November Decorative Arts Calendar of Events

Just when I thought that I can forgo the calendar this month, I realized that November is quite busy month. Also, between this months and last months openings, I am really excited that there are a lot of interesting fashion related exhibition going on in the city right now. And of course, the Cooper-Hewitt has a great line-up of lectures that are sure to please everyone. Finally, the gallery shows and the antiques shows round up a very arts-filled agenda.

See

BALENCIAGA: SPANISH MASTER at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, NYC, opening November 19, 2010 through February 19, 2011. http://www.spanishinstitute.org/ Billed as the “first exhibition to consider the impact of Spain’s culture, history and art on one of its greatest twentieth-century sons, the legendary designer Cristóbal Balenciaga.” Conceived by Oscar de la Renta and curated by Hamish Bowles, the exhibition will feature seventy of the designer’s works. The exhibition will be inaugurated by Her Majesty Queen Sofía of Spain!

EXOTICA: Exotic Influences on European Decorative Arts, 1875-1925 at Jason Jacques Gallery. Closing November 12. http://www.jasonjacques.com/ This exhibition explores the influences of such exotic cultures as Turkey, China, and India on European ceramists working at the end of the 19th- beginning of the 20th century. Colenbrander, Chaplet, Decoeur, and Lechanel are just a few of the names on view. Even without a scheduled exhibition, this gallery is worth the trip. Jason Jacques’s collection of turn of the 20th c. ceramics is unprecedented.

His & Hers at The Museum at FIT in New York City, November 30, 2010 – May 10, 2011. This new exhibition will look at the relationship between gender and fashion. Men’s and women’s clothing will be presented side-by-side for stylistic comparisons. The exhibit will cover the 18th to the 20th centuries and will feature designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Pierre Cardin, Giorgio Armani, and Helmut Lang.

Renate Müller Toys+ Design, R20TH Century Gallery. Through January 4, 2011. http://r20thcentury.com/home.cfm This is the first solo exhibition of Müller’s work in the US. Müller, the celebrated German toy maker, became famous for his toy animals which he designed while a student at the Polytechnic for Toy Design in Sonneberg, Germany, in the 1960’s. His pieces are highly collectable today as they were when first conceived.

Kips Bay Boys& Girls Club 38th Annual Decorators Show 2010 http://kipsbay.org/show-fundraiser.php?id=199 106 East 71st Street, Thursday, October 14th – Thursday, November 11th see website for show hours. This is the premier showcase for the work of today’s leading interior decorators. Each one gets a room in the house and can dress it up to their heart’s content. **The Gilt Groupe (giltgroupe.com) will be selling some of the furniture and accessories from the show on their website through November 10, 2010.

Inspired Impressions: Interior Paintings by Jeremiah Goodman. New York School of Interior Design. Through December 20. Open to the public 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday – Friday. Admission is free. http://www.nysid.edu/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=583 “Goodman is treasured in the interior design community for his rare ability to infuse static rooms with warmth and personality and bring them so vividly to life. Still vital and energetic at 88, Jeremiah Goodman has made available 38 of his favorite interior paintings, some never before seen, capturing the sitting rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms of the world’s most stylish names including Carolina Herrera, Edith Head, James Galanos, and Diana Vreeland to name a few.”

Hear

“Collect+ Art+ Delete: E-commerce and the Art Market.” Fashion Institute of Technology. Katie Murphy Amphitheatre Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center. November 5th at 6:30 pm. Free and open to the public. http://www3.fitnyc.edu/artmarket/collectartdelete/ A very timely talk as a lot of dealers have turned to the internet as another outlet through which to promote and sell their artists’ work. “Collect + Art + Delete brings together a distinguished art world panel to discuss the effects of e-commerce on the art market. This discussion will address the impact online art sales have on connoisseurship, gallery and auction house functions, transparency, and any shifts in who buys art and for what purpose.”

