat. The parties continued and all the events were packed, although everyone commented on the noticeably fewer Americans. It was easier to get a taxi this year. Business was occurring at the Salone – the large trade-fair engine of this whole event. It is important to understand what a tiny segment high-design is within the furniture industry.

For me the top piece of the Salone was Maarten Baas’s Grandfather clock - a brilliant marriage of digital technology, video and wit: a man appears in the slightly blurred face of the clock and draws hours to illustrate the time, he pauses, takes a drink of water or a bite of a sandwich, and then erases and moves the minute hand (or both as needed). The physical expression of the passing of time is oddly meditative and compelling. This conceptual clock doesn’t tell time, it literally illustrates it. The work is design at its most magical and powerful, making us think differently about the physical world around us. Bravo Baas.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Baccarat Holzer lamp stands out – a gaudy confection of crystal luxury imbeded with Holzer’s signature LED aphorisms. I consider Holzer to be a great artist, why she signed on to this project is a mystery, unless it was the subversive quality of the wealthy purchasing a crystal lamp that includes the phrase “private property causes crime.”

The Salone is about new work. The designers are looking to the future and are basically an optimistic bunch. They are grappling with the realities of today, but have not had the time to make their best expressions. The style trends were ones of subtraction – less bling, fewer over-scaled pieces and less applied decorative patterning – all good things.

-Richard Wright

Sales total: $1,523,188
72.5% sold by lot
70.5% sold by value

New auction records were set for Margaret DePatta and Art Smith signaling increased interest in the important mid-century American jewelers. DePatta will be subject of a major retrospective in 2010 at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. I am glad to see this important work receive the recognition it deserves.



Paul Evans also performed above expectations; the top two selling items of the auction were his Faceted cabinet and the Argente cabinet. Overall prices were down from previous peaks, but with 100% of the works selling it is clear that the market interest is solid.

From the De Breuycker fixture to the Sottsass centerpiece and the Gehry rocker, multiple items sold for four or five times their estimates with determined bidders fighting to win. I was impressed by the energy of the audience.

Overall, it is still very much a buyer’s market and there were some great deals throughout the day. A fine Isamu Noguchi Rudder Fin Table sold for $30,000, a very fair price for a great item. The Nelson Marshmallow sofa only brought $9,375 – a deal for a museum-quality piece.

Selling the work, even at lower valuations, is crucial to the health of the market and sends a signal of confidence to our clientele. It was a great start to 2009.

Richard Wright