21st century boy: Renaud Vuaillat’s new gallery debuts with Emmanuel Babled

The French-born, Lisbon-based designer Emmanuel Babled is getting his dues Stateside, with dealer Renaud Vuaillat staging a solo show devoted to his latest work. Vuaillat’s new Twenty First Gallery, located in an elegant 19th century West Chelsea townhouse, could not be a more apt setting for his exhibition, ‘Emmanuel Babled’.
This sun-drenched gallery, which retains an elegant marble fireplace mantel, throws into light just how Babled’s ahead of the curve designs – from limited edition and unique furniture to lighting – are entirely compatible in a traditional interior.
‘Contradiction is key to Emmanuel as he juxtaposes the fragility of hand-blown Murano glass with the sleekness of white Carrara marble in new and novel ways for his "Osmosi" series,’ says Vuaillat. While Babled, a visiting professor at Milan's Domus Academy and Design Academy Eindhoven, taps into centuries-old Italian craftsmanship, he turned to computerised technology to complete this distinctive body of work.
The exact shapes of hand-blown biomorphic glass forms in dusty teal and burnt yellow were 3D scanned and a precise opening milled via digitalisation into a marble console. ‘So the unique glass forms fit exactly inside the top and sides of the console with no seams whatsoever,’ says Vuaillat.
Babled’s 'Quark' series is also on view. These pieces include amoeba-like wenge wood coffee tables, and another table in cast bronze and welded with thin sheets of gleaming copper.
Its inaugural presentation is devoted to the French-born, Amsterdam-based designer Emmanuel Babled, whose work spans limited edition and unique furniture to lighting
‘Contradiction is key to Emmanuel as he juxtaposes the fragility of hand-blown Murano glass with the sleekness of white Carrara marble in new and novel ways for his "Osmosi" series,’ says Vuaillat. Pictured: 'Osmosi' console. Photography: Nicole Marnati
Babled’s 'Quark' series, which includes amoeba-like wenge wood coffee tables (pictured left) and a cast bronze table welded with thin sheets of gleaming copper (right), is also on display
Babled tapped into centuries-old Italian craftsmanship while also turning to computerised technology to complete the distinctive body of work. Pictured: a coffee table (pictured left) and a table lamp (right)
Hand-blown, biomorphic glass forms are fused seamlessly into marble bases. Pictured: a pair of vases from his 'Osmosi' series. Photography: Nicole Marnati
INFORMATION
‘Emmanuel Babled’ is on view until 10 June. For more details, visit Twenty First Gallery's website
Photography courtesy of Twenty First Gallery
ADDRESS
Twenty First Gallery
458 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Studio Job’s House of Delft is the Netherlands’ biggest, craziest artwork
Designer Job Smeets of Studio Job invites us into his atelier to see work in progress for his surreal 2,000 sq m ode to the Dutch city of Delft
-
Fuseproject and Tuux join forces to create a womb-like meditation retreat for the workspace
The Iris Meditation Pod from OpenSeed is a scientifically driven one-person retreat, designed to increase concentration and overall well-being
-
Formafatal ventures deep into the Costa Rican jungle with Studio House, a spectacular retreat
Set high on a forested hillside, the Studio House has far-reaching ocean views yet is completely integrated into its site
-
With a secret members’ club, this Washington, DC barbershop is a ‘theatre of self-care’
At Manifest 002, come for a haircut; stay for the boldly hued social spaces designed by INC Architecture & Design
-
Step inside a ‘dream desert sanctuary’ tucked into Moab's rust-red landscape
Susannah Holmberg designed this home to harmonise with the extreme climate and dramatic surroundings of Utah’s Moab desert. 'The landscape is everything'
-
Nicole Hollis launches a collection of home objects ‘rooted in mindfulness’
The American interior designer worked with artists, makers and artisans to create objects for the home, emphasising materiality and visual simplicity
-
USM furniture turns shelter in a New York exhibition
‘The Room You Carry’ by interior design studio Loveisenough examines the space between order and wilderness, indoors and outdoors
-
This Brooklyn townhouse renovation nails ‘classic’ without cliché
Interior design firm White Arrow transformed a Boerum Hill home into a space that feels historic, contemporary, and just unexpected enough to keep things interesting
-
This designer’s Montecito home – once a modest wood cabin – has been transformed into a charming sanctuary
Originally built by architect Lutah Maria Riggs, this compact family home has been reimagined by another influential female designer – Tamara Honey of House of Honey – who has imbued the space with her signature touch
-
These sculptural mirrors embody the relaxed spirit of the Med
Photographed in a Mallorcan residence designed by local studio Munarq, these new sculptural mirrors by New York furniture company Ready To Hang are inspired by the sea
-
The owner of this restored Spanish Colonial home turned it into a gallery – with no social media allowed
Casa Francis in LA is a private residence, but recently opened its doors to one member of the public at a time for an exhibition centred around domesticity