Down with Upsala

So loving Upsala-Ekeby these days. My fav has to be the Rostrand stuff but I love a lot of Mari Simmulson and Anna-Lisa Thomson's work for Upsala.

Mari Simmulson for Upsala Ekeby via 20th Century Forum

Mari Simmulson for Upsala Ekeby via Starkeld

Mari Simmulson for Upsala Ekeby via  Jacksons

Mari Simmulson for Upsala Ekeby via Modern Boom

"Paprika" designed by Anna-Lisa Thomson for Upsala Ekeby via Retrolyckan blogg

"Paprika" designed by Anna-Lisa Thomson for Upsala Ekeby via Bukowskis Market

I'm kicking myself for passing up on this one when I saw it recently.

All this big love for old stuff lately is making me wonder if any contemporary crafts people are making anything worth hunting down. Hmmm... another design renaissance! that's what we need! Well I guess Etsy is a start ;)

if your interested in reading about Upsala Ekeby you should wiki it here

It's A Mid-Century Kinda Summer

Even while on vacation up in cottage country I managed to find some Mid-Century love.

First up a Rostrand leaf dish, probably 60's, cool eh?

Next up, this gorgeous large Finish bowl, I HEART!

My favourite part is the base which has crystal facets (see below) The gem facet trend has been so hot the last few years but the Finns were making that cool shit way back in the day! 

Item # 3 are these two modernist glass bowls. You have to see this one in the 360 to truly appreciate it's awesomeness.

I also picked up this Dansk piece. The dealer was convinced it's a ring holder but when I told him that I'm pretty sure it's a candleholder for special hollow based candles he told me he wished he didn't sell the other one he had, I coulda had a pair gosh darn it. 

Isn't it neat that companies like Dansk were really into design with a capital 'D'

And last but not least is this sweet little bud vase from Rosenthal, a nice addition to my West German porcelain collection. 

all photos by ©J.Dias

Great finds, all gravy on what was already a wonderful holiday! oh and all that swag cost me a whopping $45 total, he shoots!!! he SCOREZZZZ!!!

Brutalist Truth.

Love the work of American sculptor Paul Evans. There really are no words, so I'll shut up now.

Sculpted sideboard, 1969 lacquered and gilt steel, wood and slate via Natural Selection

via Modern Design Fanatic

Cityscape cabinet via Treadway gallery

via The Artful Blogger

See what I mean GREAT! just GREAT!

Great article on Paul Evans here

via V&M

1st dibs

Things that caught my eye on 1st dibs today. Wish I had loads of disposable $$$$, I would go apeshit on the 'dibs'.

One-off Brutalist sculpture - Don Drumm

Italian rocking chair

Polished brass Italian Murano Lamps

I got the Bitossi Blues.

Bitossi ashtray and matching trinket box. Photo by ©J.Dias

Italian mid-century pottery. Photo by ©J.Dias

Charles Sucsan mid-century tile. Photo by ©J.Dias

Had a great day of finds at the vintage market yesterday. I love Bitossi and ashtrays, so finding a Bitossi ashtray was a score! I had to adopt the matching little trinket box as well, also in Rimini blue, it would be a sad thing to break up the happy pair. I was very happy to find these pieces because I've had Italian pottery on the brain lately but don't often come across much of it. The same dealer had the great goblet/bowl (2nd pic) also italian, isn't it stunning. The 3rd pick is also mid-century but this time it's by Canadian (Quebec) artist Charles Sucsan. It had a crack repair on the tile but that didn't matter to me because it's a wonderful little piece and heck it was a no brainer at a whopping $2!!! When I got home I googled Charles Sucsan and was very impressed by his oeuvre of work. I'm especially fond of his pieces from the 60's and 70's. I also spotted some of his work on First Dibs and a few other sites online. Check out some of my favourite pieces on the Catalogue Gazette site here

National Gallery of Canada

Portrait of a Woman - Jean Leon Gerome

Detail: Portrait of a Woman - Jean Leon Gerome

Portrait of a Man with a Hat - Lorenzo Lotto

Portait of Pope Urban VIII Barberini - Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Louise Bourgeois' Spider sculpture outside the National Gallery of Canada

I visited the National Gallery of Canada last weekend to check out the Van Gogh exhibit. This gallery has a wonderful permanent collection that's so worth seeing. Every time I visit I find something I hadn't quite noticed before. This time it was the fabulous Gerome portrait of a woman, the tender Lotto portrait of a man and the endearing Bernini bust of Pope Urban VIII.

Prometheus.

Michael Fassbender gave such a great performance as David the robot in Ridley Scott's Prometheus. This clip is an excellent example of well executed and integrated marketing of a product. If possible I highly recommend seeing it in IMAX 3D.