Important 20th Century Design - June 14, 2008 On June 14, 2008, Sotheby’s New York will hold a sale of Important 20th Century Design, with highlights ranging from an impressive selection of lamps from Tiffany Studios to 21st Century masterworks.
News-Antique.com - Jun 10,2008 - SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK TO HOLD SALE OF
IMPORTANT 20th CENTURY DESIGN ON JUNE 14, 2008
FEATURING THE ARTEK PAVILION BY SHIGERU BAN
New York, New York - On June 14, 2008, Sotheby’s New York will hold a sale of Important
20th Century Design, with highlights ranging from an impressive selection of lamps from Tiffany
Studios to 21st Century masterworks of Contemporary Design. The sale features a unique
offering: the Artek Pavilion by Shigeru Ban, in collaboration with UPM (separate press release
is available), estimated to sell for $800,000/1.2 million*. The overall pre-sale estimate for the
150 lots is $7,020,000/9,980,000. Prior to the auction the works will be on exhibition in
Sotheby’s 10th floor galleries from June 8 to 13, with a gallery dedicated to the Artek Pavilion
which includes a model and images of the prefabricated structure.
James Zemaitis, Senior Vice President and Director of Sotheby’s 20th Century Design
Department, noted, “Rather than taking our traditional chronological approach of arranging the
sale, we have instead chosen to contrast masterworks of the early 20th century with postwar and
contemporary design. It’s a new way of looking at things; for example, in our catalog we feature
Louis Comfort Tiffany on one page and on the next, Studio Job.”
Internationally renowned architect Shigeru Ban designed the Artek Pavilion, “the Space of Silence,”
(est. $800,000/1.2 million, please see separate release) in collaboration with forest products group UPM
using mainly one material: extruded profile out of wood plastic composite, made primarily from
recycled materials. The principle raw material for this recycled material is self-adhesive label
materials made of paper and plastic. The architecture of the pavilion was designed around a
structural-unit concept, repeated multiple times in forming an elongated shed-like building. The
pavilion was also designed to be re-assembled, and the elements were pre-built and assembled in
Finland. One module of the pavilion, which consists of a roof, wall and structural elements, is
approximately 2 meters wide; this module is repeated 21 times. The entire pavilion is 40 meters long
and 5 meters wide and can be taken down and re-assembled easily. This nomadic construction, an
unconventional piece of ecological innovation with elegant beauty, stands for Artek’s attitude to
sustainable development, amplifying the dialogue
between design, architecture and art.
The postwar offerings also include An Important
and Rare Prismatic Prototype Table for the Alcoa
Forecast Program by Isamu Nogushi from 1957 (est.
$100/150,000, pictured at left). The Alcoa Forecast
Program was an initiative to emphasize the functional
and artistic possibilities of aluminum in the mid-
1950s. The designers who created prototypes for this
program were given the objective to create a new
visually attractive design that maintained the inherent
qualities of the metal, yet demonstrated an alternative
potential. Nogushi developed the iconic design of this
Prismatic table, conceived in multiple to form a
“kaleidoscope” with variant colors with the intention of adaptability.
A large collection of exciting works by
noteworthy contemporary designs will be
offered. By Studio Job, a Four-Panel Screen
from the “Perished Collection,”
