The concrete jungle gets its yearly influx of creative energy during spring. Hot on the heels of the art fair Frieze, NYCxDesign (10-22 May) gears up for a sprawling showcase across multiple districts, from Flatiron to Greenpoint. Inimitable gallery shows, boutique openings, and blockbuster exhibitions draw crowds from far and wide, while visitors to group shows like ICFF (19-22 May) and Wanted Design (16-21 May) are invited to experience innovative launches and discover fresh talent. Here you can navigate the neighbourhoods, delve deeper into conceptual projects and follow our live highlights as they happen...
The well-heeled Manhattan showroom of Henrybuilt, a Seattle-based company specialising in minimalist kitchen and home storage systems, was the perfect setting to showcase a collaborative exhibition of Ladies & Gentlemen Studio’s delicate lighting and the exquisite collection of Portuguese design objects from Origin. Courtesy: Ladies & Gentlemen Studio
Set against the elegant functionality of Henrybuilt’s collection, Origin’s assortment of handcrafted ceramics, limestone objects and wooden accessories shows longstanding Portuguese craft techniques in a modern light, thanks to designs contributed by 12 international designers, including Gabriel Tan (Origin’s founder), Zoe Mowat and Norm Architects. Courtesy: Ladies & Gentlemen Studio
It may be more than 60 years since Danish architect Paul Cadovius designed the modular Abstracta shelving system, an adaptable system that enabled complex configurations to be simply snapped in place, yet at ICFF, the system was once more cast back into the spotlight, thanks to a clever reimagining by the Brooklyn-based design studio Standard Issue. The firm has edited a selection of tube lengths to create an array of contemporary living necessities – media consoles, shelving for storage and display, side tables and bedside tables, while devising a new snap-in shelf and levelling foot. Completed by a stylish colour palette, what was once old now seems new again
At ICFF, Danish brand Reform launches three new kitchen designs by Note Design Studio, Muller Van Severen and Studio David Thustrop. With a playful aesthetic, Ghent-based Muller Van Severen’s model uses the signature wax-like HDPE in primary tones – the stone top contrasts against the brass bottom that sandwiches the structure
Not one to shy away from creating a mood, New York studio Apparatus transformed its airy penthouse showroom into an ode to fine handcraft. Its latest collection launched during Salone del Mobile and features an elevated range of materials and interventions. From intricate hand embroidery to pieces made from eel skin, Carpathian burl, alabaster and brass mesh, the sumptuous collection is a study in both rigour and refinement. To complement the installation in New York, Apparatus worked with Callidus Guild to create a triptych, installed along a slender corridor by its entrance, finished with plaster to evoke the look of an aged plaster and marble façade
As the champions of emerging and independent design, Sight Unseen took a break from staging its usual design showcase ‘Offsite’ this year, in favour of pursuing some new projects. The team curated a selection of glass objects for 4510/Six at its Hudson Yards boutique. The pieces were made exclusively for the occasion by a roster of designers and glass artists, including Trueing Studio, Andrew O, Hughes and Sophie Lou Jacobsen
The utilitarian modular systems of furniture company USM might often be found in offices or home workspaces, but a collaboration with the whimsical child-focused design label Kinder Modern has cast its ware in an entirely new light. Kinder Modern founder Lora Appleton has put a playful spin on USM’s modular designs, transforming its Haller system into a shared family desk configuration, a vanity table and even twin beds with ample storage
The installation is completed with new additions to Kinder Modern’s collection, including huggable soft sculptures by the LA-based artist Buckley, rugs designed by the ceramicist Cody Hoyt and a vanity mirror by artist Elyse Graham
A bright airy shopfront on the Lower East Side has been transformed into a stylish haven by the design studio Coil + Drift. The space is filled with a new lighting range, Assemblage – a collection that was originally designed for founder John Sorenson Link’s own home. Included is a cylindrical brass base table lamp with a cone-shaped cloth shade; the ‘Toam’ series which pairs matte bulbs with a chrome and walnut stem, and the ‘Pierce’ range which features sandblasted glass orbs that have been pierced all the way through with brass stems. Courtesy Coil + Drift
