Martino Gamper unveils first London design retrospective
Italian designer Martino Gamper has furnished an entire west London house with his eclectic designs for the exhibition Before, After and Beyond. More
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Loewe store in Seoul designed as “art collector’s home”
Spanish fashion house Loewe paid homage to its own craft history in this Seoul store, which features artwork including a multi-level bamboo sculpture and a basket woven entirely from horse hair.
The store is located in Seoul’s Gangnam district and is the first Casa Loewe branch in South Korea.
Loewe has opened a new shop in Seoul’s Gangnam districtA gleaming monolithic facade characterises the exterior, covered in handmade ceramic tiles in a verdant shade of green.
“With tiles crafted in Spain, the facade is a bold volume of colour and texture that sits in dialogue with the store’s urban context and surrounding greenery,” said Loewe.
Tile-clad plinths and shelving features insideThe interior spans three floors and also features a selection of brown, green and blue tiles, which clad blocky plinths and shelves displaying garments, bags and footwear.By incorporating art throughout the store, Loewe aimed to reference its origins as a leather-making collective in the 19th century, as well as nodding to its annual craft prize.
Eclectic artwork characterises the storeThe collection of pieces includes a multi-level bamboo sculpture by Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV. The bamboo was used to form a duo of cylinders resembling tree trunks, which stretch from the ground floor’s central atrium up onto the first floor, where they intertwine.
Among the other artwork on show is a delicate vessel by 2022 Craft Prize winner Dahye Jeong, who wove an intricate basket out of wispy strands of horse hair.
The collection includes a multi-level bamboo sculpture by Tanabe Chikuunsai IVAccording to Loewe, the brand conceived the store as “a place where a blend of fashion, art, craft and design furniture creates the eclectic feel of an art collector’s home”.
Furniture pieces are finished in a selection of materials ranging from custom felt to black walnut and canvas.Loewe presents 24 lamps characterised by “unexpected interactions” with light
Bespoke Loewe leather benches provide seating for trying on shoes, while black terrazzo and burnt wood were used to create tables and podiums respectively.
Artisanal wool carpets were patterned with abstract interpretations of tapestries by British textile artist John Allen that depict expansive landscapes.
Wool carpets were finished with abstract interpretations of tapestries by John AllenThe rest of the interior is defined by swathes of concrete that contrast with the eclectic artworks on display, as well as oak, brass and marble accents.
This May, Mexican ceramicist Andrés Anza was named the seventh winner of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize for her “arresting” human-sized ceramic sculpture. Elsewhere in East Asia, the fashion house recently opened a store in Osaka, Japan, specifically dedicated to the repair and preservation of Loewe leather goods.
The photography is courtesy of Loewe.Read more: More
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Patrick Carroll presents knitted “paintings” at JW Anderson store
Artist Patrick Carroll has used recycled yarn to create hand-knitted painting-style pieces for the Days textile exhibition at JW Anderson’s Milan store during Milan design week.
Carroll presented translucent artworks that look “as if they are paintings”, which were made using a 1970s flatbed domestic knitting machine and displayed on wooden stretcher bars – the skeleton of a traditional art canvas – in the store.
Days is a textile exhibition by Patrick Carroll”My stuff is a little bit transparent – you can see the architecture of it all,” Carroll told Dezeen at the JW Anderson flagship store in Milan, where the work is exhibited in a show called Days.
“I was making clothing initially,” he explained, donning one of his own pink creations.
The pieces are on display at Milan’s JW Anderson storeCarroll decided to apply his practice to artworks, designing pieces made from yarn salvaged from remainder shops that liquidate the fashion industry’s leftover textiles rather than sourcing new materials.Recycled wool, linen, mohair, silk and cashmere all feature in the rectilinear works, which are finished in colours ranging from coral to aqua to ochre.
They range from big to smallLike Carroll’s clothing, each piece was characterised by one or a handful of words lifted from sources including literature, existing artworks or the artist’s own writing.
The smallest pieces in the collection were displayed on gridded shelving while larger pieces can be found on various walls throughout the store.
When viewed together, the works were position to create a “modular chorus”, explained the artist, who encouraged viewers to form their own relationships with the words weaved into the textiles.David Lynch designs gigantic wooden chair within meditative A Thinking Room
Days follows Carroll’s first collaboration with JW Anderson in 2022 when the artist designed seven knitted outfits for the brand. The clothes were worn by models posing on chunky blue plinths positioned outside the venue of JW Anderson’s Spring Summer 2023 menswear show in Milan.
