Frank Gehry, Club Chair and Coffee Table, |
Frank Gehry: 40 Years of Product Design 1972 to 2012Curated by Bill Stern
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| Although Frank Gehry has been amply recognized for his architecture, he has not received similar attention for his product designs, which were produced over the same period of time. That’s puzzling, because many of those products contain or are made of unexpected materials, materials that impart new vitality to the object’s form in much the same way Gehry’s building materials animate the forms of his structures.
As I researched Gehry’s products for our exhibition “Frank Gehry: 40 Years of Product Design 1972 to 2012,” I was stunned to discover that it would be the first-ever survey of his products. Of course, the exhibition included Gehry’s well-known corrugated paper chair in the Easy Edges line plus a wiggly ottoman. But that was just the beginning of four decades of creativity. There were the several lines of jewelry produced by Tiffany & Co., among them Torque, Axis, Equus, Fold, Orchid, Flux, Wave and Fish: more than one hundred different pieces in all, including bracelets, earrings, cufflinks, pendants, necklaces, rings and bangles. And in a stunning variety of materials: from sterling silver to agate to diamonds. And lighting - looming Clouds and extravagant Fish lamps – as well as an elegantly twisted glass bottle for Wyborowa Vodka in Poland, a handsome fish-themed tea kettle for Alessi in Italy and a sterling silver and cement ring for Tiffany & Co. Yes, cement! Bill Stern Sponsors of the Exhibition: JF Chen, Heller, The Jaffe Family, Knoll Inc. |
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 Exhibition (detail) Photo: MOCAD |
 Exhibition (detail) |
 FishNecklace Tiffany & Co., 2006 Onyx, pernambuco wood, nephrite green jade, acacia wood & sterling silver |
 Fold Pendant Tiffany & Co., 2006 Sterling silver |
 Torque Bangle Tiffany & Co., 2006 Brown-banded agate |
 Fold Bracelet Tiffany & Co., 2006 Sterling silver |
 Fossil GH-1023 Watch 2003 Metal |
 Pito Kettle, Alessi Designed 1988, produced 1992-present Mahogany, 18/10 polished stainless steel |
 Dishes and Vase Tiffany & Co., 2006 Porcelain |
 Superlight Chair Emeco, 2004 Aluminum |
 Frank Gehry Furniture Collection Heller, designed: 2004 Rotational-molded polyethylene |
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 Wiggle Side Chair Designed 1969-1972, produced 1972-present Corrugated cardboard & fiberboard |
Exhibition (detail) with Raymond Lee. Bret Witke, John Van Hamersveld and Alida Post |
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| Credit for photos unless otherwise noted: www.pictureperfectagency.com | ||