Major contract manufacturers like Poltrona Frau—which opened a new Michele de Lucchi-designed flagship—took over what is now being defined as a new Little Italy of design sorts in the Nomad neighborhood. Nestled near Poliform, Molteni&C, fellow neighborhood newbie Flos B&B Italia Group, and other European companies, this reinvigorated concentration of showrooms captured an audience coming out of ICFF/ Wanted at the nearby Javits Center.
For collectible galleries and boutique brands, Tribeca is the place to be. Design co-op Colony moved into its expanded space on West Broadway just in time for New York Design Week 2024. But perhaps the most talked about soiree of design month was the opening party of Quarters, the 8,000-square-foot gallery, boutique, event space, and wine bar brainchild of In Common With. There wasn’t a seat on the vintage Bellinis to score, as design folks packed the concept space—home to collaborations with Sophie Lou Jacobsen, Danny Kaplan, and Simone Bodmer-Turner.
That wasn’t the only event that went into the wee hours. Maverick gallery Superhouse, which recently moved into Tribeca as well, teamed up with designer Caleb Engstrom to host the Let Them Eat Off The Plate seated desert and wine pairing. Guests ate off of over 50 distinctly designed plates before the gallery turned into a late-night party venue.
Exhibitions
For New York gallery junkies, TEFAF was just the beginning of can’t-miss exhibitions this month. Emerging Brooklyn talents Micah Rosenblatt and Mark Malecki each made their mark with shows at up-and-coming galleries. While Rosenblatt’s solo show at The Front revealed a 16-piece sculptural collection responding to New York’s architectural history, Malecki’s Pith Portcullis light—a mic of amorphous and rigid industrial materials—at IRL Gallery.
Among its Spring showcases, Chelsea gallery Les Ateliers Courbet showcased the work of Japanese master woodworker Shuji Nakagawa. Translating age-old techniques in new applications, the Marquetry collection comprises everything from bowl to ball-like settees. For his solo show at Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Polish talent Marcin Rusak applied his proprietary flower-frozen-in-resin technique to a roughly hewn vase. And there was no question that spring had arrived in the verdant garden at Artemest, where the Prada Home collection was on display for the first time in a gallery setting alongside the Italian purveyor’s enviable Spring Edit.
Meanwhile, in Tribeca, Becky Carter and Wallpaper Projects took over the new multipurpose venue 102 Franklin for the Family Style tablescape exhibition, which included works by a wide roster of local talents. The space was then turned over to Brooklyn architecture bookstore and cultural platform Head Hi, which mounted its annual Lamp Show and to impressive effect.