I am back in Copenhagen, shooting a tv-series about Scandinavian design. Today's recording site was a 1950's century brick house located north of the city center along the beautiful coast line.

 

 

The show will discuss the development of Scandinavian design in the last century, highlighting both mid century classics and contemporary design.

The result will be broadcasted the coming autumn on SVT-Sweden, NRK-Norway and DR-Denmark. I will keep you posted when time comes...

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A spectacular and unique piece - unlike any other item for sale on Deconet - is a six meter long sculpture by the Swedish, internationally acclaimed glass artist Bertil Vallien.

The one-off glass and metal Zeppelin has for more than 35 years floated, high above the commerce, in the ceiling of the shopping mall Caroli City in Malmö, Sweden. But now it is time for the Zeppelin to leave for new adventures. Lauritz.com will auction this monumental eycatcher on May 24.

When Bertil Vallien 40 years ago was commissioned to create a work of art for Caroli City, he chose to make the airy, light and imaginative designs of a balloon and a zeppelin, as a pleasureable and humoristic part of the environment. Valliens inspiration came from his own passion for hot air balloons. His interest in technology and the boldness of engineering experiments in the glass, has resulted in that he opened new paths for glass handling and glass art.

The basic design of the craft was made in Boda glassworks in Småland where Bertil Vallien got assistance from the blacksmith Lars Larsson. It took three people three months to complete the Zeppelin and its air balloon. The spacecraft is constructed of metal wires, between which sand cast glass pieces are located. The metal skeleton has a total of 208 glass pieces - in two sizes - secured together by six metal pieces, metal decorating and hanging chains. On the skeleton's both sides are 17 rods, each with 2-3 glass beads.

Bertil Vallien is up to date with a major retrospective exhibition in Venice, starting in August 2012. The exhibition shows Vallien's works during the last 20 years, and is organized in conjunction with the Venice Biennale.

It is worth noting that the sculpture is still hanging from the Caroli roof and the purchaser is responsible for dismantling and removal. Read more about the Zeppelin here.

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Few of us can remain unmoved by an artwork that demonstrates superb craftsmanship. The care that goes into producing the work and the persistence of the artist is a source of fascination.

In the old days, fine craftsmanship was much sought after in the art world. Since the late 20th century, however, craft skills have not been very highly valued. The ability to practise a trade or a technique is not something that can be learned from books – it is a skill earned by stubbornly persisting through many long hours of constant setbacks and mishaps. In our own age, when consumers and the media incessantly demand the very latest version of everything, it can be hard to make the case for artistic creativity that takes a lot of time and a lot of trouble.

This is something that the curators at the National Museum in Stockholm has reflected on. Today a new exhibition, "Slow Art", opened. I very much welcome this initiativ! Concepts such as Slow Food, Slow Travel and Slow Mail have been introduced already. What the various Slow movements have in common is that their supporters advocate a more gently paced lifestyle, rather than a constant battle with the clock. There is also an ecological aspect to the Slow ethos, which is very much in tune with the goal of sustainable development.

 

Egg shell necklace. Design: Helena Sandström

With the concept of "Slow Art", the Stockholm National Museum is celebrating a contemporary movement in art and fine craft where technique, materials and the work process are considered especially important. The exhibitions focus is on contemporary fine craft but also offers glimpses of the past. Visitors are shown over 30 pieces from the museum’s collections: a mix of silver, textile, glass and ceramic artifacts, all of them unique and crafted with care. Well worth a visit. A slow one.

 

Dress "Broken Shadow" 2008. Design: Helena Hörstedt

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"Leather Forever" - is a stunning exhibition at Burlington Gardens in London, dedicated to Hermès legendary leather craftmanship. Deconet's guesting blogger Maria Foerlev lists this a a do-not-miss occasion this spring.

Maria Foerlev - Deconet's guest blogger recommends a visit to the Hermès exhibition in London this week

During the spring 2012, Hermès celebrates and explores their 175 year history by illustrating the company's relationship whith leater over the years.

Founded by Thiery Hermès in 1837, the Parisian fashion house has a long established reputation for working with leather to create saddles and harnessess, before later moving onto bags, purses, belts, shoes, and other fashionable leather items, many of which is now shown in the "Leater Forever" Hermès exhibition.

