<i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Richard Artschwager! @ Hammer </span></span></b></i><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"Part of his cachet was that no one quite knew what to do with him, this artist who made furniture like sculptures covered with wood-grain Formica and paintings that appeared to be done with smudged soot. People called him an enigma so often that the word stuck to him like a middle name. </i></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/arts/design/richard-artschwager-at-whitney-museum.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">(here)</a></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b></b></i></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqE9vnjRWz518xfW__4sYOenx5xQisBVZ6MDMc0WB38B6vpbJltRgY77XYr9HQH8xMNOzySLwTnSwtJLJOHK12B1rhfq9onLMgKypdjDyfwZiFHx8fJdX7LVwrQll0xa31AvlVXU4zB787/s1600/24.+Description+of+Table+1964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqE9vnjRWz518xfW__4sYOenx5xQisBVZ6MDMc0WB38B6vpbJltRgY77XYr9HQH8xMNOzySLwTnSwtJLJOHK12B1rhfq9onLMgKypdjDyfwZiFHx8fJdX7LVwrQll0xa31AvlVXU4zB787/s1600/24.+Description+of+Table+1964.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">//// </span></span></b></i></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Richard Artschwager! </b></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://hammer.ucla.edu/"><i>On view June 15 – September 2, 2013 @ Hammer Museum </i></a></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="font-size: small;"><i>When I was 39, it became clear to me that I wasn’t going to live forever. As a teenager, you can opt for absolute silence; you can have a radio and play it loud so that it drowns out any thoughts about what you did wrong yesterday. And then in your twenties you can accept that last year was a wasted year. But suddenly in your thirties you can’t afford to do that any more. My thirties meant working with a lot of people, seven days a week, trying to make a damn living, which I was always bad at. And what did I get out of it? I sharpened up my Spanish. Nevertheless, these were valuable times. These were the people I lived with: I got to know them and their families - you could say that we ‘broke bread’ together. The impact that this had on my art was that I began to look at everything with greater awareness. The net got cast wider: <span style="font-size: large;"><b>suddenly everything mattered.</b></span> It might seem banal now but for me it was a life-and-death situation - a B+ epiphany at least! <a href="http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/how_things_get_done/">(Taken from interview here)</a></i></span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/detail/exhibition_id/224"><i><b>"Los Angeles—Richard Artschwager!, the most comprehensive retrospective to date of the artist’s work, opens at the Hammer Museum Saturday, June 15, 2013</b></i></a>. The exhibition is organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in association with the Yale University Art Gallery, and curated by Jennifer Gross, Seymour H. Knox, Jr. Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, Yale University Art Gallery. The Hammer’s presentation is organized by senior curator Anne Ellegood. Following the presentation of Richard Artschwager! at the Hammer Museum, the exhibition will travel to the Haus der Kunst, Munich and the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco. Richard Artschwager! features over 145 works spanning six decades, including sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, and prints. Often associated with Pop, Minimalism, and Conceptual art, his work never fit neatly into any of these categories. His artistic practice consistently explored questions regarding his own visual and physical engagement with the world; his objects straddle the line between illusion and reality. The exhibition reveals the artist’s prescience in his career-long commitment to exploring the profound effect photography and technology have had in transforming our engagement with the world. His work has responded to and challenged how these media—and our experience of things as images rather than as things in themselves—have shifted human experience from being rooted in primary physical experience to a knowledge mediated by secondary sources such as newspapers, television, and the Internet."<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">------------------ </div><br /> Richard Artschwager! @ Hammer "Part of his cachet was that no one quite knew what to do with him, this artist who made furniture li... Read more » 11:54 AM
<i>"A tout à l'heure: </i><i><i>chasing the light in reverse</i>"</i><br /><i><span style="color: #666666;">vs</span> </i><br /><i>"a voided sense of home: the large-scale sculptures render negative space into solid form, and the prosaic into something fantastically disquieting."</i><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qMKffQUc-Qx64XdIoi6NieDwQ5C6-p4tMdNqt5kpVQU0IInTNXfoF5IWaokmeQSKvB6jFYLzmi2xbNnhaw-RDeNE48NPcWIPhHe7Uh9QbCgYmuqLFBhwCnq2XsNvJ6yDqOiLbDRUC0he/s1600/46554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qMKffQUc-Qx64XdIoi6NieDwQ5C6-p4tMdNqt5kpVQU0IInTNXfoF5IWaokmeQSKvB6jFYLzmi2xbNnhaw-RDeNE48NPcWIPhHe7Uh9QbCgYmuqLFBhwCnq2XsNvJ6yDqOiLbDRUC0he/s640/46554.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJafhQdXwoAZEUTedDgwuOdoVJEQ6mu-qYziVdq3JhubnOJ3wlXFgDDWjIgw78Qr1KAO9yZhPqTW6mJP23LDd9nZ54qssvQ407JcZcuCSn6KfltEcifiBVlMd2Lo_gkh_YaAjUYkWXAltL/s1600/73c5ae5241ddf8003d9f8d081ef864c7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJafhQdXwoAZEUTedDgwuOdoVJEQ6mu-qYziVdq3JhubnOJ3wlXFgDDWjIgw78Qr1KAO9yZhPqTW6mJP23LDd9nZ54qssvQ407JcZcuCSn6KfltEcifiBVlMd2Lo_gkh_YaAjUYkWXAltL/s640/73c5ae5241ddf8003d9f8d081ef864c7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><i>"Counting threes, counting fives </i><br /><i>See the beaucoup view and the merry go rounding </i><br /><i>Spin your arms, spin your eyes </i><br /><i>êtes vous ma fleuri, ever carefully breezing" <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XofNbkTkuP8">(bibio) </a></i><br /><br /><br /><i>1. There are moments that crystallize before you if you are still long enough. Forms and shapes begin to shift in front of your eyes; if you only take the time to reach into space, into a void, and create, to touch emptiness, you'll see. In a few weeks, I'll be off to New York for work to style the interiors for the winter catalogs for a company, (we'll be shooting in the home above.) It's a project that I've worked on for the past year, and it has informed my interiors work in countless ways, allowing me to see space, and rooms in a very different way. If you are in New York, reach out! Hopefully I'll be jumping on the train to visit new friends in upstate New York including <a href="http://www.fernnyc.com/">Fern's new store, and others. Drop me a line.