Start your fall on a strong art and design note with Billings' upcoming sale on September 24. This eclectic sale will feature works by Gio Ponti, Aino & Alvar Aalto, Mario Bellini, Fontana Arte, Pierre Jeanneret, Axel Einar Hjörth and Gaetano Pesce. American design is represented by Peter Shire, John Nyquist, George Nelson and Charles & Ray Eames. Fine art on offer includes works by Billy Al Bengtson, Clare Graham, Joan Miró and Jerome Kirk. With over 300 lots on offer, there's something for every collector. Here are a few highlights not to miss:
From Vladimir Kagan comes this five-part 'Omnibus' sectional sofa, designed in 1953 in vinyl and acrylic. The iconic sofa in a deep turquoise color is a mid-century modern staple and a statement piece for a whimsically-minded home.
Another equally famed seat is the Charles & Ray Eames lounge chair and ottoman, mod. 670 and 671 from the 1960s. This particular version is in ambassador leather, rosewood-veneered moulded wood, and painted and brushed aluminum, and manufactured by Herman Miller, USA. While the Eames couple had originally set out to design for the masses, this was their first piece for the high-end market and was meant to be a modern take on the British club chair.
Betty Gold is a California-based artist and sculptor whose work incorporates bold color and geometric shape. On offer at Billings is one of her unique abstract tapestries from the 1960s in wool that was hand-made in Guatemala. This is one of ten unique tapestries, most of which are still owned by the artist.
Another abstract work is this Joan Miro lithograph of an invitation to the opening of the 'Miró' exhibition at the Galeria Maeght, Paris in 1978. It is number 11 from the edition of 25 and is signed in pencil lower right, numbered lower left.
Piero Fornasetti is known for his designs that exude the theatricality of a stage set. An example is this 'Pompeiana' corner cabinet from 1988. The colorful Pompeii-inspired pattern has sculptures from ancient Greece and is a lithographic transfer-print onto the wood of the cabinet.
This Jeff Koons' art work 'Cracked Egg (Red)' was produced on behalf of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as an invitation for the opening gala of The Broad Contemporary Art Museum on February 9, 2008. It's made of mirror-polished stainless steel with colored coating.