Hasta La Ideas

Once again Moss, NYC’s highly revered design destination, opened one of the most important openings during ICFF, called “Poetic License,” to much frenzied fanfare this weekend. Despite considerable downsizing over the past two years—the company shuttered both of its West Coast operations and its joint-venture restaurant, and gave over its previous gallery space to lighting producer Flos—Moss managed to pack more talent into a single room than seemingly possible. Billed as a “gallery-wide celebration of rule breaking, envelope pushing and taking chances,” Poetic License offers work in a multitude of forms and mediums, including for the first time the representation of true two-dimensional “art” in collaboration with independent curators Thea Westreich and Ethan Wagner. (Pictured above, the Koons-esque Chippensteel Chair by Oskar Zieta.)

The ensemble certainly makes for some interesting comparisons. The techno wizardry of Starck’s pre-production Light Photon OLED lamp for Flos, for instance, doesn’t hold a candle to the lyrical simplicity of Finn Magee’s Flat Light. Similarly, a series of grotesque bowls by the Campana brothers, while attention-grabbing, aren’t nearly as compelling as the considered architectural facade-cum-trays by Michele de Lucchi (above). While proprietor Murray Moss always has an uncanny knack for pairing disparate styles, at times the juxtaposition of such varied work on the same stage feels almost schizophrenic. Then again, it is his name on the window and he’s allowed some poetic license of his own.

Poetic License runs through 26 June 2010. Check out a slideshow of installation shots below.