Christie's Holds First Ever Contemporary Design Sale in New York

NEW YORK.- On September 8, Christie’s will launch its first ever sale dedicated exclusively to works by international contemporary designers. Offering collectors works fresh to the market by some of the most important designers living and working today, the sale will include pieces by Marc Newson, Forrest Myers, Zaha Hadid, Ron Arad, Maarten Baas, Shiro Kuramata, Ettore Sottsass and Harush Shlomo. With estimates ranging from $6,000 to $300,000, the tightly edited auction of 30 lots is expected to total $1.2-1.7 million.

Among the highlights is Zaha Hadid’s black Aqua table (estimate: $150,000-200,000), number 9 from the edition of 12. Its top, covered in a shallow layer of hard translucent silicone-gel, gives the table the appearance of a stunning and serene pool of black water.

The sale will feature several pieces by Shiro Kuramata, whose works reflect the prosperity, intense creativity and groundbreaking technical ingenuity that characterized post-war Japan. Kuramata’s `Cabinet de Curiosité’ (estimate: $80,000-120,000) is being offered for the first time at auction, alongside a `Glass Chair’ (estimate: $50,000-70,000) and a `Feather stool’ (estimate: $80,000-100,000).

The sale will also feature the La Farge chair by Forrest Myers, made of power-coated aluminum and designed in 1988 (estimate: $50,000-70,000).

Another highlight is Dutch designer Tejo Remy’s iconic ‘You Can’t Lay Down Your Memory,’ (ed. 65/200) (estimate: $20,000-30,000). Each of the mismatched drawers in Remy’s cabinet is encased in a maple box and the collection held together with a canvas movers’ strap. The various recycled drawers may be removed, added or rearranged indiscriminately by the owner, giving the piece a formless quality.

Israeli-born designer Ron Arad is represented with several important works, ranging from the magnificent ‘D’ steel sofa (estimate: $200,000-300,000) from 1995 to the elegant `Blo-Void’ chairs (estimate for each $50,000-70,000). Also by Arad is a ‘Paved with Good Intentions’ unique mirror-polished stainless steel low table (estimate: $100,000-150,000) and ‘Big Heavy’, a mirror-polished stainless steel chair (estimate: $40,000-60,000).

Mathias Bengtsson, a young Swedish designer who experiments with industrial material and process in combination with handcraftsmanship to produce technically innovative and striking pieces, is represented by his`Slice’ chair (estimate: $20,000-30,000). Examples of this chair are also included in the permanent collections of The Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston and the Manchester Art Galleries, England.

The Contemporary Design sale will be on view in Christie's New York galleries together with the First Open viewing of Contemporary Art from 5 September – 8 September, 2008.