</a> In addition, our company, <a href="http://discinteriors.com/DISC/HOME.html">DISC Interiors</a>, has projects that are soon to be photographed, including a project we are working on for this year's Dwell on Design that will be open to the public June 21-23 at the LA Convention Center, and a wine tasting room up in Northern California, near Russian River. More to come. - David John </i><br /><br />2. "Rachel Whiteread’s sculpture is predicated on casting procedures, and the traces left on the sacrificial objects and spaces from which the final inverse form is derived. She casts from everyday objects as well as from the space beneath or around furniture and architecture, using single materials such as rubber, dental plaster, and resin to record every nuance. <i>Detached 1</i>, <i>Detached 2</i>, and <i>Detached 3</i> (2012) render the empty interior of a garden shed in concrete and steel. Cast from generic wooden sheds, the large-scale sculptures render negative space into solid form, and the prosaic into something fantastically disquieting. The sheds recall the monolithic architectural and site-specific works for which Whiteread first became renowned, such as <i>Ghost </i>(1990) and <i>House </i>(1993) and, most recently, the imposing concrete sculpture <i>Boathouse </i>(2010), installed on the water’s edge in the remote Nordic landscape of Røykenviken." <a href="http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/rachel-whiteread--april-11-2013">via Gagosian</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/rachel-whiteread--april-11-2013"><i>via Gagosian </i></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>---------------- </i></div> "A tout à l'heure: chasing the light in reverse " vs "a voided sense of home: the large-scale sculptures render negativ... Read more » 10:55 AM
<i><b> Speed or Armor, </b>2013 <a href="http://paddle8.com/work/jason-koharik/16632-speed-or-armor">(Jason Koharik)</a></i><br /><br /><i>"Look around, look inside, look under the stones in the river </i><br /><i> See a life turned clean, Skim a stone, throw a bone, watch it float downstream </i><br /><i>and dissolving. Dye the water green" <a href="http://mrbibio.tumblr.com/post/50438691485/dye-the-water-green">(new Bibio)</a></i><br /><br /><i> </i> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8B72vd0e2Gh7OOQ7eRnuWeo114NoS-U_rFGKby4S97ATJDSzkfvfPBAbyiNmhAUDNRSba_SpP5GqjpqOIn7_fMBdrx6yoBO9PzJm_jrw4sNr7hxiUNNHP01ub_azJkaiat9aAeLRd23xL/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8B72vd0e2Gh7OOQ7eRnuWeo114NoS-U_rFGKby4S97ATJDSzkfvfPBAbyiNmhAUDNRSba_SpP5GqjpqOIn7_fMBdrx6yoBO9PzJm_jrw4sNr7hxiUNNHP01ub_azJkaiat9aAeLRd23xL/s640/DSC_0007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwd8qYBVEzo-L38zeJyrMdhFsg2b6SmBxpXcI_U1qUYq0loovNlRlUhPtZMsSozVXfEKpGH0Axb9pHwF1w5KaQbZsUZQMNNyfFzzLXhEDoKRVcRiKXfYEKNb4Hb19o3pduL6BsyZKwU_0q/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="617" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwd8qYBVEzo-L38zeJyrMdhFsg2b6SmBxpXcI_U1qUYq0loovNlRlUhPtZMsSozVXfEKpGH0Axb9pHwF1w5KaQbZsUZQMNNyfFzzLXhEDoKRVcRiKXfYEKNb4Hb19o3pduL6BsyZKwU_0q/s640/DSC_0010.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><i><b>May 21, 2013 7-10 pm. </b></i><br /><a href="http://www.welcometolace.org/events/view/happening-2013-lace-benefit-art-auction/"><i><b>LACE Benefit Auction </b></i></a><br /><br /><i>Jason Koharik of Collectedby has<a href="http://paddle8.com/work/jason-koharik/16632-speed-or-armor"> a new work</a> that is part of the upcoming Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition's annual fundraising auction. So many amazing artists to bid on for this year's auction at LACE. </i><br /><br /><br />"I am, I suppose, self taught on much of what I do, (metal working, weaving, leather work, sewing, electrical, wood working), mostly out of necessity. I don't know how else to get it done. So I mess up 5 times or so before I get it right! I learn so much this way. You just have to keep trying, which is really hard sometimes. I have found mentors along the way. I met a master wood worker, an artist really. I evolve every time I visit his shop or we work on a design together. An upholsterer I can only describe as an angel. Not only because of the quality of his work, but mostly for his appreciation of life. Creating and learning new ways to create is something I am very passionate for." -<i> Jason Koharik</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><a href="http://youhavebeenheresometime.blogspot.com/2012/02/conversation-with-jason-koharik.html"><i>Read a past conversation with Jason Koharik here. </i></a><br /><br /><br /><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibtions</b></span></i><br /><br /><i>"LACE with HAPPENING 2013 Host Committee chair and LACE Board Member Kathie Foley-Meyer and Master of Ceremonies Mario Ybarra, Jr. are pleased to announce HAPPENING 2013: The LACE Benefit Art Auction, our most festive celebration of the year. Taking place Tuesday, 21 May 2013 at LACE in Hollywood, this signature event will honor the groundbreaking artists who put LACE on the cultural map of Los Angeles and continue to command our attention in the contemporary art world. Get ready to raise your paddle to bid on 100+ works by established and emerging artists including Laylah Ali, Tad Beck, Barnaby Furnas, Liz Glynn, Piero Golia, Mike Kelley, Sharon Lockhart, Meleko Mokgosi, Raymond Pettibon, Sterling Ruby, Frances Stark, Henry Taylor, Liat Yossifor, Lisa Williamson and many more. Board President William Moreno comments, "With the enthusiastic and generous support of each of our donors and members, LACE remains the dynamic platform artists and curators require to create daring, leading-edge work for the public. Their contributions are truly appreciated and valued." </i><br /><br /><i><a href="http://www.welcometolace.org/events/view/happening-2013-lace-benefit-art-auction/">more about LACE here. </a> </i><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;">=====</span></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> Speed or Armor, 2013 (Jason Koharik) "Look around, look inside, look under the stones in the river See a life turned clean, Skim a... Read more » 8:05 AM
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">A Conversation <span style="font-size: large;">on </span>Serge Mouille with Dan Tolson of LAMA</span></i></b></span><br /><br /><i>"He didn’t sign any of his lights. Few if any designers during this period signed their work. The concept of the superstar designer is a relatively recent one. I never met Mouille; however, from friends who knew him, <b>I understand that he was a very modest man, with no interest in fame or celebrity. "</b></i><span style="color: #666666;"> <i>- <span style="color: #999999;">Dan Tolson, Director of 20th Century Decorative Art & Design</span></i></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u2xiHYHG4NnC-ZItKJCJTnupAOdPHdPlnZ0paWqFDN7G43rMVoxbq6saarh5ZfOMpdHb0P8VZ01Lz9fN5QOGPjpdrsOdK9koOaTSFx_kNI9P2E8x91ECB_oD10ouZQHmjrZJ113NNRaY/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u2xiHYHG4NnC-ZItKJCJTnupAOdPHdPlnZ0paWqFDN7G43rMVoxbq6saarh5ZfOMpdHb0P8VZ01Lz9fN5QOGPjpdrsOdK9koOaTSFx_kNI9P2E8x91ECB_oD10ouZQHmjrZJ113NNRaY/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+2a.