Marc Newson’s Sculptural Limited Edition Furniture Puts A Fresh Spin on Chinese Cloisonné

Description

With inspirations ranging from popular culture to traditional crafts from around the world, Marc Newson (b. 1963) approaches design as both an exploratory technical exercise and a process of conceptual, aesthetic, and physical refinement. He is the only designer represented by the Gagosian Gallery.

Newson has produced a broad array of highly crafted objects—from watches, footwear and luggage, to  furniture and transport—upholding the principle that engineering and aesthetics are inseparable.

The Australian designer has long been drawn to the streamlined, simple beauty of Asian art and design: from his Aikuchi swords made in the renowned Tōhoku region of Japan to, most recently, his furniture created using the ancient technique of Chinese cloisonné—an enamelling technique that originated in the eastern Mediterranean more than three thousand years ago and spread to China around the fourteenth century.

Blurring the boundaries between sculpture, furniture, and the decorative arts, this body of work in cloisonné enamel will be exhibited at Gagosian. The works feature Newson’s signature “orgone” pattern, as well as interpretations of traditional Chinese floral motifs, such as large magnolias on a white ground, or cherry blossom branches set against opaque black enamel.