Creative Mind: Lee F. Mindel
The celebrated architect of New York firm SheltonMindel is mounting fascinating shows at his art and design space, Galerie56
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it’s exactly what keeps Lee F. Mindel going. The architect’s never-ending travels give him a breadth of knowledge and inspiration to pull from for his wide-ranging endeavors.
Many know his firm, SheltonMindel, for its striking homes, which demonstrate a distinct brio for classic modernism executed to perfection. And there are also collections for Sutherland and Waterworks, as well as the pieces made with plasterglass for Ralph Pucci. But Mindel’s most unexpected debut has been Galerie56, in Herzog & de Meuron’s Jenga Tower in Tribeca, where he also has an apartment.
Over the last year and a half, he’s mounted a series of fascinating shows, all with a specialized curatorial point of view, ranging from unframed drawings by Gaetano Pesce to ceramist Zizipho Poswa’s first bronze series in conjunction with Cape Town, South Africa, gallery Southern Guild. “My hope was that it would become this platform for architecture, design, and art—where we could collaborate with different people around the world,” Mindel shares of his exhibitions. This spring he’ll present a display geared toward children based on animals like the bird- and orca–shaped hanging chairs by Porky Hefer.
Show business: “Our recent show ‘Garbo Talks’ had a kind of poetry for me,” reflects Mindel. “I went to Stockholm with dealer Paul Jackson, and we came up with a group of things, many of them from the years of her movies. We researched her apartment, and the curation had a kind of cerebral connection to both her films and her strength.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Spring Issue under the headline “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.