Esoteric Survey

On my recent trip to New York I was able to see  Taking Shape:The Akari Light Sculptures of Isamu Noguchi exhibition curated by Adam Edelsberg for Wright . The auction already happened and was a major success. There was also a wonderful catalog produced. It written by Glenn Adamson, with an intro by Edelsberg. The collection included examples of the earliest Akari lamps produced from the 1950's through the 1970's. The fact that any of these early paper shades have survived is incredible. How Adam was able to assemble this many is a major testament of how good he is at what he does.  Isamu Noguchi traveled to Gifu, Japan in 1951 where he visited the Ozeki lantern factory. He then started working on his own designs utilizing the craft. In 1954, Chuo Koron Gallery in Tokyo held the first exhibition of Noguchi’s Akari designs. Over the next decades Noguchi designed an incredible number of base and shade variations.  The earliest Akari mark with just the sun and moon. Later ...

I first heard of Richard Blow through  Adam Edelsberg , who has been collecting the work for more than two decades. Adam is one of the top tier dealers in the country and this is how he describes his discovery... I was lucky enough to find myself in the upstairs office of the Gansevoort Gallery in the late 1990s. So I had the fortunate experience of seeing some of the greatest design objects of the twentieth century - the rarest Noguchi furniture, Eames prototypes, Calder jewelry. That office felt like the epicenter of modern design. It was here that I first encountered a work by Richard Blow, a small plaque depicting a castle in the Tuscan countryside. A little trompe l‘oeil, a little surreal, modernist in its visual vernacular, yet executed in a traditional manner. I was unfamiliar with pietre dure, the Medici, or Tuscan stones.  Yet the work, handmade, honest, and charming, spoke to me. Little did I know that this small work of art with its mysterious origins would t...

On July 12th Wright presents Dieter Rams: The JF Chen Collection at auction. Featuring over 130 works by the seminal designer and his colleagues at Braun and Vitsoe. The items up for sale were exhibited last year at JF Chen. In 1955 Rams began working as an architect at Braun and was chief designer from 1961 until 1995. In the 1960s he designed  a furniture collection for Vitsœ ,   including the 606 universal shelving system and 620 chair series. Dieter's desk. Dieter at home.  Source: Yatzer Coming in just a few months is Rams ,  a documentary portrait of Dieter Rams. P roduced and directed by  Gary Hustwit, of Objectified and Helvetica fame.  Original score and music for Rams is by Brian Eno. Source: Gary Hutswit See all the lots available at  Wright

On June 29th, Wright will hold the first auction dedicated solely to Paul McCobb.   Much of it comes from the collection of Reform Gallery . Pavilion Collection room divider, model 6000, by Arbuck Paul McCobb designed a lot of pieces. The simple geometry of the Pavilion collection is at the top for me. 1953 Arbuck catalog Pavilion Collection chair, model 6550 , by Arbuck Seagrass and iron. So good. Magazine rack, model 6521 for Northcraft Lighting Co. USA, 1951 McCobb's lighting designs are some of his best work, and the hardest to come by. This one, produced by Excelsior Art Studios USA in 1954, might be his best. Yes, he designed radios too.  CBS-Columbia USA, 1955 All images via Wright See the rest here . And make sure to check out all the period documentation links.  It's a goldmine!

Eames Design: The JF Chen Collection goes to auction at Wright on September 10th Many of the pieces were exhibited at the Pacific Standard Time exhibition,  Eames Designs: The Guest-Host Relationship  in 2011-2012--including this Red Lion cabinet by Charles Eames and his buddy Eero Saarinen  for the MOMA Organic Design Competition . See more photos of that exhibition,  here . See all the lots, here . All photos:  Wright

Isamu Noguchi IN-62 Sam Grawe wrote a great article on the Herman Miller WHY blog. Along with Richard Wright, he explores  some experimental  Herman Miller  designs that have passed through Wright auction. This includes some pre-production, limited production,  custom designs,  bastardized concoctions and some pieces that are a mystery.    Read it here . Mystery Herman Miller table