Tag Archives: friedman benda

Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Black Dakota Floor Lamp by Jonathan Trayte

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black dakota lamp photo by gail worley
All Photos By Gail

A unique take on the concept of ‘Indoor/Outdoor’ furniture is perhaps unintentionally offered in British artist Jonathan Trayte’s recent exhibit of sculptural art furniture, MelonMelonTangerine, at Freidman Benda Gallery. Intended to transport the viewer to an otherworldly botanical garden, pieces like the Black Dakota Lamp (2019) combine industrial materials such as stainless steel, bronze, polymer compound, and reinforced plastics, and brass leaver, with a base covered in crushed glass, and blown-glass light sconces to create an eclectic light-emitting tree.

black dakota lamp photo by gail worley

This and other works in the collection were inspired by Trayte’s recent 2000-mile road trip through the Western United States. With a keen perception and eye for the obscure, the artist finds the surreal in our everyday surroundings and within the fabric of daily life. Realized while in isolation amidst the current pandemic, he recalls hazy visions of sedimentary rock formations, Joshua trees, lichens, silver cholla cacti and prickly pear fruits to inform this new body of work. We are excited to be featuring more whimsical works from MelonMelonTangerine in the coming weeks!

black dakota lamp photo by gail worley
Installation View With bONZA Chair (2019)

Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Maquette 259 Seating By Faye Toogood

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maquette 259 faye toogood photo by gail worley
All Photos By Gail

British designer Faye Toogood believes that, whatever your domain of design expertise, the materials you can get your hands on are essential, “because you are always looking for a new way to interpret your designs and to explain your story.” This approach also pertains to her recent venture from designing signature interior spaces and environments (for high-profile clients), to furniture design.

maquette 259 faye toogood photo by gail worley

Part of the exhibit What Would Have Been on view at Freidman Benda, her Maquette 259 seating (2020)  realized in a rusty-peach-painted canvas over upholstery foam aligns with this aesthetic. Toogood’s products are designed with “honesty to the rawness and irregularity of the chosen material,” and are sculptural in form. Like her interior spaces, her furniture is considerate of both the two-dimensional design as well as three-dimensional space.

maquette 259 faye toogood photo by gail worley

I love how it looks like a group of boulders just rolled together! Maquette 259 was manufactured in an limited edition of 8 pieces. Contact Friedman Benda Gallery in NYC for purchase information.

Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Melting Thonet Chair By OrtaMiklos

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melting thonet chair photo by gail worley
All Photos By Gail Worley

The classic Thonet Chair design gets a super artsy, post-modern treatment with Melting Thonet, from European design firm OrtaMiklos (which includes partners Leo Orta and Victor Miklos Andersen).
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Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Grotto Mirror By Chris Schanck

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grotto mirror photo by gail worley
Photos By Gail

The absence of virtually all design shows for the year 2020 (Salon Art + Design, Architectural Digest Home Show, ICFF, and on and on) — which was probably my least favorite Covid cancelation — serves as the inspiration for Friedman Benda’s latest exhibit: What Would Have Been, which I visited a few weeks ago to get my design-fix on! The exhibition gives fans access to design that lost its intended platform; works shown briefly before museum doors closed or failed to open at all. A favorite piece in the gallery (and not just because it’s pink) was Chris Schank’s Grotto Mirror — which may look familiar to some readers.

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Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Campana Brothers Bolotas Sheep’s Wool Sofa

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campana bolotas sofa photo by gail worley
Photos By Gail

Would you like to relax and stretch out on a long, fluffy sofa the color of a giant eggplant? Who wouldn’t? The Campana brothers are famed Brazilian furniture designers. Most celebrated for their design of the Vermelha chair — an iconic piece handmade from a huge length of rope, wrapped and woven to create the chair’s nest-like structure. As you can see by their Bolotas Sofa, in a vibrant shade of Aubergine, Umberto and Fernando Campana continue to create brightly colored, whimsical statement pieces for the home.

Continue reading Eye On Design: Campana Brothers Bolotas Sheep’s Wool Sofa →