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><i></i><br /><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfdnKYcAApL4VL79FNpF4HjBzw_4p3pfYRvQAGj7hLugPW3DYPEFgYEZT6aFqYM_N93qw8o2g-KFU5xLqRB9jznjTY7W_NW9rqhIsAmkRR73j-C0Uvb1Z_s-VWPvPyHKtPjiKVOeDYQ3v/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfdnKYcAApL4VL79FNpF4HjBzw_4p3pfYRvQAGj7hLugPW3DYPEFgYEZT6aFqYM_N93qw8o2g-KFU5xLqRB9jznjTY7W_NW9rqhIsAmkRR73j-C0Uvb1Z_s-VWPvPyHKtPjiKVOeDYQ3v/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://laurejoliet.com/"><i>all photography by Laure Joliet</i></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> <i> </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Over the past 15 years of selling Mouille lighting I have found that no two lamps are identical," Dan Tolson explained to me last week when he</i><i> showed me the <a href="https://www.lamodern.com/auctions-2013/auctions/?auctionID=42&view=AuctionLotSearch&searchLotsInAuction=serge">5 lots (120-124) of Serge Mouille lighting </a>that are included in the upcoming May 19th auction at<a href="https://www.lamodern.com/"><b> Los Angeles Modern Auctions.</b></a> "I cannot think of any other designer during this period that explores these qualities of modernity and handcraft with such perfection, other than perhaps George Nakashima." Included in the Mouille lots at LAMA is one of the rare Dior Ceiling lamp executed in 1960, used for the Dior employee health clinic. Not much is truly known of this rare collaboration with the Dior fashion house, but these are rare indeed, and worth seeing in person! The Mouille silhouette is instantly recognizable, and he has heavily influenced a current generation of lighting designers pushing light, shadow, and form. Oh- Mouille! </i><br /><br /><i>Dan Tolson is still relatively new to Los Angeles, and admits to having part of his personal collection still in boxes. In 2012, Dan Tolson joined Los Angeles Modern Auctions as Director of 20th Century Decorative Art & Design. Previously Dan Tolson worked with Christie's in London as Associate Director of 20th Century Decorative Art & Design for 9 years. Thank you Dan for this conversation about the works of Serge Mouille. See you May 19th at LAMA for the Auction. <span style="color: #999999;">- David John</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><br /><i><b>David John: Why do you think the Serge Mouille market has increased over the past 10 years?</b></i> <br /><br /><i>Dan Tolson:</i> Mouille designs are so instantly recognizable, iconic even. Unlike the works of some Italian designers where the stylistic differences can seem less defined between manufacturers, with more reliance on color accents and a variety of materials, Mouille's works stand out immediately with strong silhouettes and a bold monochrome palette. When I first began selling Mouille lamps in the late 1990s, the modern design market was still very underdeveloped, with very few reference books available to help underpin the market. As a result, buyers at this time bought with their hearts rather than their heads, judging the designs on the merits of their unique aesthetic qualities and functionality. Right from the early days I have always found the market for Mouille designs to be one of the most consistent and stable growth areas. Over the past 5 to 7 years, with the increase in the amount of reference material and overall awareness of design and a diminishing supply of examples on the market, I have witnessed a steep increase in auction prices. I do not see a change in this trend for the foreseeable future. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhb2cY6UD_r8M0_IGomN2cEnBeAIb1E0rO2GnSJ40px7ixD5ppxp2KZZAEZQ9-kpPk3cDRBaTC05WmDx_aMl3s5dSPOJ16s6Uk-g-PYsMuvrsVW6gWAnoyQoNTsu8VJIeW3tuQGOezDfpP/s1600/IMG_8121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhb2cY6UD_r8M0_IGomN2cEnBeAIb1E0rO2GnSJ40px7ixD5ppxp2KZZAEZQ9-kpPk3cDRBaTC05WmDx_aMl3s5dSPOJ16s6Uk-g-PYsMuvrsVW6gWAnoyQoNTsu8VJIeW3tuQGOezDfpP/s1600/IMG_8121.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jeThB1FOatiWUWIf8nn1ilFjIt37Oxk2qj5b_MxojARH6D4eV3z0IQsER-oYP8uAYtrHJoJoJnKEcMMrLcoeppEFwfcRQzSaVC1IbmQGDvCqWwbwwNY5glbvHlybQV4bkY-9rYCKZgeD/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jeThB1FOatiWUWIf8nn1ilFjIt37Oxk2qj5b_MxojARH6D4eV3z0IQsER-oYP8uAYtrHJoJoJnKEcMMrLcoeppEFwfcRQzSaVC1IbmQGDvCqWwbwwNY5glbvHlybQV4bkY-9rYCKZgeD/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+5.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Serge Mouille : Rare Dior Ceiling Lamp. Est. $30-40,000<br />Designed and executed 1960 Enameled aluminum, steel rod, brass collar Atelier Serge Mouille </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> Conceived for use in the health clinic, Atelier Christian Dior, Paris, 1960 Provenance: </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Atelier Christian Dior, Paris; </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />David John: <i><b>Explain the Christian Dior and Serge Mouille connection? </b></i><br /><br />Dan Tolson: Mouille would always refuse to bend to pressure from clients to make custom adaptations to his designs – he considered them perfect as they were. The only two clients that were highly regarded enough to influence his designs were the designer Louis Sognot, and the fashion house Christian Dior. The former succeeded in persuading Mouille to produce custom versions of his design with white enamel paint, as opposed to the available black enamel finish of standard production. The Atelier Christian Dior succeeded in commissioning Mouille to produce a unique ceiling lamp design for use in their employee health clinic. It seems fitting that Serge Mouille would conceive this bespoke design for Atelier Christian Dior. Dior originally dreamt of becoming an architect, and both designers were to introduce a revolutionary design ethos to their chosen media, each creating a “New Look” based on bold, simple lines, a strong silhouette, and a focus on functionality.<br /><br />While the elements of this design – the narrow steel rod arms and domed shades – are characteristic of standard Mouille works, the configuration of the elements with their vertical elongated wishbone form is entirely different from any other Mouille design, which are usually configured horizontally in order to spread light as far as possible across a ceiling. Very little is known of Dior’s involvement and collaboration with Mouille over this design; however, it appears that the fashion house required a lamp that would function from a high ceiling where a long vertical reach was required, and as no other Mouille designs existed that fulfilled this criteria, this particular variant was designed for this purpose.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOIHWXwS2EUR7Ai9m6NhK-5VqkX4eU-NSA7vtg2HXZcTlilwrFKGaLYKkzehBb5RUU_1VFzrU-tIIsi5aAfjDEEGrMXUJPtRs5Svbt1YlGz1qNiQPSmki8CSfDilMhgmCLMjH6_mlq6l5/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOIHWXwS2EUR7Ai9m6NhK-5VqkX4eU-NSA7vtg2HXZcTlilwrFKGaLYKkzehBb5RUU_1VFzrU-tIIsi5aAfjDEEGrMXUJPtRs5Svbt1YlGz1qNiQPSmki8CSfDilMhgmCLMjH6_mlq6l5/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+12.