Knight Moves

Man Ray Chess Set

We love the simplicity and surreal shapes of this Man Ray designed
chess set.  Man Ray was a big chess fan, astutely observing that "while not all
artists are chess players, all chess players are artists". Although he was never
as good at the game as his friend, artist Marcel Duchamp (a chess Master who
called Man Ray a third-rate "wood pusher"), Man Ray enjoyed playing the game
and was interested in designing new, modern forms for chess pieces. He designed
his first set in 1920, which he later cast in brass and plated with silver and gold
for collectors such as the Maharajah of Indore.  Luckily; you don't need to be
a Maharajah no more.  After a hiatus of 90 years, the original Man Ray
Chess Set is finally released again through design purveyor nova68. 

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Provocative Percussion

Measuring up with Andy Warhol

"On Tuesday I hung my painting(s) at the Heiner Friedrich gallery in SoHo.  Really it's one painting with 83 parts.  Each part is 52 inches by 76 inches and they are all sort of the same except for the colors.  I called them "Shadows" because they are based on a photo of a shadow in my office.  It's a silk screen that I mop over with paint.  I started working on them a few years ago.  I work seven days a week.  But I get the most done on weekends because during the week people keep coming by to talk.  The painting(s) can't be bought.  The Lone Star foundation is presenting them and they own them.  Someone asked me if I thought they were art and I said no.  You see, the opening party had disco.  I guess that makes them disco decor.  This show will be like all the others.  The reviews will be bad - my reviews always are.  But the reviews of the party will be terrific.  I had the painting(s) hung at eye level.  Any lower and people would kick them, especially at the party.  The only problem with hanging the show was the gallery floor.  One end of the gallery floor is a foot higher than the other.  But the kids helped me, and when we finished we all had lunch.  I ate a pickle and drank some Evian and then some Perrier Jouet.  The gallery looked great.  It's a simple, clean space.  My Mao show was bigger, but this is the biggest show I've had in New York City in a long time.  After we were finished, I took a walk with some friends.  We stopped by at Ivan Karp's gallery, O.K. Harris.  He told me that there are a lot of people now doing shadows in art.  I didn't know that.  Then we crossed the street and went into Holly Solomon's gallery.  I always like to see if the art across the street is better than mine." - Andy Warhol, 1979.

Warhol at Heiner Friedrich 1979 Andy Warhol in the 1979 installation of “Shadows,” 1978-79, at Heiner Friedrich Gallery/Dia, 393 West Broadway, New York City. Photo © 1979 Arthur Tress. Courtesy Vault Gallery. Works by Andy Warhol © 2011 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Night Rider

Peugeot Onyx in Matte Black

Sexy as hell; Peugeot has unveiled its jaw-dropping new design at the Paris Motor Show.
The Peugeot Onyx features a revolutionary central structure composed of 12 pieces of monolithic carbon fiber.  

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Winning Streak

Is it wrong to be lovely?

Cameron Russell photographed by Michelangelo di Battista for Vogue

Flying Saucers

Verner Panton Capiz Shell Chandelier

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Restraining Order

Ridge Road Residence by Studio Four

This beautiful contemporary house for a minimalist couple makes splendid use of negative space. The dramatic site location is characterized by a steep slope and a single tea tree. It's location enabled the design to become an exploration into enclosing the basic rituals of domestic life within restrained building forms. 
The fragrance of choice; Drakkar Noir.

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Ferrari Dino 246 GT

Ferrari Dino 246 GT from 1974

Prepare to smell the rubber baby... One of the most iconic cars ever created; the Ferrari Dino 246 GT captures the spirit of Ferrari's streamlined design and finely tuned engineering during the early 1970s. The roots of Ferrari’s esteemed Dino GT dream machine can be traced as far back as the mid-1950s, when Enzo Ferrari’s ailing son Dino proposed the development of a race-intended V-6 motor that eventually received considerable input from former Alfa Romeo designer extraordinaire Vittorio Jano. By 1966, the resulting Dino engine was campaigned with considerable success in the mid/rear-engine Dino 206 S race car, a roadgoing concept prototype of which the Dino 206 S Speciale debuted at the 1966 Paris Auto Show. This prototype was further developed with the 1967 Dino 206 GT, the first series-production roadgoing Dino, which was powered by a Fiat-built Dino V-6 engine manufactured under license from Ferrari and branded without Ferrari badges.

