Golden Poplars of Motueka Valley

Each week on a Friday afternoon I look forward to our local auction house Maiden’s and Fosters weekly photo album of upcoming lots. Usually scouting for tools for the workshop or cool Mid Century furniture that might need a new home, this week however a piece of art caught my eye and so in I went for a closer look.

The work is ‘Motueka River Valley Scene’ by semi-known NZ Artist Olive Beken b. 1897. who painted a number of NZ landscapes with oil and watercolours over her lifetime.

What especially drew me to this painting was both the soft autumn light and lovely balanced composition of an idyllic New Zealand river & mountain scene, complete with angler and son casting off the rocks bottom right.

After outbidding a few a low ballers I don’t think I did too bad for $50. (and would have paid more)

David Trubridge Sling

I may or may not have acquired a David Trubridge sling for the studio… I have been fortunate to know David for nearly 20 years now, and with his workshop only 15mins have always kept in touch while back home visiting family from Europe.

As a young designer / visual artist growing up in New Zealand it was impossible to ignore, and not be inspired by his distinctive wood furniture and lighting works. The former having given way to latter in recent years and as such has become increasingly hard to come by.

This particular piece was advertised earlier in the year on Trade Me and with over 100 watchers I (like many others suspect) waited to let the auction close to find out the reserve. Sadly, after putting in a request for a fixed price offer the seller never responded and didn’t re-list. Bugger. 9 months later it pops up again with Buy Now which was probably pressed in haste, however I wasn’t going to let this one go again. The 7 hour return drive to Gisborne was made and the work in excellent condition acquired.

If you are unfamiliar with David’s works, check out the video below on the successor to this early model ‘New Sling’ showing the steam bending and construction process. Patience definitely required.

David Trubridge Website

Collected, and snuggly cradled for the drive home.

Fredrikson Stallard Works by Skira Publishers

I first become aware of Fredrikson Stallards work during my time in Melbourne working with interior designer Shareen Joel. Being 12,000km away and completely disconnected from the european design scene, Dezeen.com became my daily bible for everything design which was first port of call with morning coffee pouring over all the new works being shown and released

Amongst all the chaff and popular figures of the time like Tom Dixon, Bourrellec Brothers, Jasper Morrison et al - the raw, expressive works of Fredrikson Stallard stood out amongst a sea of tame mass production works.

At the time, the late Dezeen founder Marcus Fairs was still writing each article himselt, with pieces such as Iris at Design Miami/Basel, King Bonk, and of course the inimitable Pyrenees Sofa.

Our first meeting came mid spring by all three; chance, luck and timing. Earlier in the day I had submitted an application for either a Visualiser / Designer position. That meant a portfolio, cv, and as a primarily visual person, the dreaded cover letter which every firm in London uses as a sieve/shit test for filtering out the weak, lazy and frankly just boring applicants.

At the time I was contracting to a visualisation studio in Old Street which is not quite what I had in mind moving out to London and had taken the afternoon off in somewhat cavalier fashion to walk down and check out Clerkenwell Design Week, a small but important showing of mostly boutique furniture and lighting brands post Milan.

I have a very distinct memory of standing inside the semi derelict Farmiloe building on St. John St. at the time, admiring the sleek Jaguar art car sculpture when my phone rang. It was Ian Stallard - they loved my portfolio and could I meet.

Being London, there is usually a ping pong of dates & availability checks before meeting which was often weeks away, however when Ian said their studio was in Clerkenwell, I said ‘how about now?’ 10mins later we were discussing specific works they needed assistance with, jewellery for Brioni (which also features in the book) and a large stainless steel facade sculpture in Paddington Basin.

Several years later I was commissioned to provide a large suite of images for their ‘Glaciarium’ collaboration with Swarovski, a range of bespoke crystal components and avant-garde chandeliers.

Fredrikson Stallard: Works by Skira traces Ian & Patriks story from humble beginnings to global art/design superstars.

The full suite of Glaciarium images produced for Fredrikson Stallard can be viewed here & here.

Levitated Mass - Michael Heizer

Large-scale land artist Michael Heizer endeavors to install an ancient 340-ton boulder in an art museum. Doug Pray’s film explores the notion that art, beyond physical beauty, serves as civilization’s bequest to posterity.

Cezanne - Three Colours Documentary

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French Impressionist painter whose eye for beauty made him one of the movement's most popular practitioners. He is best known for his paintings of bustling Parisian modernity and leisure in the last three decades of the 19th century. Though celebrated as a colorist with a keen eye for capturing the movement of light and shadow, Renoir started to explore Renaissance painting in the middle of his career, which led him to integrate more line and composition into his mature works and create some of his era's most timeless canvases.