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaiskaDIqCBnozZ6fZAydhH-ELThrtlnSdYIoVNjjd7kAZ0SSN5RjINLg8pYH-21w0hrBaEBU0zev1-sWPN-xF5NkCpz-9dFOx4ucBb1DMbpAKTw5d27a16cPTpH4rgEf73Ry5HkXtZOLe/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaiskaDIqCBnozZ6fZAydhH-ELThrtlnSdYIoVNjjd7kAZ0SSN5RjINLg8pYH-21w0hrBaEBU0zev1-sWPN-xF5NkCpz-9dFOx4ucBb1DMbpAKTw5d27a16cPTpH4rgEf73Ry5HkXtZOLe/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+6.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXe7iqUjTqhMk9SAegoqa9ciQXMXejWMSMyass9uNMd0f-yAcWRKwIdaDG-X6o-qKz8GWZzqmntkmpBU4x7Pb_tgQ4XoKsS_mUu7s-boLWeufjHA8XjPkMr9S2XHwaIIzmcGUsfG40spsN/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXe7iqUjTqhMk9SAegoqa9ciQXMXejWMSMyass9uNMd0f-yAcWRKwIdaDG-X6o-qKz8GWZzqmntkmpBU4x7Pb_tgQ4XoKsS_mUu7s-boLWeufjHA8XjPkMr9S2XHwaIIzmcGUsfG40spsN/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+7.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;"><i>Detail of Serge Mouille: Suspension a Trois Bras Pivotants <br />Designed 1958, executed before 1964 Enameled aluminum, steel rod, brass collar</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br />DJ: <i><b>Approximately how many lamps did Serge create? Did he create all of these works by hand, or did he employ people to produce his designs? </b></i><br /><br />DT: It is impossible to say how many were produced; however, they were only produced for approximately 10 years, from 1953 to 1963. Also during this period the lamps were produced in the designer’s own studio: they were not outsourced or mass-produced in factory. While it is impossible to speculate on the quantities, over the past 15 years I have seen some of the larger ceiling lamps such as the Suspension à Trois Bras Pivotants reappear at auction, which leads me to believe that only a limited number were produced. The more common designs – if "common" is an appropriate term – such as the standard Saturne appliqués have come onto the market in far more frequently. During the early 2000s, I sold many Antony wall appliqués, which led me to assume that they were common; however, since then very few have appeared on the market, this assumption was proved incorrect. Some of the more rare models are the Dior ceiling lamps. It is thought that only approximately 10 of the Dior ceiling lamps were ever created, and of these I am only aware of six having come onto the market (including the example we have coming up for sale on May 19th). I would be thrilled to discover the remaining 4.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>DJ: Did he sign his lighting? </b></i><br /><br />DT: He didn’t sign any of his lights. Few if any designers during this period signed their work. The concept of the superstar designer is a relatively recent one. I never met Mouille; however, from friends who knew him, I understand that he was a very modest man, with no interest in fame or celebrity.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>DJ: Why did he stop creating lighting in the 1960s? What was his last collection?</b></i> <br /><br />DT: Ironically it was partly as a result of the phenomenal success of his designs that he decided to cease all production. With success came an increase in demand and the number of orders that Mouille was expected to fulfill. At this point it became clear to Mouille that he would not be able to keep up with demand from his studio alone and would need to adapt the designs for mass production. His refusal to compromise on the handmade quality of the product ultimately led him to retreat from the business. His last collection was knows as Les Colonnes. This series was a completely new direction for the designer. The designs consisted of elongated tubular or square section columns of aluminum that he perforated with horizontal cuts in order to transmit light. The series was not created with commercial success in mind; rather, it represented a personal desire to continue experimentation in lighting designs. As a result, these are the rarest of Mouille designs, and in some cases only single examples were ever produced. In addition to this, Mouille had been suffering from tuberculosis for a number of years and finally underwent intensive treatment. Following treatment, he returned to his teaching post at the École des Arts Appliqués.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>DJ: Are his silversmith works collectible, and do they show up on the auction market often? </b></i><br /><br />DT: He was an apprentice under Parisian silversmith Gabriel Lacroix. To my knowledge, none of his works of silver have come onto the market. Perhaps this is due to the fact that many of these pieces were produced before he was well-known, and so may still be sitting in family collections. While it is pure speculation, I also imagine that these early apprentice pieces probably had a strong Art Deco appearance, which would have been the prevalent style of the early period of Mouille's career, and would not look like the work of a modernist at all.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55UxRRvkzpMynaRWb6sGMUEDYYUyadwLrfDv7STfuPPltuK3HFJHMAY0fnh9qWON4ZUe4jjLC61oqqVSS1w_theQj8wvNK30iErAndjBnPIP6nz1SrB9m7Kg9-ndru9Mjg88JzFpyu5Wp/s1600/IMG_8061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55UxRRvkzpMynaRWb6sGMUEDYYUyadwLrfDv7STfuPPltuK3HFJHMAY0fnh9qWON4ZUe4jjLC61oqqVSS1w_theQj8wvNK30iErAndjBnPIP6nz1SrB9m7Kg9-ndru9Mjg88JzFpyu5Wp/s640/IMG_8061.jpg" width="593" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>" I love the handmade feel of Mouille’s lighting. The small idiosyncrasies of production, the aged patination to the brass ball-and-socket joints, the yellowing of the reflective white interior paint: I do not find these qualities in the lighting design of any other designer anywhere in the world during this period. I love the contrast between the low-tech handcrafted quality of the studio production and the bold futuristic and anthropomorphic quality of the forms." <b> </b>-<span style="color: #999999;"> Dan Tolson</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></i></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51YbE5sTwj8Z-I3z6AfGJq_zmQxHwWDHeHaadF3OHVNgUoPhB3-jP2iYSSBbGZhG6Uf3p4p2Rhg_AQkbExQYZkQFmN7e_vIFYYnvoYVdrBgMtKWhKlrJgUl7pnwh8TLj7JPq29cTyQelJ/s1600/IMG_8170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51YbE5sTwj8Z-I3z6AfGJq_zmQxHwWDHeHaadF3OHVNgUoPhB3-jP2iYSSBbGZhG6Uf3p4p2Rhg_AQkbExQYZkQFmN7e_vIFYYnvoYVdrBgMtKWhKlrJgUl7pnwh8TLj7JPq29cTyQelJ/s640/IMG_8170.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeB7uiLL0zLmFbxtnCZ_nojSpmgItcQA9CPAKO_fQLWr6swe-1lshRiPqa-mtaJ-361DPlY2u8PzYSoPMmEZ3I9ztTUvUIMW5loGM8Oe6CPZ2PYLmd3IGr_2mxKCtpz6bPbVaekLXXMvB/s1600/IMG_8176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeB7uiLL0zLmFbxtnCZ_nojSpmgItcQA9CPAKO_fQLWr6swe-1lshRiPqa-mtaJ-361DPlY2u8PzYSoPMmEZ3I9ztTUvUIMW5loGM8Oe6CPZ2PYLmd3IGr_2mxKCtpz6bPbVaekLXXMvB/s640/IMG_8176.