“Tableware Design in Vienna 1850-2009.” Tuesday, November 9 | 6:30–8:00 p.m. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. cooperhewitt.org/calendar
Annette Ahrens, a specialist on Vienna table decoration and porcelain of the 18th and 19th century will give an overview and the historic lineage of Viennese tableware designs, production and design influences from 1850 to the present day. The talk will focus on the relationship of the Lobmeyr collection to design in Austria and Bohemia-Chekia and of the relationship of Czech production to Lobmeyr in both the 19th and 20th centuries. This talk will also illuminate the role and background of designers working with Lobmeyr and their work in other disciplines.

“Nordic Design Now – Social Awareness & Sustainability.” Wednesday, November 10 | 7:00–8:30 p.m. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. cooperhewitt.org/calendar Nordic Design Now consists of two panel discussions, co-presented by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and Scandinavia House. The first panel is moderated by Matilda McQuaid, Deputy Curatorial Director, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, and features leading Nordic designers discussing their stance on sustainability and social responsibility in their work and in current design practices.

Alberto Alessi in Conversation with Bill Moggridge. Monday, November 22 | 6:30–8:00 p.m. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. cooperhewitt.org/calendar
The conversation will focus on the history of Alessi’s development as an Italian Design Factory from its beginning in 1921, through the present and into the future. Mr. Alessi will speak to the role of objects in modern consumer society, comparing the Italian Design Factories with Mass Production Factories as two opposite approaches to design, and, finally, design as art and poetry. The presentation will be followed by a discussion with Bill Moggridge, Director of Cooper-Hewitt.

Symposium on Contemporary Japanese Street Fashion. November 4 and 5, 2010 at the Fashion Institute of Technology. An international interdisciplinary symposium to explore contemporary Japanese fashion—from the avant-garde to street and subcultural styles. Topics will include the historic roots of Japan’s fashion culture, the role of uniforms and uniformity, the Japanese “fashion revolution” of the 1980s, the geography of Tokyo fashion, the rise of the young male fashion consumer, and the significance of cuteness in Japanese girls’ culture. Held in conjunction with the exhibition Japan Fashion Now, on view at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). ** As a side note, if you see the Japan Fashion Now exhibition and decide that you just must have the designs of the super-talents featured, you now have the opportunity. 1stdibs and the Dallas-based shop Archive are now offering an exclusive collection of cutting-edge fashion from the top Japanese designers of the 1980s and ’90s. http://www.1stdibs.com/introspective/fashion/archive_is_turning_japanese/

NYU 2010 Robert Rosenblum Lecture, organized by the NYU Department of Art History.
Wednesday, Nov. 10, 6:00 pm. Silver Center, 3rd floor, room 300. 100 Washington Square East.
Free and open to the public. This year Barry Bergdoll, Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and
Design, Museum of Modern Art, and Professor of Architectural History, Columbia University, will be
speaking on “Out of Site in Plain View: A Short History of Architecture on Exhibition”

Lectures in conjunction with “The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs” exhibition. Metropolitan
Museum of Art. Friday, November 19, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Details: http://email.metmuseum.org/a/aBMyybGARJhWhB8VbXSACINjBVU/met11
“Charles Rohlfs and Unconventional Beauty” a talk given by Joseph Cunningham, curatorial director,
American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation and “George E. Ohr and the Eccentric Craftsman”
a talk given by Martin Eidelberg, professor emeritus of Art History, Rutgers University.
 
Support

Modernism/Art20 at the Park Avenue Armory. Park Avenue at 67th Street, New York City. Show Hours: Friday, November 12, noon-8 pm, Saturday, November 13, noon-7 pm, Sunday, November 14, noon-7 pm, Monday, November 15, 11 am-5 pm. Opening Night Preview Party Thursday, November 11, 6 pm-9 pm To benefit Brooklyn Museum. Perhaps the only remaining art fair which celebrates 20th century decorative arts and design. A must on any antique junkies calendar.

The Pier Antiques Show: Pier 94, 12th Ave. @ 55th St., NYC. November 13-14, 10-6. Lauded as the city’s NYC’s LARGEST, with Over 500 Exhibits, and most comprehensive Art & Antiques Event! It is really a GIANT flea market but really fun to visit. Especially Fashion Alley with tons of vintage clothing dealers.