Furniture Pimp : Jim Walrod

Ettore Sottsass Hsing Vessel from The Pop Series, Model 456

Stools After Jean Prouvé 1985

Kim Moltzer & Jean Paul Barray Coffee Table 1965

Guy de Rougemont Wall Mounted Console

On May 3rd Wright presents The Collection of Jim Walrod at auction. Comprised of 250 lots of art, design and objects from Jim’s personal collection, the sale is a celebration of a man who collected everything and knew just as much. 

Jim Walrod’s eye was legendary. Mike D of the Beastie Boys called him his ‘Furniture Pimp’ in sincere gratitude of his talents as a designer and in appreciation for the breadth of his knowledge. Clients worldwide—from David Bowie to André Balasz—sought his unparalleled expertise. Although Jim saw his role as a guide, aiding clients in finding their own distinct eye, it was his unique vision that shaped so many others.

His career began after a chance meeting with Andy Warhol led Jim to work for Fiorucci, the legendary style makers. There he was introduced to the radical designs of Ettore Sottsass and the Memphis group, as well as the key members of the New York art world. In 1987, Jim entered the New York art scene with his first gallery on Lafayette. He opened Form & Function in 1998, which became a mainstay for those looking for expertly curated vintage design. He remained true to his unique vision throughout his career, later lending his expertise as an interior designer, adviser and curator. With exhibitions at R & Company and Patrick Parrish gallery, Jim shared his collecting vision with an even wider audience.

Jim’s beloved Chinatown loft always remained the truest expression of his remarkable collecting vision. Works by friends were placed alongside modern icons creating an interior rich in dialog. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Jim sought works labeled as ugly or incompatible. And it is those experiments that make his collection so wonderfully rare and unique. Jim shared glimpses of this extraordinary space with friends, followers on social media and clients. Sourced from numerous locations, he was proud of his finds, whether it was a rare book or piece of radical lighting. Each cherished object was thoughtfully selected and likewise showcased within his interior.

This collection celebrates a rare collecting vision without boundaries. Each object was assembled with a singular appreciation of its aesthetic, regardless of the value to the outside world. As Jim was known to say: “Time is the only real critic that matters”. ~via Wright 20

*Our friend Jim is deeply missed*

Wright presents The Four Seasons

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Wright Auctions presents The Four Seasons, a special auction featuring the furniture and designed tableware and objects from the iconic restaurant’s historic interior. The event will take place at The Four Seasons in New York on July 26, 2016.

Designed in 1959 by Philip Johnson for Mies van der Rohe’s landmark Seagram building on Park Avenue in Manhattan, The Four Seasons has become one of the most important and recognizable International Style interior spaces in the world. On July 16th, The Four Seasons is closing its present location in order to open in a newly designed location thus beginning a new chapter for the legendary restaurant.

While the interior space is landmarked – the famous bar, sculpture and curtains will all remain intact – the designed furniture, tableware and objects will be offered at auction in the extraordinary one day event to take place in the original interior. Featuring approximately 500 lots, the sale will include works by Mies van der Rohe and Hans Wegner as well as custom designs by Philip Johnson and special-ordered Knoll furniture. The tableware and cookware designed by L. Garth and Ada Louise Huxtable will also be offered.

Wright will publish a special catalog documenting the history of this seminal interior with additional information available online in the coming weeks.

~images via wright20.com

PHOTOLA

james wellingJames Welling “7690” 42″ x 63″, 2015 Inkjet print on rag paper Courtesy of the artist and Regen Projects

Going on now thru January 24th, the international photographic art exposition – photo l.a. – celebrates its 25th anniversary at The REEF, located in the historic LA Mart building in Downtown Los Angeles.

photo l.a. has a long and rich history of bringing the photographic and arts communities together. Each year they expand their uniquely diverse showcase of photographic art, ranging from 19th Century works to contemporary and innovative photo-based art. Galleries, dealers, museums, schools, and non-profit organizations participate to define what photography has been, what it is today, and what it might evolve into. To foster a dialogue they curate and present our acclaimed programming, which includes lectures, roundtable discussions, special installations, and docent tours with distinguished members of the photography/arts community.

More info here.

