We are delighted to welcome Dermot Bannon to preview our Art and Design Auction @ RHA, and to select his personal highlights from the catalogue.
Video reviews are available on DVTV now.
In choosing my favourite lots in the auction, I’m naturally drawn to the architectd esigned pieces. Arne Jacobsen, Eileen Gray, Patrick Scott, Mies Van Der Rohe and Finn Juhl were all powerhouses who began their careers as architects. Arne Jacobsen was not only the architect of Copenhagen’s SAS Hotel in 1958, he also designed every detail of the interior, including the furniture, its placement and the colour palette.
Finn Juhl pioneered the concept of ‘open plan living’ that we still embrace to this day. He believed that the architect must also help in forming the concept for the interior of any building they designed. He viewed furniture as an integral, sculptural element of larger spatial design, rather than separate entities.
A standalone ‘hero’ piece can elevate your interior space and Eileen Gray’s ‘Transat Chair’ (lot 66) does just that. Designed for her E1027 house in the South of France, it is based on the deckchairs of transatlantic ocean liners. The Transat still looks modern today despite being designed a century ago. Gray was one of Ireland’s greatest architects and a maverick of iconic furniture design.
The art you chose for your walls can really transform your home. Irish architect and artist, Patrick Scott’s, ‘Gold Painting’ (lot 17), is a perfect example of how to do this. ‘Gold Painting’ brings serenity but also dramatic impact through the marriage of the simple triangle, square and circle with ornate gold leaf. With Scott, it’s more about what he chooses to leave out rather than put in, that achieves the holy grail- beauty and simplicity. A triumph.