New York
CNN
—
Each May, New York is taken over by the exhibitions, installations, talks and trade shows that comprise the citywide NYCxDesign festival.
In honor of the occasion, CNN Style asked 11 of the most exciting designers presenting in New York to reveal the defining designs that have help shape their practice and inspire their creative vision.
Todd Bracher: “My definitive pendant light is the Louis Poulsen PH Lamp (1958). The PH Lamp was a category-defining lamp (and a cultural one as it defined also ‘Danish style’). It was the first pendant lamp that considered layering light for an optically pleasing effect, creating a soft light throw.”
Todd Bracher is an award-winning, critically acclaimed industrial designer based in Brooklyn, New York. Over the past 20 years, Bracher has collaborated with some of the most prestigious brands in the world, including Jaguar, Burberry, Humanscale and Herman Miller.
Todd Bracher Studio
Presented at Bklyn Designs, Vessel was engineered completely from the "perfect light throw" to provide an optimal throw of glare-free light, according to a press release.
Todd Bracher Studio
Designed in collaboration with optical physicists, the lamp has a concealed LED light source above a finely tuned quartz cylinder and is shaped to refract the light downward without letting it escape. The result is a balanced and even light, emanating from a beautiful, minimal object.
Todd Bracher Studio
Trea is designed for how people work today. The chair has a built-in recline that provides ergonomic support for sitters of all sizes without the need for manual adjustments to control tension. It speaks a design language at once modern and timeless.
“Vessel takes this logic to the next level through physics, fully resolved through a complete understanding of physics and collaboration with optical scientists.”
“Essentially, Vessel is the future of lighting, science and physics, standing on the shoulders of the category defined by the classic Louis Poulsen PH pendant lamp collection.”
Cassina
Le Corbusier LC16 - re-edited by Cassina.
Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance: “The furniture that I’ve designed for Saint-Louis has been inspired by simple shelves that would be able to store the archive of Saint-Louis stock in an attic.”
“In a same way, the furniture designed by Le Corbusier is composed of an assembly of simple wooden boxes. Though it may look rudimentary at first sight, this piece of furniture rethinks assembly and proportion to restore glory and beauty to practicality.
Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance is a multidisciplinary designer and interior architect based in Paris. His work is strongly inspired by the complexity and continuity of nature. He established the creative studio Neonata, meaning "new birth" in Italian, in 2003.
Neonata
The Folia collection is Duchaufour-Lawrance's first to combine the textures of crystal and wood. The cut of crystal is inspired by a leaf, and is translated into geometric, regular and contemporary forms.
Neonata
The Folia collection
Neonata
The Folia collection
TONY TRICHANH
Euroluce for Saint-Louis
courtesy 1882 Ltd.
The Max Lamb collection at 1882.
Lee Broom: “I really admire what the 1882 brand are doing with ceramics, they’re really innovating the industry and the collection with Max Lamb is very different from other ceramics out there.”
“It’s a very modern collection and a very striking interpretation of a very traditional material, craft and skill.”
Lee Broom, one of the UK's leading designers, has collaborated with the likes of Christian Louboutin and Mulberry. He was presented with the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2015.
Michael Bodiam
Broom has teamed up with British luxury brand Wedgwood to create a capsule collection of limited-edition Jasperware vases and bowls.
Michael Bodiam
Inspired by Wedgwood's 250-year heritage, the collaboration celebrates British craftsmanship and innovation.
Lee Broom
Crafted from hand cut lead crystal, the Decanterlights are inspired by the drinks decanters found in a traditional British drawing room.
Lee Broom
Lee Broom New York showroom
The definitive glass work: Libenský and Brychtová
Heller Gallery, New York
Libenský & Brychtová, Red Pyramid, 1993-99.
Image courtesy of Heller Gallery, New York
John Hogan: “I’m Selecting Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová’s work. They were a husband and wife collaboration that pioneered the processes of casting glass to make sculpture in the Czech Republic.”
“Their collaboration started in 1954 and continued until Stanislav died in 2002. Libensky was a painter and Brychtova a sculptor. Together they developed a work-flow and aesthetic language focused on the abstraction of light and color in space using glass primarily as a lens.”
John Hogan is a Seattle-based artist and designer who works predominantly in glass. His work, which spans both functional objects and sculpture, is about changing radiant energy through the refraction of light.
Charlie Schuck
Hogan will present a new series of one-of-a-kind furniture pieces and sculptures as an experiential installation. It will transport viewers to The Future Perfect's new Los Angeles outpost, Casa Perfect, through virtual reality technology.
Charlie Schuck
John Hogan for The Future Perfect
Charlie Schuck
John Hogan for The Future Perfect
Charlie Schuck
John Hogan for The Future Perfect
Fernando Mastrangelo: “I love reduction, it’s very hard to reduce an object to its bare essentials and allow the materials to speak, transform, and transport. I think of Richard Serra, he only uses one material, metal, and then he bends it, and it becomes a painting, a sculpture, a piece of architecture, an installation, and it transports the audience physically and mentally. That’s powerful.”
“Donald Judd does the same with his furniture, it’s about plywood, and allowing the natural beauty of the wood to sing. The designer should be a filter for what nature provides and re-contextualize it to expand our understanding of its natural beauty.”
Fernando Mastrangelo is the founder of the design firm Fernando Mastrangelo Studio, which runs out of his Brooklyn studio. He uses materials like salt, coffee, sand, glass and cement to create his sculptures.
Voiid Studio
Mastrangelo is presenting his two new series, Ghost and Thaw, at Collective Design in New York. Ghost emphasizes precision and restraint in minimal, geometric pieces cast entirely in cement.
