Don’t sleep on it: weR2’s Dream Machine pulls up in the Hamptons

A campervan with graffitti designs on the body parked on an outside space on tiled concrete with houses in the background. Photographed during the day

The Dream Machine – emblazoned with a design by the artist Ryan McGinness – will be parked at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, just in time for the 4 July weekend. Photography: Anthony Nagelmann; Editing: Julian Millar

(Image credit: Anthony Nagelmann)

By Brook Mason

last updated 28 August 2022

in Features

Pop-up boutiques and restaurants have, in 2015, become a ubiquitous part of urban landscapes across the globe, whether London, Paris or New York (and beyond). But here's one that's totally out of the ordinary – the 'Dream Machine', a bullet shaped Airstream trailer conceived and designed by Suchi Reddy's and Sara Meltzer's weR2 studio, emblazoned with one of Ryan McGinness' psychedelic patterns and packed with contemporary artist-designed products. The Machine will be parked outside the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, just in time for the 4 July weekend (though it will be cruising over to the Silas Marder Gallery in Bridgehampton the week after).

It's not the Dream Machine's first outing. 'We had one set up during Art Basel Miami Beach and [at] the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as at the base of the [New York] High Line last year... the reception was amazing,' says former Chelsea dealer Meltzer, who co-founded weR2 just two years ago, as 'a collaborative venture for housewares and accessories'.

She and Reddy – an architect and interior designer who has created boutique interiors for Henri Bendel and Jimmy Choo, and commercial interiors for the Lever House – zeroed in on an untapped market, collaborating with artists and designers.

'At the end of every project, when it came to the stage of finding intelligent, beautiful and fun accessories that enhance or make a design, I saw that my clients had very limited choices,' says Reddy. Enter the Dream Machine – weR2's most ambitious project to date, the duo have been involved in every step of the development process, right down to the selection of production materials for the featured products.

The artists and designers under their wing are hardly novices – McGinness' work is included in such prestigious institutions as the MoMA and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León in Spain – and weR2 commissioned a range of lauded practitioners to come up with products to sell as part of the pop-up: from multidisciplinary artist Kelly Lamb's bronze candlestick holders, through to cloth napkins by Kate Shepherd, abstract canvas throw cushions designed by minimalist painter and sculptor Eric Brown, and a 'hemp tote bag with embroidered cannabis and premium rolling papers' by Francesca Gabbiani, among other covetable wares.

'The Dream Machine,' Meltzer concludes, 'is all about extending the art and design worlds – and in this case we're reaching the Hamptons.'

Interior of a bus with pastel decor, white sofa, canvas throw cushions and objects on white shelves against pink walls — The Machine – a repurposed Airstream trailer with a rather more elegant interior – is a movable store for artist-designed products. *Photography: Anthony Nagelmann*

Table setting with colourful napkins, 3 candles and some plates — 'The Dream Machine is all about extending the art and design worlds – and in this case we're reaching the Hamptons,' says Sara Meltzer of weR2, the design studio behind the pop-up. *Photography: Anthony Nagelmann*

Interior of a bus with pastel decor, white sofa and canvas throw cushions — The minimalist artist Eric Brown's series of canvas throw cushions feature an abstract motion capture image on the front and a silver leatherette reverse. *Photography: Anthony Nagelmann*

The hands of 2 individual laying out ten abstract cloth table napkins on a white surface — New York-based artist Kate Shepherd has designed a set of ten abstract cloth table napkins for the store. *Photography: Matt Murphy*

Grey tote bag with black handles and intricately embroidered cannabis design, photograped next to yellow packs against a white background — Francesca Gabbiani supplied a hemp tote bag with an intricately embroidered cannabis design...
*Photography: Julian Millar*

premium rolling papers in a yellow package photographed against a white background — ... replete with a set of premium rolling papers. *Photography: Julian Millar*

2 blownout tall white candles with geometric designed gold base. Photographed on a white surface against a white background — The multidisciplinary Los Angeles based artist Kelly Lamb designed a set of typically geometric bronze candlestick holders. *Photography: KL Studios*

Tray designed with wriggley lines in shaded of green and red. photographed horizontally against a white background — Best known for his hand painted wallpaper installations, George Venson designed two birchwood serving trays. *Photography: Julian Millar*

tray with lipstick lips in shades of red and pink. photographed horizontally against a white background — The trays were released under Venson's Voutsa banner – a 'New York-based lifestyle and interiors brand that specialises in signature hand-illustrated and digitally reworked wallpapers and custom murals for whimsical and modern living'. *Photography: Julian Millar*

ADDRESS

Parrish Art Museum
279 Montauk Highway
Water Mill, NY
11976

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