“I think what makes the works a little bit unique is that they have legs in all these disciplines – fashion, design and art,” added Carroll.
Carroll’s artworks display a mix of single words and phrasesFounded by Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, JW Anderson previously created hoodies and tailored shorts moulded from plasticine for its Spring Summer 2024 womenswear show at London Fashion Week.
Various other fashion brands have a presence at this year’s Milan design week. Hermès has created an installation that uses reclaimed bricks, slate, marble and terracotta to draw attention to the brand’s artisan roots while Marimekko has transformed a traditional Milanese bar into a flower-clad day-to-night cafe.
The photography is courtesy of Patrick Carroll and JW Anderson.
Days is on display from 17 to 21 April 2024 at the JW Anderson store, Via Sant’Andrea 16, Milan. See our Milan design week 2024 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the week.Read more: More
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LG OLED and Shepard Fairey present digital street art at Frieze Los Angeles
Electronics brand LG OLED has collaborated with American street artist Shepard Fairey to exhibit digital versions of his artworks in this exclusive video produced by Dezeen.
Called Peace and Justice, the installation is being presented at Frieze art fair in Los Angeles and features select works by Fairey that address global issues while advocating for positive change.
Dezeen has produced an exclusive video for LG OLED
Fairey was directly involved in the design of the installation space, which features a reimagined version of his 2018 piece Damaged Wrong Path Mural.
Other works presented at the exhibition include Fairey’s 2023 Swan Song print, a reflection on the state of the environment, as well as a piece titled Make Art Not War, echoing the 1960s anti-war slogan “make love, not war.”
The video explores artworks reimagined by Shepard Fairey for Frieze Los AngelesFairey is the founder of OBEY Clothing and is widely known for his Hope portrait of Barack Obama – which was widely circulated during the 2008 US presidential election campaign – as well as a series of posters called We the People that were released the day before the inauguration of Donald Trump in 2017.
The LG OLED Art initiative invites artists to exhibit digital versions of their works using LG OLED TVs.
The exhibit includes Fairey’s Damaged Wrong Path Mural with added digital elementsEach pixel in the OLED TVs emits its own light and can be controlled individually, creating an emissive display that was designed to produce accurate colour reproduction.
The LG OLED TVs currently on show at Frieze Los Angeles aim to accurately express the prominent red tones in Fairey’s artwork.
The LG OLED Art installation is on display at Frieze Los Angeles until 3 MarchLG OLED Art has collaborated with over 27 artists from around the world, including Anish Kapoor, Barry X Ball, Damien Hirst, the late Kim Whanki and Kevin McCoy.
The photography is by LG Electronics.
Frieze Los Angeles takes place from 29 February to 3 March 2024 at Santa Monica Airport. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen as part of a partnership with LG OLED. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.Read more: More
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Eight living rooms enhanced by decorative and striking art pieces
For our latest lookbook, we have gathered eight examples of serene living rooms where well-curated artworks add a touch of creativity.
Paintings, sculptures and other art pieces can add a more personal feel to interiors, as seen in these eight art-filled living rooms.
While some have gone all in on the art, others chose just one or two signature pieces to create a creative atmosphere.
Either way, smartly placed artworks can enhance an interior and give homes a more personal feel.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring living rooms with cowhide rugs, monochrome interiors and basement apartments.Photo by Nicole FranzenAmagansett house, US, by Athena Calderone
Plaster walls, marble details and linen fabric were used to decorate this renovated mid-century home in Long Island, New York.
Owner and designer Athena Calderone also added plenty of sculptures and paintings to the interior, including in the living room where white artworks with playful textures and shapes add interest to the pale walls.
Find out more about the Amangansett house ›
Photo by Fran ParenteGale Apartment, Brazil, by Memola Estudio
Brazilian studio Memola Estudio aimed to balance natural and industrial materials in this apartment in São Paulo, which has a double-height living room.
The owners took advantage of the height to create a gallery wall on one side of the living room. Artworks also decorate an adjacent mosaic wall, giving the whole room a gallery-like feel.
Find out more about Gale Apartment ›
Photo by Salva LópezCasa Vasto, Spain, by Mesura
Designed to be both an apartment and an art gallery, this home in a former factory in Barcelona features an exquisitely curated living and exhibition space.
A large abstract blue-and-beige painting sits on top of a low bookshelf, which also displays a sculpture and multiple smaller paintings.
