Rendering of a Thinking Room by David Lynch. Image courtesy of Salone del Mobile …
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David Lynch Is Coming to Salone del Mobile
Salone del Mobile is throwing a few curveballs this year. During a press conference this week, fair president Maria Porro revealed details for the Italian furniture fair’s 62nd edition, which is slated to return to Milan’s Rho fairgrounds from April 16–21. The most surprising move comes from film director and Surface cover star David Lynch, who will reveal a series of “Thinking Rooms” across the fair that echo the cerebral stillness of his greatest works. The project is curated by filmmaker Antonio Monda and created in partnership with Piccolo Teatro di Milano.
“We chose to work with a master of cinema like Lynch for his ability to lead us into another world, mysterious and alienating,” Porro says. “Entering his Thinking Room will be like crossing into another world. And what are interior spaces if not research and creation of objects that complete a home, or even a room, to make us feel safe within our subconscious?” Also of note is the 25th anniversary of SaloneSattelite’s platform for emerging designers, which will be celebrated with a dedicated showcase at Triennale Milano. —Ryan Waddoups
The Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial in Washington D.C. Photography by Robert Lyle Bolton, courtesy The Cultural Landscape Foundation…
The Cultural Landscape Foundation spotlights African American history in a new guide.
To celebrate Black History Month, The Cultural Landscape Foundation launched its “What’s Out There Guide to African American Cultural Landscapes,” highlighting more than 140 significant sites with an interactive map. Showcasing monuments, burial grounds, and schools, the guide categorizes locations by themes like enslavement and education, offering historical context and recognizing Black architects. Notably, the African Burial Ground in New York, the shotgun house community in Texas, and the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington D.C. serve as powerful reminders of the importance of preserving and learning from underrepresented landscapes.
The Trellis Art Fund will award twelve American artists with unrestricted $100,000 grants.
Thanks to a $15.8 million endowment, the Trellis Art Fund is awarding $100,000 grants to twelve U.S. artists to elevate underrepresented voices and promote community. The funds will be issued in $50,000 payments over two years. The foundation will also host professional development retreats and facilitate work-sharing opportunities. Trellis is funded largely by art patron Nigel Dawn, head of the private capital advisory group at independent investment banking advisory firm Evercore and the husband of Corina Larkin, who is serving as Trellis’s director.
Vessels by Miki Asai. Image courtesy of the Loewe Foundation…
The winner of this year’s Loewe Foundation Craft Prize will be announced on May 14.
The Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, now in its seventh edition, continues to highlight the innovative use of materials and techniques in crafts. With a focus on elevating everyday materials like rubber tires and glass into artisan-made crafts, the prize celebrates the fusion of tradition and innovation. The winning artist, picked from a shortlist of 30 artists and artisans from 3,900 submissions, will be announced in Paris alongside an exhibition featuring all the finalists’ work at Palais de Tokyo on May 14. The winner will receive a 50,000 euro ($53,650) prize.
Perrotin exits its Dubai gallery and ends its secondary-market collaboration in Paris.
Emmanuel Perrotin has agreed to end his collaboration with art dealers Tom-David Bastok and Dylan Lessel. The trio had opened a five-storey space in Paris’s eighth arrondissement focusing on the secondary market, but Perrotin sold his shares and the space will now operate under the name Bastok Lessel. Bastok and Lessel have also bought shares in Perrotin Dubai, which opened in the Dubai International Financial Centre in late 2022, and will now operate under Bastok Lessel Dubai. The separation comes after new shareholder Colony Investment Management took a 60 percent stake in Perrotin’s gallery last year.
Penn will become the first Ivy League university to offer a bachelor’s degree in AI.
The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science is launching a new bachelor’s degree program in AI, available to students starting fall 2024. This first-of-its-kind program at an Ivy League university will equip students with the skills to develop AI responsibly and address societal challenges. The curriculum combines courses in machine learning, algorithms, and engineering with AI-specific concentrations like robotics and healthcare.
“Take Over Jeddah” by Andrés Reisinger. Photography by Mohammed Ali…
Today’s attractive distractions:
These female designers behind the Tiffany Lamp are finally getting their due.
