New York-based handbag designer Jess Rizzuti‘s Spring/Sumer 2010 collection features handcrafted, timeless pieces with just the right amount of edge. It includes three signature styles: the Fifi Carry-All for everyday use, the Lola Satchel day-to-night bag, and the Fiona Baguette for a night out. All three are constructed with a self-frame handle and include details such as a detachable shoulder strap, inside zipper pockets, and pockets for phones and accessories.

And, new for this season, Rizzuti introduces an elegant little cork bag, available in a natural cork with gold leaf flecks, a gilded burlap handle and a hand-printed wavy gray details. The cork handbag incorporates eco-friendly materials while maintaing the sophisticated style of the rest of the signature collection. In terms of materials, according to Rizzuti, “Each bag features a diverse combination of the finest Italian and Argentinean skins, each rich in color.” The collection incorporates embossed croc, patent leather python, and pebble grain in combination with smooth leathers. The collection ranges from $290-$558.

Rizutti has a background in textiles, and earned her stripes at RISD and FIT before launching her eponymous line in 2008. To learn more about Jess Rizzuti, visit jessrizzuti.com.

*above: Fifi in gunmetal

*above: Cork Bag

*above: Fiona in smoke

*above: Lola in champagne

*above: Fiona in black graphite

*All images courtesy of Jess Rizutti.

Opening this week at the Brooklyn Art Museum, “American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection” celebrates the unique costume collection-sharing partnership between the Brooklyn Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. An easy solution for anyone in need of a major fashion fix, the exhibition will include some 85 masterworks from the newly established Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and mark the first time in more than two decades that a large-scale survey drawn from the Brooklyn Museum’s pre-eminent collection will be on public view.

A simultaneous exhibition, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” (the first show at
the Metropolitan Museum to be drawn from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection), will be on view at the Met from May 5 through August 15, 2010.

The Brooklyn exhibit will present works dating from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century, augmented by a selection of accessories, drawings, sketches, and other fashion-related materials.Display pieces include fashions by the first generation of American women designers such as Bonnie Cashin, Elizabeth Hawes, and Claire McCardell, as well as material created by Charles James, Norman Norell, Gilbert Adrian, and other important American designers. Also included will be works by French designers who had an important influence on American women and fashion such as Charles Frederick Worth, Elsa Schiaparelli, Jeanne Lanvin, Jeanne Paquin, Madeleine Vionnet, and Christian Dior.

Objects range from ball gowns to beachwear. Included are Schiaparelli’s Surrealist insect necklace (see below!), considered by experts to be one of the most important works in the collection; elaborate ballgowns and day wear by Charles James; evening ensembles by Charles Frederick Worth, Christian Dior, and Mainbocher; street wear by mid-20th-century designers including Vera Maxwell and Claire McCardell; a group of hats by legendary milliner Sally Victor; and dazzling evening wear by Norman Norell.

“This is truly a landmark moment in the history of museum exhibitions. It is at once a celebration of a unique collection-sharing program between Brooklyn and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a remarkable history of the Brooklyn collection that traces the evolution of fashion in America from its 19th-century European beginnings through the late 20th century,” says Brooklyn Museum Director Arnold L. Lehman.

“American High Style” is on view May 7 through August 1, 2010.

Brooklyn Art Museum
200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11238-6099
(718) 638-5000

*above: Schiaparelli Necklace, autumn 1938. Jean Clement (French) for Elsa Schiaparelli.
The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

*above: Scaasi Evening Ensemble, ca. 1958. Arnold Scaasi (American, born Canada, 1931).
American Silk. The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

*above: Norell Pajamas, 1970–71. Norman Norell (American 1900–1972). Cotton, silk, beads.
The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

*above: Maxwell Ensemble, ca. 1958. Vera Maxwell (American, 1901–1995). American Wool.
The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

*above: James Ball Gown, 1955. Charles James (American, born England, 1906–1978). American
Silk. The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

*above: American High Style Installation Image, courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.

*above: American High Style Installation Image, courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.

