As 2024 comes to a close, I decided to take stock of the places, spaces, and objects that I saw as a reminder — amid all that bitter ugliness fill our various feeds This year—people are still making cool stuff out there. This is an incomplete list of designs that made an impact.
John Cameron Mitchell’s “Queer Art Church”
The versatile writer, director, artist behind hedwigand other culture-defining works, recreated really weird house in new orleansThe former regional headquarters of the Order Templi Orientis (the esoteric society run by Aleister Crowley), the defining feature of the house is a large ballroom, and Cameron Mitchell uses the space as a venue for performances, drawing classes and all manner of events. Ahead of our January 2024 feature, I was lucky enough to attend and see the recent renovation and sizable Art Nouveau addition by Michelle Culkin and Justin Barton with Studio West Design & Architecture and Arch Builders.
Alessandro Mendini at the Triennial
The vogue for all things fashion has certainly waned in Memphis, but the career-spanning Mendini retrospective in Milan showcased the work of a giant of Italian post-modernism that has endured beyond any trend. Topic Ayo sono un drago After a self-portrait with the text “Io non sono un arquitectetto, sono un drago” (I am not an architect, I am a dragon), the exhibition covers everything from his industrial designs for all kinds of brands to his years at Something was included. Domus And early artwork.
Ceramics and Glass at Alcova
Who replaced the Memphis trend? Surrealism. Like in art and fashion, Design gets weird in 2024 Paranormal objects start appearing everywhere. This includes Alcova Fair in Milan Back in April. Two highlights at the show were a set of ceramic sconces by Seoul Studio WKND Lab And, in a presentation by Design Gallery Adornoglassware by poland Szklo Studio,
A beautiful industrial kitchen in Salone del Mobile
danish kitchen artist VIPP They never disappoint when they unveil new materials and configurations for their custom work, and their all-aluminum island at Milan’s huge Salone del Mobile did not disappoint. Check out everything my colleague Duncan Nielsen saw (and loved) at the fair This year’s Salone del Mobile report,
A Chair Collaboration at Dimore Studio
french fashion brand yves salomon and furniture manufacturers Chapo Creation Together they created a series of chairs that could be seen in Milan Dimore StudioCombining wood with beautiful joinery and textiles with bright patterns and deep textures, this pairing works very well. You can see everything she and former Dwell style editor Julia Stevens loved doing around Milan during Salone del Mobile its dispatch(We miss you, Julia!)
rare form
New York, online shop make rareSpecializing in rare vintage furniture, it had a presentation of enviable items. ICFF last spring. check out everything else Ian Zunt, the vision behind all things social media for Dwell, was featured on that show.
A new gallery that feels like (a very fancy) home
One of the latest additions to New York’s design landscape quartersA shop run by lighting designers generally togetherIt’s designed like a home and features a thoughtful mix of furniture, lighting (of course), and other items. It is in a corridor between Tribeca and Chinatown, which in just a few years has transformed into a bustling hub of art and design galleries.
lamp show
I love lamp show, Cafe and Design Bookshop head helloThe annual open call for creative lighting often stretches the idea of what a “lamp” can be, and this year the designs that made the cut have delivered. my favorite was a shaggy lamp studio nuclear This reflects the hairy lighting trend going on at the moment.
Need for Design Fair New York
Brussels Design Fair collectible opened its first New York edition in September, and it was a much-needed infusion of new energy into the city’s design calendar. Dedicated to one-off and small edition design work, the fair featured a diverse group of exhibitors and many emerging designers. is here Everything Suzanne Lagassa, Dwell’s creative director, loved the show. I’m excited to see what next year holds.
A Credenza and a Residency in Colony
New York Design Gallery colony There’s always an exciting cycle of work going on at their still-new Tribeca location. Back in October, this credit Alara Alkan Studio In particular, its beautifully textured door details caught my attention. Alkan took part in the 2024 edition of Colony’s residency program, which helps emerging designers develop the practical side of running their studios – from developing and showcasing collections to sales and marketing.
Reflective Clothing at Superhouse
Another big discovery of this year was maris van vlakA young textile artist who had a solo song show But Superhouse this fall. She employs different types of thread, dense and loose knots, and unusual materials in her weavings that give the pieces a sense of constructed history or obscure stories.
Southern Design at the Atlanta Art Fair
Our November/December 2024 issue focused on how Regional Design Approach Despite the uniformity that Instagram aesthetics often forces on local scenes, endure. at the inauguration atlanta art fair I had the chance to ask a panel of experts — including Tony Purvis, Associate Director of Interior Design A type of fishand designer Michelle Smith Boyd And Monet Masters-What sets the South apart these days. As a New Yorker, I was happy to have his expertise. Designers also joke that their role often extends to everything from interior design to art advisor to therapist for their clients in a way that may be specific to the region.
Objects: USA 2024
If you’re looking for a more unique item for office seating than the typical work chair, cliff recently reissued 1973 Design by Andrew Morrison and Bruce Hanna It’s got a lot of visual pop. As soon as they announced they were bringing it back, the Dwell team was posting heart-touching emojis on Slack in response to the contemporary colors.
Dwell Open House: Los Angeles
Dwell gave a chance to 300 readers in October Travel Three very nice, individually very distinct homes on the east side of Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to hang out Chet Callahan’s Place All day and meet many of them. The atmosphere was amazing, and I can’t wait for future editions.
Table Lamp from Main in Design Miami
But design miami, Dobrinka Salzman Gallery A single presentation of the lighting system by the main designer was shown Christopher BakerTheir metal, wood and fabric creations stopped me in my tracks. The yarn-wrapped table lamp in particular had a ton of personality (see the hairy lighting trend mentioned above).
Chain Mail at Alcova Miami
i’m a fan of Dwell 24 alum Maika PalazuelosJo has been running her Mexico City studio Panorama for a long time, and it’s been great to see the directions she’s taken her work since we first featured her. It was the highlight of the second Miami edition of Milan design fair Alcova. Like the first show, the show overall was a mixed bag of exciting and less-exciting work. Dwell contributor Alana Hope Levinson sorted it all out for us found some serious gems,
“Morocco” in Miami.
Miami Art Week has always featured an impossibly long list of competitive exhibits, but in recent years it seems that many of the events organized by galleries, institutions, and other entities in the art business have been replaced by large-scale organized “experiential activities.” Has gone. Companies that can occur in almost any context. One exception was Moroccan artist Hassan Hajjaj’s pop-up. With its own backing from Capital One and farmershe made a decoration in front of the store The Moroccan decor on the Lincoln Road pedestrian mall in Miami Beach is worth a visit. It hosted a tea salon, a restaurant rose previteand performance-from traditional Moroccan gnawa For celebrity DJ sets. And it was really…fun.
Local lighting on TIWA Select
I’ll end the year on a moody December day at Alex Tighe-Walker’s Manhattan Design Gallery TIWA Select and a solo show by the lighting designer james cherryBased in Los Angeles, the designer creates his lights by creating armatures from materials found wherever he happens to be – sticks in the woods, pieces of metal in Brooklyn, etc. He then wraps them in cloth and coats the cloth with layers of resin until he has the right level of translucency. Shining in the evening at the end of one of the shortest days of the year, they were a poetic way to say goodbye to 2024.
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