PaperCity Magazine

January 2016 - Houston

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P ay attention to the name 360 Degrees Vanishing. It's bound to be one of the most eagerly watched art-and-design stories this spring: an online/social media campaign seeking its final $100,000 launches within weeks. The purpose of the six figures? To secure final funds to bead an entire building — specifically Art League Houston, set to be wrapped in a skein of 500,000 beads sewn onto 1,500 panels, a monumental, multiple- years-in-the-making endeavor involving artisans from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, co-sponsored by this avant-garde hometown nonprofit as well as South African entities such as the acclaimed Nelson Mandela Foundation. Directed by Houston- born and -raised Selven O'Keef Jarmon (a fashion designer turned artist and activist), Art League's latest public art piece, ETA April 2016, follows celebrated works such as Patrick Renner's Funnel Tunnel (2013) and Dan Havel and Dean Ruck's Inversion (2005). The 360 Degrees Vanishing campaign — its name references disappearing artistic and cultural byways, both here and around the globe — has the potential to garner an international spotlight, thanks to Jarmon's decade engaged in the art form of social practice in South Africa. Attend the project's final fund-raiser Thursday, January 27, at the home of Poppi Massey. Tickets $250, through Jill Nepomnick, 713.523.9530, jill@artleaguehouston.org; artleaguehouston.org. Catherine D. Anspon BEAD A BUILDING THE WIZARD OF MID-CENTURY MODERN A WHITER SHADE OF PALE O ne of the most extraordinary American furniture makers of the past half-century, Paul Evans (1931–1987), is usually only sighted in museum collections or international decorative arts fairs such as Design Miami. That's why the presence — and availability — of Evans' masterworks via The Exchange Int is such a big deal for collectors of the mid-century epoch. A resource with an international focus, The Exchange Int reaches clients primarily through its website. Founded in 2008, it's a bicoastal partnership between two young acolytes of post-War design: Lacy Anderson in Detroit and Whitt Barkley in Houston. Less than a decade later, their niche firm stocks Evans' greatest creations in by-appointment showrooms in both cities. Pieces such as the dramatic upright sculptural cabinet pictured here, a tour de force of welded and enameled steel with 3-D hand-forged elements replicating elements from nature, command the mid six-figures; this specific example, an edition of only one, is priced at $550,000. In good company with Evans are other renowned makers, including wood whisperer George Nakashima — The Exchange Int recently sold an epic Nakashima table from its Houston holdings bearing the artist's signature slice of wood cored from a mammoth tree. Other creators in their coveted stock, which are often showcased on The Exchange Int's 1stdibs.com page, emphasize its tag line: "American Studio + Nordic Design." The former encompasses prime examples by usual suspects Harry Bertoia and Frank Lloyd Wright as well as underknowns Judy McKie and Phillip Lloyd Powell. Nordic makers range from the expected Alvar Aalto to the more obscure Finnish lighting designer Paavo Tynell (the subject of a monograph being undertaken by the firm, which has collectors and architects in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Paris and NYC clamoring for Tynell's light work; Barkley pointed out a rare Snowflake Chandelier awaiting shipment to its new owner). Other Scandinavian designers on The Exchange Int's radar: Tapio Wirkkala, a Finnish captain of glass, porcelain and cutlery; Swedish rug and textile mavens Marta Maas Fjetterstrom and Barbro Nilsson; and Poul Kjaerholm, arbiter of austere Danish modernism. Notes Anderson about the mission espoused by The Exchange Int, "The pieces we collect and deal are really art expressed as function. A Paul Evans forged-front cabinet is every bit as important, inventive and abstract as an Alexander Calder mobile." The Exchange Int, 313.348.2539, info@theexchangeint.com, theexchangeint.com. Catherine D. Anspon CABINET POST It all started with a casual request from clients in their hair salon: Bring back a flacon of perfume