British designer Tom Dixon offers us a sneak peak at his new wares for May’s ICFF 2010: INDUSTRY and Flash Factory. INDUSTRY is Dixon’s latest line of lighting and furniture (scheduled to appear at ICFF’s booth 1804), and was inspired by industrial processes. At Dixon’s Flash Factory (booths 1900 and 2000), visitors will be able to make and buy limited-edition pieces directly from the stand.

INDUSTRY’s lineup includes:
- Void, an almost musical-looking lighting object inspired by the vacuum flask, with a double wall construction.
- Peg, a minimalist stackable café chair in sold birch.
- Offcut Bench, a flat-packed design made from the waste generated by standard wooden furniture manufacture.
- and the return of Jack, the polyethylene ‘sitting, stacking, lighting thing’ now available in black for the latest generation.

Also launching Is the first in a series of self-published Tom Dixon books. Starting with the orientation for this year’s collection, Industry, the paperback outlines a critique of various production formulas followed by Dixon’s own proposal for a Future Industry. In the same spirit of Etch and Flash Factory, this publishing venture hopes to cut out the middle man by employing new, innovative printing systems. We’ve got an exclusive look at the cover below!

INDUSTRY can be bought from the stand at ICFF and at www.tomdixon.net.

*above, Tom Dixon’s Void lights

*above, Jack lights

*above, Jack lights

*above, Offcut Bench

*above, Peg Chairs

*above, Dixon’s new INDUSTRY book cover

*All images courtesy of Tom Dixon.

Debuting next month, Kim Gordon’s new monograph- Kim Gordon Performing/Guzzling - presents the Sonic Youth founder’s energetic watercolor series, mixed-media collages and personal lyrics. Inspired by on-stage performances where faces in the audience become dreamy, ethereal blurs of color, Gordon uses newspapers, words and photos as canvases for stains and slashes of color.

Reflections about Gordon and her work from artist Jutta Koether and writer Hilton Als add to the personal tone of the book. In one offering, Hilton writes, “…one is struck, again and again, by the depth of feeling behind her brushwork.”

The first printing of the book will be limited to 3,000 copies, each containing a signed print by Kim Gordon. Kim Gordon Performing/Guzzling comes out next month, and is available for pre-order at Amazon.

KIM GORDON PERFORMING/GUZZLING
By Kim Gordon
Contributions by Jutta Koether and Hilton Als
Published by Rizzoli and Nieves.
Hardcover / 8 ¾” x 11 ¾” / 144 pages / 140 color and b&w illustrations
US $60.00 / Can $73.00 / UK £40.00

*Images courtesy of Rizzoli. © Kim Gordon from Kim Gordon Performing/Guzzling by Kim Gordon, Rizzoli New York, 2010.

The Design of Dissent, an exhibition curated by design legends Milton Glaser and Mirko Ilic, opens February 3rd at The Gallery I Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. Based on the pair’s popular 2005 book by the same name, the exhibition considers the role of designers in reflecting the events of their times, and specifically in identifying and speaking out against political and social injustices.

As the pair’s statement reads:

“Graphic designers spend a good deal of their time persuading people to buy things, visit events, or to follow trends because they supposedly understand the nature of persuasion. Many of us feel that this skill can be applied to more significant purposes, such as commenting on the events of our time. Speaking out against tyranny has been one of the political roles that graphic artists have embraced throughout history. The advent of printing in 1440 presented the opportunity for graphic artists to disseminate their ideas to a wider public in the form of handbills and posters that are now reproducible. Many artists chose to comment on the political events of their time.”

“The list is impressive and includes, among many others, Benjamin Franklin, Honore Daumier, Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Aleksander Rodchenko, Diego Rivera, George Gross, Ben Shahn, and Käthe Kollwitz. Today hundreds, if not thousands, of concerned graphic designers are involved in resisting the totalitarian impulses of governments and other powerful institutions. We decided to document some of the graphic designers active today who have expressed their concern about injustice through the use of posters and other printed materials. Our book and exhibition shows a small sampling of a vigorous commitment to public discourse that surrounds us today. It’s encouraging to see how many practicing designers are committed to an idea of social intervention and are using their skills to promote public good.”

Opening night will feature a lecture by Mr. Ilic and a film screening of “To Inform and Delight: The Work of Milton Glaser” by Wendy Keys.

The Design of Dissent
3 February – 7 March 2010
The Gallery I Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar
Ad Doha, Qatar
Free & Open to the Public
Daily 9am-5pm, except Fridays

For more info, visit mirkoilic.com or miltonglaser.com.

* All images courtesy of Mirko Ilic Corp.
From top: The Design of Dissent graphic by Milton Glaser & Mirko Ilic, interior spread from The Design of Dissent, and “Burnt” by Lisa Gibson.

Check out Coolhunting.com for my review of Taschen‘s limited-edition winter release: Dennis Hopper, Photographs, 1961-1967. It’s an amazing collection featuring several previously unpublished Hopper photographs, and reflects a world in flux in a historical decade—politically, socially and artistically. From the civil rights march at Selma to the art world’s electricity to grittier, urban street scenes, from politicians to writers to artists to complete strangers, Hopper’s camera captured an era…

Also, Coolhunting’s guest-editing Wallpaper.com through September 30th, so you can check out the review there as well!

I recently reviewed three great titles for Clear Magazine: Spacecraft 2, KarimSpace, and Marcel Wanders: Behind the Ceiling. Check out snippets from the reviews below!

Spacecraft 2: More Fleeting Architecture and Hideouts
Published by Gestalten / $75 / 280 pages
Pushing the limits of classical architecture and satisfying the changing spatial needs of modern life, the projects in Spacecraft 2 demonstrate innovation at its best…inspiring projects by young and little-known artists toy with conventional spatial design and reveal the genuine excitement and possibility that exist in architecture today.

KarimSpace
by Karim Rashid, forward by Daniel Libeskind
published by Rizzoli/ $86 / 256 pages
Karim Rashid is probably best known for his household designs for Umbra and Method. In KarimSpace, he shares real and conceptual interior projects for restaurants, hotels, residences, retail environments and public areas…his creative process and his ability to combine familiar shape and colors with unexpected materials…Sometimes space-age, sometimes almost biological, the work is always playful, and consistently lives up to Rashid’s definition of design as the “rigorous beautification of our built environments.”

Marcel Wanders: Behind the Ceiling
by Marcel Wanders
published by Gestalten /$70 / 320 pages
Wanders’ first monograph showcases a decade’s worth of provocative work: from personal art editions to textiles and furniture for clients like B&B Italia, Droog, Cappellini and Moooi, to architecture and interiors for Miami’s Mondrian South Beach Hotel and more. Photos, designer comments and sketches offer readers a first-hand account of Wanders’ world.

**Disclosure: links above are Amazon affiliate links.
To read the full reviews, visit book reviews on my Writing Samples page.