Art and design luminaries gathered at the ddc flagship in New York City on Tuesday evening to celebrate the opening of a new show titled “Spanish Masters,” with masterworks by Salvador Dalí, Antoni Gaudí, and the celebrated contemporary lighting designer and sculptor Arturo Alvarez, who was in attendance. Galerie’s editor-in-chief Margaret Russell hosted the special debut and the brothers who run the design gallery, Babak and Siamak Hakakian, were on hand to share their enthusiasm for the unique pieces drawn from their own private collection.
Exquisite one-of-a-kind doors designed by Gaudí in 1904 for Casa Batlló at almost ten feet in height held everyone’s gaze with their lustrous wood and exquisite craftsmanship, and a collection of Dalí furniture, including a gold chair and table with high-heeled feet, reminded everyone of the artist’s surreal genius.
But it was the eccentric pieces by Alvarez dotted around the showroom that captivated guests most of all. Making a statement in the the center, for example, was the artist’s installation titled Encontros, a cluster of illuminated humanlike totems made of wrapped wire (enough to wrap around the Empire State Building 1.5 times, to be precise).
The award for the most Instagram-worthy artwork, meanwhile, went to Conversas, a delightful wall sculpture that gave the illusion of a couple kissing thanks to a magical shadow play effect. “If you orient them just slightly different, it completely changes,” marveled Bibak. “Everyone who has come in is going crazy for all of these pieces.”
The special exhibition that will be on view through May at ddc gallery, 134 Madison Ave, New York.