from Paris. Voilà! A decoration and gift business was conceived. That was back in the 1980s, during the halcyon days of the Pavilion shopping center on Post Oak, when French-born Claudie and Dutch-born Rino Jasper's Décor de Provence was first hatched, in the front of their signature salon, Jacques Dessange. When the Pavilion shuttered in 2003, the Jaspers decamped full-time to Rice Village, where their coiffure destination, Stylingbar, is perfectly sited on Times Boulevard near their newest endeavor: the cleverly monikered CloClo & Rino. This outpost of serene European sophistication borders on the minimalist, with understated design finds, well- edited fashion, and handsome bed and table linens. (Especially dreamy are the embroidered Italian curtain sheers in an Paul Evans' Upright Forge-Front Cabinet, circa 1969, at The Exchange Int Selven O'Keef Jarmon with beaders from the Eastern Cape, South Africa ZUKISWA MEME COURTESY THE EXCHANGE INT CloClo & Rino Claudie and Rino Jasper with Magnus in their eponymous shop ethereal violet hue, designed by Daniela Dallavalle for Arte Pura, priced at $300 per five-by-nine foot panel.) CloClo & Rino also offers barware and tools for the oenophile, candles, soap and well- considered gifts for the gents, the latter selected by the Jaspers' engineering- student son, Nicolas. The light-filled 900-square-foot boutique was once a challenging glass box with few walls. The space has been transformed by Claudie and Rino into a beautiful retail retreat brimming with brands often exclusive to Houston, including Belgium home-goods manufacturer Flamant, a multi-generation family-owned furnishings empire inspired by 18th-century aesthetics (CloClo & Rino is a Flamant partner store). Also stocked are cosseted Pôles sweaters in angora and cashmere, created by a small-batch French fashion house; Belgian-made throws in wool and mohair ($150 to $250); and sturdy Cabas bags, so south of France, which beg for a picnic. This aerie will also soon be representing the Flamant paint portfolio in Houston. CloClo & Rino, 2444 Times Blvd., 713.522.5350, cloclorino.com. Catherine D. Anspon JENNY ANTILL CLIFTON PUDDLE JUMPING London-based couture fabric house Evitavonni has made the leap to Texas, landing at Culp Associates. Founded in 2007 by young British couple Michel and Kate Erwich, and produced by specialist weavers, including some of the UK's few remaining heritage mills, the group includes the Portrait collection in wool, linen and silk inspired by fabrics worn by Greta Garbo and Grace Kelly. The Astaire collection woolen tweeds and traditional checks are sourced from a tailoring mill where swells like Winston Churchill and Fred Astaire had bespoke suits fashioned. To the trade at Culp Associates, Decorative Center Houston, 713.623.4670, culpassociates.com. Rebecca Sherman JENNY ANTILL CLIFTON OZ T roy Osborne, known to many as Oz, has opened a 4,100-square- foot retail location dubbed The Troy Osborne Mid-Century Modern Furniture on Dunlavy near Westheimer, a stone's throw from Café Brasil, Common Bond and Montrose Shop. The master picker for interior designers is hailed for his trained eye and knack for finding classic, well-constructed mid-century modern furnishings from the '50s through the '80s, then giving them new life with coats of lacquer and brass hardware. A campaign desk lacquered in bright poppy with polished brass hardware retails for $3,500, while a vintage acrylic Z chair, rescued from dining-room duty, is $895, and table lamps in the style of James Mont are $2,250 for the pair. Contemporary art is also available, both from Osborne's private abstract collection amassed over his 30-plus-year career and from contemporary painter Jumper Maybach. Osborne is devoting a wall to the Corpus Christi-born Maybach, who's known for his abstracts and vibrant carnival-inspired works. Savvy customers rely on Osborne not just for his offerings in-store, but also for his related skills and resources. Recently a pair of designers enlisted him to fabricate a series of Lucite and brass pulls for a new construction project in River Oaks. The Troy Osborne Mid-Century Modern Furniture, 2605 Dunlavy St., 281.381.4082. Anne Lee Phillips Troy Osborne

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