Hasta La Ideas

Color, materials and concepts in a three-artist show

While on first blush the three artists currently showing at San Francisco’s Altman Siegel gallery all appear to have different techniques and themes, the exhibit compares their “meticulous use of materials” and often witty conceptual works. The show includes paintings and mixed-media pieces by Chris Johanson, Matt Keegan and Charley Harper—a trio that collectively spans generations but possess a similar outlook on life’s curious moments and the human condition.

Harper, the most well-established of the three, laid the foundation for many modern graphic designers with his ability to deconstruct a complex image into simple geometric forms—a style he called “minimal realism.” While visually disparate, Keegan’s pared-down approach feels similar to Harper’s, with a no-frills use of text or boldly-emphasized shapes leading his style.

Like Keegan, Johanson’s subjects also tackle societal issues through text, but the Portland, OR-based artist uses a color palette that more closely resembles Harper’s vivid combinations. Alluring hues draw viewers in and, like both other artists in the show, his deliberate choice of materials is evident.

The group show runs through 5 February 2011 at Altman Siegel. See more images in the gallery below.

From a Maserati bike to a neighborhood revival project and Yves Klein’s retrospective, the year in color

Color, perhaps the most powerful, immediate and accessible element in a designer or artist’s repertoire, blessed 2010 in abundance from all quarters. With products, fashion, art and social projects all proving that color is a key to unlocking human emotion on a multitude of levels, here are five offerings which had us more than tickled pink this year.

Let’s Colour

One of the most fantastic things about color is its ability to change the feeling of a place or even a viewer—often without anything more than a bucket and paint brush. Dulux’s Let’s Colour project typifies the simple power of a splash of color. Throughout the year volunteers have taken the Let’s Colour project to all corners of the world, helping to brighten up neighborhoods and locations which needed a little lick of paint. Working in collaboration with the locals, Dulux has been able to not only breathe some life into the downtrodden locations but also empower the inhabitants in the process for a truly inspirational venture.

Zweed

Arming the consumer with a little creative power, Zweed produces bespoke furniture which the buyer can spec out themselves, choosing color, shape, material and form. As we enter 2011, Zweed is truly showing how times of economic strife can lead the increased customer satisfaction, product longevity and beautiful pieces of handmade design which carry with them narrative and meaning in their coloring.

Evolving Image

Color can produce a dizzying array of effects and illusions in an architectural space, shown this year in the renovation of the compact CH HQ bathroom. Designed by Evolving Image, two tones of gray, a geometric pattern and a complimentary aqua accent draw the viewer’s attention to the paint job while elongating the small space. The blue-green hue is also a color which will remain fresh and contemporary for a long time, while gray always acts better as a base tone than a purer white if you want to pop an accent.

Montante Maserati 8CTF

This year the cycling world has enthralled and inspired in terms of color use, but it’s hard to find a pursuit which has a better grip on color combinations and selection than the Montante Maserati 8CTF. If you think about the physical constraints of a bicycle, in terms of the actual surface area one has to color, it makes the achievement of creating a mind-blowing color combination—one which is staggering to even the most skilled colorist. Examples of quality coloring on bikes this year are endless but this piece—produced in honor of the Maserati 8CTF winner of the Indy 500—demonstrates a great subtlety of tone played out with gold accents. Deep, luxurious, completely desirable and proof that you don’t have to go chromatic to make a statement.

With the Void, Full Power

No top five of color would be complete without finding some way of mentioning the retrospective of Yves Klein, whose famed International Klein Blue pigment remains the most acute colors seen with the human eye. With the Void, Full Power is still showing and is an absolute must-see. In fact, we recommend everyone at some stage in life gaze in awe at even the smallest pile of the powdery IKB. The glow of this color brings out such a gloriously base emotion that the very thought of it makes me want to weep joyfully in a corner.

Record a hit when you visit Europe’s first music hotel

In recent years travelers have shied away from traditional hotel chains in favor of more intimate boutique establishments, but the newly-opened Nhow Berlin aims to change this with a Karim Rashid-designed refuge dedicated to music. Billed as Europe’s first hotel with a state-of-the-art recording studio and guitars on the room service menu, the interior’s surreal setting combined with the seemingly physics-defying architecture serve as a catalyst for late-night jam sessions and impromptu DJ sets.

Architect Sergei Tchoban worked with Rashid to implement their lavish design without disturbing the existing industrial style of the surrounding buildings on the river Spree, nestled between Berlin’s Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg neighborhoods,. Tchoban’s solution maintains the building’s stoic lines, but he throws in a shiny section of the hotel—the 8th to 10th floors—that juts out almost 70 feet out from the building for unexpected delight.