Art and design have always enjoyed some healthy competition, but for its latest exhibition, Pas De Deux, the design showroom Colony has helped to blur the delineations between the two fields even further. Colony tasked each of its designers to show work alongside a piece of art of their choosing, forming a lovingly idiosyncratic presentation of creativity, no matter where your allegiances lie. Photography: Charlie Schuck
Highlights include a takeover of Fort Standard’s ‘Tombstone’ chair with Ty Williams’ hand painted prints and an elegant chair design from Studio Paolo Ferrari that features the woven handiwork of textile artist Hiroko Takeda. Photography: Charlie Schuck
How do you entice visitors to view design? Host an exhibition inside a hidden bakery tucked in the arcade of a Neoclassical office building in Tribeca – that is where Workstead chose to launch its newest lighting collection, Chamber. Installed as chandeliers, pendants and sconces throughout the charming space, the elegant design features light fixtures enclosed with sculptural metal shrouds that can be adjusted to conceal and reveal light as one wishes. Photography: Matthew Williams
Back in 2014, Workstead came up with the train carriage-style concept for Arcade Bakery with its fold down tables and alcove seating. Here, they teamed up with Calico Wallpaper for the installation, displaying its latest design, Relic – a decoupage-inspired pattern that layers metallic and tissue-like materials, creating a playful effect with the positive and negative space. Photography: Matthew Williams
The Female Design Collective, an organisation dedicated to supporting women in creative fields, presents an all-female exhibition of design and art pieces at 1stDibs Gallery. The show is curated by the collective’s founder Lora Appleton, and brings together 19 designers from all over the world, with a range of work that includes ceramics, textiles, lighting and glass in both decorative and functional realms
Entitled ‘Deeper Than Text,’ highlights include new objects from Kiki van Eijk, a new dining table from Egg Collective, pendant lights from Konekt that are draped in chain mail and playful furniture from Leah Ring
In Brooklyn’s Vale Park, design practice Kin & Company are debuting its outdoor furniture collection, co-curated with Asa Pingree. Twenty designs by the likes of Trey Jones Studio, Kaye Blegvad, Chiaozza, Huy Bui and more pepper the urban outdoor area. Intended to be a relaxing show, the often whimsical designs appear as artwork in the surroundings of boutique hotel The William Vale. Photography: Alexander Kusak
The Future Perfect’s Noho showroom is host to a ‘The Chair,’ an exhibition that elevates the functional object to artwork. From 133 entries, 50 pieces were chosen and vary from a melted marble iteration by Bower to inflatable form from Seungjin Yang
Spanish design and lifestyle brand Viso Collective has taken over a 5,000 sq ft industrial space in Tribeca with a vibrant installation of its latest wares. For an extra New York flair, the collective has recruited three New York City-based interior designers, Michael Bargo, Giancarlo Valle (installation pictured) and Andre Mellone, to each curate and envision three special installations to house its collection. Photography: Pippa Drummond
From vibrantly patterned ceramics, blankets and pillows to vintage pieces re-made with fabrics sourced by Viso, and a bench designed in collaboration with Tortuga Living, the eye-catching setting is made all the more pleasing by the fact that visitors are able to purchase a selection of objects on site. Pictured: Andre Mellone’s installation. Photography: Pippa Drummond
Jasper Morrison’s cork creations get their first US debut at Kasmin gallery. For the solo show, the British designer showcases the pleasing tactility and lightweight nature of cork staged within a domestic set. Photography: Diego Flores. Courtesy, Kasmin Read more here
