Product of the Week: Wood Discs by Barter Design

New from Vancouver's Barter Design, and just debuted at Provide Home's recent One Hot Night event, the Wood Disc Series of wall sculptures is formed from hand-selected Western Red Cedar. The minimalism is in contrast to the live-edge aesthetic we've grown to expect from most artistic treatments of local timber. What isn't minimal is our enthusiasm for this series.

Get 'em while they last at Provide Home, $500 each.

The wood discs at left, during Provide Home's One Hot Night event.

Images courtesy Provide Home.

Editorial note: Items featured in GRAY’s Product of the Week posts are solely the choice of our editors and are not paid for in any way by anyone associated with the product.

Product of the Week: Flyover Collection by Kirsten Southwell

This week we're spotlighting Portland-based artist and designer Kirsten Southwell. "Flyover," her latest collection of modern quilts, was inspired by a November trip Southwell took to Toronto. The bird’s-eye topography of different locations, spotted out the plane window, gave the three quilts their names: Oregon, Ontario, and Illinois. We're loving the resurgence of contemporary artists designing quilts and reviving the medium for a new audience.

Southwell will be among the Portland designers exhibiting at this year's WantedDesign Manhattan. To read more about the Portland presence at Wanted, as part of the feature "Portland Outside the Box," go here. Images courtesy kmsouthwell.com.

Editorial note: Items featured in GRAY’s Product of the Week posts are solely the choice of our editors and are not paid for in any way by anyone associated with the product.

Bocci Sheds New Light on Vancouver's Public Art Scene

By Jasmine Vaughn

Bocci, the Vancouver-based, internationally renowned lighting design and manufacturing company, was recently commissioned to create a light sculpture at the entrance of the Fairmont Pacific Rim by local real estate development firm Westbank. GRAY was thrilled to attend the unveiling last month and be among the first to witness Bocci’s first permanent public art installation.

Image Courtesy of Gwenael Lewis.

The installation, Bocci 16.480, is a tree-like structure comprised of 480 individual Bocci 16 lights. The ‘trees,’ set in burnt wood plank platforms, form a metal forest of sorts, transforming what was once a nondescript plot of asphalt into an illuminated social space for both hotel guests and local design enthusiasts.

Image Courtesy of Gwenael Lewis.

Bocci’s 16 was conceived by Omar Arbel, Bocci’s Creative Director, but was a dream left unrealized for many years, until the correct technical and glass expertise became available. "I have imagined what 16 would look like for almost a decade," said Arbel. "It is wonderful to now see it coming to life and prominently placed in Vancouver.”

In order to produce each individual light, the glass must be poured horizontally in two layered molten glass molds, and then connected with an internal LED lamp. The lamps are then attached to a combination of branch and knuckle components that can be combined in limitless configurations.

Image Courtesy of Gwenael Lewis.

After the unveiling of the 16.480, and the fete that followed, we went on a tour of the Bocci studio, housed in what once was the Mitchell Press building in the Armory District. This building brims with creative capital, housing not only Bocci, but also Arbel’s design firm OAO, high-end furniture retailer Livingspace, and the Emily Carr Masters degree program. Here you see how Arbel simultaneously reinvented the exterior structure while retaining the original building’s character. Arbel artfully cantilevered a gem-like stairwell with multi-faceted walls over the entrance to Livingspace, and also created an equally impressive entrance, in the form of a custom door made from randomly laminated strips of Doug Fir and Lexan.

An interior view of the door shows how it captures natural light, while manmade light is emitted from two separate groupings of Bocci 14 pendants. We love the building directory, a nod to Bocci’s signature product numbering system (think 16.480), and the presence of Bench 25 in the foyer, an Omar Arbel for Bocci original.

Jasmine Vaughn is a an interior designer and writer livening in Portland. Her blog, Made & State, focuses on well-crafted, American-made goods. She also serves as a contributing editor at GRAY. 

5 Questions For: Jen Ament

Name: Jen Ament 

Title: Artist

Company: Jennifer Ament Art

Which of your designs or projects are you most excited about right now and why?

I am in the middle of working on a show at the beginning of February, and a show that will open end of May. They both involve the celestial landscape, the places we have come from, and quite possibly where we are going. I am completely aware of my own mortality from a insane accident I had this year and have become obsessed with the rituals and ceremonies we have created as a society, therefore the title of my new shows are "Rituals" and "Future Rituals."  