Carpenter’s Workshop

4369glass birds “Flylight” by Studio Drift

carp“You fade to light” by Random International on right 

carp2“Technocrat Bronze Coffee Table” by Atelier Van Lieshout

Just this month, Julian Lombrail opened his 3rd outpost of Carpenters Workshop in a penthouse on the 5th Avenue in New York City.  Located between the new flagship store of Microsoft and Peter Marinos glass palace for Louis Vuitton at the 57th Street hovers the duplex apartment, where the Carpenters Workshop has established as a meditation room for art and design high above the hustle and bustle of shopping. ~ ad-magazin.de  “I wanted to be accessible for clients such as Peter Marino, Juan Pablo Molyneux and Robert Couturier easily,” says Lombrail .

Artists on exhibit at the gallery space which also has been hosting exclusive dinners for art collectors include Rick Owens, Wendell CastleAteliers van Lieshout, and Studio Drift from Amsterdam.

West Edge Design Fair

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WestEdge™Design Fair at The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, features the latest products from leading & emerging design brands.  Today is the last day and you have a chance to sit in on the following talks:

11:30-12:30 PM – Coastal Chic- Creating the Perfect Beach Sanctuary with Betsy Burnham, Burnham Design; Doug Burdge, Burdge & Associates Architects; and David Charvet, Jones Builders Group.

1:00-2:00 PM – Hollywood in Your Own Home–Set Decorator Secrets featuring Featuring: Don Diers, Beauchamp Fontaine, Jan Pascale, Halina Siwolop, and Bryan John Venegas, SDSA Members

2:30-3:30 PM – Modernism in Palm Springs featuring Lori Dennis, Lori Dennis Design; Kelli Ellis, HGTV, Hulu, TLC, Bravo; Christopher Kennedy, Christopher Kennedy Inc.

More info here.

~images via westedgedesignfair 

This Is The House That Jack Built

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There’s a new book on my radar and I want to share it with you.  “This is the House That Jack Built” named from the nursery rhyme, gives us a look at the contemporary art and design collection of the very private art collector, Maja Hoffmann.  Art directed by Beda Achermann and photographed by François Halard, both have created images of Hoffman’s collection located in her homes in tight vignettes with text of the nursery rhyme  woven throughout the book.

“This Is The House That Jack Built” plays down Hoffmann’s actual houses while (like the nursery rhyme) conveying the centrality of the idea of home, yet one is struck by the breathtakingly original interiors furnished with the best examples of 20th-century design. Hoffmann’s eye for architecture and furniture is as discerning as it is for paintings, and she manages to create spaces where the art, despite its importance, doesn’t overshadow the life of a room. ~T Magazine

Get a good look of the book here.

LADF

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LA Design Festival is a citywide Design Event starting now continuing through June 14th. Events include Marmol Radziner Studio Tour, award-winning firm known for its innovative design approach and expertise in architecture, construction, interior design, landscape design, furniture design, and jewelry design,  River Makers Bash; an outdoor event on Mission Street by the LA River,   Intro LA at Mack Sennett studios in Silver Lake  showcasing local and contract firms,  a solo exhibition for Arik Levy, the Israeli born and Paris-based artist and designer at Please Do Not Enter, 549 S Olive Street,  as well as City Design Tours that cover design studios in Inglewood, Historic Downtown LA, and the Arts District, Chinatown and Olvera Street.

Many, many more events are scheduled and can be discovered here.

Dwell on Design

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Dwell on Design Los Angeles, curated by the editors of Dwell magazine, returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center May 29-31, 2015. With three full days of dynamic exhibitions, unparalleled educational opportunities, cutting-edge technologies, 90 onstage programs, 250+ speakers, and more than 2,000 innovative modern furnishings and products, Dwell on Design Los Angeles is America’s largest design event.

More information here.

Designed in California

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Commune was established in Los Angeles in 2004 by four like-minded souls—Roman Alonso, Steven Johanknecht, Pamela Shamshiri, and Ramin Shamshiri— with a common mission: to enhance life through design and to blur the lines between disciplines, eras, and styles. California is for those who refuse to conform and who live for freedom of expression, indoor/outdoor living, and that golden sunshine glinting off the waves of the Pacific. 

Commune perfectly captures this spirit and embodies a new California style that freely mixes old and new in its layered, highly personal interiors that embrace color, pattern, and texture. This book is the first monograph of Commune’s work, featuring its designs for private residences, hotels, commercial spaces, and restaurants, as well as the works they specially commission from virtually everyone in the artisan craftsman movement in California today.~ abramsbooks.com

Check out this interview with Roman Alonso, one of the founders of Commune featured in T magazine here.