Antiques: Mix and Match at Patrick McGrath's New NYC Gallery
Living with antiques shouldn’t feel like living in a museum—just ask Patrick McGrath. “The challenge and fun is displaying them in a way that feels contemporary,”the designer reflects. That was the impetus for his new by-appointment gallery: an airy space (also his office) on the seventh floor of Manhattan’s Cable Building. Here, a freshly stained George III table might mingle with Roman statuary and a set of Biedermeier chairs recovered in black linen. Elsewhere, an Art Deco daybed cozies up to a Chinese altar table and a Venetian capriccio. McGrath likens such juxtapositions to alchemy. “I’m experimenting with how objects can assume new character,” he says, noting that the mix also spans vintage works and exhibitions by living talents—including Paul Morehouse, Silvia Prada, and Myles Oxenford. “It’s about creating some place timeless and unexpected, where antiques are active participants in an evolving narrative.” At 611 Broadway, New York City; mcgrath.nyc —Sam Cochran
Hotel: On Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit, the Rosewood Mandarina Stuns
At Rosewood Mandarina, a new all-suite resort on Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit, accommodations blend easily into the landscape—or rather landscapes. Some rooms dot the pristine beach, some the scenic flatlands. Others nestle into the lush hilltop. No matter the view, clean lines and local craftsmanship prevail in swish lodgings by designer Caroline Meersseman. Take it all in from your own pool. rosewoodhotels.com —S.C.
Lighting: A New Line of handblown glass fixtures by Ward + Gray takes Venetian Inspiration
Christie Ward and Staver Gray, founders of the New York City–based interior design firm Ward + Gray, began developing their own line of handblown glass lighting, they knew exactly where to produce it. “Our first thought was to work with the family-run company from Venice who we’ve collaborated with for years,” Ward says of the Italian atelier that has long produced custom pieces for their residential and hospitality projects. But the duo also found inspiration in the Lido, the seven-mile Venetian barrier island, famed for its laid-back resort feel. Explains Ward: “It has such an interesting juxtaposition of coastal style and historic charm.”
Atmospheric and nostalgic scenes from the isle now inform the collection’s palette and silhouettes. The Capanna table lamp, with its domed top and fluted base, nods to the cabanas that dot Lido beaches, while the scalloped Abalone sconce was conceived during a long lunch overlooking a shell-strewn beach. Several pieces, like the Venere sconce, take cues from Roman mythology. And the showstopping Vetro di Mare chandelier features the same shimmering blues and easygoing greens of the Mediterranean.
“They’re colorful, patterned, and relaxed,” Gray says of the line, christened—what else?—Lido. “But at the same time, there’s a level of sophistication that comes from the high-quality materials and handmade nature.”
The fixtures have a sun-faded appearance, evoking the timeworn look that she and Ward seek out in vintage and artisanal objects. “We’re both collectors, and we love taking inspiration from the things we see traveling or at flea markets,” Gray continues. “We hope these are heirloom pieces that someone can have forever.” wardandgray.com —Katherine McLaughlin
Design: At Friedman Benda, Formafantasma Unveils Furniture Inspired by American Craft
If you think about the woodshop, the plank is where everything begins,” says designer Simone Farresin of Formafantasma, the interdisciplinary firm, now based between Milan and Rotterdam, he founded with Andrea Trimarchi in 2009. For their latest body of work, the duo started there as well, using timber to reconsider what Farresin calls “domestic archetypes.” The results now appear in “Formation,” the studio’s first solo gallery show in the United States, on view through August 1 at Friedman Benda in New York City. Building off that simple unit, the pair has created 10 limited-edition pieces of furniture and lighting that pay homage to classic American craftsmanship, including the live-edge slabs of George Nakashima. Whereas one angular seat nods to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin 1 chair, other pared-back forms—and the choice of cherry wood—reference the streamlined designs of the Shakers. “Their work belongs to the cabinetmaking tradition, but the details and proportions make them very pure, very distinctive,” explains Farresin, who—with Trimarchi—recently designed an exhibition on the egalitarian Christian sect at the Vitra Design Museum.
Formafantasma’s work adheres to a similar ethos, all the while making use of a wide range of unexpected contemporary materials, including tiles glazed in volcanic ash and furniture made from discarded computer parts. Over the last decade, the duo—both alums of Design Academy Eindhoven—have also achieved global star status for projects that engage with ecosystems, whether an investigation into the sourcing practices of wood and wool or subtle interventions to improve biodiversity in the Champagne region. Like the Shakers, they often make work in service of the greater good.
In “Formation,” they have looked not only to American practices of the past but also those of today. Brushed-aluminum detailing calls to mind MacBooks, LED fixtures emit the familiar glow of digital screens, and cords resemble device chargers. “We wanted to achieve something that can be long-lasting in its design, but still feel rooted in the present,” Farresin says. “They’re archetypes so they can transcend time.” friedmanbenda.com —Hannah Martin
Exhibitions: Do Ho Suh Examines Domesticity and Memory at the Tate Modern
Our homes leave their mark on each of us, though perhaps none quite so profoundly—and meticulously—as in the case of Do Ho Suh. For more than two decades, the Korean-born artist has mined his past and present living spaces to create spellbinding works that interrogate themes of domesticity and memory, challenging viewers to unpack their own relationships to both. The sweep of that enduring inquiry is now on view in “Walk the House,” a blockbuster retrospective at London’s Tate Modern museum. For one installation, the artist revisited his childhood abode in Seoul, wrapping the actual edifice in mulberry paper, completing a rubbing, and then reconstructing the domicile using aluminum rods. Another feat (Nest/s, 2024, pictured) re-creates corridors and entries from his apartments in diaphanous fabric at 1:1 scale, stitching those environments together as one multicolored architectural daisy chain. Elsewhere, Suh has zeroed in on the details, compiling polyester approximations of switch plates, doorknobs, escutcheons, and more against the ghostly outline of his current London flat. Get lost in it all through October 19. tate.org.uk —Sam Cochran
