The 6 Best Galleries and Installations from Collective Design
From an inflatable desert oasis to furniture designed for touch (not sight), this year's Collective Design didn't disappoint.
For the last decade, artists Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley have been experimenting in what they call “performance architecture,” which—exactly as the name implies—is a fantastic melange of structure, theater, and acrobatics. Working solo, Schweder designed this special piece for the fair: an inflatable sculpture where passersby become the performers. Courtesy Zachary Edelson
Not one, but two inflatable architecture installations grace the showroom floor of Collective Design. One is a desert oasis (with real plants and sand) hidden behind enormous polyethylene cylinders. The other uses inflating compartments to flip two couches onto each other, creating a single bed (and rather awkward arrangement) for its two users. In this sense Collective Design, which runs through March 11 at Skylight Clarkson North in New York City, is no standard design fair.
But, in addition to its installations, it has its share of regular galleries. Metropolis stopped by the fair—here are some of our top picks:
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Jesse Seegers and Brook Landscape
Designer Jesse Seegers and design-build studio Brook Landscape collaborated to create this “oasis” for Collective Design. The installation features inflatable polyethylene barriers that protect a miniature verdant sanctuary, replete with sand, plants, chairs (from Natural Workshop), and a boardwalk. The oasis is meant to be a “mental palette cleanser from the visual stimulation of the fair,” says Seegers, who specializes in inflatable architectureCourtesy Collective DesignJesse Seegers and Brook Landscape
Designer Jesse Seegers and design-build studio Brook Landscape collaborated to create this “oasis” for Collective Design. The installation features inflatable polyethylene barriers that protect a miniature verdant sanctuary, replete with sand, plants, chairs (from Natural Workshop), and a boardwalk. The oasis is meant to be a “mental palette cleanser from the visual stimulation of the fair,” says Seegers, who specializes in inflatable architectureCourtesy Collective Design -
Jesse Seegers and Brook Landscape
The garden does provide shelter for the senses: the hum of the inflatable’s fan provides soothing white noise, while incense floats through the air. Eagle-eyed visitors will spot several stuffed birds throughout the installation.Courtesy Zachary EdelsonJesse Seegers and Brook Landscape
The garden does provide shelter for the senses: the hum of the inflatable’s fan provides soothing white noise, while incense floats through the air. Eagle-eyed visitors will spot several stuffed birds throughout the installation.Courtesy Zachary Edelson -
Jesse Seegers and Brook Landscape
“Fun is the key word,” says Brook Landscape’s Brook Klausing.Courtesy Collective DesignJesse Seegers and Brook Landscape
“Fun is the key word,” says Brook Landscape’s Brook Klausing.Courtesy Collective Design -
Jesse Seegers and Brook Landscape
For true isolation, visitors can enter the inflatables themselves. Inside the quiet space, the primary stimulus is the ambient illumination filtering through the plastic. In Seegers’ words, it “forces you to appreciate the light.”Courtesy Zachary EdelsonJesse Seegers and Brook Landscape
For true isolation, visitors can enter the inflatables themselves. Inside the quiet space, the primary stimulus is the ambient illumination filtering through the plastic. In Seegers’ words, it “forces you to appreciate the light.”Courtesy Zachary Edelson -
Harry Nuriev
Harry Nuriev, artist, architect, and founder of Brooklyn- and Moscow-based Crosby Studios wants to take visitors back to his childhood with his Collective Design gallery, dubbed My Reality. The central steel carousel was inspired by the colorful Moscow playground rides of Nuriev’s youth while the wallpaper (courtesy of Wallpaper Projects) quite literally shows the housing project where the artist was raised.Courtesy Collective DesignHarry Nuriev
Harry Nuriev, artist, architect, and founder of Brooklyn- and Moscow-based Crosby Studios wants to take visitors back to his childhood with his Collective Design gallery, dubbed My Reality. The central steel carousel was inspired by the colorful Moscow playground rides of Nuriev’s youth while the wallpaper (courtesy of Wallpaper Projects) quite literally shows the housing project where the artist was raised.Courtesy Collective Design -
Moss & Lam Inc.
The formula for Moss & Lam’s sculptural, variegated side tables and stools is deceptively simple: pigment, glue, and plaster. The trick is the process: “It’s like making bread, how you mix it and knead it,” says studio principal Deborah Moss. The laborious process is built upon trial and error, though the end result is swirls of colors with a smooth, sometimes pockmarked, glossy feel.Courtesy Zachary EdelsonMoss & Lam Inc.
The formula for Moss & Lam’s sculptural, variegated side tables and stools is deceptively simple: pigment, glue, and plaster. The trick is the process: “It’s like making bread, how you mix it and knead it,” says studio principal Deborah Moss. The laborious process is built upon trial and error, though the end result is swirls of colors with a smooth, sometimes pockmarked, glossy feel.Courtesy Zachary Edelson -
Moss & Lam Inc.
The plaster pieces—dubbed Playtime—are hollow and unreinforced, relying entirely on their two-inch-thick exterior for support.Courtesy Zachary EdelsonMoss & Lam Inc.
The plaster pieces—dubbed Playtime—are hollow and unreinforced, relying entirely on their two-inch-thick exterior for support.Courtesy Zachary Edelson -
Moss & Lam Inc.
Moss & Lam began producing hand-painted canvas wallpaper (which was also on display in the booth) though their focus on pigments and handcraft naturally led to these plaster furniture designs, says Moss.Courtesy Zachary EdelsonMoss & Lam Inc.