*Images courtesy of Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Opening next week at New York’s Hasted Hunt Krauetler gallery, JULIAN FAULHABER: Lowdensitypolyethylene II presents new work by the esteemed German photographer.

Faulhaber‘s latest series was shot in newly constructed spaces in the time between when they were completed and when they became occupied or used. The intense colors and sheen result from exposure times of 10 to 20 seconds, the perspective selected and the artificial light at the location, rather than from post-production. The resulting images often appear abstract, even unreal, but are in fact a straight document of the space, reflected in such direct titles as “Supermarket” and “Garage.”

Faulhaber made his US debut in “Chisel,” curated by Kathy Ryan of the New York Times at the first annual New York Photo Festival in 2008. His first gallery show in NY followed in the fall of that year at Hasted Hunt Kraeutler. Since then, Faulhaber has been named a new and emerging photographer to watch in 2009 by Photo District News (PDN) and included in the exhibition “Reality Check: Truth and Illusion in Contemporary Photography” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Faulhaber’s work comments on the discrepancy between the material reality of construction, the daily experience of a space, and the utopian ideals that inspire the avant-garde of the architectural field. The actual formal points of an architect’s utopian vision are often inspired by the other arts: painting, writing and photography. His work is also embedded in a tradition of German photography that considers the investigation of architectural forms to be important social commentary, a history that spans the work of Albert Renger-Patsch, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky and Thomas Demand. Faulhaber’s work is included in the permanent collections of such esteemed institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Harvard Art Museum, and the Princeton Art Museum.

Julian Faulhaber: Lowdensitypolyethylene II
May 6 – June 26, 2010
Hasted Hunt Kraeutler
537 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011

*above: Automaten (Machines), 2007

*above: Supermarkt (Supermarket), 2007

*above: Racks, 2009

*above: Frosilos, 2008

*above: Ställe (Stalls), 2009

*above: Big, 2010

*above: Kabinen (Cabins), 2005

*Images courtesy of Julian Faulhaber/Hasted Hunt Kraeutler, NYC.

With “Stretch,” her debut solo furniture collection, designer Jessica Carnevale wanted to bring some of the exuberance of the fashion world into her designs. She experimented with a number of different materials and ultimately chose latex, bungee and rope for their bright colors and elasticity. She built a simple chair to better frame the compositions that she created. The result is a collection of three vivid pieces, which debuted during Satellite 2010. After all, as Carnevale says, “Design should be beautiful and useful, but also fun!”

Since graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2004, Jessica Carnevale has designed furniture and products for clients around the world, including Martha Stewart, West
Elm Furniture, Anna Sui and Alexandra Champalimaud, and even worked as head designer for Brocade
Home, creating a new brand for Restoration Hardware. For the past two years, Carnevale has been working at the Marcel Wanders Studio in Amsterdam. Under his direction, she has developed collections for Baccarat, Target, Bardelli, Philips, Xo, Magis, Cappellini, Skitsch and Moooi.

After a successful show at the Salone Satellite Milan, the Stretch collection is now off home to New York to be exhibited at ABC Home (888 Broadway) for May’s the International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

*above: Portrait of Jessica Carnevale

*Images courtesy of Carnevale Studio.

Architect David Tajchman recently earned an honorable mention for his futuristic “Stealth” design proposal for the new visual arts Maribor Museum in Slovenia.

As shown below, the museum’s external design reinterprets the Slovenian lacework tradition, with perforated patterns that filter natural light for the exhibitions spaces within. Similar patterns are used on flooring inside to make surfaces non-slippery, and to hide technical elements (air conditioners, etc.) on the ceilings. Removable partition walls inside slip from structural elements that provide storage or cover technical elements to subdivide the exhibition spaces.

According to Tajchman, “Like a stealth, the project is inserted in the city in direct visual
and morphologic relation with its context.” In his vision, people pass through the covered ground floor, an open public space for outdoor protected activities of the UGM. in this way, the project aims to encourage visual connections between the old and the modern city. Maribor sits at the crosspoint of the Alps, Adriatic and the Balkans. Other art cities such as Venice, Vienna, Graz and Budapest are a close trainride away.