The show is divided into twelve rooms representing various leather collections - including equestrian, travel, handbags and accessories. Not only is it possible to view many of the iconic leather designs in the exhibition, but the visitor will also be able to see how several of the products are actually made. With various different craftspeople from the Hermès workshops in Paris on sit at the Leather Forever exhibition, you may see precisely how skilled they are in producing these stylish creations.

As well as spanning the history of the company and presenting products from those commissioned by the Duke of Windsor up to the present day, those inspired by the leather goods on show could end up taking home at little piece of the exhibition. Hermès has designed four unique bags to celebrate the exhibition, taking the United Kingdom as their theme, with all proceeds going towards the Royal Academy of Arts.

 

 

Hermès also shares the hand made process in assembling the bags in a video:

 

The "Leather Forever" exhibiton about Hermès is open until Sunday 27th of May. Adress: 6 Burlington Gardens, London W1. Admission free.

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The Le Corbusier tapestry, Bogota from 1950, set a new world auction record for the highest amount ever paid for a tapestry by the designer at the LAMA Modern Art & Design Auction on May 6th. Bidding from international and local buyers drove the final price to $131,250.

 

Total sales realized USD 2,97 million, a new company sales record, selling 81% if the 502 lots by value.  

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Design Museum in London continues with their event series "Design Overtime". Last Friday, the theme was "Shoe and Tell" - an evening entirely devoted to footwear in order to coincide with the current Christian Louboutin exhibition. Visitors where filmed cat walking their favourite footwear and streamed onto the side of the museum building.

 

On the coming Friday, May 18th, you may visit the Christian Louboutin exhibition until the unorthodox hour of 11pm. This evening is called "Walk into illusion" and presents a programme devised by guest curators Double Decker to include red shoe bedtime tales, VJing spectacles, and fashion illustrating workshops. All the museum galleries will remain open later than ever before as part of this year’s Museums at Night festival.

Tickets for this event may be booked in advance: £11 / student £7 / free for members at: tickets@designmuseum.org
Enjoy!

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Michelle Ogundehin, editor at Elle Decoration-UK has written a blog about intellectual property and design classics knock-offs.

Michelle has excellent points and well put arguments to why it is so important that we protect the designers and their original designs. Read her article here.

Charles Eames "Lounge Chair with ottoman", one of the most copied mid century classics.

 

 

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According to the news agency DPA, it was the royal family of Qatar who bought Edvard Munch's "The Scream" at record price $119.9 million on Wednesday evening at Sotheby's, New York.

 

Sheikha Al-Mayassa (photo: Stella Pictures)

Sheikha Al-Mayassa, the 29-year-old daughter of the Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, is seen as a driving force behind buying so-called “destination pictures” to bring tourists to the country. In February, she was behind the family's purchase of Paul Cézanne's "Card Players", which was sold by a private dealer for more than a billion dollars. Qatar hosts the World Cup in 2022.

 

 

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A few hours ago, Munch's "The Scream" went under the hammer at Sotheby's. The painting reached $ 119.9 million which makes it the world’s most expensive work of art ever to sell at auction.

 

The 1895 pastel of a man holding his head and screaming under a streaked, blood-red sky has become a modern symbol for human anxiety, popularized in movies and plastered on everything from mugs to Halloween masks to T-shirts.

On Wednesday evening, this version of "The Scream" by Norwegian symbolist and expressionist painter Edvard Munch went on sale at Sotheby's New York. This is the last of four original versions of Munch's masterpiece that remained in private ownership. Bidders could be heard speaking Chinese and English (and according to some, Norwegian), but the yet anonymous winner bid over the phone.

 

The painting is was sold by Norwegian businessman, Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and patron of the artist. Proceeds from the sale will go for the establishment of a new museum, art center and hotel in Hvitsten, Norway, where Olsen's father and Munch were neighbors.

"I have lived with this work all my life, and its power and energy have only increased with time," Olsen said in February. "Now, however, I feel the moment has come to offer the rest of the world a chance to own and appreciate this remarkable work."

$ 119 922 500 million is a new record, beating Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust", sold in 2010 by Christie's in New York for $106.5 million.

Congratulations to the seller! Who the buyer is still remains a secret...

Image courtesy: VG Nett, NYC Times/Jennifer S Altman

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