Faye Toogood Debuts Sculptural Slab-Like Tables for Hem, and Other News

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Faye Toogood Debuts Sculptural Slab-Like Tables for Hem

When Faye Toogood envisioned the Puffy Lounge Chair for Hem, she sought to couple the durability of a classic Modernist structure with the “enveloping warmth of a familiar duvet.” The chair, which is marked by plump detachable upholstery spilling freely over the sides of a hard-lined tubular steel frame, was a remarkable study in contrasts and became an instant highlight of the past year’s predilection for puffy furniture in the wake of turbulent times. 

Not one to rest on her laurels, Toogood recently debuted her latest series for the Swedish direct-to-consumer furniture brand that slightly departs from the Puffy Lounge Chair’s formula, but maintains the rounded shapes and experimentation that so often imbue the London designer’s oeuvre with elements of whimsy and intrigue. The new collection, called Stump, encompasses a series of slab-like tables made from MDF in a simple satin matte finish. Organic and elemental yet heroic in their generous proportions, the tables are sure to create an understated centerpoint regardless of where they’re placed.

“I love working with raw materials,” Toogood says, noting that Stump’s primary challenge was making the hollow forms appear solid, as if sculpted from a single piece of material. “We had used a similar technique of molding MDF on a much larger scale for a retail project and liked the idea of bringing it into the domestic environment.” The resulting side table and two coffee tables are sculptural and pristine, reduced to their most basic elements yet firmly rooted in Toogood’s singular language. 

A hotel on China’s Hainan Island opens with a design informed by ocean waves.

Situated on the Chinese tropical island of Hainan in the resort town of Sanya, GS Design used cresting ocean waves as inspiration when conceiving the ivory-white Sumei Skyline Coast Hotel. The Shenzhen–based studio outfitted the interiors with curvilinear forms such as upside-down arches, circular skylights, and round-edged headboards. The minimalist all-white aesthetic accentuates subtle pops of color from potted plants, two soothing pools, and the sea beyond. “We worked to craft the space into a timely and sophisticated art piece with a long lifespan of usage by adopting this classic color,” the firm says.

Cameroon’s Venice Biennale pavilion will bring NFTs to the show for the first time.

Cameroon’s presence at the Venice Biennale brings a number of firsts. Not only is it the first time the African country will exhibit a national pavilion at the prestigious art exhibition, but it’s also the first time NFTs will be shown. The pavilion encompasses two shows, one being an NFT exhibition organized by Global Crypto Art DAO, a newly formed collective that raises funds to support artists new to the crypto space. The pavilion’s focus on emergent technologies “represents a possible way out and development for the young Cameroon generations, exploring the emerging world of NFTs in an international key,” says Sandro Orlandi Stagl, who curated the pavilion with Paul Emmanuel Loga Mahop. 

A “phishing scam” caused millions in NFTs to be stolen from wallets on OpenSea. 

Over the weekend, some users on OpenSea noticed that their NFTs—Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club images among them—were suddenly missing from their wallets. Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO of the popular NFT marketplace, investigated the incident immediately and announced the victims were part of an elaborate phishing attack. The victims, however, disagreed and noticed the only thing they all had in common was they had manually migrated their collections to a new smart contract on the platform. Particulars about the incident are still up in the air, including the exact dollar value of the NFTs stolen, the thief’s identity, and how everything went missing in the first place. 

Calida Rawles brings a dose of cool to LA’s SoFi Stadium with a blissful new mural.

SoFi Stadium, the newly completed sports complex that hosted this year’s Super Bowl LVI, brings a multitude of amenities to the sprawling Hollywood Park in Inglewood. Among them is a wavy new mural by local artist Calida Rawles, who finished the commission just in time for last week’s big game. The mural, which overlooks a public promenade near the stadium, depicts a Black woman blissfully floating in a pool of water. It’s modeled after a close friend of Rawles who she describes as “regal in the way she holds herself. The water is moving around her like a clock, and she is the sun, wearing bright yellow,” she tells the Art Newspaper. A seven-foot-tall preparatory painting for the mural, titled The Way of Time, was on view at Lehmann Maupin’s booth during Frieze LA.

LaGuardia Airport’s revamped Terminal C will feature installations by six local artists.

LaGuardia Airport’s hotly anticipated $8 billion transformation is almost complete, with the rebuilt Terminal C expected to open in the spring. The new terminal will feature giant installations by six New York artists—Mariam Ghani, Rashid Johnson, Aliza Nisenbaum, Virginia Overton, Ronny Quevedo, and Fred Wilson—situated throughout the arrivals and departures halls. “Delta really wanted us to think about Queens, the most diverse county in the U.S., and find a way to reflect that,” Sally Talent, president of the Queens Museum, told the New York Times. The museum partnered with the Port Authority, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Delta Airlines to commission the art program, which has been valued at $12 million. 

Today’s attractive distractions:

A neighborly request to return a stolen magazine devolves into full-fledged sign war.

Hygroshape’s self-shaping furniture assembles itself over the course of 8-12 hours.

Adam Nicolson’s latest tome shows why tide pools are earth’s “revelatory habitats.”

Collina Strada spoofs reality TV in a new campaign about sustainable fashion.