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Design Miami/ 2016 Highlights: Maison Perrier-Jouët Strand Garden by Andrew Kudless

The Maison Perrier – Jouët Strand Garden by Andrew Kudless  at  Design Miami/ was an oasis of serenity and calm in the midst of the biggest design show in North America.  

Drawing from Perrier-Jouët’s  history with Art Nouveau,  San Francisco based designer Andrew Kudless combined those elements with those involved in the ritual of serving champagne: 

“I was interested in the way that strands, fibers, branches and vines were applied across every aspect of Art Nouveau, from paintings to architecture, says Kudless. “The curving strand motif evokes nature and movement over time. I wanted to look at four of Perrier-Jouët’s emblematic materials – wood, chalk, glass and grapes – and see how I could create strands out of each one.”

The three screens of 8′ curving strands were meant to evoke tree trunks or vines.

The interlocking oak-top benches were meant to evoke the riddling racks and wine wine presses while their concrete legs resemble the chalk that shelters the cellers and nourish the vines.

This table placed in the center of the space was made from bio plastics and was illuminated from within thus evoking the radiant clarity and vibrant personality of Perrier-Jouët wines .

And placed on top of this magnificent table was this extraordinary ice bucket 3D-printed from ground Chardonnay grape skins! Entitled The Perrier-Jouët Marc Metamorphosis, it is a fitting tribute to the freshness, subtlety and sophistication of the Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque cuvée using the cognizant metaphor of the wrinkled raisin.   

So happy I was able to spend some time in Strand Garden!

More images from this wonderful installation courtesy of Perrier-Jouët: 

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Upcoming Event: Design Miami/ 2016 Nov 30 – Dec 4

This year’s edition of Design Miami/ brings the best in design from galleries and exhibitors from across the globe and includes such highlights as:

  • The launch of Building Legacy: Designing for Sustainability, a partnership between Design Miami/ and the United Nations
  • Dean & DeLuca unveil Stage by German architect Ole Scheeren, a new food retail concept
  • Design Miami/ x Maison Kitsuné launch a limited edition mini-capsule collection at this year’s fair
  • Audi presents The Extra Hour by Lego
  • Maison Perrier-Jouët partners with American artist Andrew Kudless to present L’Eden
  • FENDI reaffirms its commitment to design at the fair and presents THE HAPPY ROOM by Cristina Celestino
  • Airbnb presents Sobremesa, a lively exploration of shared space, by Mexico City-based design studio Pedro&Juana
  • Louis Vuitton presents new additions to the Objets Nomades series which have been specially commissioned for Design Miami/
  • COMPAC will present ICE, a collaboration between the leading Spanish surfaces company and renowned artist and designer, Arik Levy
  • CNN Style joining Design Miami/ as the official news outlet of the fair with an on-site newsroom

A definite must-see!  Continue reading “Upcoming Event: Design Miami/ 2016 Nov 30 – Dec 4”

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Design Coolness: GUILD Eyewear

Guild Handcrafted Eyewear is one of my fave design finds for October! Their frames are just what a discerning eyewear connoisseur, like moi, needs to stand out from the rest.

Trying to find frames that stand out and are well-made has been one of my missions ever since I started wearing glasses in college. Over the years, I have only found a handful of frames that meet both criteria, so it’s nice to “discover” a company like GUILD Eyewear that not only has the same aesthetics as I do but also loves eyewear like I do.

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Zaha Hadid Dies At 65

Even as I type these words, I cannot believe that one of the greatest architects in the world, Zaha Hadid, died today at age 65. It seems impossible that this powerful, talented phenomenon of a person can be stilled.

It is also striking to me that one of my most cherished idols, passed away here in South Florida, in Miami, closer in proximity to where I live than I ever would have thought.  After all don’t giants pass from this world in far off places, like Mount Olympus.

This past December, I was invited to celebrate the launch of REVOLUTION PAVILIONS at Design Miami/ –a collection of limited edition pre-crafted home and pavilions designed by 30 of the world’s most acclaimed architects and designers introduced by real estate impresario, Robbie Antonio.

One of the two fully constructed pavilions there at the Design Miami/ was Zaha Hadid‘s curved VOLU Dining Pavilion.

A masterful fusion of lightweight engineering and precision fabrication, this pavilion elevated outside dining to an innovative level I have never seen before. As a born and raised New Yorker, who regularly fronts a wary sangfroid, I was awestruck.

For almost an hour I examined it – I walked around it, I sat around it, I took photos of it, I walked in it and finally sat in it.  Simply out, it is a spectacular structure that I love to own much less dine in.

This was just a tiny example of her work. Fortuitously, a much greater example, will be located here in Miami – the One Thousand Museum luxury residential skyscraper. Got fingers crossed that I will be invited to the preview when it opens in 2018 as I would love to take a closer look at this singular mind of genius that has left us foolish mortals behind.

 

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Met Breuer Opens March 18th

 The Met Breuer media preview took place yesterday and what an amazing preview it was!

Formerly the home of the Whitney, the Met Breuer in New York City is now the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new home for its modern and contemporary art collections.

The Met Breuer’s program spotlights modern and contemporary art in dialogue with historic works that encompass the full range of The Met’s vast collection. The building will host both monographic and thematic exhibitions, as well as new commissions and performances. The two inaugural exhibitions at The Met are Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, a cross-departmental curatorial initiative that brings together works by some of the greatest artists of all time, from Titian to Louise Bourgeois, who experimented with a non finito style; and the largest exhibition to date dedicated to Indian modernist Nasreen Mohamedi. Additionally, a music installation by Artist in Residence Vijay Iyer will activate The Met Breuer’s Tony and Amie James Gallery in the lobby  throughout March.

For those who could not be there in person, there was the Facebook Live live broadcasting a first look at the building and a walk through of the Nasreen Mohammedi (1937-1990) exhibition with Sheena Wagstaff, Leonard A. Lauder Chairman, Department of Modern & Contemporary Art and Brinda Kumar, who helped curate the show.

The Inaugural Season features:

  • Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, major thematic survey featuring unfinished works of art from the Renaissance to the present day;
  • Monographic exhibition of Indian modernist artist Nasreen Mohamedi;
  • Continuous in-gallery performances by Artist in Residence Vijay Iyer (through March 31, 2016), a newly commissioned sonic experience by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams, and an all-day performance in The Met’s three locations of the U.S. premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen‘s composition KLANG;
  • Forthcoming exhibitions in 2016 season include rarely seen, early photographs by Diane Arbus (opening July 2016);
  • Mid-career retrospective of the contemporary painter Kerry James Marshall (opening October 2016), with a complementary “artist’s choice” installation of works from The Met collection;
  • Inhabiting Marcel Breuer’s Architecture, an exhibition of newly commissioned architectural photographs of four iconic Marcel Breuer-designed buildings (opening November 2016)

I will be sure to be visiting there soon!

More about the Met Breuer Inaugural Season here… Continue reading “Met Breuer Opens March 18th”