Esoteric Survey

A Handmade Modernism, Artisanal Design in Mexico, 1952–2022, curated by  Ana Elena Mallet The exhibition takes place at the MUAC at UNAM in Mexico City. The exhibition looks at  craft design that was produced in Mexico from 1950 to the present. It starts with  Clara Porset and the 1952 El arte en la vida diaria: Exposición de objetos de buen diseño hechos en México.  This was the  first design exhibition Porset organized.  The exhibition fittingly begins with designs by Porset. A number of them we part of the 1952 exhibition. Clara Porset design produced by Ruiz Galindo Industries lounge chair, 1957 Silla Totonaca by Porset Tea cart by Porset Michael van Beuren This Cynthia Sargent rug looked familiar. On closer inspection it turns out that it was mine.  Here it is . The collector I sold it to loaned it for the exhibition.   Michael van Beuren I did not do a great job documenting all the artists and designers. Luckily the curator,  Ana Elena Mallet, is working on a book. William Spra

I didn't even go shopping last weekend and I still managed to get a chair.  Nathan Lerner, Chair in a Box

A friend was visiting from Mexico so I took him to see some good old fashioned California modern architecture.  First stop was Case Study House 23A in La Jolla by Edward Killingsworth.   The foggy morning was a good look. Bayfront Youth and Family Services by Edward Killingsworth, 1959 Killingsworth, Brady & Smith Office, 1957 Kelly Sutherlin McLeod , the architecture firm that now occupies the building, just finished some restoration work. It looks like they did a great job.

 Ben Seibel.  I've had this one before.  As seen in MoMa Good Design, 1951 Edwin And Mary Scheier A painting

It's been quite sometime since I've been to the Eames House .  There's a gate in front of the house now so the casual step over the chain days are over. Book your tour here .  Visits to the Eames House used to consist of just showing up and walking around. There was always someone there to answer questions but now there are tours led by Eames Foundation staff. It was very informative and the person who led the tour I was on knew all the answers to the questions people threw at him.  Some things that were interesting to learn is that the Franz Kline painting up in the living room is a copy. The real one is being conserved. Also, the Eames lounge chair is also not the original one. The one there now belonged to Lucia. The original is being restored. That soft glove leather needed some attention.    The house has been going through quite an extensive conservation effort, led by the Getty. One thing they are currently working on is the "Cemesto" panels. The cement and