Monday, June 22, 2015

Artists of the 2015 Gold Coast Art Fair in Grant Park

Every year I love to go to Grant Park and see what the artists participating in the Gold Coast Art Fair are doing. It was great to see some of my past favorites, and to discover some new favorite artists as well.  Here are some I especially liked:

Jennifer Ardolino

Art de Joie by Joy Appenzeller Bauer
Elliott Hubbard

Magdalena Gallery
Seeka
Daniel Lai
Marisol Spoon
Andrew Johnson, The Stitch Maestro

Chris Abigt
Leighelena
Marcos Minuchin, The Secret Life of Toys


Vladimir Pailodze

The Freckled Army

David Gordon


David Edmund

As always, it was very inspiring to see the work of my fellow artists and I look forward to seeing more from these talented creatives in the future.

A Great Day at the MCA

On Saturday the 20th, I had an opportunity to take part in a unique photo opportunity. Artist Jason Lazarus had a great idea: taking a photo of all the artists in Chicago on the steps of the MCA.  The official photo still isn't ready yet, but here is the one that the Chicago Tribune took:

source: Chicago Tribune


Also, the article that Tribune reporter Steve Johnson wrote about it is really nice, and it features a quote from Allen Vandever. While I was on my way home, I met another artist I think you should know about, Lakey The Poet, selling his work on a State Street sidewalk.

Lakey the Poet


Seriously, click the link and check out his work. And I will add the official photo of us on the MCA steps later.

UPDATE:
The MCA has our picture on their website!

Here's a scaled-down version for my blog:



Thursday, June 18, 2015

NeoCon 2015

Pictures from the 2015 NeoCon trade show at The Merchandise Mart.


Every year I look forward to going to the big NeoCon trade show at the Merchandise Mart, and this year's show met my expectations. It was so much fun to get to see all of the new products that are available now, as well as getting a chance to learn about some things that have been around for a while that I never knew about.

Which brings me to Lina Bo Bardi's Bowl Chair, which is now being produced in a limited edition by Arper. I found out about the chair last year while perusing Arper's Pinterest board, and it was love at first sight. Monday evening I braved torrential rains to see the special exhibit that Arper put on in partnership with the Graham Foundation.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


Yes, I fall in love too easily with chairs. Here are some more chairs I saw and loved.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


I also love clever displays.  This one from the Grand Rapids Chair Company reminds me of a set from a Wes Anderson movie.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


 It's like a dollhouse.

NeoCon 2015


Speaking of dollhouses, the model home in the Benjamin Moore booth reminds me of the Barbie Totally Real House from 2005, which I used in The Doll Project.

Arc|Com had a fun and colorful display.

NeoCon 2015


And so did Momentum.

NeoCon 2015


And how adorable is the Carnegie Fabrics wall of upholstered cushions?

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


Buzzi Space was cute and quirky, as usual.

My two favorite showrooms were right across the hall from each other. Here they are in alphabetical order.

Izzy+

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


KI

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


And I also really liked ICF.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


And Leland.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015

My favorite color palette was what PPG put together for their Frank Lloyd Wright collection.




Shades of lime and chartreuse were popular accent colors at this year's show.

NeoCon 2015


A lot of the showrooms that featured bright colors last year had noticeably more subdued color palettes. (Click here to see what the Groupe Lacasse showroom looked like last year.)

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


Popular colors include the dusty teal color in the pillows and ottoman above.

Gray was the neutral of choice.

NeoCon 2015



The influence of 1980's and 90's postmodernism is quite evident.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


Knoll even used the pattern Memphis Group designer Ettore Sottsass designed for Abet Laminati in the late 70's, squiggly lines inspired by bacteria in a petri dish, which was ubiquitous in the 80's.

Speaking of squiggles, among the many things you can customize are Roomio's light fixtures.

NeoCon 2015

Which would look great with these tiles by Karim Rashid for Mosaico Digitale. There is also the option to digitally print custom designs on the tiles.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015
Mac Stopa


There were some other displays that were also products of collaborations with artists.

NeoCon 2015
Aurora Borealis by Dorothy McGuinness


NeoCon 2015
Chris Silva


NeoCon 2015
resin sculptures by Phillip Low


NeoCon 2015



And some other artistic touches.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015

And then there are the products that will revolutionize artistic expression, like the amazing color-changing ink in Eink's Wovin Wall. So many possibilities for mind-blowing art installations.




I always like to see new product lines being launched at NeoCon. West Elm is making office furniture now. It looks good.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


Other places I just found out about are: 

Satori Japanese Wall Finishes


Uhuru Design



Goebel Furniture



Aesthetic Metal


Source International Design



There were some interesting options if you ever want to use acoustic panels as a design element.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


I was also really impressed, as I am every year, with the floral arrangements on display.

NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015



NeoCon 2015


NeoCon 2015



I took a lot more pictures than the ones I'm featuring here. If you want to see the rest of them, click this link to view them on Flickr.

[Update, 6/19: I have now added the names of the artists featured here as well as a video with information about the Eink Wovin Wall.]
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