Esoteric Survey

Pacifica Designed Interiors at the De Young Museum. Image: Arts & Architecture Pacifica wasn't a company. It was an aesthetic based on the synthesis of Pacific island and California design concepts in architecture and furnishings. It emerged in 1949, championed by Harry Jackson, the owner of Jackson's Furniture in Oakland, California. The movement was characterized by a love for natural materials combined with a bold and direct simplicity that adapted the restraint of Japanese design to furnish American homes. This design was shown at the Pacifica exhibition at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. In 1952, PACIFICA: Furniture, Textiles, and Ceramics, an exhibition at the De Young Museum in San Francisco gained widespread attention. It was organized by Jackson and was featured in design and architecture magazines including Arts & Architecture and Interiors–each highlighting the fusion of Californian, Japanese, and Pacific island influences. The trend then went national ...

Franco Albini for Knoll, La Gardo Tackett, Laura Andreson and Heino Walter Lamb

California Cool: Mid-century Modernism on the Central Coast  opened last Friday at the Museum of Ventura County. Here are just a few pics. I'll do a more in-depth post later.  Ceramic sculpture by Santa Barbara-based artist Michael Arntz, on loan from The Landing .  Mosaic by Evelyn Ackerman , collection of Laura Ackerman.  Not only did the Ackermans have a long history collaborating with Central Coast-based companies Panelcarve and Forms + Surfaces, Evelyn designed a mural in Santa Barbara (below). Sea, Land, and Sky (1957) by Evelyn,  for a Louis Mazzeti office building on Victoria Street in Santa Barbara. Screen salvaged from a Rodney Walker house in Ojai that was the victim of an insensitive remodel. The screen is from the collection of Eric Huff. Architecture is a major component of the exhibition. The opening was a sell out.  California Cool: Mid-century Modernism on the Central Coast California Cool looks at ...

Los Angeles Modern Auctions  has a sale this Sunday, September 30th California Hard-Edge-land More at LAMA The John McLaughlin painting on the top is from 1948. It's a great example from the period right before he went full hard edge minimal and focused just on rectangles.  The bottom piece is a paper and tape collage with graphite from the early 1970s. Nakashima  George Nakashima frame holding a Ben Shahn print Oskar Fischinger Eames! June Schwarcz enamel on a wood box by Espenet Claire Falkenstein Early wood disc feet Flag Halyard chair by Hans Wegner. And check out all the Warhols.  Did you think there wouldn't be any Walter Lamb? They tried to hide it behind that monster David Cressey pot. Check out the sale here .

A monumental Sheila Hicks fiber sculpture at the preview for the May 22nd  LAMA   sale. It appears they also have some Walter Lamb furniture KEM Weber desk and side table designed for the Disney studios in 1938. KEM Weber music cabinet designed for the Disney studios in 1938. This was the KEM Weber set up at Disney, complete with an "Airline" chair on the right  Source: Walt Disney Archives Three paintings by Oskar Fischinger Coincidentally, Oskar worked as motion picture cartoon effects animator at Disney right around the same time KEM Weber designed the new offices. Theoretically, he could have been using a Weber desk when he was working on Fantasia. Fischinger at work at the Disney studio in 1939. He hated it. More on that, here . Source:  Elfriede Fischinger  via Michael Sporn Animation   Salvador Dali was around the Disney studio too. There is an "Airline" chair in the corner. Sour...