In the lively context of a constantly changing city, from 16 to 23 May 2024 New York celebrates design with many new initiatives, first of all on Madison Avenue, now the true focal point of design culture. Many brands have moved away from SoHo, a district now the epicenter of fashion: Kartell, Moroso, Poltrona Frau, all the way to Boffi which will open in October 2024. You can get your bearings to explore the many events, talks and installations by using the first app (nycxdesign.org/bloomberg-connects) for NYCxDesign with Bloomberg Connects, keeping the pace during a vibrant week that involves showrooms, museums, galleries and public spaces. “The NYCxDesign festival plays an essential role in the promotion of design culture in the city – says Ilene Shaw, Executive Director – gathering its creative resources across all the design disciplines, bringing visibility and meaningful opportunities for New York City as a design destination.”
Our journey through the districts starts at NoMad and the promenade of Madison Avenue, which on 17 May celebrates Design Week with brands like Giorgetti, Moooi, Natuzzi, Rimadesio, Poliform and its new outdoor collection, the restyling of B&B Italia, the opening of Poltrona Frau, a talk at Moroso, a panel discussion on creativity, innovation and style at Kartell, and the collaboration of Jaime Hayon with Nanimarquina at the brand’s showroom.
On 19 May, at 192 Lexington Avenue, the Dexelance group celebrates the festival with its high-end brands: Meridiani presents new fabrics, Gervasoni opens a headquarters in New York, and Davide Groppi takes the stage with Acqua in Bocca. Keep it dark, to experience light as an element not just to be seen, but also to feel.
On 18 May the Soho Design District celebrates its 10th anniversary with Flou, Foscarini, Tom Dixon, Artemide, Salvatori, just to name a few of the brands, while Kasthall hosts the new sculptural suspension lamp by David Weeks Studio (29 Howard St). New developments in SoHo, besides the opening of Casa Gessi slated for 21 May at 214 Lafayette St. and the presentation of Bubbles & Biochar by Arper (476 Broadway Ave, 2F), include the historic company Bonacina with its 135 years of history, in a temporary residency at the hardware store E.R. Butler & Co. (55 Prince St. – from 16 May to 15 September 2024), featuring over 50 creations made by hand: from projects by Mario Bonacina and Renzo Mongiardino to the Serra chair by Gae Aulenti, all the way to the latest creations of Piero Lissoni.
Shifting to Brooklyn, on 18 May visitors can enjoy Design Day at the Yard organized by the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with events on sustainability and on support for local designers, while on 19 May Salotto NYC (84 Withers St.) and Archiproducts present Design Shakers: five visionary creatives – Enzo Maiorano, Emiliano Ponzi, Giorgia Lupi, PJ Natuzzi, Ruxandra Duru in conversation with Giulia Zoavo – share their journey and their ways of challenging conventions, tracing their own paths in the world of design. Also worth checking out is the mini-fair organized by Verso (a hyperactive gallery with special shows in Chelsea and Tribeca as well) in a newly completed and still vacant building (96 King Street), featuring 23 niche companies and young designers.
In a choral production, the Guggenheim museum transforms its façade into an “artist’s canvas” with a projection by Jenny Holzer for the exhibition Light Line (17 May – 29 September 2024); at the Shops & Restaurants of Hudson Yards, the spotlight is on the world of souvenirs, interpreted in a creative way, along with the Emerging Designer Residency, with over 50 designers on hand.
In Chelsea, in the space at 514 West 25th St., Insert Coin by Jan Kath presents works that start from an algorithm to return about 1.7 million pixels into the real world; on 20 May Artemest invites guests to a garden cocktail party, to present the new outdoor furnishings (518 West 19th St.); in his gallery, Pierre Yovanovitch unveils the latest collection designed with Christian Louboutin, inspired by female icons (555 W 25th St.); at High Line Nine (508 W 28th St.), Designing Tomorrow presents the first line of furnishings by MAWD – together with the works of three visionary artists of the Sugarlift Gallery – embodying elegance, functionality and environmental awareness (until 24 May).
At Les Ateliers Courbet (134 10th Avenue), the accent is on French craftsmanship and design, with emerging and renowned talents, as well as a focus on Ateliers Saint-Jacques. In the context of Oui Design!, at Villa Albertine (972 5th Avenue) the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres unveils the luminous objects created with Ronan Bouroullec, while at Demisch Danant (30 W 12th St) the designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, with offices in Paris and Lisbon, presents a selection of works from the project Made In Situ, connected with the territory, artisans and tradition.
Moving on to Tribeca, in the exclusive penthouse of Lee Broom, Alchemist – inspired by the novel of the same title by Paulo Coelho – offers a collection of sculptural lights that touch on themes of astrology, mythology and folklore, while Galerie Régis Mathieu (31 Desbrosses St.) presents Unchained Nature, a luminous sculpture by M. Régis Mathieu with chandeliers by French master craftsmen.
In the Financial District – at 161 Water Street – the installation Breathe with Me by the Swiss designer Annabelle Schneider – organized by the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York in collaboration with companies like Laufen, Luft & Laune, Studio Christian Wassmann, USM and Vitra – transforms the cultural hub WSA into an immersive and multisensorial space.