Find out more about Casa Vasto ›
Photo by Trevor Mein and Sharyn CairnsKew Residence, Australia, by John Wardle Architects
A large contemporary painting in a bright green hue decorates the living room of this house in Melbourne, the home of architect John Wardle.
Other artful details include playful side tables held up by mannequins, a sculptural wooden coffee table and numerous small vases and sculptures.
Find out more about Kew Residence ›
Photo by Olmo PeetersRiverside Tower, Belgium, by Studio Okami Architecten
Located inside the brutalist Riverside Tower in Antwerp, this pared-back apartment has made a feature out of its original concrete structure.
In the living room, the material is juxtaposed with a dark blue wall and a large painting in green and blue hues. Cosy leather sofas and green plants add a homely feel.
Find out more about Riverside Tower ›
Photo by Andrey Bezuglov and Maryan BereshLog cabin, Ukraine, by Balbek Bureau
This house in Ukraine, a modern interpretation of a log cabin, features a number of striking and strategically placed artworks in the open-plan living room and dining room.
Above the dining table hangs a large painting in a neo-expressionist style, integrating turquoise, white and pink to create an eye-catching focal point among the room’s more neutral colours.
Find out more about the log cabin ›
Photo by by Ingalls Photography and Mark Durling PhotographyMalibu Surf Shack, USA, by Kelly Wearstler
Designer Kelly Wearstler created Malibu Surf Shack, a renovated 1950s beachfront cottage, as a bohemian retreat for herself and her family.
Its wood-clad living room has been enhanced by artworks in tonal colours that match the warm panelling, as well as tactile timber sculptures and geometric stone tables.
Find out more about Malibu Surf Shack ›
Photo by Giulio GhirardiParis apartment, France, by Rodolphe Parente
This apartment in a Haussmann-era building in Paris was given a makeover by interior designer Rodolphe Parente.
Parente played with contrasting materials and colour palettes in the apartment, which was designed around the owner’s “radical” art collection. In the living room, a framed photo print hangs on an otherwise empty wall overlooking two sculptural coffee tables.
Find out more about the Paris apartment ›
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring living rooms with cowhide rugs, monochrome interiors and basement apartments.Read more: More
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Kustaa Saksi creates vivid oversized tapestries to explore “reality and illusion”
Multidisciplinary designer Kustaa Saksi has unveiled In the Borderlands, an exhibition of jacquard textiles at the Helsinki Design Museum, which includes pieces featuring scenery generated by AI software.
Conceived as objects that straddle both art and design, Saksi’s large-scale textiles were hung from the ceilings and arranged across various rooms within a gallery at Helsinki’s Design Museum.
Ideal Fall is a duo of tapestries featuring AI-generated imageryTo create his pieces, the designer uses jacquard weaving – a technique invented in 1804 where patterns are woven with yarn using a loom to create a textile, rather than printed, embroidered or stamped onto fabric.
Ideal Fall is a series of two oversized tapestries featuring bright and abstract forms depicting waterfall- and plant-style forms.
Kustaa Saksi also created a series exploring migrainesSaksi created the colourful duo of textiles using AI software, which he instructed to generate images that would depict “ideal” scenes of nature. The designer then picked his favourite suggestions and used the imagery as a stimulus for the tapestries’ patterns.“The exhibition explores moments between reality and illusion, which are the starting point for many of Saksi’s works,” said the Design Museum.
The tapestries were suspended from the ceiling at the Design MuseumMigraine Metamorphoses is another series of textiles featuring similarly bold designs, which Saksi created to refer to the various phases of migraines – intense headaches that the designer has suffered since the age of seven.
According to the museum, the soft texture of the textiles intends to “mitigate the painful subject matter”.
Monsters and Dreams is a series informed by stories about hallucinationsOften influenced by the boundaries between dreams and imagination, Saksi’s first-ever tapestry series was also on show at the Design Museum.
Called Monsters and Dreams, it is characterised by striking patterns that take cues from hallucinations experienced by one of the designer’s family members. These textiles were draped across or hung from the ceiling of a single room with dark blue walls, which had been painted to enhance the pieces’ dramatic theme.Stockholm Furniture Fair installation by Gert Wingårdh and Kustaa Saksi
Saksi has created his pieces in collaboration with Dutch studio TextileLab since 2013.
“The jacquard technique can be referred to as one of the early precursors to the computer,” said the Design Museum.
“It was the first mechanised technique which enabled the transfer of information about a particular pattern to a weaving machine with the help of a punched cylinder, to eventually become a piece of textile.”
