2011 TREND FORECAST: Austere Luxury - Revisiting the 1990s

by Bill Indursky

Items from VandM.com dealers (From top left counterclockwise): 1940s X-Ray Articulate Arm Light Lamp $3,500, Edward Wormley "Tete a Tete" by Dunbar $14,500, Antique Spanish Rug Size - 9' x 12' $20,000, Round Biedermeier Revival Burlwood Tilt Top Table $2,650, Rare Vicke Lindstrand for Upsala Ekeby Vase $1,895, Visage Lavis Lithograph by Leonor Fini $1,950.
Project designed by Bill Indursky.

Last year, the big trend in both fashion and home decor was a redeux of the late 1980s.  Since trends last for an average of 1-5 years in the home decor industry look for the 1980s to continue.  But in 2011, keep an eye out for the early 1990s (circa 1992) to make a comeback.

inPRESS - New FLAUNT Magazine Ad

EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: The Dog In Art

by Nancy Gibson

Faithful dogs, Foo dogs and Folk Art dogs. Dogs are forever linked to humans and have been depicted in art for centuries. Sir Edwin Landseer [British, 1803-1873], the most famous English artist of his generation, and a household name in Victorian England, attributed the popularity of dogs in the 19th century to “a certain likeness to man.” His sleek and highly-finished portraits of Queen Victoria’s pets epitomized the 19th century romantic image of domestic animals. In 1840 Blackwood’s Magazine wrote, “His are not mere animals; they tell a story. You see them not only alive, but you see their biography, and know what they do, and if the expressions be allowed, what they think.” Landseer’s 1839 painting of the Queen’s macaw, love birds, Tilco, and Islay [1839-1844], the Queen’s favorite Skye Terrier, were parodied by Punch magazine substituting the Duke of Wellington for the Macaw with Gladstone and Peel for the dogs. He struck a nerve with the public with his images of animals that exhibited human feelings.

ALL GLASSY EYED: Ogling Jeff Zimmerman’s Sculptures

by Meghan Edwards



Encompassing bulbous glowing orbs, medusan candlesticks and sconces, trash-like crumpled vases and leafy-scaly chandeliers, the work of Jeff Zimmerman is tough to define. Sculptures? Lighting? But either/or doesn’t apply to this New York-based artist, and neither do the traditional parameters of glass blowing. Fusing patterns inspired by nature, evoking branches, petals, and waves, with human accidents like crushing and splattering, Zimmerman masters the age-old glass medium and adds an invaluable element of the unexpected and the fantastic.

SWIMMING WITH FISHES Fish Forms: Lamps by Frank Gehry at The Jewish Museum

by Tamara Moscowitz

Devotees of architect Frank O. Gehry will have a rare opportunity to view a jewel-like exhibit at The Jewish Museum of a select group of eight highly unusual fish lamps that the internationally acclaimed architect designed between 1984-1986 for the Formica Corporation. The company’s request to Gehry was to experiment with a new laminate product called ColorCore. In the R&D phase, Gehry broke a piece of shard that was shaped like a fish reminiscent of his childhood fascination with fishes. Ergo, fish lamps.

LATE SUMMER TREASURES: The Bouckville NY Antique Show

by Bob Graham

For fifty-one weeks each year, Bouckville, NY, is just another small town on the long stretch of Rte. 20 between Albany and Syracuse. Years ago, the highway was a main road and bustled with businesses that catered to travelers rushing across New York State but after the construction of the NY Thruway, it became a secondary route taken as an alternative when the endless monotony of an interstate toll road was too onerous a choice.

SURFACE READING: How Finishes Change Design

by Meghan Edwards

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Look below the surface. Idioms such as these don’t apply when considering “Make Up: Designing Surfaces,” an exhibition opening next week at the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. According to the show’s curator, design collection curator Renate Menzi, and its scenographer, Zurich-based industrial designer Martiz Schmid, the painted, chrome-planed, resin-coated, oxidized finishes of objects tell us vital information about their functions and significances. Celebrated purely for their surface appeal, over 200 products by contemporary designers and classic design objects are on view during the show’s run from August 25 to January 2.