Asked about his inspiration and process for the project, Jain, in his classic way, refines the question. “What do I do every day?” he says. “My pedagogy is architecture. But if I ask myself what that encompasses, at the core, it is about making space.” The particular space that his exhibition now inhabits is itself spellbinding: a Jean Nouvel–designed building that Jain likens to “a giant vitrine in a forest.” He has filled it not only with Studio Mumbai’s own creations but with works by Chinese artist Hu Liu and Turkish Danish ceramics maestro Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye, to whom he was introduced by Chandès.
Though the show is temporary, for Jain that’s only right. “The entire point of this exercise is as if we’re just passing through space and time,” he says. “But if you think of it as an intuitive thought embedded in unknown time—it’s not logic or knowledge. It’s not the past, present, or future.” At Fondation Cartier, in other words, leave those conceptions at the door. Says Jain, “You just have to tune into it.” —Komal Sharma
Launch List: Our latest picks of the best new designs from around the world
1. When Verner Panton designed the Panthella lamp for Louis Poulsen in 1971, its swooping form embodied the groovy style of the moment. More than half a century later, it still lights us up—especially in this just-introduced pale rose hue as a 13″-tall table lamp. $635; louispoulsen.com
2. Fashion designers Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos Caballero have turned their attention to the domestic sphere with a colorful line of furnishings and textiles including this hand-knotted silk-and-wool Malachite rug, its pattern a psychedelic riff on the mineral motif. To the trade; ppcdv.com
3. For the first time, Louis Vuitton has sprinkled its four-petaled signature across dishes. The luxury brand’s debut collection of Limoges porcelain tableware includes this Monogram Flower Tile dinner plate. $430 for a set of two. louisvuitton.com
4. Italian maestro Mario Bellini is still smitten with his 1972 Le Bambole seating, citing “its charm, its sumptuous floridity, its softness.” Now, B&B Italia has adapted the icon for the elements, swathing La Bambola chair in striped outdoor fabrics. From $5,754 each; bebitalia.com
5. Avid entertainers, Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of Roman and Williams spent years designing the perfect flatware. The Bone pattern from their Bean & Bone collection is a twist on 18th-century English cutlery but forged by master metalworkers in Tsubame, Japan. From $120 per piece; rwguild.com —Hannah Martin
Restaurant: San Francisco’s treasured Quince returns with soothing interiors by Steven Volpe