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;"><i>"...the original reflective white paint to the interior of the shades ages beautifully to an attractive grayish yellow, which is partly due to the natural aging process of the paint and partly as a result of exposure to heat from the electric bulb over many decades of use."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><i><b>DJ: How does licensing (for example, <a href="http://www.dwr.com/product/serge-mouille-floor-lamp-3-arms.do">Design Within Reach)</a> affect the value of his original works? </b><b>Who is making the new licensed work? </b></i><br /><br />DT: The officially licensed reproductions are made in France by Serge’s widow, Gin Mouille. This has not had a detrimental affect on the value of the vintage originals, mainly as a result of the fact that only a limited number of the original works were ever produced. Additionally, while the official reproductions are well made, they differ greatly from the vintage originals. For example, the brass ball-and-socket joints on the reproductions have lathe marks on them, whereas the originals were burnished to a smooth finish by hand. In addition, the paints that were used during the 1950s and early 1960s are very different to those used today. They remain very difficult to replicate and age very differently from one another. This may sound trivial; however, it makes a huge difference to the overall appearance of the lamps. One of the key visible differences with the paint is that the original reflective white paint to the interior of the shades ages beautifully to an attractive grayish yellow, which is partly due to the natural aging process of the paint and partly as a result of exposure to heat from the electric bulb over many decades of use. I find the brilliant white paint of the reproductions jarring, lacking the subtlety and mellow beauty of the originals. Another distinction I cherish in the original lamps is the subtle physical differences you find in each example. Over the past 15 years of selling Mouille lighting I have found that no two lamps are identical. Due to the fact that they were handmade, there are always small, sometimes barely perceptible differences. You find this particularly when looking at the shades, where there can be very slight differences in the cut and shape. For example, cut marks can often still be seen on the edges of a shade, where the shade was cut by hand from a single sheet of aluminum. I’ve also found the shade of the Simple floor lamp to have been produced in two forms, with one example of a more exaggerated elliptical form. These small idiosyncrasies of the original studio examples are lacking in the uniformity of the reproductions. This was Mouille's main motivation for selecting brass for these elements of the lamps. Another aspect I adore of the original table and wall lamps is their standard utilitarian white plastic on/off switches. Again, these age beautifully from brilliant white to a mellow ivory shade after 50+ years of use. The on/off switches on the reproductions are produced from brass, which I feel takes away from their original utilitarian modernist spirit. <br /><br /><br /><br /><b><i>DJ: Have there ever been any Serge Mouille exhibitions organized? </i></b><br /><br />DT: There was one key exhibition in New York by 20th century decorative arts dealer Anthony DeLorenzo. “Jean Prouvé / Serge Mouille: Two Master Metalworkers” took place in 1985, just 3 years before Mouille passed away. The show was held in conjunction with Serge Mouille and the leading champions in the reassessment of his work, Alain and Christine Conourd.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>DJ: Did Jacques Adnet and Serge Mouille collaborate? What is the connection? Did they ever create works together? </b></i><br /><br />DT: Jacques Adnet never collaborated with Mouille. Adnet's role in Mouille’s success was his suggestion that Mouille create a collection of lighting designs as a response to what Adnet saw as an unwelcome invasion of Italian lighting designs on the French market. Adnet came from the previous generation of great French designers, during a period when French design arguably led the world. The disruption during World War II caused France to loose this momentum, and it was overtaken by design from Italy, Scandinavia, and America. One of Adnet’s main strengths was lighting design, though by 1950 his brand of luxurious modernism was beginning to look dated. I think Adnet realized this, saw in Mouille the possibilities for a new direction, and felt that it was time for a new generation of French lighting design.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>DJ: How was Serge's work received early in his career? Was his lighting expensive at the time? </b></i><br /><br />DT: While I do not know how much the lights would have cost during the 1950s, considering the labor-intensive nature of their production, I imagine that they were priced moderately. They would not have been priced as luxury items such as the works of his predecessors, including Jacques Adnet, Maison Desny, Jacques Le Chevallier, or Edgar Brandt. If they were luxury items, then it seems doubtful that public institutions such as the Cité Universitaire d'Antony, University of Strasbourg, and Aix-Marseille University would ever have placed orders.<br /><br /><br /><i>DJ: <b>Are there many Mouille fakes circulating on the market? What are the indicators of an authentic work? </b></i><br /><br />DT: As soon as the work of any designer begins to achieve high prices at auction, there will be somebody who sets out to emulate the designer’s work. I have only been aware of Mouille fakes over the past 6-8 years. Some are better than others, but they are all obviously imposters. Thankfully it is the small idiosyncrasies of the originals that I have already touched on which separate the real thing from the fraudulent examples. Having seen dozens of genuine and fake examples over the years, one develops the eye to determine the difference between the two. I am always happy to review examples on behalf of clients, as it can be difficult for the untrained eye to tell the difference.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybmJ0PNa6ugi9X1k8NZB1AFoe3bqBfitkS7Lx0-X3Bt5P-GjqidT-R5ZxIQiZ6h1K7herXzIqGQiwPIZ0Gi0CsQ1zQcAEMpDEOSTlHj3Hoq8F8zVRFTKzzrRwZrB_u33YqwiYpzT4Hu5Y/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybmJ0PNa6ugi9X1k8NZB1AFoe3bqBfitkS7Lx0-X3Bt5P-GjqidT-R5ZxIQiZ6h1K7herXzIqGQiwPIZ0Gi0CsQ1zQcAEMpDEOSTlHj3Hoq8F8zVRFTKzzrRwZrB_u33YqwiYpzT4Hu5Y/s640/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;"><i>Saturne Wall Appliques (3) Designed 1957, </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;"><i>executed before 1964, Enameled aluminum, steel rod, brass collar Atelier Serge Mouille </i></span></div><br /><br /><br /><i><b>DJ: Why did Florence Knoll reject their collaboration? </b></i><br /><br />DT: Very little is known of this. It may have been the result of a difference of opinion in the nature of the design’s manufacture. Purely speculation on my part, but I imagine that Knoll Associates were interested in adapting the designs for mass production, which is something that I do not believe Mouille would have ever considered. In the end they failed to find a compromise.