01.04.22

Up and Coming

In Mexico City, An Up-and-Coming Design Studio Inspired by Institutional Aesthetics

The objects and furniture made by the Mexico City–based design studio Panorammma are difficult to pin in one particular box. Their concepts pivot from material focus — such as in their Neolithic Thinker chair, an upturned U-shaped seat made of volcanic tezontle stone — to abstract ideas, like the Sisyphean Table, a glass-topped Vignelli-esque cocktail table inspired by the concept of the absurd. But the thread that connects all of these approaches is a steady preoccupation with narrative and memory.

More

01.03.22

Interiors

An Insider’s Tour of the French Ski Resort Charlotte Perriand Designed in the 1960s and 70s

From the late 1960s through the 1980s, Charlotte Perriand designed several residential and recreational buildings in France’s Savoy Alps, inspired by the area’s traditional mountain architecture. The monumental project — Les Arcs — became one of the largest ski resorts in the world, and I had the opportunity to spend a few days there last July, documenting its interiors and exteriors.

More

12.20.21

Sight Unseen Presents

See you in 2022!

Today marks the last day of our 2021 coverage, as we hunker down for another COVID winter and try to get some relaxation in before starting fresh in the new year. We'll be leaving you, as in previous years, with a review of our top stories from the past 12 months, ICYMI. What can we learn from the fact that these 8 stories were so popular? Here are our totally subjective speculations.

More

12.18.21

Saturday Selects

Week of December 13, 2021

A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. This week: a reconstructed 1960s apartment by Ettore Sottsass opens in Milan, six London designers exhibit works in glass and metal, and Sweden's David Taylor unveils his latest collection of bent-aluminum furniture and lighting.

More

12.16.21

Excerpt: Exhibition

Get Good Vibes Only From this Show of Grandma-Inspired Lamps and Balloon-Like Chairs

Sister-Sister, Léa Mestres's new show at the Paris gallery Scene Ouverte, is a highly photogenic pairing of two sides of the up-and-coming French designer's practice. One the one hand, there are her puffy, balloon-like chairs, benches, and tables. On the other hand, there are her colorful stucco lamps. "I see them as old ladies," she says. "They each have a names and personality. That's why I called the show 'sisters sisters' — it’s an old ladies' gang."

More

11.22.19

An Afternoon With

A Tour of Mexico City’s Secret Spots With One of Its Biggest Tastemakers

Despite being a recent transplant, Su Wu — who rose to prominence as a writer and curator with her cult-favorite blog I’m Revolting — is already a fixture on the local art and design scene in Mexico City. Spending the day with her would be a dream assignment for any design writer, or really anyone who considers themselves a fan of good things and great stories. From her family home to an all-but-lost Noguchi mural tucked away above a bustling downtown market, Wu’s vision of Mexico City stays true to her own compelling vernacular.

More

12.15.21

Excerpt: Exhibition

Sculpture or Furniture? Supaform’s New Collection Puts Feeling Before Function

In Russian designer Maxim Scherbakov's new furniture exhibition at Rome's Contemporary Cluster gallery, he asks the question: What if design could be all about emotion, and little else? His barely functional pieces, and his general conceit, feel uncomfortable at first — we're not sure we want to live in a world where design is purely an aesthetic indulgence — but in an era when furniture is increasingly difficult to distinguish from art, it does feel in some ways like we already are.

More

12.14.21

Sighted

The Swedish Illustrator Inspired By Classical Figures and Scandinavian Florals

For Sweden-born, London-based illustrator and artist Petra Börner — known for her ink and watercolor images of bright, graphic florals, meandering foliage, and Grecian-inspired figures — nature is a source of both inspiration and consternation. "Living in the city, we're very cut off from nature,” she says. Perhaps this is why flora and fauna are so prominent in her paper cut-outs, paintings, collages, ceramics, and prints.

More

12.13.21

Interiors

You Can Rent Out Hauvette & Madani’s Latest Project in the French Countryside

Parisian interior design duo Hauvette & Madani, who we interviewed a few months ago, just completed a new project — a former farm turned holiday home outside of Paris — and it has everything we could possibly want in a vacation house. The interiors of the stone farmhouse are bursting with the warm touches and earthy palettes we’ve come to love about the duo’s work: pale wood-clad accent walls; arcade-like arched walls in the joint living room and kitchen; patterned tiled floors; and a glossy white ceramic hearth that looks like it’s going to do numbers of Pinterest. The four bedrooms are even full of vintage pieces that you can take home, at a price, including ’70s chrome side tables, Art Deco chairs, and brass Jacques Biny appliqué lamps. The outside isn’t too bad, either. The complex, in Cogners, near the wine producing Loire Valley, sits within two hectares of private parkland complete with rolling hills and a quaint waterfall, as well as the idyllic surrounds of the French countryside at your doorstep. And the best part? You can rent it all yourself.

More

12.11.21

Saturday Selects

Week of December 6, 2021

A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. This week: highlights from Design Miami, including a late feminist artist getting her due; a glassware collaboration setting our hearts and our wallets aflame; and the first housewares drop from one of our favorite designers, Sam Stewart.

More

12.10.21

American Design Hot List

The 2021 American Design Hot List, Part V

This week we announced our ninth annual American Design Hot List, Sight Unseen’s editorial award for the names to know now in American design. We’re devoting an entire week to interviews with this year’s honorees — get to know the fifth group of Hot List designers here: Studio Ahead, Sunshine Thacker, and Umberto Bellardo Ricci.

More

12.09.21

American Design Hot List

The 2021 American Design Hot List, Part IV

This week we announced our ninth annual American Design Hot List, Sight Unseen’s editorial award for the names to know now in American design. We’re devoting an entire week to interviews with this year’s honorees — get to know the fourth group of Hot List designers here: Reinaldo Sanguino, Sean Gerstley, and Serban Ionescu.

More

12.08.21

American Design Hot List

The 2021 American Design Hot List, Part III

This week we announced our ninth annual American Design Hot List, Sight Unseen’s editorial award for the names to know now in American design. We’re devoting an entire week to interviews with this year’s honorees — get to know the third group of Hot List designers here: Minjae Kim, Nicholas Bijan Pourfard, and Nifemi Ogunru

More