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Jul 16 2020
Surface
Design Dispatch
An activist statue rises, Miuccia Prada’s final solo act, and rugs of screenshots.
FIRST THIS
“The problem with art is that, with rare exceptions, it hangs forlornly in museums.”
HERE’S THE LATEST

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A Black Lives Matter Statue Rises in Bristol

Soon after Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the United States in response to the death of George Floyd, participants started toppling statues that pay homage to racist history. One of the more theatrical examples came from Bristol, England, where locals dunked a monument to the former slave trader Edward Colston, a prominent member of the Royal African company, in the city’s harbor. Viral footage of the incident inspired a wave of similar action across the U.S.—more than 50 statues have been torn down this year, though 1,700 still remain standing.

To replace Colston’s monument, the British artist Marc Quinn has installed a life-size resin sculpture based on a photograph of Jen Reid, a Black Lives Matter activist who had climbed atop the plinth as she returned home from a protest. “It’s such a powerful image of a moment I felt had to be materialized forever,” says Quinn. “My first thought was how incredible it would be to make a sculpture of her in that instant.” The statue, titled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020, “is an embodiment and amplification of Jen’s ideas and experiences, and of the past, present, and her hope for a better future,” he says.

Though the monument makes a powerful statement, it won’t sit on the plinth forever. Quinn didn’t seek permission from British authorities to place the statue, but hopes to soon find a buyer. If it gets sold, he plans to donate profits to two charities of Reid’s choosing that promote Black history in schools. “This sculpture is about making a stand for my mother, for my daughter, for Black people like me,” says Reid. “It’s about Black children seeing it up there. It’s something to feel proud of, to have a sense of belonging, because we actually do belong here and we’re not going anywhere.”

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What Else Is Happening?

Check-Circle_2x Miuccia Prada debuts her final collection before Raf Simons enters the fold in September.
Check-Circle_2x The proposed Democracy in Design Act halts Trump’s order for Neoclassical architecture.
Check-Circle_2x The embattled coworking venture The Wing is sued for late rent at its Bryant Park office.
Check-Circle_2x The revered label Hood By Air returns from hiatus to be a “new institution” in fashion.
Check-Circle_2x Former staffers decry a racist culture at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
Check-Circle_2x More than a dozen states will follow California’s push to electrify diesel trucks and buses.
Check-Circle_2x The government delays New York’s ambitious plan to implement congestion pricing.


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THE LIST

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A Hospitality Brand for the Post-Covid Future

Bridging the ease and affordability of the sharing economy with the amenities and design of a boutique hotel has propelled Sonder into a travel unicorn. In the wake of COVID-19, the company’s digitally driven experience looks more than ever like a model for the future. “We have some natural advantages as a business, like our virtual service and technology at every layer of the experience, and spaces that are more self-contained with washers, dryers, living rooms, and kitchens,”co-founder and CEO Francis Davidson says.

DESIGNER OF THE DAY

With the help of artisans across India, Rooshad Shroff champions the romantic appeal of the handmade. His burgeoning Mumbai firm tirelessly experiments with centuries-old techniques to create eye-catching objects and furnishings, such as carved marble tube lights and wooden seating embroidered with hand-woven zardosi, that pay homage to the craft traditions of his home country.

ITINERARY

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Almine Rech: I Want to Eat the Sunset...

When: Until Aug. 10

Where: Almine Rech, New York

What: Lucy Bull’s surreal abstractions and Haley Josephs’s wildly chromatic paintings of girls and women are put in dialogue with the bodily Calder-esque sculptures of Aaron Curry, delving into how each artist uses otherworldly colors and psychological exploration to bring profound ideas to bear.

AND FINALLY

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Today’s Attractive Distractions

The Fab Five from Queer Eye debuts a stylish yet affordable furniture collection.

This Garbage Watch is built from recovered precious metals the world threw away.

A photographer secretly snaps the humorous, heartbreaking texts of strangers.

Tom Atton Moore makes his signature vibrant floor coverings from screenshots.

               


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