innerspace | interior design blog: 03/15

3/20/15

art | chamberlain | prouvé

you may think of jean prouvé (1901-1984) as a mid-century french furniture designer. the standard chair, which he designed during the 1930's, is a modern classic that is now produced by vitra.

jean prouvé | standard chair | circa 1950 | laffanour galerie downtown/paris | paris, france

photo credit 1st dibs

for the standard chair, prouvé designed a metal frame, with tubular front legs and tailfin shaped back legs. he fabricated the hollow frame from sheets of steel, a thin but strong material that is commonly used in the automobile industry.

you may also know that jean prouvé was an architect. he believed that:

'in their construction there is no difference between furniture and buildings.'

-jean prouvé

both the furniture and the buildings that he designed used similar construction systems. as a result, both could be easily modified, moved, or dismantled.

jean prouvé | deconstructed standard chair | circa 1950

photo credit the row on instagram

two of prouvé's demountable buildings were exhibited at design miami and design miami/basel in 2013 and 2014 by paris dealer, galerie patrick seguin.

from 27 february-4 april 2015, galerie patrick seguin is exhibiting two more in collaboration with gagosian gallery in new york.

at gagosian, both buildings are surrounded by and filled with john chamberlain (1927-2011) sculptures.

chamberlain's sculptures are constructed from salvaged automobile parts. tailfins, fenders, and hoods that he bent, crushed, twisted, welded, and painted.

'the mangle is the message.'

-john chamberlain

john chamberlain | constantpunchline | 2008

photo credit lisa walsh | innerspace

do you think that the demountable structures and the mangled metal sculptures are a dynamic juxtaposition?

jean prouvé | demountable house portal frames
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

jean prouvé | model | demountable offices for ferembal | nancy, france | 1948

bent steel frame with five axial portal frames set on a pressed steel floor
held together by ridge beams, which support the purlins and aluminum roofing slabs
facade constructed of prefabricated double sided wood panels, which slot together interchangeably
structure rescued from the demolition of the fermebal site in 1983
adapted by french architect, jean nouvel

photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

john chamberlain | euphoriainahat | 2010
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

john chamberlain | cloudedleoparoexpresso | 2010
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

john chamberlain | magnesium revolt | 1977

photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

john chamberlain | battsy beeker | 1983

photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

john chamberlain | dhuha ditty | 1983
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

jean prouvé | model | temporary school of villejuif | paris, france | 1956

constructed from prefabricated components

sheet steel props support the curved, cantilevered, laminated wood roof

facade constructed of glazed panels divided by sheet steel sections that act as stiffeners and provide ventilation

after the school was dismounted, the components were reused in other buildings

photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

john chamberlain | entirelyfearless | 2009

photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

john chamberlain | tasteylingus | 2010

photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

from 18-21 june 2015, another jean prouvé demountable house will be exhibited at art | basel.

jean prouvé | model | 6x6 demountable house | 1944

original structure with the addition of modern living facilities

modern additions include external bathroom and kitchen pods

and, a series of service trolleys that provide hot water and solar electricity

adapted by british architect, richard rogers | rogers stirk harbor + partners

photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

27 february-4 april 2015

chamberlain | prouve

gagosian gallery

555 west 24th street

new york, NY 10011

tuesday-saturday 10 am-6 pm

18-21 june 2015

art | basel
messeplatz 10
4005 basel, switzerland
11 am-7pm

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3/18/15

asian art | the ellsworth collection | chinese furniture

christie's new york is selling an extraordinary collection of chinese furniture.

the collection of robert hatfield ellsworth | christie's new york | 17-21 march 2015

photo credit lisa walsh | innerspace

the extraordinary collection of robert hatfield ellsworth includes not only chinese furniture, but also buddhist art, scholar's objects, and contemporary paintings.

polychrome wood figure of a seated bodhisattva | china | song-jin dynasty (960-1234)

this sculpture greeted guests as they entered robert ellsworth's apartment

sold for US$ 1,685,000 | christie's new york | 17 march 2015 | sale 11418 | lot 58

photo credit lisa walsh | innerspace

as well as chinese bronzes, jades, and ceramics.

gilt bronze figure of a seated bear | china | western han dynasty (206 BCE-8 CE)

one of a set of four weights, used to anchor the corners of a bamboo seating mat

sold for US$ 2,853,000 | christie's new york | 17 march 2015 | sale 11418 | lot 1

photo credit lisa walsh | innerspace

along with japanese, himalayan, indian, and southeast asian art.

stable with fine horses | one of a pair of six panel screens | japan | edo period (17th century)

sold for US$ 509,000 | christie's new york | 17 march 2015 | sale 11418 | lot 45

photo credit christie's | wsj

the ellsworth collection is the largest private collection of asian art ever sold at auction. the 2000 object collection will be sold during six live auctions and one on line auction held from 17-21 march 2015.

III

photo credits christie's

i was thrilled that my recent trip to new york coincided with the auction preview, which is, not surprisingly, generating unprecedented crowds. the auctions also seem to be generating unprecedented results.

robert ellsworth (1929-2014) was a prominent american asian art collector, dealer, and scholar. he sold asian art from his 22 room new york apartment, located on fifth avenue near the metropolitan museum of art. as an asian art dealer, ellsworth has been credited with establishing new collecting categories, such as ancient chinese jades, or chinese furniture from the ming (1368-1644) and qing (1644-1911) dynasties. his clients included major museums, such as the met, the museum of fine arts, boston, the cleveland museum of art, the philadelphia museum of art, and the nelson-atkins museum. plus, important private collectors, such as john d. rockefeller III, who donated his asian art collection to asia society.

ellsworth's publications include chinese furniture: hardwood examples of the ming and early ch’ing dynasties, which is considered one of THE chinese furniture reference books.

some of the most important pieces of chinese furniture in the ellsworth collection are huanghuali wood tables and chairs.

chinese furniture is usually categorized according to construction technique. chinese tables usually have either corner legs or recessed legs. corner leg tables can be either unwaisted or waisted.

photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace, christie's, lisa walsh | innerspace, and christie's

chinese games tables are usually square. this table is exceptional because it is the only known example of a rectangular games table with drawers. the removable top and game boards are also unusual.

recessed leg tables can have either plain or cloud shaped spandrels.

huanghuali recessed leg painting table | china | ming dynasty (17th century)

sold for US$ 3,525,000 | christie's new york | 17 march 2015 | sale 11418 | lot 42

photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace

this painting table is exceptional because of the massive timber, generous width, and early date.

pair of huanghuali bamboo-form continuous horseshoe-back armchairs | china | late ming-early qing dynasty (17th-early 18th century)
sold for US$ 2,629,000 | christie's new york | 17 march 2015 | sale 11418 | lot 47
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace, lisa walsh | innerspace, and christie's

this pair of horseshoe back armchairs is exceptional because the chairs have continuous back rails, which are quite fragile, and therefore extremely rare.

the round members, undulating aprons, and wrap around stretchers emulate bamboo, which was a less expensive material than hardwood.

several unusual features distinguish this set of four armchairs from other horsehoe-back armchairs.

huanghuali horseshoe-back armchair | china | qing dynasty (17th-18th century)
sold for US$ 581,000 | christie's new york | 18 march 2015 | sale 11419 | lot 139
photo credit christie's

the extremely elegant curve of the crest rails.
the exceptional sweeping hooks of the handles.
the unusual three-part pierced backsplats.
and, the sublime grain of the wood, which suggests a mountain landscape.

photo credit lisa walsh | innerspace

do you think that these features make the four armchairs worth US$ 9,000,000?

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