Tell us three words that embody your design philosophy.

 Useful. Honest. Beautifully made.

What's your favorite place in the Pacific Northwest and why?

The Cape Flattery Trail [on the northern tip of the Washington coat] is magical. More on a rainy day than sunny.

Who or what are you inspired by right now?

• Streams of light and fog or mist, playing off each other.
• People who authentically have no desire to be famous. I think too many people wrongly believe this is the road to happiness, and oh how wrong they are.
• Indoor/outdoor spaces, I wish Seattle had more of them.
• Older Japanese men's wardrobes.

What do you think of the color gray?

It is a constant in my life. It soothes me, and reminds me of home.

Image Courtesy of Jen Ament.

A Trip to Art Basel with designer Andee Hess

Every year for four days in December, the international art world descends on Miami for the much-anticipated Art Basel, an event where galleries show work from leading modern and contemporary artists, as well as pieces by emerging stars. This year was the12^th year of Art Basel Miami and the 10^th year of Design Miami, and Portland-based designer Andee Hess, principal of OsmoseDesign, attended. GRAY enlisted Hess to share some of her top picks from this year.

By Andee Hess

Osmose recently completed a tea-lounge in Miami, and through local clients and friends there I’ve had the opportunity to explore the city a good bit.  For that reason, when Art Basel Miami Beach approached, I thought for sure I would have a better handle on the festivities than the previous two years I’ve attended...

Art Basel Miami Beach still rules victorious as a feverous sensory-overload!! Here’s what I was able to process, and a few things that especially stuck out to me.  Enjoy the trip:

Donald Judd

Untitled (DSS 319), 1973

Copper

I’m a huge Judd fan—even though it’s from1973, this piece still looks so fresh and new.

Eric Baudart Concave 2013 aerosol paint on paper; The Gold show at the Bass Museum.

John Miserendino, Untitled (Seeing Ruby’s Hubby), 2014, stone, dye, 27×36   

Sylvie Fleury, Yes To All, 2004 gold-plated trashcan

The Gold show at the Bass Museum

Olson Kundig Architects’ “38 Beams” installation for the collector’s lounge at Design Miami. Seeing this solid installation gave me a great swell of PNW pride!  

Jack Craig PVC Series Pressed Stone Table 2013

These tables are made of heat-formed PVC water main and stone tops granite. I love the material surprise, and aside from being pretty cool little tables, they made me want to explore and play with materials more.

Fendi booth designed by Dimore Studio.  

Lines & Waves by Tomas Alonso, through Victor Hunt (London)

CNC milled grooves, then polished by hand with accessories following the grooves, so they align and slide. Did I mention the grooves are all hand-polished?

This nylon-and-bronze rug was featured at Ammann Gallery. I’ve never seen anything like it!    

Action Object by Leon Ransmeier. Yes, it’s a silver chin-up station! 

Acrylic console at Ammann Gallery.

Alessandro Mendini cabinet (brass inlayed in enamel) at Casati. This is the perfect luxury wardrobe for a Monsters Inc. character.

American walnut and ecologically harvested alligator stools by Etel Carmona Suchus stool for Espasso.   

CNC marble by Zaha Hadid at R&Company.

Some creeping little stools by The Hass Brothers at R&Company.

Epic Damian Hirst pieces (composed of primarily metal razor blades).

And a life-size Peter Marino to finish things off!    

Product of the Week: Haand x SL Geometric Mugs

Creative is creative is creative—we love it when artists and designers pivot from their typical mediums to explore something new.

Best known for her contemporary geometric jewelry designs, Seattle's Sarah Loertscher has just expanded her talent for drawing into artistic accessories with a collaboration with Mark Warren, the designer behind North Carolina-based ceramic company, Haand. These black and white porcelain mugs are made from slip cast porcelain, upon which Loerstcher hand-applies 22-carat platinum and gold decals.

The result is a beautiful and functional object, which gets us thinking: we could also envision Loertscher's designs on pillows, throw blankets, wallpaper… are you listening, Sarah?

Hurry, Haand is offering a coupon code (HxSL 2014) for the mugs ($48 each) on their site, which are on presale now through November 17! So go here, now!

Editorial note: Items featured in GRAY’s Product of the Week posts are solely the choice of our editors and are not paid for in any way by anyone associated with the product.