<br /><br /><br /><i>DJ:<b> What personally excites you about the works of Serge Mouille? </b></i><br /><br />DT: I love the handmade feel of Mouille’s lighting. The small idiosyncrasies of production, the aged patination to the brass ball-and-socket joints, the yellowing of the reflective white interior paint: I do not find these qualities in the lighting design of any other designer anywhere in the world during this period. I love the contrast between the low-tech handcrafted quality of the studio production and the bold futuristic and anthropomorphic quality of the forms. I cannot think of any other designer during this period that explores these qualities of modernity and handcraft with such perfection, other than perhaps George Nakashima.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P6SvAF6x5R-grHn9GTfE0DMwGz-WMBbf_r0ufCqF1DpDTcuNyFlrC_TkghGDvaKkGK5TpZqg4pQBPh0Hlh5SGH9snzeVL58PXqIFUpyiK5L7A53D7ip7ztaVsXD9cWjXTn0l2rdDoIa6/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P6SvAF6x5R-grHn9GTfE0DMwGz-WMBbf_r0ufCqF1DpDTcuNyFlrC_TkghGDvaKkGK5TpZqg4pQBPh0Hlh5SGH9snzeVL58PXqIFUpyiK5L7A53D7ip7ztaVsXD9cWjXTn0l2rdDoIa6/s1600/Serge+Mouille+Lighting+Laure+Joliet+for+YHBHS+You+Have+Been+Here+Sometime+LAMA+Auction+Decorative+Arts+Dan+Tolson+Christies+Phillips+Modern+9.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.lamodern.com/"><i><b> Los Angeles Modern Auctions</b></i></a></span><br /><br /><i>"Founded in 1992 by Peter Loughrey, Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) is the first auction house to specialize in selling 20th century Modern Art & Design. LAMA holds four auctions a year, plus occasional exhibits that are open to the public. From the casual buyer to the most dedicated collector, LAMA auctions offer quality, vetted modern material in every price range, including paintings, prints, furniture, and decorative objects." </i><br /><br /><br /><br /><i><a href="http://laurejoliet.com/">Thank you to Laure Joliet for the beautiful photographs!</a> </i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>-------------------- </i></div> A Conversation on Serge Mouille with Dan Tolson of LAMA "He didn’t sign any of his lights. Few if any designers during this period sig... Read more » 11:38 PM
<i><span style="font-size: large;">A <span style="font-size: large;">C</span>onversation on the <span style="font-size: large;">W</span>orks of Axel Einar Hjorth </span></i><br /><br /><i>"The really interesting is the furniture in pine, created from 1929 and onwards, which mixes <b>aesthetic from peasant handicraft with international modernism in a deep personal way. </b> The “tastemakers” or the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design ignored him totally both at the time and later." - Thomas Ekström</i><br /><br /><i> "So this “the other side” has always interested us, as we in a country informed by conformity." </i><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-8CqEpeqgcFxb-gQQqtlK-46hCmS0kqzHMpRvSIhpv_5I8oPpL20WHkJ7kV68rYgAJtmju19XjXEqGifGzUvSxru3AV4FMLBIAA0fu4DMZ-3ZD9GA29nF_uX_wHaJxCmhK2yDc_hJqwk/s1600/Ut+%C2%A6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="495" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-8CqEpeqgcFxb-gQQqtlK-46hCmS0kqzHMpRvSIhpv_5I8oPpL20WHkJ7kV68rYgAJtmju19XjXEqGifGzUvSxru3AV4FMLBIAA0fu4DMZ-3ZD9GA29nF_uX_wHaJxCmhK2yDc_hJqwk/s640/Ut+%C2%A6.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><i>Recently I've found myself lost in the works of Swedish furniture designer Axel Einar Hjorth, and his primitive modernists works in pine. "Hjorth's sport cabin furniture, while completely displaced in the Swedish and international modernist design history, stands today as so revolutionary and radical in its time and end up as status symbols in the interior of an international character."<a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=sv&u=http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Einar_Hjorth&prev=/search%3Fq%3Daxel%2Beinar%2Bhjorth%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DDPu%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official">(here)</a> I reached out to Thomas Ekstrom, <a href="http://www.stockholmmodern.se/">a dealer in 20th century design and decorative arts based in Stockholm.</a> Christian Björk and Thomas Ekstrom are currently writing the biography on Axel Einar Hjorth, and were kind enough to speak with me about his works, and his position in Swedish history and international modernism. There's a gentle intensity to these forms that I find captivating and even enchanting. They offer simplicity in their form and function, and a sense of escape connecting to the "weekend house." </i><br /><i><br /></i><i>A (lost) weekend away if you will. <span style="color: #666666;">- David John </span></i><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgF1uJuzk7MNxaRvQtqd0Otfe7pPakpoMigbMRDhr2VeOwZ0XTvkSVJMMOvzqmOQLBQdp19W3w_MBtna6zYNs50VE0uSd70g8j4D3e4FXPZHHnu3DXWvd1po3-iISbR8iOq7BuAa7-2Rs/s1600/Hjorth-bord1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgF1uJuzk7MNxaRvQtqd0Otfe7pPakpoMigbMRDhr2VeOwZ0XTvkSVJMMOvzqmOQLBQdp19W3w_MBtna6zYNs50VE0uSd70g8j4D3e4FXPZHHnu3DXWvd1po3-iISbR8iOq7BuAa7-2Rs/s640/Hjorth-bord1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><i><b>David John: How did you personally become interested in the works of Axel Einar Hjorth? </b></i><br /><br />Thomas Ekström: Axel Einar Hjorth's furniture has always been around in the auctions. At the same time, the main source for Swedish design history, Form, the magazine of the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design, failed to mention him with a word. So this “the other side” has always interested us, as we in a country informed by conformity.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>David John: Can you tell me about the Axel Einar Hjorth archive?</b></i><br /><br />Thomas Ekström: Axel Einar Hjorth did not have any children, and there are no personal archives from Hjorth, so in one way we had very little to go on. Actually someone before us had already tried to write a monograph about him, but eventually gave up. Anyway, an archive with drawings and photos together with an order book from the furniture department are part of a large archive from Nordiska Kompaniet in hands of Nordiska Museet. This archive is fairly known, and Christian did, when studying at the university, a 6-month practice in this very archive. This is where we found drawings and photos of the so-called summerhouse furniture. This together, with the find of 2 separate archives of Stockholms Stads Hantverks Förening. (About: the association of craftsmanship in Stockholm) where the greatest discovery we did. We also found an old lady, now dead, that we think was his mistress that could tell us a few things of his private life<br /><br /><i><br /></i><br /><br /><i><b> </b></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUypsHcY1A7SQLN6AHKxnqQE9EcwIEhdDuqJm4dEjJOdH7V17TrdnCjFQIL2m_0mmlFchq7lbjyvdoHhr02EPh1ZavK7Mzloy0C_l2RkrX52LYfGKa1yvde9aS3Er_5rtDfdSdMftOPU8/s1600/Hjorth-soffa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUypsHcY1A7SQLN6AHKxnqQE9EcwIEhdDuqJm4dEjJOdH7V17TrdnCjFQIL2m_0mmlFchq7lbjyvdoHhr02EPh1ZavK7Mzloy0C_l2RkrX52LYfGKa1yvde9aS3Er_5rtDfdSdMftOPU8/s640/Hjorth-soffa.