WIth offices in both Paris and Brussels since 2009, Tajchman keeps busy creating dramatic works of art across the globe, and teaching with Sir Peter Cook at Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris.

Project Info:
Stealth: New Maribor Museum Architecture Competition
Place: Maribor, Slovenia
Area: 15000 m2
Client: UGM
Architect: David Tajchman
Intern: Luke Izri
Results: 4th prize – honorable mention

*Images courtesy of Architectures David Tajchman.

New for 2010, Vienna-based design house POLKA introduces the Floyd Sofa Range. Designed for Wittmann, this unconventional sofa series combines the classic couch shape with interchangeable, attachable elements that give the furniture a surprising versatility. Back cushions and armrests in various sizes let it go from a couch to a chaise, and a selection of accessories – a laptop table, a tray, a lamp, and a small round table – make it super-functional and fun.

Created in 2004, POLKA ( Polka Product Pleasure) is the brainchild of design duo Monica Singer and Marie Rahm. The pair “regards everyday life phenomena as their project’s fuel. To discover the beauty in the banal, the extraordinary out of the ordinary is the aim. We show shifting points of view, we like to surprise and carry on the ease of life forward on the way to create ‘product pleasures’.” Already, their impressive client list includes names like Lobmeyr, MINI/BMW and MAK among many others. To learn more about these product and visual designers, visit polkaproducts.com.

Opening today at Boston’s Howard Yezerski Gallery, the exhibit “Better Not Tell You Now” presents new paintings and works on paper by Emily Eveleth. Revealing intimate scenes with figures, childhood objects and un-peopled spaces, Eveleth pays particular attention to the placement of figures and objects within their environment, creating poignant tableaux of an event that has perhaps just occurred or is about to occur.

Through tight cropping (reminiscent of cinematic close-ups), we catch glimpses of dramatically lit lone figures, hands, and familiar childhood toys, drawing our attention as they recede in and out of darkness. In several of the images we see the hands of a lone adult figure playing out a curious game of magic eight-ball.

By not giving any details as to surroundings, time, or place, the images remain anonymous; yet, the close-up nature of the scenes in these works creates a feeling of intimacy, as if the viewer has stepped into a private moment.

The exhibit runs through May 26th.

Howard Yezerski Gallery
460 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 262-0550

*above: Chew Toy 3, 2010, graphite and alkyd on mylar, 8 x 10″

*above: Hands with 8 Ball, 2010, oil on board , 5″ x 10″

*above: Hands with Dice, 2010, graphite and alkyd on mylar, 8″ x 11 1/2″

*above: Shepherdess, 2010, graphite and alkyd on mylar, 9″ x 8″

*above: Waiting, 2010, graphite and alkyd on mylar, 7″ x 9 1/2″

above: Dinosaur by the Window, 2010, graphite and alkyd on mylar, 7″ x 10″

*Images courtesy of the gallery.

The brainchild of Latvian designers Baiba Lindāne and Uģis Gailis, BUdesign creates contemporary pieces that respectfully nod toward ancient Latvian folk traditions. Launched in 2008, thus far the design duo has earned a Magazine Deko Design Award, a Latvian Art Directors Club Award and a Young & Design Award.

Samples of their work are below, and include an 80 x 70cm wicker lamp series inspired by nature, a 43 x 33cm metal lamp inspired by the classic four-sided kitchen grater, and a clever catch-all hanging shelf, available in white, black or “salad green.”

To see more of BUdesign’s work, visit budesign.lv.

Just four month shy of his PhD in genetic engineering, New Yorker Christopher Griffith gave it all up to take up photography. Then he spent eight years in Europe working for Arena, Wallpaper, and the international editions of Vogue and Elle. Upon returning to the U.S., Griffith spent four months on the road photographing “States.”

