7.4.14

Floor Space

On the eve of design’s most anticipated fairs of the year you can guarantee an art collaboration release is not too far behind. The rise of the artist collaboration within the worlds of utility and practicality, at least for the most part, has proved to be a successful formula providing consumers a veneer of the conceptual onto objets of the everyday.

The Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano launches this week and will showcase the best in furniture design and home styling from both Italy and around the world. Gothenburg-based Henzel Studio is one such exhibitor who will be presenting an exclusive collection of art rug editions in collaboration with leading contemporary artists. The Swedish luxury label has worked with twelve international artists on its ‘Volume #1’ collection. Assume Vivid Astro Focus, Marilyn Minter, Richard Prince and Juergen Teller are a few of the names who have defied conventional right-angle styles for more elaborate and curious compositions that will detract eyes from the wall firmly to the floor. 
Untitled, 2012 - Anselm Reyle
The abstract aesthetic of Anselm Reyle is a fine example of how successful an artwork can be translated through alternate media, particularly within the realm of interior design. Reyle’s Untitled, 2012 contribution to the collection is a replica of the artist’s gathered foil style imagery inspired by his series of paintings, which has been directly reworked in both design and structure onto a free-from monochrome rug, hand knotted in Himalayan and New Zealand wool and silk. The result is an almost three-dimensional effect of luminous folds in the pile that makes for a contemporary decorative statement. 

The Henzel Studio Collaborations series will debut in Milan at Superstudio Più before an official launch at Barneys New York Madison Avenue flagship during Frieze New York in May later this year. For more information about all the artists involved in the ‘Volume #1’ collection visit Henzel Studio.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano opens tomorrow and runs through to 13th April 2014 - click here for full details of exhibitors and events throughout the week.

Image courtesy of Henzel Studio

2.4.14

Full Stop To Spots?

With the release of Damien Hirst's catalogue raisonné The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011, my latest blog entry for Ohh Deer poses the question: could this be a full stop to spots? 

Charting the artist's first expression of his now iconic series in his art school days at Goldsmiths, London through to the unprecedented global exhibition held by Gagosion Gallery in 2011, which the catalogues takes its name, the spot-aesthetic has emblazoned over 1000 artworks across nearly three decades. 
The 929-page full colour tome - published by Other Criteria in conjunction with Gagosian Gallery - documents one of the most prolific and recognisable visual images from the late-twentieth century that has experienced phenomenal mileage beyond the white cube walls, appreciated by the worlds of design, fashion and luxury. The publication looks at the significance spot paintings have had on popular culture, transcending accessibility with a host of brand collaborations from Becks to Manolo Blahnik.
The spot-aesthetic has by no means lost its virility. Since 2011 we have seen yet more demand for the systematic spots in addition to Hirst's other signature styles of colour, carats and chemicals showcased in the celebrated retrospective at Tate Modern, London in 2012 and subsequently in the largest survey of the artist's career at ALRIWAQ, Qatar Museums Authority in Doha.
The launch of such a comprehensive publication alludes to the end of what is arguably one of Damien Hirst's most important veins of investigation. Is the controversy, or even empowerment, of ending a chapter of his practice too irresistible for the artist who relishes on throwing art world convention into a spin?

Read my full article Full Stop To Spots? and view further images from ‘The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011’ at the Ohh Deer blog.
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Images courtesy of Other Criteria