ISO a great chair
Some thoughts on design + art links
I’m on the search for a good stool—a tiny wood one with three legs to sit in a corner or next to the bath. This is pretty close to what I want. And here’s an expensive version of it.
I’ve had my mind on chairs lately.
In my search, I’ve come across two exhibitions that vindicate my obsession with a good chair as an art form. In 2022, there was an impressive exhibition and subsequent auction of stools from the JF Chen collection. Who knew there were so many forms a small chair could take!?
There’s also a cool exhibition up right now at 1599fdT in New York titled “Chair +.” It features (you guessed it!) chairs! Fun. I think it’s a great idea to add a design/art object to your collection. After all, there’s only so much wall space one home has.
Adding a cool chair or stool to a space has the extra benefit of introducing a new height into the mix. I believe that you should have various levels in your home to create visual interest—from tiny stools and oversized vases near the floor to hanging lights and ceiling-high plants. I love to hang art high on the wall, almost touching the ceiling. It creates a jolt of surprise when you discover it and guides the eye to new places in the home. Case in point: I’ve hung a painting by Margaux Smith high in the hallway, perfectly framed by the entranceway when you’re sitting on the couch.
After all my research, my favourite chair lately remains the Wink Chair by Toshiyuki Kita for Cassina. There are a few available at Séjour Studio in Montreal for a very good price. While I’d love to get one, we’re convinced our cat would like scratching it too much.
Art News This Week
Kara Walker posted a moving tribute to Brent Sikkema on Instagram. The news of his death is devastating.
I loved this article by Jamie Ross for C Magazine. The introduction to Gibraltar Point felt so familiar I wondered if we were at the residency at the same time. It could also be the magic of the island lends itself to transferable memories—which is why the second part of the essay is even more important.
Marina Abramović has launched a skincare line, and the internet meme community is going wild. A few key points from the Financial Times article:
Abramović created the skincare brand with Dr. Nonna Brenner, who Abramović claims cured her of Lyme disease using treatments that included leeches.
In May 2023, Abramović faced another health crisis after a knee operation where she suffered a pulmonary embolism that nearly killed her. “Having survived a coma, three operations, nine blood transfusions and six weeks in intensive care, she weaned herself off opioids and spent months regaining movement with physiotherapy.”
“She also thinks it’s vital for women to try and have as much sex as possible when they hit the menopause.” Noted.
My take: This isn’t “performance art” (as a Hyper Allergic article claimed) but something that Abramović truly believes in after a string of medical traumas, including a rather rough childhood.
Not endorsed, but here’s a link to the products.
@freeze_magazine
You can the waitlist for Valise —the studio inventory database tool created by Brian Sholis. It’s sleak and easy to use—i’m looking forward to having access! You can read an interview I did with Brian Sholis a couple of years ago about Valise here:
⬇️⬇️⬇️
A Free Studio-Inventory Database for Artists
·
There’s a romantic notion of what it means to be an artist that includes long nights at the studio, glamorous openings, and doesn’t include spreadsheets and emails. The reality differs: so much of being a successful artist depends on staying on top of business dealings, organization, and keeping track of contacts.
Two paintings I love this week:
Thank you to Emily from How To Art, for recommending Paula Siebra’s work:
Paula Siebra And I’m really into Ben Horns paintings, currently on display at James Cohan alongside many great artists.
Bens Horns
That’s all for this week! See ya next Thursday xx
I confess, I am ambivalent (at best) about design and architecture. So much of it is self-indulgent and/or attention seeking. I do love painting, though. But much contemporary painting puzzles me. Paula Siebra's hands: these are ugly cartoon hands, I suspect there is an implied aesthetic here, but I'm not interested enough to figure it out. Bens Horns rendering of a photograph is even less interesting. It appears to be a tepid sexual fantasy. So much effort for so little reward is how I feel about it. I grade paintings on a shared empathy scale: How willing is and how successful is an artist in sharing the empathy he feels for a given subject. Of course, if he feels no empathy or actively avoids it, I am at a loss. These two paintings do not register on my scale.