Léa Mestres’s “Family Business” at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in L.A.
Photo: Joshua White
7 Collectible Design Shows to See Around the World in October
Discover the latest eye-catching works by Roberto Lugo, Chris Schanck, Bari Ziperstein, and Léa Mestres
“The Gilded Ghetto” at R & Company in New York. Photo: R & Company
1. “The Gilded Ghetto” at R & Company | New York
Since being awarded the Rome Prize in 2019, Philadelphia-raised Roberto Lugo has established himself as one of the leading ceramic artists of his generation, lauded especially for his hand-thrown vases that marry classical motifs with hip-hop figures and pop-culture references. (Notorious B.I.G., Bob Marley, and Jimi Hendrix have all adorned his works.) His latest exhibition, “The Gilded Ghetto,” is on view through October 27 and marks the Penn State alum’s first solo show in New York. On view at the gallery’s White Street location, the show includes an array of street-inspired pieces, including life-sized pottery, wall-mounted objects, and a reimagined version of the National Museum of Asian Art’s famed Peacock Room.
“On Object Tendency” at Superhouse in New York. Photo: Brian W. Ferry
2. “On Object Tendency” at Superhouse | New York
Materials strive to find alternate identities in the topsy-turvy world of Shaina Tabak, the New York–based talent who holds a BFA from RISD in furniture design and is a former Anderson Ranch artist-in-residence. In her latest solo show, the Queens-born creative takes over Superhouse, the Chinatown gallery founded by Stephen Markos in 2021 to foster emerging voices in the art and design space. Her captivating creations, on view until November 5, prove the old adage that there’s always more than meets the eye. Case in point: ash milled to look like rope, flowers made of aluminum, and sapele pocked with sponge-like divots that mimics the look of clay. The fast-rising artist will also present work in a group show at Manhattan’s Jack Chiles gallery opening in late October.
“Chris Schanck: Panspermia” at David Gill in London. Photo: courtesy of david gill
3. “Chris Schanck: Panspermia” at David Gill | London
In his latest series, acclaimed artist Chris Schanck has fashioned dazzling works using hundreds of salvaged objects united by aluminum and then sheathed in candy-colored resin. Fantastical yet functional, these slick pieces include mohair-upholstered thrones, an acid-green chandelier with bulbs resembling dinosaur eggs, and a lagoon-shaped cocktail table with a mesmerizing resin top. “I have been watching the development of Chris’s work with great admiration for some time,” says David Gill, who will be showing the series at his London gallery through November 11. “I appreciate the way he can focus on working with found materials, paying homage to his own urban surroundings while bringing into context the history of art and design, and delivering extraordinary new processes, like Alufoil.”
Harry Nuriev’s “Denim House” at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in L.A. Photo: Joshua White
4. Harry Nuriev, Léa Mestres, and Martin Laforêt at Carpenters Workshop Gallery | Los Angeles
This entry is in fact three separate solo exhibitions in one. Through December 22, Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s Los Angeles outpost is presenting innovative works by a trio of European talents: Galerie Creative Mind Harry Nuriev, French artist Léa Mestres, and Paris-born Martin Laforêt. In “Denim House,” Nuriev has conceived a domestic wonderland of upholstered furnishings embellished with playful hand-embroidered writings and drawings. Mestres evokes the Barbie-mania of the summer with “Family Business,” which spotlights tactile floor lamps made of cement and plaster sheathed in vivid pink hues. Lastly, “Variations” showcases Laforêt’s ingenious ability to transform humble materials such as concrete into a series of striking seats. Together, the shows create nothing short of a total tour de force.
“Topographic Memories” at Les Ateliers Courbet in New York. Photo: les Ateliers Courbet
5. “Topographic Memories” at Les Ateliers Courbet | New York
“I am fascinated by the way time shapes and sculpts land,” says Galerie Creative Mind Raphael Navot, whose latest show at New York gallery Les Ateliers Courbet will be open until October 28. His preoccupation with the metamorphosis of topography is evident in his latest capsule collection of lighting and furnishings, created in collaboration with the expert artisans at Ateliers Saint-Jacques on the outskirts of Paris. On view at the gallery are new works including tables, lamps, and pendants rendered in stone and bronze that illustrate the painstaking process of erosion by hand. Especially head-turning are the Monk Eyes series of pendants—composed of cast bronze—which enliven the gallery like a fleet of diminutive UFOs.
“Bolibana” at Friedman Benda in Los Angeles. Photo: Friedman Benda
6. “Bolibana” at Friedman Benda | Los Angeles
Hailing from the nation of Burkina Faso, Hamad Ouattara has made a name for himself as a leading voice in contemporary African design by fashioning eye-catching works made of recycled materials such as discarded oil drums and other industrial debris. The otherworldly works produced by his design practice, Studio Hamad Ouattara, are now getting their due in Los Angeles, where Friedman Benda will be exhibiting them through December 21. Here, discover an array of architectural cabinets that illustrate ancient metalsmith techniques melded with modern colors and style while still hinting at their past lives in the global energy supply chain.
“Fantasy Pieces: Decorative Garments for the Home” at Nina Johnson in Miami. Photo: Nina Johnson
7. “Fantasy Pieces: Decorative Garments for the Home” at Nina Johnson | Miami
Celebrated for her shapely, vivid ceramic furnishings that nod to Soviet-era aesthetics, Bari Ziperstein presides over not just a fine-art practice but also a homeware brand called BZippy offering everything from planters and vases to magazine holders and side tables. Last year, the Los Angeles–based talent completed a scholastic residency at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University, which sparked the idea for her current show, “Fantasy Pieces: Decorative Garments for the Home” at Nina Johnson gallery in Miami. Here, through November 18, Ziperstein is presenting 11 sculptural objects inspired by Vienna’s former Wiener Werkstätte, a group of primarily Jewish artists and designers who worked across artistic mediums. The resulting series of hand-built sculptures are aimed at challenging narratives and exploring connections between the past and present.
Cover: Léa Mestres’s “Family Business” at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in L.A.
Photo: Joshua White
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