Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/162531
Christian Astuguevieille chandelier An Edifice to Adickes: KNOWING HUNTSVILLE or BUST THE Ropes Elementary, I f anyone has earned a spate of laurel resting, it's Christian Astuguevieille. Names such as Nina Ricci, Rochas and Hermès dot his resume, and if that's not enough, his is the nose behind the fragrances produced by Comme des Garçons. Yet it's his curiously beautiful furniture that may ultimately establish his identity beyond such fashionable powerhouses. Inspired by the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi and also by furoshiki — the art of wrapping objects in cloth bundles — his tribal-like designs are encased in natural rope and painted cotton cord. Since debuting at the Galerie Yves Gastou in Paris in 1989, these textural creations have found their way into the personal collections of Nate Berkus, Philippe Starck and Bottega Veneta designer Tomas Maier, thus placing Astuguevieille, once again, in good company. For Holly Hunt, to the trade at George Cameron Nash; georgecameronnash.com. Amy Adams THE BESIEGED Bungalow COURTESY THE ARTIST AND AVIS FRANK GALLERY ALL IMAGES, COURTESY THE ARTIST Think you know artist David Adickes, the Houston-based king of the mammoth presidential busts? Think again. One of the most successful of our post-war painters, Adickes flourished in the boom era of the '50s, '60s and '70s, where his brand of Texas cubism meets School of Paris was among the biggest sellers at David Adickes Museum, Huntsville James Bute Gallery, then later DuBose Gallery. Every other home in River Oaks boasted a canvas bearing one of his attenuated figures, combining touches of Picasso with the attitude of a Utrillo. Flash forward 50 years, and he's everywhere this fall. We've personally made the trek to his new eponymous museum in Huntsville, Texas, where he's transformed his alma mater — the Huntsville High School, erected in 1931, a patrician brick-and- The artist David Adickes' Large Blue Bouquet, 2011 stone Georgian-style edifice — into his signature showcase. Six decades of works, with a focus on paintings, are on view, filling 15,000 square feet of the 80,000-square-foot building, including the gym (by appointment; next show this October). Adickes can also be seen in our town at the newly minted Esperson Gallery downtown in a career-spanning solo intriguingly titled "Love Street Light Circus" (September 11 – October 10). And finally, when you roll off the I-10 exit ramp heading east at Heights/Yale, watch for Adickes' larger-than-life signage with the uplifting message "We Heart Houston," located on land he owns. David Adickes Museum, 710 University Ave., Huntsville, 713.412.1771; Esperson Gallery, Mellie Esperson Building, 808 Travis, Suite 125; check Facebook page for updates. Catherine D. Anspon MY DEAR Lamborghini's latest limited-special edition supercar just may be the greatest automobile you will never see. The Sesto Elemento has a production run of only 20 cars — each priced at $2.2 million — and has already sold out. A mix of space-age engineering and Italian design, its name is derived from the atomic number of carbon (the sixth element), in honor of its carbon-fiber body, which was co-developed with Boeing. The 570-bhp, 5.2-liter V-10 engine can propel the 2,200-pound all-wheel-drive chassis from 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds, with a top speed racing past 200 mph. Lamborghini says the production version of the Sesto Elemento is intended for "track use" only, which means this is likely the closest you will ever come to one. Daniel Hall © CHARLY HERSCOVICI —ADAGP – ARS, 2013 COLLECTION METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, © BALTHUS This Just In: David Brown Flowers pulls up roots and moves inside the Loop to Steve Gibson's new design-centric Hollywood Square center, near the corner of West Alabama and Timmons. Brown's new atelier, opening early January, will be awash in rich tones of dark truffle, mined coal and cinnabar to better showcase all things exotic and botanical. Designer Karen Pulaski has also signed on for office space and a showroom for her chic new Tribute Goods luxury linens collection, which recently won Best New Product Awards, Home Textiles, at the NY Now show. More on this design news in the October issue. Back to Gibson, who bought up the aforementioned parcel at 3637 West Alabama with plans to make the property into a boutique family office. "But after gutting it and