“Flower Power” at the Future Perfect.
Photo: The Future Perfect
5 Can’t-Miss Collectible Design Shows Around the World in June
From trippy furnishings by Chris Wolston in New York to artful lighting designs by Frederik Molenschot in Paris
“Flower Power” by Chris Wolston at the Future Perfect. Photo: The Future Perfect
1. “Flower Power” at the Future Perfect | New York
A master at conjuring exuberant works of functional art, Chris Wolston is showcasing his latest hand-crafted creations at the Future Perfect’s New York gallery in a solo exhibition called “Flower Power,” which pays homage to his adopted home of Medellin, Colombia. Drawing inspiration from the South American country’s lush jungles—and the fact that it provides three-quarters of the U.S.’s cut flowers—Wolston has devised a series of terra cotta furnishings and lighting rife with floral motifs and symbolic meaning. Anchoring the exhibition, which is on view through June 30, is a collection of 13 throne-like chairs and benches—several of which are embellished with ceramic casts of plants from the artist’s own garden. Also on view is a spectacular bronze chandelier featuring a menagerie of abstracted blossoms and leaves complete with an opalescent Murano glass orb.
“Saint Valentine,” a group exhibition featuring new works by Francesca DiMattio, Elsa Hansen Oldham, Anna Betbeze, and Katie Stout. Photo: Nina Johnson Gallery
2. “Saint Valentine” at Nina Johnson Gallery | Miami
A bewitching ode to the aggressively romantic nature of a Saint Valentine, this must-see group show at Miami’s Nina Johnson Gallery brings together a quartet of some of today’s leading talents who are blurring art and design: Francesca DiMattio, Elsa Hansen Oldham, Anna Betbeze, and Katie Stout. “I am thrilled to see these artists overlap in one space outside of my own mind,” says gallery owner Nina Johnson. “I was originally thinking about this group of artists and while connecting the threads, I felt there was a grittiness, a strangeness, something almost punk rock about all of their aesthetics that ties them together.” On view through July 29, the exhibition allows each to take their signature aesthetics to new heights. DiMattio, for instance, is presenting Greek and Meissen–style porcelain vessels along with furnishings that embody her penchant for manipulating existing imagery while honoring the ancient art of terra cotta.
“Stasis” at Guild Gallery in New York. Photo: Colin King
3. “Stasis” at Guild Gallery | New York
The first solo exhibition in the United States for French artist and fashion designer Ludmilla Balkis, Guild Gallery’s newest installation features more than 20 earth-toned ceramics that distill the essence of stasis, defined as a period or state of inactivity or equilibrium. Melding Japanese firing techniques with traditional French craftsmanship, Balkis—who previously worked at Céline and is currently based in France’s Basque country—has crafted a quiet but powerful collection of vessels that reveal her unwavering dedication to sensuality and minimalism. Those in the Hamptons can also find her work on display all summer long as part of Object & Thing’s collaborative show at LongHouse in East Hampton.
Andrée Putman and Marjorie Salvaterra at Ralph Pucci in London. Photo: Ralph Pucci
4. Andrée Putman + Marjorie Salvaterra at Ralph Pucci | London
Chic furnishings by late Parisian design doyenne Andrée Putman are on display alongside potent artworks by Los Angeles–based photographer Marjorie Salvaterra at Ralph Pucci’s Mayfair gallery in London. Putman, who passed away in 2013, was revered for bridging aesthetic gaps between furniture and fashion—and she was a longtime collaborator with Ralph Pucci beginning in the 1980s. Now on view are a trio of classic pieces, the Spacey console, Sitting on a Cloud chair, and New Moon side table, all of which embrace her characteristic simplicity. Salvaterra’s images, meanwhile, compliment Putman’s cheeky side by injecting humor into explorations of women’s roles in modern life. “Salvaterra’s Her expresses a humorous sense of hesitation that we are proud to show with Andrée’s iconic work,” says Pucci. “Two powerful female creatives.” While there, don’t miss new designs by gallery collaborators Patrick Naggar, Paul Mathieu, Paul McCobb, John Wigmore, Philippe Anthonioz, and Jérôme Abel Seguin.
The first solo exhibition of Dutch artist Frederik Molenschot is now on view at Carpenters Workshop in Paris. Photo: carpenters workshop gallery
5. “Atlas 2000” at Carpenters Workshop Gallery | Paris
Known for his stunning bronze lighting creations, Dutch artist Frederik Molenschot has just opened his first solo exhibition at Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s Paris space in the Marais. On view through September 16, “Atlas 2000” puts the Design Academy Eindhoven graduate’s enormous talents on full display, with an array of monumental designs that blend cutting-edge technology with a mastery of traditional metalworking. Always captivating and transportive, the striking creations take inspiration from both the natural and man-made worlds, evoking a distant constellation or the glittering lights of the urban landscape. Also on view are his forays into sculptural furnishings, with a selection of tables and chairs crafted in materials such as aluminum and wood that encapsulate Molenschot’s fascination with architecture and engineering.
Cover: “Flower Power” at the Future Perfect.
Photo: The Future Perfect
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