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuOXY1NsX8GnKcnCcRdIETjN8Nkeh3_wTFIrY64U_XvFIAj0CMzreNDlMlQs0N5XdfIGhkZS3puhEqOVq8_yPl0C2shPzLTF-o4pQltr3WHYHS1seTwR4-HKDxZDzzUKRSJwSngN23kIB/s1600/Hjorth-soffadel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuOXY1NsX8GnKcnCcRdIETjN8Nkeh3_wTFIrY64U_XvFIAj0CMzreNDlMlQs0N5XdfIGhkZS3puhEqOVq8_yPl0C2shPzLTF-o4pQltr3WHYHS1seTwR4-HKDxZDzzUKRSJwSngN23kIB/s640/Hjorth-soffadel.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><i><i>"The furniture of Axel Einar Hjorth had aesthetic expressions that were well in accordance with their time but simultaneously very distant from the socially oriented ideas characterizing the activities of Svenska Slöjdföreningen." </i></i><br /><i><i> </i><b> </b></i><br /><br /><i><b>How would you describe the aesthetic expression of Hjorth's works? </b><b>How were they received at that time?</b></i><br /><br />Aesthetic Hjorth's furniture followed national and international trends. While his furniture for Stockholms Stads Hantverks Förening and early furniture for NK were Neo-Classical or Swedish grace, they shifted to modernism in the late 1920´s. The really interesting is the furniture in pine, created from 1929 and onwards, which mixes aesthetic from peasant handicraft with international modernism in a deep personal way. The “tastemakers” or the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design ignored him totally both at the time and later.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>Why do you think his works are beginning to escalate in value in auctions? Is there a renaissance in appreciation for his works? Which of his works have received the most attention in the recent marketplace?</b></i><br /><br />Well, one of the reasons is simply that no one knew about the pine furniture. While all other furniture from NK are marked, most of the summerhouse furniture works are unmarked. They were also unpublished, and subsequently never showed up at auction or at dealers. The first one who saw the potential in the aesthetics was actually a French dealer, Eric Philippe, who already in 1994 had a Utö dining table on view. Another reason why his works are beginning to escalate in value in auctions now is because they, as all interesting art, can be read in different layers. Besides looking great, often with almost a sculptural quality, they also have a historical context. Besides the early modernist connection there are references to traditional peasant giving them a certain depth. Today they also seem groundbreaking in the modernist canon. <i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Looking at what Perriand and Royere did years later you can almost believe that they had old Hjorth furniture at home.</b></span></i> Then, on another layer, you’ll find traces of Swedish contemporary society and political life. In the 1930´s the Social democrats introduced a law that gave all employees the right to two weeks vacation every year. The weekend cottage became fashionable and the idée of making furniture for this certain kind of houses came up.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>Are all of his pieces marked?</b></i><br /><br />Almost all furniture by NK except some Summerhouse furniture are marked with a metal tag. Furniture from his own company are often marked with a stamp. But almost all furniture made before NK are either unmarked or marked with carpenter or company name only (see for example these cabinets designed for <a href="http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/furniture-lighting/axel-einar-hjorth-rare-pair-of-cabinets-5674447-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5674447&sid=c0347ee6-53e7-4aea-9349-1e4535c1c3dc%20%29%20-">Bodafors at Christies: (here)</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OTopQmj8ADqE-daDwcRNEJi3zDomuk60sqdvqiZFbpaqe6-6FEh-UQTl7OeCrgeAB1ZD_sRT7abS-q5xy5cRAhVWxFgyRD5I8AuZ0f3UnSZ2sK7RF_85e2jrVZMX4Nu_mkMpuij56nMT/s1600/Hjorth-litensoffa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OTopQmj8ADqE-daDwcRNEJi3zDomuk60sqdvqiZFbpaqe6-6FEh-UQTl7OeCrgeAB1ZD_sRT7abS-q5xy5cRAhVWxFgyRD5I8AuZ0f3UnSZ2sK7RF_85e2jrVZMX4Nu_mkMpuij56nMT/s640/Hjorth-litensoffa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>How did you get into furniture and interiors? </b></i><br /><br />Thomas used to run a non-commercial contemporary art gallery together with some friends in the early 90´s. The gallery picked up historical artist and designers. Later, also contemporary design, fashion and film. So we did not feel any borders between the disciplines. Recently Thomas also curated a museum exhibition on the gallery. <a href="http://www.modernamuseet.se/en/Stockholm/Exhibitions/2011/Ynglingagatan-1/"><i>(Go here for more info)</i></a> Anyway Christian was hanging at the gallery, and at the time there were very few interested in furniture and interiors in Stockholm.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>What is your background, and where are you from?</b></i><br /><br />Both of us are born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. While Christian is living in a row house in the famous 1950´s suburb Vällingby. Thomas is living in central Stockholm. Both studied History of Art and. Thomas is working on a Master while Christian is working on his PH D. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3EtqedJI9D9NPbJe-RJgk_G4UWKG9j6ZY2hPsl_uorjUsoTStWlYHHKY5vCXFHO67ddpxahiMiv2Xpg6he8c__kUe9mPHYCt4vt1HDJph72ThWruJ1GDZsC4kPFHOQeX_a8QOEwwoK9i/s1600/IMG_3638.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3EtqedJI9D9NPbJe-RJgk_G4UWKG9j6ZY2hPsl_uorjUsoTStWlYHHKY5vCXFHO67ddpxahiMiv2Xpg6he8c__kUe9mPHYCt4vt1HDJph72ThWruJ1GDZsC4kPFHOQeX_a8QOEwwoK9i/s640/IMG_3638.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMuIvPckCOJkkimO8qD9an9ry070WQ8ttakQLyFlllMpoieyvrj9UAGnFaSI80S9rKXvLtyuB8V7P5M1TWtn-eFCs6dnVS7FECMpSv3fSEyVYaXBp3dK6fK4lV2biS_v5IY9R1vsssH-s/s1600/IMG_3644.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMuIvPckCOJkkimO8qD9an9ry070WQ8ttakQLyFlllMpoieyvrj9UAGnFaSI80S9rKXvLtyuB8V7P5M1TWtn-eFCs6dnVS7FECMpSv3fSEyVYaXBp3dK6fK4lV2biS_v5IY9R1vsssH-s/s640/IMG_3644.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><i>"At the Stockholm Exhibition in 1930, and with the break through of Modernism in Sweden, Axel Einar Hjorth was one of the most abundantly represented designers. His pieces of furniture for Nordiska Kompaniet were characterized by craftsmanship of high quality and advanced combinations of material. The furniture was manufactured for a financially strong clientele with modern demands - but it sharply contrasted the social program that in many ways was typical for the exhibition."</i><br /><br /><i><b>Did he mainly design for private clients, and produce one of a kind furniture?