Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/184488
DECORATION LET THERE BE LIGHT More on THE FLOOR O ver cocktails, San Franciscobased lighting designer Jonathan Browning allowed me to enter his fascinating, exotic and (naturally) well-lit world. The arrival of a martini elicited an understandable sigh, because it seems Browning simply doesn't stop. Following a degree from UC Berkeley, then a masters from Southern California Institute of Architecture, he designed and worked in both the retail and hospitality markets, where he created stores and hotels for the likes of Guess, Esprit, the Gap and a large swath of Starwood properties (which he directed from his post as executive VP of design). In 2003, he opted to strike out Jonathan Browning's Falaise pendant on his own with a lighting collection that quickly gained a distinguished following including Robert A.M. Stern (architect for both Rice's McNair Hall and the Hobby Center for Performing Arts), Victoria Hagan, Robert Couturier and Thierry Despont (whose projects have included Claridge's in London, The Carlyle in New York and the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan). Which brings us back to the martini. After a healthy swig, he explained what his latest collection is all about: a spartan French elegance. In his trademark fashion, Browning intermingles devotions of both industrial design and classicism, emphasizing the restrained and sumptuous attitudes of French masters such as Jean-Michel Frank. Noble materials including bronze, red brass and lead crystal are masterfully applied in the creation of 15 lighting fixtures and five pieces of furniture. Of interest as well is the manipulation of geometrics in the Falaise pendant, pictured, which exaggerates hexagons for an intricate and expressive result. To the trade at David Sutherland Showrooms; jonathanbrowning.com. Seth Vaughan SCRAPPIN' 19th-Century Style A nything alluding to collages, collecting and especially the scrapbooks of 19th-century notables is sure to register on our radar. It's no surprise, then, that we're over the moon for the Meadows Museum's presentation of a never-before-exhibited, recently acquired album filled with ephemera from the last half of the 19th century. The source is American expat William Hood Stewart, a Philadelphia blueblood who decamped to Paris after the Civil War, where he segued from a career as a Page from The Stewart Album, 2nd half sugar merchant into an avid art collector. Spanish artists of of 19th century, at Meadows Museum, SMU the day were Stewart's forte. Discover tantalizing illustrated letters, drawings and 370 photographs from that epoch in this luscious cartede-visite assembled by the mogul-patron extraordinaire. Stewart's album also serves as a window on Spain's most celebrated 19th-century painters, packed with correspondence from Martín Rico y Ortega, Mariano Fortuny y Marsal, Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala and Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta, whose works will also be displayed, amounting to a perfect portrait of the artistic fervor of the Spanish School of the Victorian era. Under-known to most Americans, these talents led the way to the entrance of Picasso upon the stage in the early 20th century. Guest curator Iraida Rodríguez-Negrón, outgoing Meadows/Kress/Prado Curatorial Fellow, organizes this rare peek into the high life and times of a gilded age benefactor. "The Stewart Album: Art, Letters, and Souvenirs to an American Patron in Paris," through November 10, at the Meadows Museum, SMU. Catherine D. Anspon THE MAN from Memphis William Eggleston's (Elvis's Grave/ Graceland), 1984, at PDNB Gallery Coinciding with the Amon Carter Museum's survey of color photography in American art (October 5 – January 5), PDNB Gallery mounts the must-see "William Eggleston: His Circle & Beyond." Before Eggleston's landmark 1976 show at MoMA, color photography was a side note in the medium's history. Revel in nuanced dye transfers from the master of Memphis, as well as works by nine for whom he paved the way, including fellow Southerner William Christenberry; Houston-based Peter Brown; Bill Owens of Suburbia fame; the enigmatic master of American people, places and prosaic meals Stephen Shore; and road tripper David Graham. All told, works spanning five decades define something ineffable about our national character. Through November 9, at PDNB Gallery. Catherine D. Anspon Rake Me Over pattern M ere steps away from its former digs, modular carpet square purveyor Flor has set up permanent shop on McKinney Avenue. The 2,800-square-foot space puts creativity front and center: Pull 19.7-inch samples in a range of textured, patterned or solid-shaded squares from tall racks on rollers and manipulate them into wall-to-wall, runner or rug carpeting. (The store's light oak hardwoods stamped with grids provide a mix master's playground.) Experimenting with the recycledmaterial squares is a form of design recess — and Flor's only-adhereto-the-carpet "dots" ensures lickety-split installation and no need for second guessing. Squares start at $8 each, with no minimum order. 4527 McKinney Ave., 214.520.6363; flor.com. Jessica Elliott Beyond the ART MARKET Oto Hudec's Instrument for Listening, 2013, at Belo Garden Park, during Make Art with Purpose W hile we're the first to jump a jet to Art Basel Miami Beach, there's more to the art world than acquisitions and the market. Enter the arena of social practice, with art as activism and a change agent. Signaling a return to '60s, '70s and '80s talents who confronted the status quo, Make Art with Purpose unveils a consciousness-raising triennial that lands in Dallas for its global debut, with PaperCity as media sponsor. Organized, directed and curated by Janeil Engelstad, MAP fans out to two dozen spaces throughout DFW from October 3 through November 24, from a Spanishlanguage tour of the Dallas Museum of Art to Susan Plum's ritualistic performance piece Luz y Solidaridad at the Latino Cultural Center. There's also Robin Kahn's Documenta-exhibited Art of Sahrawi Hospitality at Main Street Garden Park, referencing cooking in Arab-world refugee camps; Julie Troost's feel-good participatory performance, Hug, at the Lamar Street Festival; and a grand-finale progressive dinner with the collective S.C.A.B., including a tour of S.C.A.B.'s art lair/studios. And watch for Oto Hudec's towering megaphone, unveiling at Belo Garden Park, set to broadcast stories gleaned from the Latino community. Also recommended are environmental pioneers Helen and Newton Harrison in a tête-à-tête at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and a science component at the Perot Museum as Mick Lorusso's Biodiamond Energy project transforms organic waste into wattage. makeartwithpurpose.net. Catherine D. Anspon