painting the outside, I began getting calls from several very interesting shop owners," he says. So there you have it: A new design center is born. Watch for more on Hollywood Square, David Brown Flowers and Karen Pulaski's Tribute Goods FIne Linens in the October issue. Holly Moore M A J O R LY IMPORTANT DESIGN NEWZ SURREAL Deal Balthus' Thérèse Dreaming, 1938, at Metropolitan Museum of Art Cary Reeder's Enveloping, 2013, at Lawndale Art Center It's a Houston domestic classic, from Montrose to the Heights, the squarefootage-appropriate structure of the bungalow. But it's also endangered. Cue Cary Reeder, who arrives with acrylic and canvas to document the once prosaic, solidly middle-class 1920s-era domiciles that are facing off with contemporary townhouses of often dubious or lesser charms. Catch Reeder's current show at Lawndale Art Center, bittersweetly titled "Now, What Was There?" Funded by a grant from the Houston Arts Alliance, this former Glassell student of Francesca Fuchs — who also holds a master's degree in urban planning — records for posterity these beloved abodes precariously awaiting an uncertain fate, in a style that can best be described as abstracted realism, with a touch of Hopper-esque shadow play. Through September 28, at Lawndale Art Center. Catherine D. Anspon René Magritte's Le portrait (The Portrait), 1935, at Museum of Modern Art In our fantastical and often disquieting times, Surrealism continues to exert an inexorable pull. It's no surprise then that two of the movement's most tantalizing talents lead the fall lineup among Manhattan's museums. At the Museum of Modern Art, "Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926-1938" serves up an ode to the man who mined magic from a single green apple (September 28 – January 12, 2014). Eighty paintings, collages and objets tell the story of René Magritte, perhaps the most captivating image-maker of the 20th century. The exhibit is co-organized by MoMA, The Art Institute of Chicago and The Menil Collection, where it touches down for Houston audiences next spring (February 14 – June 1, 2014; moma.org). Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Museum of Art offers its own take on a Surrealist master: the mysterious Balthus. Thirtyfive paintings (including canvases inspired by his two muses, neighbor Thérèse Blanchard and niece Frédérique Tison) plus 40 never-beforeexhibited ink drawings of his tomcat Mitsou, sketched when the artist was 11 years old, comprise "Balthus: Cats and Girls — Paintings and Provocations." This first American showing in 30 years for the enigmatic painter of prepubescent lasses was gleaned from collections in the U.S., France, England, Switzerland and Australia (September 25 – January 12, 2014; metmuseum.org). Catherine D. Anspon HELLO DOLLY! Molly (And You, Too, Molly) Two sassily christened armchairs for Baxter from revered husband-and-wife team Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas, whose portfolio includes furnishings and urban architecture such as Paris' French National Archives and Chengdu's Cultural Center. The elegant Dolly (starting around $4,725 and available in a bevy Dolly of pastel or brightly hued leathers) makes a stately appearance with white piping, a quilted seat and slender, gold-dipped feet. Meanwhile, the playful Molly (starting around $8,700 in white only) is a relaxed, cloudlike pouf of sheep's fur. Baxter at Internum & Design. Jessica Elliott Ligne Roset Houston and Dallas owners Brittany and Adam Branscum are adding another retail stop to their homefurnishings kingdom. Watch for the November launch of the Poliform/Varenna showroom in West Ave — the Italian luxury brand's first outpost in Texas. Located on the first floor in an expansive 3,500-square-foot space (with Ligne Roset mere footsteps away, upstairs), the new design destination promulgates Poliform's signature take on custom cabinetry for closets, bookcases and kitchen, as well as contemporary classic furniture for living nooks to bedrooms … Houston's MaRS (Mayfield and Ragni Studio) has been tapped by W Dallas – Victory hotel to redesign its 252 guest rooms and suites, scheduled for completion in September (and remaining open during the renovation) ... David Lewis and Ernest Maese of Lewis & Maese Auction Co. open Swank Interiors after Labor Day at 1847 West Alabama next to The Chocolate Bar. Lewis says the shop will have a mix of modern furnishings, art and a few funky pieces. Holly Moore and Catherine D. Anspon DESIGN BUZZ