The exhibition is on display in Helsinki until mid-OctoberThroughout the gallery, the textiles were illuminated with controlled levels of lighting in order to preserve their appearance, according to the museum.
In the Borderlands is on display until 15 October as part of the museum’s 150th-anniversary programme. Elsewhere at Helsinki Design Week, designer Didi NG Wing Yin presented a series of amorphous timber furniture while last year’s edition of the event featured projects including plant-based textiles.
The photography is by Paavo Lehtonen.
Helsinki Design Week takes place from 8 to 17 September 2023 in Helsinki, Finland. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.Read more: More
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Kelly Wearstler designs Los Angeles bar to feel “like it has been there for ages”
Interior designer Kelly Wearstler paired clay plaster walls with Moroccan cement tiles at this eclectic cocktail bar in the Downtown LA Proper hotel.
Named after Mexico’s national flower, the Dahlia bar features a blushing interior that was designed to echo the rest of the hotel – also created by Wearstler.
The designer looked to the same Spanish, Mexican and Moroccan influences that define the wider Downtown LA Proper, such as terracotta Roman clay plaster walls and ceilings when conceptualising the bar.
Dahlia is a cocktail lounge within the Downtown LA Proper hotel”The warm, earthy tones of the lounge are in concert with the larger hotel while striking their own note entirely,” said Wearstler.
“Dahlia feels like it has been there for ages,” added the designer, who has been named as a judge for the inaugural Dezeen Awards China.Moroccan cement tiles clad the barVisitors enter the bar through yellow-tinged stained glass doors that were custom-made for the venue by Los Angeles’ historic Judson Studios, which claims to be the oldest family-run stained glass company in America.
Seating was created from a mix of built-in reddish banquettes and low-slung curved armchairs that hug circular timber tables, while a geometric chandelier draped in light-filtering silk was suspended overhead.Kelly Wearstler renovates swimming pool for suite in Downtown LA Proper Hotel
In one corner, an embossed and low-slung black cabinet supports two squat table lamps that look like oversized green olives.
Wearstler adorned the clay plaster walls with a mishmash of vintage and contemporary textural artwork, which was finished in ceramic and sand. Various local artists were included in the mix.
Kelly Wearstler imbued the venue with her signature eclectic styleDefined by “saturated hues and dramatic lighting,” the cocktail lounge also features a bar clad with lilac-hued Moroccan cement tiles and woven crimson rugs.
“This is the kind of space where you can entirely lose track of time,” said the designer.
Known for her distinctively eclectic style, Wearstler has created interiors for various other destinations that are part of the Proper Hotel Group. The designer scoured vintage shops to source the furniture that decorates the living room-style lobby of a Santa Monica branch while an Austin location features a sculptural oak staircase that doubles as a plinth for Wearstler’s own glazed earthenware pots and vases.
The images are courtesy of Kelly Wearstler.Read more: More
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Blobby sculpture functions as cash desk inside Rains’ Aarhus boutique
Rainwear brand Rains has juxtaposed minimalist restraint with free-form contemporary artworks inside its revamped flagship store in Aarhus, Denmark.
The brand’s first-ever store, originally opened in 2016, was updated with the introduction of industrial touches such as graffiti and stainless steel hardware alongside custom works by local artists.
“We want to tickle the customers’ curiosity,” Rains’ in-house design team told Dezeen.
A blobby sculpture envelops the cash desk of this Rains storeAt the centre of the store, Danish artist Jacob Egebjerg played with the convention of the cash desk by creating a vast sculptural element to envelop this functional area.
Carved from polystyrene foam, the sculpture resembles a cascade of liquid caught mid-splash, which tumbles from the recessed, illuminated ceiling down to the concrete floor in a nod to the brand’s waterproof rainwear.The sculpture was created by Danish artist Jacob Egebjerg”The store was the first Rains store ever and we really wanted to manifest that with an extraordinary installation,” the design team explained. “Egeberg was tasked with creating a work of art with an integrated desk that would attract the attention of passers-by.”
“It brings a contrast to the clean shapes and surfaces of our point of sale,” the team added. “Our products are very clean, so to add contrasts to our stores, we use shapes and surfaces to create this duality.”
It was carved from polystyrene foamAllowing Egebjerg’s sculpture to take centre stage, the rest of the store is an exercise in cool, restrained minimalism.
Display cases are formed from industrial materials such as stainless steel and glass, chosen for its transparent qualities.
