Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen

I took the day off today, and set out for the MoMA bright and early for some much-needed inspiration. I didn't know what I would find, really, as I haven't been great at reading my member emails. The most delightful surprise was an exhibit that's been around for around 4 months, called Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen.



In their words:

Over the course of the past century no other room has been the focus of such intensive aesthetic and technological innovation, or as loaded with cultural significance. Kitchen design has been both a central concern of modernism and fundamental to our concept of modern life. Drawn entirely from MoMA’s collection, this exhibition explores the twentieth-century transformation of the kitchen as a barometer of changing technologies, aesthetics, and ideologies.

I read this description after walking around for a bit, and found that I'm definitely not alone in my fascination with kitchens. I don't do a ton of cooking, though I love the idea of it and always plan to do more. I always love kitchen-related gifts the most (you should have seen me when I opened a wine foil cutter at Christmas), love kitchen-related photography, and always daydream when I apartment-hunt that I'll find one with a window to filter Saturday morning sunlight in as I make tea. Not sure why, the way I frame kitchens in my head... it's almost like peering into a dollhouse.

Anyway, the exhibit. What a delight. There were rotating models of 70s modular kitchens, movie stills from the 50s, a plastic food collection from Japan, old appliances, historical photographs and ads (I noticed one on loan from DDB's archive, how cool is that), kitchen efficiency books, and a ton of stuff about the "Frankfurt Kitchen," which was part of a movement in 20s Germany relating to egalitarianism. Here are some pictures I took with my phone (why I didn't bring my camera today, I have no idea) --


This is an Irving Penn photo. I recently found out that he shot the first Clinique print ads, in the 1960s. Cool, no?


I have worked with GE for quite some time, so this was far out and awesome to see.


This was the first thing I saw when I walked in. Looking closely revealed old egg shells in the egg cups and cigarettes in the ashtray.

I also saw this thing – and I'm really annoyed that I didn't take a picture of it – that looked like a small bicycle wheel. I knew was it was before I even read the plaque: it was a cake slicer. My head blew up a little, because I've throughout my life always remembered this Betty Boop cartoon that features her inventor-friend, Grampy, opening an umbrella skeleton and pushing it down onto a cake to slice it instantly. I always thought that was so cool, and I can't believe it's actually a thing that existed once. Why don't I ever see those now? It seems like the most efficient way to do things, ever.



Anyway. I recommend paying this exhibit a visit if you're in the area and this sounds remotely interesting to you. Here is the exhibit site (there is a blog, too!). Also a few more pictures with commentary in this Flickr set.

TEEN ANGST : Julian C. Duron @ YES Gallery

A few weeks ago, I went to my friend Julian's art opening. It's a good-sized show at YES GALLERY in Brooklyn called TEEN ANGST, and is up until next Tuesday, 26th April.



The reception was pretty great; there was a good crowd, a tangle of bikes outside, and it was my first time seeing Julian since he was involved in producing last year's JellyNYC pool parties (PS, I heard this summer's lineup is shaping out to be hot fire).





Here's an explanation of the collection, in his words:

This new collection of work reflects my passion for painting together with an experimental video titled International Instructional Video Series, which in my mind acts as the sour cherry on top of TEEN ANGST. The exhibition title seemed like the best way to describe my feelings toward the compositions as a whole, boasting a hyper-color palette, fluorescent pigments, and permanent marker. Each painting is a thorough exploration in hasty mark making, meaning, investigational or instantly gratifying marks with radical variations in surface quality and finish. The addition of inscriptions into the work references themes or brands popular among the youth demographic such as Google, scum, Coke, Four Loko, Apple, etc., which I attempted to render in adolescent style graffiti within the backgrounds of each cluttered abstract still life.

Most of the lumber used to build each painting surface comes from discarded or found materials, which I hand crafted into gallery style panels, and applied synthetic materials such as acrylic paint, aerosol, marker etc. This aesthetic, along with exposing raw elements of the construction on the surfaces calls attention to the materials in a Modernist sense reflecting the faux Earth conscious, here today–gone tomorrow, shabby- chic, bipolar, lazy, medicated, aloof, spastic and utter lackadaisical TEEN ANGST I have observed in art/design school and popular culture over the last few years.

I sadly got there too late to buy the piece I had my eye on (the girl who did get her hands on it was really cute and nice, so I couldn't even be mad), but had a blast ducking in to check it all out and say hi. The show is mostly paintings, with two installations (one of them video). Trippy and visually-stunning stuff; I've always been a fan of his blend of surrealism and still life. Get thee to Yes Gallery (147 India Street in Brooklyn) for some TEEN ANGST while you still can ^^

Audrey Kawasaki @ Jonathan LeVine

I was fortunate enough to catch the final day of Audrey Kawasaki's NY exhibit today with The Retrospective's Gitamba, who was in NY for a few wonderful days. It's called Hajimari–a prelude, and was at Jonathan LeVine Gallery on W 20th Street.



For those who are unfamiliar with her work, Kawasaki does illustration and painting on wood. They are nearly all of beautiful girls with pouts and flowy hair, oftentimes featuring underwater themes, skeletons, and creepy little creatures.

The show title Hajimari means beginning in Japanese, and is a word often used in the introduction of a story. Although it is a theme she does not typically explore artistically, Audrey has always felt strongly rooted in two distinct cultures. Born and raised in America, with parents from Japan, she has been immersed in Japanese culture her entire life. Deeply connected to each of the two, she feels both cultures are very much a part of her personal identity.

I haven't gone through my mental list yet, but I can say with a huge degree of confidence that she is my favorite living artist (and has been for a number of years). And there were so many pieces at the show, much to my delight! Here are a few:







You can see a few more in my Flickr set, and the exhibit's page has images of all pieces + a description of the show. Hopefully it stays up for a while. Beautiful beautiful beautiful.