Paul Cocksedge: Capture, Friedman Benda, New York

Paul Cocksedge: Capture
Friedman Benda, New York
September 12 - October 12, 2013

Friedman Benda, NYC, will present PAUL COCKSEDGE: CAPTURE the British designer’s inaugural solo exhibition. Capture will introduce new works developed by Paul Cocksedge over the last four and half years that push the mediums of light and structure, including a large-scale light installation, a collection of dramatic, seemingly impossible, hand-wrought dome lamps, and Poised, a series of unyielding steel tables inspired by the delicacy of paper. Known for exploring the limits of technology, materials, and manufacturing capabilities, Paul Cocksedge Studio has produced both commercial and experimental work, as well as a series of high-profile public installations around the world. Capture finds Paul Cocksedge presenting a new series of concepts informed by his studio’s commitment to technological ingenuity, expanding the boundaries of physics, and the creation of works that are both thought provoking and unexpected. 

The works include Capture, a 5 ¼ ft (1.6 meter) hand-spun aluminum dome that appears to “hold” the peaceful glow of a warm white light. The piece is informed by a process of reduction—a recurring theme in Paul Cocksedge’s work—as it subtracts the typical infrastructure around light, instead creating a hemisphere that seems to stop light from escaping. For White Light, Paul Cocksedge will create a room within the gallery in which everything and nothing changes. For this work, the designer will create an illuminated mosaic of precisely calibrated and positioned colored panels on the ceiling of the gallery. The ceiling will slowly fade from a spectrum of colors to a warm white light, while the room itself will remain unchanged, demonstrating the ways in which we do and do not perceive the interplay of color and light.

The inspiration for Poised comes from the elegance and amenability of paper. Half a ton in weight, the steel table appears improbable upon investigation. Created following an intensive series of calculations regarding gravity, mass, and equilibrium, the table looks as though it is about to fall, but is perfectly weighted and stable. 

In addition to these new works, Paul Cocksedge will present three architectural models that take conceptual threads from Capture and White Light and reapply them to architectural settings outside of the gallery space. Central to Paul Cocksedge’s work is an appreciation for the ways in which people respond to and interact with his designs. As a result, potential real world applications of these new works will be explored in a series of architectural models.

FRIEDMAN BENDA
515 W 26th Street, New York, NY 10001
Gallery's website: www.friedmanbenda.com

This is Design in London Design Museum upcoming exhibition

THIS IS DESIGN 

Design Museum, London 

24 August 2011 - 22 January 2012 

Résumé en Français : voir plus bas :)

MOULTON BIKE, circa 1960 

Photo Courtesy Design Museum, London

This is Design is a celebration of the London Design Museum’s Collection, which examines the impact of design on the modern world, whilst also exploring the consequences of design and how it shapes our lives and contemporary culture. 

The Collection has been in storage for over five years and during this period it has been catalogued, conserved and documented. The Collection contains pieces ranging from early items of mass manufacture through to cutting edge contemporary design and includes furniture, fashion, transport, products, ceramics and graphics. 

CANDLESTICK TELEPHONE, circa 1920 

Photo Courtesy Design Museum, London

Design can help us absorb and adapt to change and make positive use of a modern world which could otherwise be confusing. By using themes such as Identity, Manufacturing Innovations, the Digital Revolution and Lifecycle the exhibition will look at how design provides a visual language to help use the objects around us.

Prototypes, drawings, couture samples, models, first editions and finished industrial objects will be on display demonstrating the design process and subsequent influence of design on the contemporary culture. The exhibition will also explore ‘quiet’ design, demonstrating how design surrounds us and how whether accidental or subtle, design plays a role in shaping the way we live and enables us to understand the world around us.

ANGELPOISE LAMP TYPE 1927

DESIGNED IN 1934 

Photo courtesy Design Museum, London

Highlights from the collection including the Anglepoise lamp, the original Mini and the Moulton bicycle will be displayed alongside large scale architectural models to include Sir Norman Foster’s HSBC Bank headquarters in Hong Kong, couture garments and street furniture, UK road signs and traffic lights will also be on display. 

Supplemented by loans and gifts, and celebrating new acquisitions to the collection, the exhibition also looks at the changing role of collecting design and future developments of the Design Museum Collection as it prepares to move to a new home at the former Commonwealth Institute. The new museum will provide dedicated gallery space to display the collection and celebrate the importance of design through a permanent display.

Curator: Alex Newson 

MARGARET CALVERT & JOCK KINNEAR 

ROAD SIGNAGE, 1965 

Photo courtesy Design Museum, London

Résumé en français : This is Design au Musée du Design à Londres est une exposition à venir qui débutera à la fin de l'été, le 24 août 2011 et sera visible jusqu'au 22 janvier 2012. Cette exposition présente une importante sélection du design anglais, d'hier à aujourd'hui, avec un large panel des différents types de pièces conservées. Cela inclut des objets décoratifs, des dessins ou croquis de designers, des vêtements typiques de la mode anglaise, des objets plus simples de la vie quotidienne, issus de la production de masse, aussi bien pour la maison ou le bureau que des équipements urbains ou des maquettes d'architectures. Bref, un très large éventail et en même temps un condensé du style britannique au travers de son design ancien, vintage, au design le plus contemporain. L'exposition a lieu alors que le Musée du Design de Londres va déménager dans l'ancien Institut du Commonwealth. Les pièces de la collection exposées sont présentées autour d'une problématique logiquement assez large étant donné leur diversité. Une problématique qui grosso modo tourne autour de la question du lien, de l'interaction, entre design, culture et mode de vie. Est ainsi à la fois abordé d'une part  l'impact du design sur le style de vie et d'autre part, en quoi le design est sous influence des évolutions culturelles mais aussi de l'économie et de l'évolution des outils de production. Une présentation thématique aussi, avec, par exemple les thèmes de l'identité, la spécificité culturelle, l'innovation dans le processus de production, la révolution numérique, le cycle de vie d'un produit... Alex Newson est le commissaire de cette exposition.

DESIGN MUSEUM, SHAD THAMES, LONDON SE1 2YD
Website: www.designmuseum.org