The amenity that inspired the idea behind Nhow Berlin is its Music Sound Floor. Overseen by Lautstark, a music agency that runs Hansa Studios where artists like David Bowie have recorded, the area includes analog mixing and 5.1 digital suites that visiting professional musicians can use in the tradition of heading to the city to record their next hit singles.

Fans and the more music-challenged shouldn’t feel left out. Guests-slash-amateur rock stars who would otherwise riff it out on air guitars can just ask reception to bring them a real Gibson.

Rashid brings a whimsy that turns the hotel into what can be best described as an amusement park for lovers of glossy, hyper design. This aesthetic is reflected down to the color of the rooms, where guests have the option to stay in a room outfitted in pink, blue or gray. Furniture throughout the common areas—including the lobby and restaurant—take on a neon color scheme, with wallpaper and carpet patterns clashing in a stimulating way. Everything is so precisely done that the spaces look like computer renditions brought to real life.

Rooms run from €170 for a standard room to €2,500 for the Nhow suite.

Some photos taken by Patricia Parinejad, for Arch Daily.

A new line of customizable Swedish furniture designed to last

If there’s any upside to the financial crisis, it’s the enduring emphasis on craft and artisanal production in the design industry. The “new austerity” has buyers looking to quality—of narrative in the design process, options and manufacture—as a selling point.

As companies continue to lure buyers with the added value of well-made products, there’s no better example of the way forward than Stockholm company Zweed. Founded this year by Håkan Johansson, Zweed’s ethos is simple: “To produce pieces of quality furniture locally with client’s inspiration and ideas taking a central part of the design process.” The designer stresses that the handcraft of each piece has to be of the highest possible quality—the idea being to create contemporary future classics which will grow with the user. In fact, he’s worked hard with his locally-based cabinet makers to ensure than every piece can withstand a good kicking, essential to the longevity of a product in this day and age, while reducing waste and protecting resources in the long term. Further good news for the environment is that Zweed produces each piece locally, meaning transportation’s footprint is kept low.

As for the pieces themselves and how they fit into this new customer-focused method of design, Zweed’s outlook is very progressive. Take Moodi for example, a piece based on the classic ’50s sideboard. “Those seen in Scandinavia show just how this design has weathered the test of time and changes in tastes and, over half a century later, remains as relevant as ever,” notes Johansson. The Zweed twist gives the piece reversible sliding doors, which can be colored or finished using NCS Colours or natural woods, varnishes and oils. So, not only do you get to fit the colors to match your space but you can change them about as you see fit. If you get bored of the combinations, just give Zweed a ring and order more. The idea is both simple and individual, with more of an active story then something picked off the shelf.

Zweed’s second product, Citti, is another piece which can be tailored to each client. Johansson explains that most coming to Zweed do so because they can’t find a design solution to fit their tastes and needs without having to compromise in size, shape or color. Citti is a storage system based on a simple modular format; “You choose the size, depth, number of modules, color or finish and decide if you need doors or internal compartments,” says Johansson. The beauty in the piece lies in the fact that by restraining the modular format, in terms of size of its constitute components, it can still be constructed by Zweed’s traditional cabinet makers, but keeps the costs of these bespoke pieces low. Again, as the colors are based on the NCS Colour System, the client has literally limitless options.

Håkan’s studio is open to all visitors while overseas orders are happily taken, it’s simply a case of working out a budget, toying with colors and color combinations and then receiving a piece of pure quality that is personal to you and nobody else.
What can be better to restore your faith in the act of consuming than an investment portfolio of good, well-made design?

Multifunctional Shibori-dyed garments from a nascent Brooklyn label

Inspired by “Lindsey Thornburg’s capes, complex geometries, Aboubakar Fofana, Suno, and the old rolling hills of upstate New York,” the indie brand Upstate’s latest collection continues to explore the controlled chaos of tie-dye.

Where the Brooklyn label’s debut collection was limited to items like scarves and sarongs, their upcoming season sees multifunctional garments, like an asymmetrical poncho and a racerback vest, all hand-dyed using the ancient Japanese technique of Shibori.

The upshot is a series of pieces perfect for layering and draping, instantly making any basic look show stopping with their gorgeously blue-and-white patterns.

Sold at a few select specialty boutiques (check Mohawk General Store for online availability) with prices starting at about $100, buying Upstate is a great way to support a small, homegrown label while upping your fashion quotient too.