Moss & Lam began producing hand-painted canvas wallpaper (which was also on display in the booth) though their focus on pigments and handcraft naturally led to these plaster furniture designs, says Moss.Courtesy Zachary Edelson -
Alex Schweder
For the last decade, artists Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley have been experimenting in what they call “performance architecture,” which—exactly as the name implies—is a fantastic melange of structure, theater, and acrobatics. Schweder was commissioned by Collective and the automotive fabrics company Alcantara to design a special piece for the fair. The result is Davenport Yawn, an inflatable sculpture where passersby become the performers.Courtesy Zachary EdelsonAlex Schweder
For the last decade, artists Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley have been experimenting in what they call “performance architecture,” which—exactly as the name implies—is a fantastic melange of structure, theater, and acrobatics. Schweder was commissioned by Collective and the automotive fabrics company Alcantara to design a special piece for the fair. The result is Davenport Yawn, an inflatable sculpture where passersby become the performers.Courtesy Zachary Edelson -
Alex Schweder
Davenport is a friendly, disco-ish maw: two white shag sofas face each other at the crease of two shimmery pillow-like forms (made from fabric donated by Alcantara). Hidden fans from within the sofas inflate these cushions and, as they swell, the sofas and their occupants (lying supine) are slowly tilted towards another, until, Schweder says with delight, “you’re—boom!—face-to face.” The resulting tumble is great for a spontaneous erotic encounter...or an awkward moment with a coworker.Courtesy Zachary EdelsonAlex Schweder
Davenport is a friendly, disco-ish maw: two white shag sofas face each other at the crease of two shimmery pillow-like forms (made from fabric donated by Alcantara). Hidden fans from within the sofas inflate these cushions and, as they swell, the sofas and their occupants (lying supine) are slowly tilted towards another, until, Schweder says with delight, “you’re—boom!—face-to face.” The resulting tumble is great for a spontaneous erotic encounter...or an awkward moment with a coworker.Courtesy Zachary Edelson -
Azadeh Shladovsky
Azadeh Shladovsky creates works that are as beautiful as they are personal. When designing her latest collection, the multidiscilpinary Los Angeles designer pondered the necessity of sight, after witnessing her daughter’s vision deteriorate during a battle with brain cancer.Courtesy Azadeh ShladovskyAzadeh Shladovsky
Azadeh Shladovsky creates works that are as beautiful as they are personal. When designing her latest collection, the multidiscilpinary Los Angeles designer pondered the necessity of sight, after witnessing her daughter’s vision deteriorate during a battle with brain cancer.Courtesy Azadeh Shladovsky -
Azadeh Shladovsky
After her child’s death, Shladovsky sought to “push the boundaries of what it means to see” through her work.Courtesy Azadeh ShladovskyAzadeh Shladovsky
After her child’s death, Shladovsky sought to “push the boundaries of what it means to see” through her work.Courtesy Azadeh Shladovsky -
Azadeh Shladovsky
The result is QUALIA, a set of mirrors and chairs inspired by braille forms, rendered in tactile materials such as velvet and brass. At Collective, these chairs were placed around “The Eye,” an Italian marble table incised by both CNC-milled and hand-carved braille passages from Shladovsky’s poetry. “See how I feel and feel how I see,” she writes.Courtesy Collective DesignAzadeh Shladovsky
The result is QUALIA, a set of mirrors and chairs inspired by braille forms, rendered in tactile materials such as velvet and brass. At Collective, these chairs were placed around “The Eye,” an Italian marble table incised by both CNC-milled and hand-carved braille passages from Shladovsky’s poetry. “See how I feel and feel how I see,” she writes.Courtesy Collective Design -
LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
VIP areas are traditionally cloistered affairs—velvet ropes, beefy security guards, the coveted “list.” The team members from the architecture studio LOT and its design branch, Objects of Common Interest took a different approach at Collective.Courtesy LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTERESTLOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
VIP areas are traditionally cloistered affairs—velvet ropes, beefy security guards, the coveted “list.” The team members from the architecture studio LOT and its design branch, Objects of Common Interest took a different approach at Collective.Courtesy LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST -
LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
For one thing, their lounge is decidedly un-loungey, playing with hard, geometric forms rather than sensuous surfaces. Simple glass brick plinths serve as seating, cocktail tables, and a bar. Each of these “islands” is abutted by a colored half-moon acrylic “carpet.”Courtesy Zachary EdelsonLOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
For one thing, their lounge is decidedly un-loungey, playing with hard, geometric forms rather than sensuous surfaces. Simple glass brick plinths serve as seating, cocktail tables, and a bar. Each of these “islands” is abutted by a colored half-moon acrylic “carpet.”Courtesy Zachary Edelson -
LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
This VIP area also isn’t hidden away. “We wanted something blurry,” firm founder Leonidas Trampoukis says gesturing toward a curtain of soccer nets, the lounge’s only boundary.Courtesy LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTERESTLOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
This VIP area also isn’t hidden away. “We wanted something blurry,” firm founder Leonidas Trampoukis says gesturing toward a curtain of soccer nets, the lounge’s only boundary.Courtesy LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST -
LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
One thing is certain: it is designed to be seen.Courtesy LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTERESTLOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
One thing is certain: it is designed to be seen.Courtesy LOT / OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST
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