The quirky, idiosyncratic design perspective of duo Chen Chen and Kai Williams takes an elevated turn with their latest exhibition of new works, ‘Romancing the Stone’, which is currently on view at Casa Perfect. Focused on working with stone, which includes the found to pieces leftover from quarry excavation, some of the show’s highlights include light fixtures made from slicing stones so finely that they become translucent and allow light to pass through, as well as the duo’s Geology collection, which sees tables created by splitting stones in half, and thus revealing their natural mineral composition in its cross section. Photography: Eric Petschek
Elsewhere, shelves and stools have been formed by pairing stones with a lattice of steel armature, made especially to hold them. Emphasising the stones’ rawer aspects while still conveying a sense of refinement, the duo’s innovative design approach to the collection simply rocks. Photography: Eric Petschek
For one week only, Fort Standard is taking over Colony‘s light-filled space on Canal Street for early NYCxDesign festivities. The new products take a personal turn, all designed by founder Gregory Buntai. The Cooperage dining collection takes its cues from barrels and casks, and the vivid pattern is created from white oak paired with darker oak, achieved through roasting it at a high temperature
The magnetising works of designers born between mid-1960s and early-1980s come together for Libby Sellers and Brent Dzekciorius’ curated exhibition ‘An Accelerated Culture’ at Friedman Benda. Exploring generation X, the installation focuses the economical, social and digital changes that occurred while these designers produced work. Pictured: End Grain by Raw Edges. Photography: Timothy Doyon. Courtesy, Friedman Benda
‘These practitioners went on to challenge the status quo by questioning everything, the design industry included, in order to redefine what a design practice could encompass and the territories where design can tread,’ says Sellers on the exhibition. The roster of global designers in the show include Maarten Baas, Michael Anastassiades, Matali Crasset and Julia Lohmann. Photography: Timothy Doyon. Courtesy, Friedman Benda
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Ladies & Gentlemen and Henrybuilt
View Google MapsIt was a shared interest in design methodologies and a collaborative past in Seattle that bought about this exhibition between manufacturer Henrybuilt and Brooklyn-based design studio Ladies & Gentlemen. The latter will realise an installation in Henrybuilt’s Soho showroom using new lighting and objects by Origin (pictured), a new brand by Gabriel Tan that connects international designers with Portuguese artisans. Titled ‘Common Ground,’ the show promises to display the spirit of creative partnership at its finest.
17 May - 17 June; 12 Crosby St, 10013
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Interlude by Apparatus
View Google MapsFew design studios can create a mood like Apparatus can. Fresh off the back of presenting its Interlude collection in Milan, the studio exhibits it’s newest creations on home turf in a new installation created by creative director Gabriel Hendifar. Evoking the furnishing of an imagined, modernist concert hall, the limited edition collection features hand embroidery, alabaster, eel skin, and Carpathian for a fantastical feel.
20-22 May; 124 West 30th Street, Floor 4, 10001
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Chen Chen and Kai Williams at Casa Perfect
View Google MapsThe homely setting of The Future Perfect’s Casa Perfect in New York provides a dreamy backdrop for the conceptual new work of the Brooklyn-based design duo Chen Chen and Kai Williams. Focused on incorporating stone (both found and remnant from quarry excavation) into furniture pieces, the duo has created a memorable array of unexpected interpretations that highlight the material’s natural structure and beauty.
By appointment only. 2 May-1 August; 8 Saint Luke’s Place, 10014
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Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial
View Google MapsNature is the theme for the 2019 Cooper Hewitt Design Tiennale, launching in collaboration with Cube design museum in Kerkrade, Netherlands. With the focal point at climate change, the exhibition will urge visitors to reconsider the human relationship to nature. 60 projects will reveal designers working with scientists, engineers, academics and more to find solutions to critical global issues. The show follows the blockbuster opening of XXII Triennale di Milano’s ‘Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival’ in Milan in March.
