Renowned contemporary designer Marc Newson creates some truly groundbreaking work, including the limited-edition furniture that’s currently on exhibit at the Gagosian in Paris. Exploring form and medium, Newson tests what classic materials are capable of through the use of advanced fabrication. Through this experimentation, he brings together the past and present. In this exhibition, the uniting quality throughout is the color blue.
“Design is about improving things and about looking to the future, pushing the technology forward. For me, as a designer, it is a great opportunity to improve on what is already out there, to simplify, beautify, and technologically improve,” Newson said of his approach.
The exhibition at the Gagosian features five pieces of Newson’s work, the most impactful of which might be the “White and Blue Lounge” and the “Cloisonné White and Blue Chair” (both 2022). The two pieces of seating show off the designer’s masterful use of shape and surface, their copper structures decorated with white and blue cloisonné in Newson’s signature circle and molecular “orgone.” It’s exciting to see a technique traditionally used for smaller pieces taking on something of this scale. Artisans in Beijing apply cloisins to the forms, inlay the enamel, then fire each piece up to 12 times in custom-made kilns.
Solid cast glass makes up the seat and base of “Blue Glass Chair” (2017). Blue on top and uncolored on the bottom, the two quarter-spheres mirror each other in position. The uncolored base manages to absorb and reflect some of the blue that lives above it. With this chair Newson continues to push the material further, requiring a month-long process spent in a large glass oven to complete.
Newson’s “Extruded Ribbon Console” (2022) is carved from a single piece of Azul Macaubas stone. This approach highlights its striated azure tones, while also creating a pleasing amount of negative space. First conceived as a flat curvilinear shape, it’s been brought into three dimensions that further define its form.
Finally, there’s “Clear Surfboard” (2017), a prototype created for surfer Garrett McNamara. The aluminum design provides more stability than a conventional fiberglass board and features a light geometric pattern on its surface.
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