</b></i><br /><br />At this time he was the head of the furniture department at NK. Nordiska Kompaniet at the time was the most exclusive department store in Sweden. So yes he had the most demanding private clients. But also as head of design at NK, with a big furniture factory, he also designed simple things as furniture for cinemas, hospitals etc just to keep the factory running. But his exclusive furniture at the Stockholmexhibition was a scoff to all the political conscious writers, architects and critics.<br /><br /><br /><i><b>What materials did he favor?</b></i><br /><br />At his own company in the late 30´s and early 40´s he seems to have favored chalked oak.<br /><br /><br /><i><b> How would you describe his furniture? </b></i><br /><br />In one word probably: multifaceted. He was from the old school, learned every style from Rococo via Gustavian to Modernism but had a certain talent to mix his impression making all pieces “Hjorth”<br /><br /><br /><i><b>Why did his furniture business fail?</b></i><br /><br />Well I think he was 50 when starting out with his own business just before the war. This was probably a bit late in his life. He also had horrible luck at the worlds fair in New York in 1939 when a cabinet was left out during the night, and destroyed by a rain (once again we can blame Swedish Society of Crafts and Design who left it there). This took him hard. Then the war came, which made people not think of new furniture first and foremost. For Hjorth the war also meant that exotic wood for inlays of exclusive cabinets became unavailable.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCM0eOFlwL1_t1KYdoStB-I6_4i6g4IG6BI4R7Uc6dPgnFd5hPI-N9Fqt_SUotFuZDhFFhkFnOc9WI9E-QMLQa40XnCUag3mwbApl5i7LZN-jvr8upg731F9CcJV_y3jjMYi0ZzoYq5S3Z/s640/Lov+%C2%A6+cabinet.jpg" width="447" /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXkX69wYdffu-cNFPBwbagsMtJhAkuhhkiBAeItknuhLNaI01dPPUbypeT8DCanwlc9L-1jjLwXWe8kyxVOiHgmuCO7dod6MVc-cZCsbbz1wrLBn8etbsfW4Wv27FgrzCq4emryAYCSGD/s1600/Photo+Apr+08,+22+15+57.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXkX69wYdffu-cNFPBwbagsMtJhAkuhhkiBAeItknuhLNaI01dPPUbypeT8DCanwlc9L-1jjLwXWe8kyxVOiHgmuCO7dod6MVc-cZCsbbz1wrLBn8etbsfW4Wv27FgrzCq4emryAYCSGD/s1600/Photo+Apr+08,+22+15+57.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1EhIyjwXXix4RI3RMeqORkgEMZi3ToqsrQ9-OqBh_DlK-4WgtINCWqQkLP3tqWR0o6IunfQwljNGgkGlxnjSPfqT_ysGTk5a1Zm9SiBz3TVHEmjtPcvuJRk6zr7frlakFt125qxhUt-n/s1600/Photo+Apr+08,+22+16+55.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1EhIyjwXXix4RI3RMeqORkgEMZi3ToqsrQ9-OqBh_DlK-4WgtINCWqQkLP3tqWR0o6IunfQwljNGgkGlxnjSPfqT_ysGTk5a1Zm9SiBz3TVHEmjtPcvuJRk6zr7frlakFt125qxhUt-n/s1600/Photo+Apr+08,+22+16+55.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-8CqEpeqgcFxb-gQQqtlK-46hCmS0kqzHMpRvSIhpv_5I8oPpL20WHkJ7kV68rYgAJtmju19XjXEqGifGzUvSxru3AV4FMLBIAA0fu4DMZ-3ZD9GA29nF_uX_wHaJxCmhK2yDc_hJqwk/s1600/Ut+%C2%A6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-8CqEpeqgcFxb-gQQqtlK-46hCmS0kqzHMpRvSIhpv_5I8oPpL20WHkJ7kV68rYgAJtmju19XjXEqGifGzUvSxru3AV4FMLBIAA0fu4DMZ-3ZD9GA29nF_uX_wHaJxCmhK2yDc_hJqwk/s1600/Ut+%C2%A6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><i><br /></i><i>"Thomas Ekström is a dealer in 20th century design and decorative arts since 1995. He was also one of the founding members of the contemporary art gallery Ynglingagatan 1 in 1993. As a result of his knowledge in the field he has been contributing as a freelance writer in various magazines and books. Christian Björk is a dealer in 20th century design and decorative arts. He is also working on his doctor thesis on early modernist architecture in Sweden. He is writing on freelance basis on the subject as well as do talks. A book on Näferqvarns bruk is being published in the fall of 2012 Together they have done extensive research and been writing the biography on Axel Einar Hjorth."</i><br /><br /><br /><i>this post dedicated to Jason K. </i><br /><br /><br /><br /> A C onversation on the W orks of Axel Einar Hjorth "The really interesting is the furniture in pine, created from 1929 and onwards, whi... Read more » 8:29 PM
<i><b>Pamela Jorden</b> @ <a href="http://samuelfreeman.com/">Samuel Freeman Gallery </a></i><br /><br /><i>In recent work, she has reexamined, explored and referenced the color theory and visual vocabularies of early 20th century abstraction, in particular the orphic cubism of<b> Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay-Terk, and František Kupka. </b></i><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzkurdQbxki8Fe01jZ7ytTBbmwz5hvmFQbq20AjbpkqoPEm10Ow2y1Q5Nx3AmfkZhyphenhyphenix6WhBNk7Mm7aPTrJpmUnKTdZJkjalePNsEDskQx6rRHgfeYSKcXMY-uKPrYRU1C-Yxu_ibNqFo/s1600/jorden007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzkurdQbxki8Fe01jZ7ytTBbmwz5hvmFQbq20AjbpkqoPEm10Ow2y1Q5Nx3AmfkZhyphenhyphenix6WhBNk7Mm7aPTrJpmUnKTdZJkjalePNsEDskQx6rRHgfeYSKcXMY-uKPrYRU1C-Yxu_ibNqFo/s640/jorden007.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1Tp_EIFsX8C9fNpKzpb0lK3IISCknrksm03vpB38b4nHqxJWQKI8R0Mu0gVBdtKBSe4VKpcLoHW-RUQDwILQrxHaPoEh2jUK7eaDQTN3zRofe8HLSImPcVTHSy7T0CGD3nVO72IfzyGB/s1600/jorden010a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1Tp_EIFsX8C9fNpKzpb0lK3IISCknrksm03vpB38b4nHqxJWQKI8R0Mu0gVBdtKBSe4VKpcLoHW-RUQDwILQrxHaPoEh2jUK7eaDQTN3zRofe8HLSImPcVTHSy7T0CGD3nVO72IfzyGB/s640/jorden010a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnB8nkSdvDDqflVRhWgDlNOknGU9_m51gzS6a4G7ACVghr8LjR-TIjweJ-LPZHDAqkH1hoDWWRiwjJS1M-fCaSpCuCdwy_JAs05_pyx4TaxcmSrpsm9FSB17FgjqkIJ7D7eiFlreHck1VM/s1600/jorden005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnB8nkSdvDDqflVRhWgDlNOknGU9_m51gzS6a4G7ACVghr8LjR-TIjweJ-LPZHDAqkH1hoDWWRiwjJS1M-fCaSpCuCdwy_JAs05_pyx4TaxcmSrpsm9FSB17FgjqkIJ7D7eiFlreHck1VM/s640/jorden005.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />"Pamela Jorden’s energetic, fractured paintings combine diverse forms, patterns, and colors taken from daily experience and conveyed through an idiosyncratic engagement with abstraction. In recent work, she has reexamined, explored and referenced the color theory and visual vocabularies of early 20th century abstraction, in particular the orphic cubism of Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay-Terk, and František Kupka. Jorden’s new works begin with geometrically structured canvases of stained raw linen, and employ hot and vibrant colors; frenetic, contrasting brushstrokes; and alternating matte to iridescent finishes to a particularly personal effect — <i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>simultaneously structural and atmospherically charged</b></span></i>. Combining the visual density of her surroundings with these subtle optical effects, Jorden’s work suggests the changing effects of light and shifting perspectives, and the transience of visual experience."<br /><br /><br /><i>2639 South La Cienega Blvd</i><br /><i>Los Angeles, CA 90034</i><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><i>--------------------- </i></span></div> Pamela Jorden @ Samuel Freeman Gallery In recent work, she has reexamined, explored and referenced the color theory and visual vocabularies... Read more » 10:21 AM