Pictured, Bamboo Theatre, 2015-ongoing by Xu Tiantian and DnA Design and Architecture. Courtesy, the Designer. Photography: Wang Ziling © DnA_Design and Architecture
10 May 2019 – 20 January 2020; 2 East 91st Street, 10128
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Wanted Design
View Google MapsColonial Caribbean architecture was the starting point for Colombian studio Tu Taller Design’s new table, set to debut at Wanted Design. Described as being ‘built to allow the ocean winds to pass through,’ the sideboard/table hybrid uses a cocktail of materials including acrylic, frosted glass and marble for its form. The new work joins a roster of Colombian talents at Wanted Design represented by Medellín Design Week.
18-21 May; 269 11th Avenue, between 27th and 28th Street, 10001
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Egg Collective in Tribeca
View Google MapsThe female-helmed studio Egg Collective trades in its Soho showroom address for a Tribeca one this year. In addition to debuting a new furniture collection here, the three-strong team will also unveil collaborations with design contemporaries such as the art-driven surface firm Callidus Guild and textile artist Hiroko Takeda. The new digs will also host works by contemporary artists including Mimi Jung, Kristina Riska and Stephen Somple, amongst others.
From 22 May; 151 Hudson Street, 10013
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‘Unnatural Habitat’ by Pelle
View Google MapsInspired by the idea of bridging the gap between natural phenomena and abstraction, the interdisciplinary design studio invites visitors to its Flatiron showroom and atelier to view its latest designs. Highlights include a kinetic lighting installation titled ‘Dust’ and a new palm frond-inspired version of its Lure lamp, plus a precision-milled aluminium table named DVN. Staged with billowing curtains installed amidst the firm’s light-drenched space, the studio setting is likely to enhance both the dream-like and abstract qualities of the new designs.
15 May-28 June; 56 West 22nd Street, 10010
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‘Under the Office’ by Visibility
View Google MapsTo celebrate its fifth anniversary, design studio Visibility has conceived ‘Under the Office’ – a pop-up exhibition revealing its creative process while charting the progression of its work. Showcasing both prototypes and works designed for brands ranging from Outdoor Voices (for Wallpaper* Handmade), Matter Made and Good Thing, to Normann Copenhagen and Roll & Hill, the exhibition shines a spotlight on Visibility’s past, present and future, with both hits and misses getting equal attention.
16-20 May; 195 Chrystie Street,10002
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Luceplan
View Google MapsInside its Soho showroom, lighting brand Luceplan reveals its US product launches, following its Salone del Mobile debut at lighting special Euroluce. Included are sound absorbing suspension lights by Stephen Burks titled Trypta (pictured); intricately crafted glass blown pendants by David Dolcini, and sculptural brass forms from Daniel Rybakken.
From 15 May; 14 Wooster Street, 10013
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Trueing at Pas de Calais
View Google MapsBrooklyn-based design studio Trueing was inspired by raw metal links found on industrial sites for the forms of its newest lighting collection, Cerine. These borosilicate glass chains have been turned into sconce, floor lamp and more, and will showcase at the Pas de Calais boutique in Soho. Read more in the June 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*243), on newsstands from 9 May
15-31 May; 482 Broome Street, 10012
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‘Corks’ by Jasper Morrison
View Google MapsFor Jasper Morrison’s first solo gallery exhibition in North America, Kasmin Gallery has placed the spotlight on the designer’s first complete series of furniture made from cork. Stemming from his interest in the material, which exudes both functionality and unique atmospheric qualities, Morrison has crafted chairs, chaise lounges, stools, bookshelves and even a fireplace, from reconstituted wine bottle corks – some of which can still be noticeable in their original shape.
9 May-29 June; Kasmin Gallery, 509 W 27th Street, 10001
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‘Patterns of Light’ by Rich Brilliant Willing
View Google MapsThe US lighting manufacturer throws open the doors of its Soho showroom and studio for the debut of its latest presentation, ‘Patterns of Light’, which includes new designs – oversized textile pendants made from canvas sail cloth. Juxtaposing scale and volume with a warm luminosity, the fresh work is testament to RBW’s ten years of work.
