Working on the theory that you can make something so bad it’s good, Misaki Kawai presents faux naïve painting and sculpture at The Hole that entices with its wild color and cartoonish figures. (On the Lower East Side through Oct 30th).
Does your furniture say something about your personality? Japanese design group Nendo goes a step further, suggesting that chairs themselves have personality, as demonstrated by fifty stainless steel seats. All were inspired by manga and intended to convey mood or attitude. Enhanced by swirling projections on the gallery walls, the chair in the foreground looks like it’s just arrived from another dimension, eager to please. (At Chelsea’s Friedman Benda through Oct 29th).
A foam couch, a broken glass table and lamps made of driftwood define young New York artist Jessi Reaves’ slacker design aesthetic in furniture art now on view at Bridget Donahue. Here, plywood, foam and driftwood create a giant letter ‘O’ which is simultaneously a seat, shelving and an opportunity to experience an ‘Oh…’ moment while discovering Reaves’ forays into unfinish. (On the Lower East Side through June 5th).
Enter LA artist Samara Golden’s full-gallery installation at Canada on the Lower East Side, and prepare to be jolted from the everyday – the floor under a catwalk is lined with mirrors and furniture fixed to the wall in a gravity-defying display the invites visitors to let loose from their moorings and play ‘what if.’ (Through Oct 25th).
Samara Golden, installation view of ‘A Fall of Corners’ at Canada Gallery, Sept 2015.
The postmodern Italian design collective The Memphis Group flaunted ‘good taste’ in the 80s with their anti-modernist designs and materials that included molded plastics and laminates. Now the public can’t get enough, as evidenced by an irrepressibly upbeat show of furniture and design at Chelsea’s Koenig and Clinton Gallery. (Through Jan 31st).
Installation view of The Memphis Group at Koenig and Clinton, Jan 2015. Featuring Michele De Lucchi’s ‘Lido’ couch and ‘Polar’ end tables and Ettore Sottsass’s ‘Treetops’ lamp and ‘Park Lane’ coffee table.