Product of the Week: limited-edition watercolors from 18 Karat

These stunning, limited-edition watercolors by Vancouver's 18 Karat are layers of stain blended together that result in compositions that are never the same. Abstract color is one of the best ways to add a fresh look to any room, and these dreamy pieces seem like the perfect way to start. Each one is special order, so contact 18 Karat for details.

Images courtesy of 18 Karat.

Art and Design Go Hand in Hand with Storefronts Seattle

Earlier this spring, Chutney’s, an Indian restaurant and longtime resident in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, closed its doors. Like many shuttered buildings, the one housing the former restaurant sat vacant for months, until early August, when a crew of 10 workers started covering the exterior with wood from recycled palettes. Clad in the overlapping material, it appeared shingled. Within several days the entire building, including the large standalone sign, became an art installation.

The brainchild of architectural designer Greg Lewis, it was the first in a series of installations that would take place as a part of Storefronts Seattle—a program of the non-profit fiscal arts supporter Shunpike that strives bring positive change to Seattle streetscapes by working with architects, land lords, and Realtors to provide artists with installation space in storefronts or buildings that would otherwise sit empty.

When Stream Real Estate—a sustainable development company that was planning on turning the restaurant’s lot into a mixed-use building with 36 residential units and 3,400 square feet of retail space—heard about the Storefronts program, it jumped at the opportunity to work with the organization.

“We knew we needed an interim use, I started doing some research, located them and we quickly determined it would be a good fit,” says Stream agent Marc Angelillo. “Storefronts is a perfect interim use for use to have some activity at the building while immediately having a positive impact on the neighborhood until we start redeveloping.”

According to Storefronts manager Anne Blackburn, permission to alter exterior structures is so rare, that she called back, “about 10 times,” just to double check before giving Lewis the OK to proceed. If you drive by the corner of 15th Ave. E. and E. Mercer on Capitol Hill, it’s hard to miss the structure. And even though a new exhibition is up, Lewis’ work still remains.

“It’s like that Exquisite Corpse game,” Blackburn explains. “One artist does their installation, but leaves it up when their exhibition is up, then the next artist comes in and builds off that, and when their exhibition is up the next artist works from that. It’s a really exciting challenge.”

The current artist, Jennifer Zwick, created “Lamps Meninas”—a three-dimensional vignette representation of Diego Velazquez’ 1656 painting “Las Meninas”—using various lights donated from Rejuvenation to represent different figures in the painting. The original piece depicts a scene from the Spanish royal court that shows Velazquez painting a portrait that the viewer cannot see, but an artfully placed mirror at the back of the room reflects the king and queen, who stand in the exact same position as the view. The young princess, her attendants, and a dog are also present. 

“I wanted to reduce it to its simplest lines, but on another level take it in a completely different direction that I’d never seen,” Zwick says, describing her installation. “Finding ordinary objects that are used for another purpose and reconstructing them is interesting to me. I took what I saw as the essential attribute of each figure compositionally, and used that to choose the light that represented it.”

If you find yourself on Capitol Hill before the end of the month, be sure to check out Zwick’s installation—drive by at night to get the full effect, and check out the images below to see how Zwick has used interiors in her previous work.

Seattle artist Jennifer Zwick on Capitol Hill next to her Storefronts Seattle installation "Lamps Meninas." All lighting was donated from Rejuvenation.  

"Lamps Meninas" is a three-dimentional interpretation of Diego Velazquez'  iconic "Las Meninas," a painting depicting a scene from the Spanish court.

Architectural designer Greg Lewis, the artist who installed before Zwick, covered the entire exterior of the former Chutney's restaurant with recycled palettes. 

"The Explorers" A 2005 archival pigment print. 

A 2012 window installation by Zwick entitled, "I'm Pretty Sure This is Exactly Right." Zwick often uses furniture and interiors scenes in her work. "It seems like Jennie is also interested in the emotional content of living rooms," Blackburn says. "There's an intimacy there...you're conversing with these objects and there is that intimacy because they are your own.

"The Dream" A 2007 archival pigment print. 

Jennifer Ament Art Show Wednesday Oct. 5th

The GRAY ladies will be attending the über talented Jennifer Ament's art show this Wednesday at Velocity Art & Design! They have dedicated an entire wall to showcasing Ament's striking linoleum-cut prints in vintage frames. Guests are encouraged to wear a "disguise" in the form of a face mask, so let creativity be your guide. The event starts at 6pm--see you there!

Wall of Ament's prints at Capers in West Seattle