The Month Ahead: Chicago Hosts Inaugural Architecture Biennial + Design Auctions Hit London, L.A., and Chicago

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Opening / Closing

Across the U.S.

San Francisco

The Boiler Room at Heath Ceramics is a pioneering endeavor by the National Design Award-winning ceramics company. Its latest show features the playfully anthropomorphic clay forms of Brendan Monroe in “Morphology.” 

Minneapolis

“Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia” opens at  Walker Art Center on the 24th. The show looks at how artists and designers were influenced by ’60s counter-culture’s idealistic outlook, and their attempts to use art towards creating new communities and social structures. 

Chicago

There’s still time to catch “James Hyde: Varieties of Experience” before it closes on the 17th at Volume Gallery. The show brings design objects like tables and chairs into the same domain as the paintings that adorn the gallery’s walls.

Boston

The first comprehensive survey of Black Mountain College in the U.S., “Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933–1957,” opens at ICA Boston on the 10th.

New York

On October 6th, Chamber debuts Collection #2 “Human | Nature,” the second exhibition in their program of giving a single curator control of the space for a year. For “Human | Nature, the curator is filmmaker Andrew Zuckerman, who has selected over 100 works for display, by everyone from Carl Auböck to Chen Chen and Kai Williams.

Maison Gerard opens their newest exhibition, “The Bronze Age,” on the 7th. The show showcases a new furniture collection by Mark Zeff, inspired by masters of the Art Deco period.

Also on the 7th, The Noguchi Museum unveils “Museum of Stones,” which explores the materiality of stone and rock, and will be the first to juxtapose works by contemporary artists with Noguchi’s original work.

Opening on the 8th, the Cooper Hewitt opens their newest exhibition, “PIXAR: The Design of Story,” which will highlight the concept art and design work that goes into making Pixar’s films.

Also on the 8th, Jason Jacques Inc. will present its first show of Finnish ceramic sculptor Kim Simonsson, entitled “Moss People.” The show comes perfectly timed with Halloween; while his sculptures may seem innocent at first glance, a closer examination reveals an eerie intensity.

“Wendell Castle Remastered” opens at Museum of Arts and Design on the 20th. The show finds Castle making new furniture based on some of his classic pieces from the 1960s, with the addition of digital processes.

Further Afield

London

To inaugurate Galerie Patrick Seguin’s newest space, the gallery will make its London debut with “Petites Machines d’Architecture.” The show features architect Jean Prouvé’s Temporary School of Villejuif (1956) and a contemporary reinterpretation of the architect’s 6x6 Demountable House (1944)—two of Prouvés buildings which are designed to be easily taken down, moved, and reconstructed.

“The World of Charles and Ray Eames,” a show celebrating the iconic Mid-Century Modern designers, opens at the Barbican in London on the 21st.

Paris

On now at Galerie Diane de Polignac, be sure to check out the whorling work of artist and designer Gildas Berthelot.

“Hiquily, Hommage” closes at Galerie Yves Gastou on the 31st. The show features new editions of Philippe Hiquily’s furniture, originally made for his most prominent collectors.

Brussels

Last chance to check out ceramic objects and jewelry of Jos Devriendt in “Squeeze” at Pierre Marie Giraud and “The fantastic world of JOS Devriendt” at Caroline Van Hoek. They close on and the 10th and 17th, respectively.

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Auctions

There’s a double header at Phillips London, with its Design and Nordic sales both slated for the 1st of the month. Los Angeles Modern Auctions hosts its Modern Art & Design Auction on the 11th. Wright has its Design sale scheduled for the 22nd in Chicago, with highlights by Wendell Castle, Charlotte Perriand, and Harry Bertoia, as well as a special Le Corbusier + Jeanneret sale on the 29th.

On the 30th, the Cape Cod Modern House Trust is hosting its first fundraising auction at Greene Naftali. Details and tickets available here.

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Events

New York

It’s Archtober in New York! Throughout the month, a variety of nonprofits and institutions will be putting on events that consider the impact of architecture on city life. Of special note is the weekend of the 17th and 18th, when Open House New York offers unprecedented access to historic and contemporary architecture throughout the city.

The Designers and Books Fair, which is held at Fashion Institute of Technology, runs from the 2nd through the 4th, brings together a large number of publishers who focus on architecture and design. There will also be talks and panels, including such speakers as Milton Glaser, Steven Heller, and Irma Boom.

This year’s gala celebrating the National Design Award winners will take place on the 15th benefiting the Cooper Hewitt. This year’s winners include industrial designer Michael Graves, textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen, the design studio Commune, and Heath Ceramics of the Boiler Room at Heath Ceramics.

Milford, PA

On the 3rd, scholars Deborah Dependahl Waters and Kim Ahara will deliver a special presentation on the acclaimed 20th-century metalsmith, Marie Zimmerman, at the designer’s former home just outside Milford, PA, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. 

Chicago