Voiid Studio
After spending a decade experimenting with and casting unusual materials, Mastrangelo now works with a robotic arm to make large-scale pieces that emulate the gravity of nature with the softness of carved cement.
Voiid Studio
Thaw sees crushed and powdered glass mixed with cement to capture the form, tones and textures of glaciers.
Alain Ellouz: “Isamu Noguchi was one of the 20th century’s most important and critically acclaimed sculptors.”
“As a sculptor he was one of my masters of inspiration. I am always captivated by the simplicity and sophistication of his language. That same identity, subtle and bold, that characterizes our work.”
Atelier Alain Ellouz designs interiors, as well as lighting fixtures made from alabaster and rock crystal.
AAE-Christel Martin
Debuting in New York this month, the Yoko and Yum chandeliers are inspired by Japanese dolls.
AAE
The Atelier has been creating alabaster lighting fixtures for more than 10 years.
AAE-Christel Martin
The Yum chandelier
AAE-Christel Martin
The Lucy chandelier
Samuel Amoia: “For my definitive piece, I would chose any Diego Giacometti piece, console or coffee table.”
“The form, the refinement, the restraint, and the energy for each piece he sculpted is the definition of modern in my opinion. His work is incredibly timeless, transitional, and stands up to any contemporary work today.”
Based in New York, Samuel Amoia received the Rising Talent award at the prestigious Maison & Objet fair in Paris in 2016.
Paulsta Wong
Brass shavings console
Paulsta Wong
Bronze sculpted drum
Paulsta Wong
Console for Dior's flagship store in Cannes
Dating back to the second French empire, this Napoleon III era design joins three armchair seats into one clover-shaped furniture piece.
Louis Lim: “I don’t consider the Mobius as strictly a bench, nor would I classify the Indiscret as a sofa, because the social interaction it proposes goes beyond the basic utility. There are many modern artists and designers doing amazing pieces along this line, but to me, the Indiscret started it all. It’s an object that forces interesting and odd social interactions, the form is incredibly unique and beautiful. It defines public interaction, creating an intimate place for strangers to connect, yet oddly still separates each of us.”
Louis Lim is a designer at Studio ai. He currently heads Makingworks, the firm's product design division. Lim's sculptures and designs explore function, utility and play.
PAUL RIVERA
On view at Wanted Design, the Mobius is an interactive installation designed in collaboration with 3form.
Louis Lim/3Form
During a five-week residency at 3form's headquarters, Lim was introduced to Dark Chroma, a new material making its debut with this collaboration during NYCxDesign. The Mobius bench is dramatically lit using motion-activated technology, giving the piece a space-age quality.
PAUL RIVERA
Mobius is responsive to vibration. When activated, light flows through the bench.
Leah Ring: “In my opinion, the most definitive mirror is Gio Ponti’s F.A. 33 mirror.”
“I love that it was designed in 1933 but still holds up in contemporary interiors and has quite a modern feel. The curves and irregular shape have become iconic and it is uniquely elegant without being too fussy.
The F.A. 33 mirror also plays nicely with a wide range of interior styles, which I think is truly the sign of a well-designed piece. It’s timeless and it elevates the overall feel of a space.”
Leah Ring is the founder of Los Angeles-based design practice Another Human. She creates one-of-a-kind objects, furniture and jewelry.
charlie chipman
At Sight Unseen OFFSITE, Ring is presenting her debut collection of furniture and objects, including mirrors crafted with semi-precious stones.
Charlie Chipman
The Aura Mirror
Charlie Chipman
The Stacks bench
Vestre and Snøhetta agreed that their definitive bench design would be George Nelson’s platform bench (1946).
Jan Christian Vestre, CEO of Vestre: “It is a classic that continues to inspire street furniture design due to its architectural character.”
Acclaimed architecture and design company Snøhetta collaborated with the Scandinavian street furniture company Vestre to produce an outdoor furniture range for Times Square in New York. The designers were Nick Koster and Craig Dykers for Snøhetta, and Espen Voll, Michael Olofsson and Tore Borgersen for Vestre.
Vestre
The new line was installed in Times Square earlier this month at the recently completed, Snøhetta-designed pedestrian plazas on Broadway.
Vestre
The benches were tailored to the large crowds and heavy foot traffic in Times Square.
Vestre
The line was also adapted to meet Times Square's need for furniture that can be easily moved as required.
The definitive light design: Castiglioni and Manzu’s Parentesi
Andrea Anastasio: “If I have to select one light design, then it’s Parentesi by A. Castiglioni and P. Manzu. It has been designed in 1970 and it is difficult to strip bare the components of a lamp beyond that point. Yet you have a great design piece characterizing the space in a very performative and sculptural way.”
“It can rotate 360 degrees and move vertically from the ceiling down to the floor, focusing onto the specific place one wishes to highlight. It is easy to install and to transport. Parentesi has been a powerful source of inspiration in my work and Filo shares a similar approach.”
Andrea Anastasio is a former designer for influential design group Memphis. He designs furniture and objects for Italian companies.
Massimo Gardone
The Filo lamp, which debuts at NYCxDesign, was inspired by the idea of deconstructing the traditional lamp form. By separating its individual pieces -- the light source, the base, decorative elements and electrical wiring -- Anastasio brought out each part's own structural and aesthetic characteristics.
Massimo Gardone
Filo's essential character is the result of playing with the fundamentals of objects, elevating elements that are not traditionally considered decorative alongside the adornments.
NYCxDesign is on until May 24, 2017.