Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1455237
FROM FABRIC TO SCENT TO WALLPAPER BEYOND DIAMOND CHAIRS AND DANDELION SCULPTURES L ong before Diptyque became known for fragrances and scented candles, founders Christiane Montadre- Gautrot, Desmond Knox-Leet, and Yves Coueslant designed fabric. It was 1961 Paris, and the trio — a graduate of l'Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, a painter, and a theater enthusiast — was producing fabrics in the avant-garde style of the era, which they sold at their Diptyque boutique on Boulevard Saint-Germain. The fabrics didn't take off, but a foray into perfumes in 1964 led them in an exciting new direction. Now, some 60 years on, the Diptyque team has reached into the archives and selected 10 iconic designs for their first collection of wallcoverings: Basile frieze, the groovy black-and-white lines designed in 1963 by Montadre-Gautrot, seen on Diptyque packaging, that is part of the permanent collection at the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts; Odalisque, an illustration in crayon and watercolor, which was found in a corner of one of Knox-Leet's drawing studies; and Sarayi, a reinterpretation of a Japanese pattern first printed on fabric sold at their original Paris Diptyque boutique. And, sadly, no, the wallpapers do not waft the scent of Baies. Diptyque wallpaper $650 to $1,750, samples and lookbook at Diptyque River Oaks District, 4444 Westheimer Road; to order, diptyqueparis.com. Rebecca Sherman S eventy years ago, Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) came up with his greatest hit for Knoll Furniture while tinkering out of a garage turned workshop in southeastern Pennsylvania. The diamond chair and eponymous Bertoia collection that followed, still in production, were the result of a friendship with a fellow Cranbrook alum, Florence Knoll. For most design acolytes, that was the end of the conversation. Expect that to change thanks to the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, chief curator Jed Morse, and independent art historian Dr. Marin R. Sullivan, who directs the Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné project. They've put together an exhibit that will transform our view of the sculptor/designer/ jeweler/ public-art creator/sound artist forever. Dallas is the only venue for "Harry Bertoia: Sculpting Mid-Century Life," so we expect that the Nasher will become a pilgrimage site for the run of the exhibition (through April 23), as devotees of modern and contemporary design travel to Dallas for the artist's most comprehensive American museum retrospective ever presented. Visitors will encounter some 100 works on loan, ranging from a hammered-brass centipede to a chaise-longue prototype. There's a robust spilled-cast bronze, as well as lacy sculptures that conjure dandelions and constellations formed from polished bronze and brazed- steel wire. Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, nashersculpturecenter.org. Catherine D. Anspon Right: Diptyque Excentric wallpaper Harry Bertoia, circa 1970s Harry Bertoia's Hand Made Chair Prototype (Asymmetric Chaise), circa 1952 PORTRAIT COURTESY HARRY BERTOIA FOUNDATION; CHAIR FROM THE COLLECTION OF WILBUR AND JOAN SPRINGER. ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT 2021 ESTATE OF HARRY BERTOIA / ARS, NYC.