14-22 May; 50 Greene Street, 10013
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Lindsey Adelman
View Google MapsHot on the heels of the studio’s Los Angeles residency at the MAK Center’s Schindler McKay Apartments, Lindsey Adelman unveils a newly expanded 5,000 sq ft showroom space in NoHo that comes armed with a vast material resource library, a behind-the-scenes look at the studio’s design processes and enough space to showcase over ten years of creative work and archival material. Photography: Lauren Coleman
16-18 May; 324 Lafayette Street, Floor 7, 10012
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Calico Wallpaper and Workstead
View Google MapsStaged within the historic arcade of the neoclassical Merchant’s Square Building in Tribeca, a harmonious joint effort between Calico Wallpaper and Workstead opens, presenting their latest collections together. The show promises to play to both studios’ individual strengths in the obscure space that also houses Arcade Bakery – a Workstead-designed rest stop for coffee and baked goods.
14-21 May; Arcade Bakery, 220 Church Street, 10013
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Coil + Drift
View Google MapsThe succinct design signature of the Brooklyn-based design studio Coil + Drift temporarily takes over a Lower East Side storefront for the week, which serves as a tranquil backdrop for its latest lighting collection, Assemblage. Inspired by founder John Sorensen-Jolink’s experience of buying and renovating his first home, the range is a poetic amalgam of geometric shapes, tarnished brass and walnut.
15-19 May; 2 Rivington Street, 10002
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The Stable
View Google MapsThe shared offices of PR entrepreneur Alexandra Polier and designer Frederick McSwain doubles up as a furniture showroom that the duo have christened The Stable. Conveniently located in Manhattan’s NoHo district, the space provides a stylish New York home for the collections of the Swedish furniture brand Fogia, metal fabricators Neal Feay, lighting designer Carolyn Cartwright and McSwain himself.
By appointment only. 35 Great Jones Street, 10012
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ICFF 2019
View Google MapsThe furniture fair may well have been passed over for more light-footed, independent design showcases over the years, but 2019’s edition promises to see the behemoth claw its way back into relevance. Adding to its usual mix of established design names, such as Bernhardt Design, the fair will also host product debuts from the likes of Danish kitchen label Reform CPH, who will unveil new designs from Muller van Severen (pictrued), David Thulstrup and Note Design Studio, as well as from emerging entities, such as the Brooklyn-based studio Standard Issue.
19-22 May; Javits Center, 655 W 34th Street, 10001
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‘The Chair’ at The Future Perfect
View Google MapsDesigners Kelly Wearstler, Omer Arbel, Alex P White and more have created pieces for The Future Perfect’s chair exhibition. Each of the 50 unique designs have been selected by founder David Alhadeff and gallery director Laura Young for an experimental showcase that challenges the norm of a chair as a functional everyday object. Read more here.
Until 1 June; 55 Great Jones Street, 10012 -
Studio INI at A/D/O by MINI
View Google MapsFor creative space A/D/O’s second NYCxDesign showcase, they have commissioned Nassia Inglessis, director of Studio INI for her first major US project. Here the Athens and London-based designer delves deeper into her studies between human connection and the built environment and materiality. In the courtyard of A/D/O in Brooklyn, Urban Imprint will be a kinetic installation – a cocoon-like sculpture that ‘will rise, recede, and partially separate,’ allowing the visitor to manipulate the urban architectural surroundings.
17 May – summer 2019; 29 Norman Ave, Brooklyn, 11222
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‘Slow Motion’ by Aldo Bakker
View Google MapsA meditative performance of the Dutch artist and designer sculptural work is on view at Carpenters Workshop Gallery for the duration of design week. Escape 19 floors up and experience the forms in a calming dialogue between each other. Read more here
Until 22 June; 693, 5th Avenue, 10022