Immensely popular for its characteristic Ferrari performance, near-perfect weight distribution, and spry handling, not to mention a beautiful Pininfarina body design built by Scaglietti, the Dino GT was further developed over the ensuing years with a larger displacement engine to result in the Dino 246, which also became available in an open-top GTS version. When, in 1973, 7½-inch-wide Campagnolo wheels became available, cars so optioned were bodied with wider fender flares that covered the new wheels to meet road regulations. Some of these cars were also optioned with Daytona seats, racing-style bucket seats originally equipped in the concurrent V-12 Daytona. Now often referred to as “Chairs and Flares” examples, the small number of Dino 246 examples equipped with this option combination have become increasingly valued in recent years for their rakish looks and extra sporting character.

Credits: RM Auctions

Seduction Scene

The Art of the Turn On

You spin me right 'round, baby
Right 'round like a record, baby
Right 'round, 'round, 'round...

The Art of the Turn On: German model Julia Stegner is photographed by Greg Kadel
for Vogue Germany

Butterfly Effect

Ingo Maurer Johnny B. Butterfly Lamp

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Silver Surfer

Pistillino Wall Light

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Rendition in Green

Canyon Residence
Santa Monica, California

Michael Lehrer of Los Angeles based Lehrer Architects conceived the naturally beautiful Canyon Residence as a timeless and comfortably elegant agrarian villa in a distinctly modern tradition. Important to the clients was access to light, air, and views.

The end result is a veritable 'encyclopedia of the modern villa' that blurs boundaries between indoor and outdoor and demonstrates play between transparencies and solids, de-materialising structural mass through abundant natural light and glass.

Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 provides the finishing touch.

Lehrer Architects

Image Credits: Roger Davies for Architectural Digest

Altered States

Opening Scene Take 1

Marcus Ohlsson for Velvet
To Be Continued

Doppler Effect

~ Moving Parts ~

We adore the brilliantly conceived modernist jewelry line; a creation by the late Belgian artist Pol Bury from the late 1960s and early 1970s. This Jewelry was released in limited editions (often only 25 pieces per design) by GEM Montebello of Milan Italy.

GEM Montebello was founded by the husband and wife team of Gian Carlo Montebello and Teresa Pomodoro in 1967 for the purpose of producing limited edition jewelry designed by the prominent artists of the day. From 1967 to 1978 Montebello and Pomodoro worked with over 50 artists, including Pol Bury but also César, Sonia Delaunay, Claude Lalanne, Lucio Fontana, Man Ray, Hans Richter, Larry Rivers, Niki de Saint Phalle, Raphael Jesus Soto, Ettore Sottsass and Alex Katz, and quickly established a reputation for turning out some of the most fascinating and imaginative artist-made jewelry of the time. 

Moving Parts, Continued

When Pol Bury was approached by Gian Carlo and Teresa Montebello in 1967; they quickly came up with a unique set of exceptional rings, earrings, pendants, necklaces and bangles. All were designed in the same manner of the original Pol Bury artworks; but reduced in size to fit the body. In order to produce their progressive designs the Milan based GEM Montebello worked with a great variety of materials and relied upon a wide variety of the local craftsman; not only skilled goldsmiths and silversmiths but also more industrial trades such as those who worked with acrylic resin and galvanized steel. The Pol Bury creations featured tiny moving filaments that would dance with the slightest whisk of air.

Brilliantly conceived; these miniature Pol Bury sculptures have become coveted
collectors pieces.  Once in a blue moon; they are offered through modern design retailer
NOVA68.  And occasionally, you may also get lucky at Christie's.

"It can be satisfying to intervene in the respectable order of geometry, of settings, of faces and to imagine that we can thereby tickle Gravity"

Pol Bury

Hard Times

Hard Times; Soft Furniture

Panton Chair

Goodbye Summer: Hello Autumn

Today we celebrate the arrival of Autumn with these beautiful images of "vintage"
Willy Guhl Loop Chairs
 

These vintage concrete Willy Guhl Loop Chairs display a wonderful aged patina that makes them super attractive.  if you prefer new ones; the Willy Guhl Loop Chairs can still be purchased through nova68.  The Willy Guhl Loop Chair: legendary for a reason! The Willy Guhl Loop Chair is the eternal classic modernist outdoor lounge chair. The Loop Chair is a timeless modern chair with a distinctive and convincing structural clarity, a beautiful lounge chair. It is perfect for both indoor- and outdoor spaces. The Loop Chair was designed in 1954 by Swiss designer, Willy Guhl, for Eternit in Switzerland. The Loop Chair is handmade of eternit: a light gray, cellulose infused fiber cement like concrete, which is nearly indestructible. It is an elegant piece of outdoor furniture that's indifferent to harsh outdoor elements including sun, snow and hail. Willy Guhl's loop chair is made with a single self-supporting fiber cement loop, hence its name, the Loop Chair. The chair, which would look amazing at any pool side, garden terrace or in a large loft space. It is lightweight and easy to move around, making it a perfect lounge chair. 

Credit for the images goes to German antiques & art dealer 

Jack Pearlman.