“Your eye can see the full room and isn’t blocked by a non-see-through material,” the team explained. “The products are just floating in the room.”EBBA Architects designs sculptural pop-up shop for Rotaro at Liberty
Echoing the qualities of the glass and steel, the Rains team used large-format concrete tiles for the floor, creating a “modern, refined but still simple base for the sculpture”.
Downstairs, in a rare concession to softness, the design team opted for a custom black carpet with a distressed patina effect – another nod to the industrial.
“The carpet was chosen to give the white room a contrast and some more depth, while also providing some great acoustic benefits,” the design team explained. “The raw ‘scratchy’ print has been chosen to match the raw expression in the walls and ceiling.”
Graffiti by Peter Birk covers the staircaseOn this level, a futuristic black display plinth was carved from the same polystyrene foam as the sculpture on the ground floor.
Against a palette of greys and whites, colour leaps out in the form of another site-specific artwork: a graffiti-inspired piece that decorates the staircase, designed by Rains and realised by local artist Peter Birk.
“When we work with external artists, we also let them express themselves so their personal style shines through,” the brand explained.
Another styrofoam sculpture forms a display stand in the basementOther sculptural shop interiors featured on Dezeen include a swimwear pop-up by SKIMS with a three-tiered diving board at its heart and an “otherworldly” moss-covered installation at a luxury bag store in Putrajaya, Malaysia.
The photography is by Rains.Read more: More
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India Mahdavi creates colourful scenography for Pierre Bonnard exhibition in Melbourne
Iranian-French architect India Mahdavi has designed an exhibition to present works by French painter Pierre Bonnard at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.
Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi presents more than 100 works by the famed 20th-century artist who is celebrated for applying an iridescent palette.
India Mahdavi has offered her take on Pierre Bonnard’s paintings through the exhibition scenographyThe scenography design by Mahdavi, also known for her use of colour, is intended to create “an impression of his world, through my own eyes” according to the architect.
Instead of typical white gallery walls, the spaces are awash with bold hues and patterns that she has chosen to complement the artworks.
The architect chose colors and patterns to complement the artworksMany of the shades of yellow, pink, orange and green that adorn the walls and floors are lifted directly from the canvases, while floral-inspired repeated patterns offer a contrasting backdrop.Large carpets continue these motifs at different scales across the floors.
Many of the colours were lifted from the artworksMahdavi has also placed some of her own furniture designs in the gallery spaces, offering visitors the opportunity to pause and appreciate the paintings and their surroundings.
“Mahdavi envelopes Pierre Bonnard’s works in an environment that complements Bonnard’s distinct use of colour and texture, and evokes the wistful domestic intimacy for which his paintings are renowned,” said the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).
Several of Mahdavi’s furniture designs are placed in the galleriesBonnard was born in 1867, and his artistic career took off in the 1890s in Paris, where he began capturing street life.
The artist’s focus then moved to domesticity, followed by landscapes thanks to the influence of his friend and neighbour in Normandy, Claude Monet.
The exhibition is divided into 11 themes based on the subject matter of Bonnard’s paintingsBonnard later relocated to the south of France and created a large body of work there before his death in 1947.
“The paintings of Pierre Bonnard depict intimate domestic interiors, natural landscapes and urban scenes with subtlety, wit and a sensuous approach to colour and light,” said the gallery.
Some of the spaces are decorated entirely in one colourThe exhibition features loans from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, which holds the world’s largest collection of Bonnard’s work, along with significant loans from other museums and private collections from around the world.
It is organised around 11 themes, which include landscapes, interiors, still life, early nudes, and large decorations.India Mahdavi’s striped scenography provides backdrop for furniture exhibition
There are also sections dedicated to his depictions of music and theatre, views from his 1920s studio in Le Cannet, and scenes of nature and daily life around the town.
“For Bonnard, landscape painting was a hybrid genre and often included glimpses of interiors and still lifes,” said the gallery.
Mahdavi is renowned for her use of colourThe gallery has hosted many immersive exhibitions and installations in recent years, including a scaled-down version of Greece’s famous Parthenon temple, a mist-filled chasm in its sculpture garden, and Nendo’s take on the drawings of MC Escher.
Mahdavi’s best-known projects include the Gallery dining room at London restaurant Sketch, which she originally created in pale pink, then transformed with golden tones in 2022.
Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi runs until 8 October 2023She recently updated six rooms within Rome’s 16th-century Villa Medici to feature an array of contemporary and colourful furniture.
Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi forms part of NGV’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, and runs from 9 June to 8 October 2023. For more exhibitions, events and talks in architecture and design visit Dezeen’s Events Guide.
The photography is by Lillie Thompson.Read more: More