He assembled a crew to travel the sideways and byways of a forgotten America to shoot everyday, utilitarian things found dotting the contemporary landscape. Searching out abandoned gas stations, remote industrial plants, budget motels, strip mall car lots, utility fields, roadside ditches, and even graveyards, Griffith and his team constructed huge backdrops around each painstakingly selected specimen, creating stark, decontexturalized and utterly magnificent renderings of the myriad of things we see and forget without noticing. The resulting series is a dramatic reinterpretation of American iconography.

“States” is on display at Randall Scott Gallery through May 22nd. A book signing event for Griffith’s books “States,” “Blown,” and “Fall” will take place May 15th from 1pm to 3 during the NY Photo Festival.

Randall Scott Gallery
111 Front Street, #204
Brooklyn, NY 11201
www.randallscottgallery.com

*above: Truck Stop Sign, Route 235, Blufton, Ohio, 1998/99.
66×42” edition of 3 Archival Ink on Hahnemuhle

*above: Eisenhower’s Airforce One, Pima Air & Space Museum, Tuscon, Arizona, 1998/99. 97×62”” edition of 1 Archival Ink on Hahnemuhle

*above: Defunct Oil Refinery, Shell Oil, Odessa, Texas, 1998/99. 66×42” edition of 3 Archival Ink on Hahnemuhle

*above: Car Recycling. Silver Dollar Recycling, North las Vegas, Nevada. Archival Pigment on Hahnemuhle Paper. 62×97″ edition of 1; 66×42″ edition of 3; 32×50″ edition of 7; 20×31″ edition of 10.

*above: Car Dealer Flags, 1998/1999. Astro Car Dealership, Gulfport, Mississippi. Archival Ink on Hahnemuhle Paper. 62×97″ edition of 1; 66×42″ edition of 3; 32×50″ edition of 7; 20×31″ edition of 10.

*above: Street Lights. Bridge City, Texas. Archival Pigment on Hahnemuhle Paper. 62×78″” edition of 1; 42×53″ edition of 3; 32×40″” edition of 7; 25×20″ edition of 10

*above: Cadillac Ranch, 1998/1999. Interstate 40, Amarillo, Texas.Archival Pigment on Hahnemuhle Paper. 62×78″ edition of 1; 53×42″ edition of 3; 40×30″ edition of 7; 25×20″ edition of 10.

*Images courtesy of Randall Scott Gallery.

Capturing Dennis Hopper’s very full career as an actor, director and artist over the last 40 years is an ambitious task. Flammarion’s latest title – Dennis Hopper & The New Hollywood – does just that, offering a visual testament to both Hopper’s personal creative evolution and American counterculture at large. Born of an exhibition by the Cinematheque Francaise, the new book pairs Hopper’s own paintings, photography and film work with his impressive private collection of contemporary art by names like Jenny Holzer, Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jasper Johns. Interviews and insightful essays give further context, completing a tome that offers a thoughtful look at one of the era’s greatest fringe icons.

Dennis Hopper & The New Hollywood
Contributions by Pierre Evil, Bernard Marcade, Matthiew Orlean and Jean-Baptiste Thoret
Hardcover, 192 pages, 230 color & b&w illustrations
Published by Flammarion (distributed by Rizzoli through Random House)

“He resisted, but I insisted.” -Dennis Hopper on casting disputes during Easy Rider

*above: Victor Skrebneski, Dennis Hopper, 1990 Gelatin Silver Print, 24 ½ x 33 ¾ in. (62.2 x 85.7 cm). Victor Skrebneski Collection, Chicago. Skrebneski Photograph © 1990, from Dennis Hopper and the New Hollywood, Paris: Flammarion, 2009.

*above: Andy Warhol, Dennis Hopper, 1971. Mixed media. Silkscreen print made from synthetic polymer and ink on canvas, 40 x 40 in. (101.6 x 101.6 cm). Dennis Hopper collection, Los Angeles.’
© Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts / ADAGP, Paris 2008, from Dennis Hopper and the New Hollywood, Paris: Flammarion, 2009.

*Images courtesy of Flammarion.
Available now through Amazon.