It’s the eternal conundrum: to match the painting to the sofa or just hang a mirror?* All kidding aside, what you cram into your Mansion/Apartment/Shack/House has a direct impact on inner harmony. And we’re not talking about mini-fridge placement in correlation to the flatscreen television. Instead, consider the importance of art vs. furniture. Art fulfills a noble obligation to the aesthetic universe. Furniture meets our need for a basic, utilitarian existence.
But of course, why choose? We live in a culture of convenience, and almost anything your wacked-out, pop culture-laden brain can imagine can be realized, including furniture as art and vice versa. The following — let’s call them objets — distract from a world going haywire outside your four walls and inject some mashed-up pizazz. And God knows, with hemlines lowering, palettes sobering, doors closing, and jobs on the line, it’s high time for a little pizazz. Find it after the jump.
Something Old Winner of the Furniture Design category of the D&AD Awards last year was student Charlotte Kingsnorth, who designed a corpulent armchair in homage to artist Jenny Saville’s 2003 series Migrants. Rubber latex and velvet is stretched over a beechwood frame, over-stuffed to resemble a “sofa that has been devoured by its obese occupier.” Design statement and social commentary rolled into one — brilliant.
Something New Artist Andrea Canalito’s installation “Twinkle Twinkle Baby,” a set of deer sculptures inside cupcakes, satisfies the requisite whimsy quotient. We also like the underlying cynicism and multifunctional nature: replace the houseplant that keeps dying, use one as a conceptual remote control holder, or think of it as the ideal roommate (cute but silent).
Something Borrowed Repurposed from cast-off gold necklaces scouted from area Goodwill and Salvation Army stores, the Pendant Light by Brooklyn duo Floto + Warner is a keepsake in its own right. A heavy dose of vintage glam where form meets function elevates this from “light” to “chandelier.” Fancy!
Something Blue Not quite blue, but austere, Austrian designer Thomas Feichtner produces cutting-edge furniture that would feel right at home in a contemporary art museum. (In fact, some of his pieces were selected for the art gallery room of the Pixelhotel in Linz.) The Mayas bed, Podestalseat, and Unbalanced Table all embody the idea of merging furniture with visual art.
*Seriously, no.