What’s Happening: After a pandemic stint at Dia:Beacon, the Detroit techno pioneer brings a welcome evolution of his ecstatic sound and light experience to MOCA Los Angeles.

The Download: Before the Dia Art Foundation settled into the quaint Upstate New York town of Beacon and opened one of the world’s largest pantheons of minimalist and land art, what stood there was a Nabisco factory. In the basement were old loading bays, faintly illuminated by clerestory windows and punctuated by neat rows of concrete columns topped with mushroom-shaped capitals. Over the years, Dia’s empire has proved an ideal venue for monumental sound-based projects by the likes of La Monte Young, Arto Lindsay, and John Cage. In the eyes of curator Kelly Kivland, a DJ set by Carl Craig—the Detroit techno godfather who knows a thing or two about warehouses—would be a natural next step.

Five years of planning culminated in Party/After-Party, which transformed the lower level into a “phantasmal nightclub” that borrows from the Light and Space Movement to spin through the night from the perspective of a DJ. Faint strips of neon flickered as industrial-strength speakers blasted Craig’s score, which underwent oceanic shifts from turbulent thumps to ambient pulsations as the set winded down. Mechanical louvers eventually opened to reveal a wall of windows, letting the light in—and signaling the melancholic comedown as the party ended. It replicates a formative experience Craig had at Berlin’s legendary techno club Berghain, where he witnessed dawn washing over sweaty revelers shortly after the party climaxed. “That experience changed my possibilities for clubbing,” he said.

Party/After-Party opened on March 6, 2020, one week before the pandemic shuttered clubs worldwide. Four months later, as museums cautiously reopened, one critic called it “one of the smartest and saddest exhibitions” he’d ever seen, hailing it as a triumph that “delves into the intertwined legacies of functionalist architecture, postwar art, and techno music” with grace.

And the party isn’t over yet. This weekend, Craig will bring an evolution of Party/After-Party to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, which resides in a 40,000-square-foot former police storage facility in Little Tokyo. Though it covers the same terrain as its predecessor, Craig envisioned this outing as a site-specific “second chapter” with a slightly different vibe. Instead of clerestory windows, the rich California sun floods in through a skylight.

While nods to the solidarity electronic music afforded Black and queer communities were present in the original, they’re more overt this time around. That’s largely thanks to three evenings of performances with Craig and his contemporaries DJ Holographic, King Britt, Moritz von Oswald, and Kenny Larkin. Craig also hopes partygoers will be open to embracing the ecstasy of communal experiences again. “I want people to have the possibility to connect with their spirit,” he tells Hyperallergic. “To have that spiritual experience, to walk to the center when the light comes on at the sweet spot.”

In Their Own Words: “When you step into this vast space,” Craig said about the original show, “it’s like stepping into a reflection of my own mind. The stark parallels between this postindustrial space and the architecture in my hometown of Detroit, a place that has always catalyzed my creativity, are fascinating to me.”

Surface Says: If you can’t make the party, the vinyl pressing will bring the club to your living room.

Have a news story our readers need to see? Submit it here.

Reach the design world every morning. Find out more about advertising in the Design Dispatch.

As per usual, Nilufar Gallery is readying a packed roster for this year’s Milan Design Week. Besides debuting solo exhibitions for the likes of Objects of Common Interest, Osanna Visconti, Draga & Aurel, and Audrey Large, the beloved design gallery founded by Nina Yashar is launching a new initiative called Nilufar Open Edition. The curation spans more than 80 pieces united by their bright hues and rich patterns, but across several price points and product categories like sofas, dining tables, carpets, and lighting.

The result, of course, is nothing short of vivid, and presents a compelling snapshot of the current state of collectible design. “My aim has always been to deliver the best possible pieces to the public,” Yashar says. “With the Open Edition project, I can finally reach the Nilufar community that’s spread out around the globe.” Among the highlights: Israeli architect Gal Gaon’s delectable Macaron loveseat and poufs that resemble the tasty treat, a modular sofa system by Lebanese duo David & Nicolas that nods to the spacious living rooms of Middle Eastern homes, and a wool-and-silk rug by Parisian talent Sophie Dries that rethinks Mallorcan wall patterns.

You might get dizzy exploring the work of Leandro Erlich, the Argentine conceptual artist whose acclaimed Bâtiment series recreates facades of vernacular buildings: a Haussmanian row house in Paris and a 19th-century Victorian terrace in London among them. His latest installation brings a giant replica of a New York brownstone to the Liberty Science Center entrance lobby, but what appears to be a traditional walkup—complete with fire escapes, window units, and a ground-floor deli—isn’t a building at all.

Instead, he simply places a model of the building on the ground and allows “spect-actors” to climb through. A giant mirror angled overhead creates a gravity-challenging scenario in which participants seemingly drape themselves across walls Catwoman-style and pretend to hang off balconies. It’s a simple trick, but the surprising scenes it creates are sure to shock—and challenge our perceptions of reality. “Art, the way I conceive of it, exists to pose questions about our understanding of the world,” Erlich says. The Building will remain at Liberty Science Center through the summer.

Designing Delicious is produced in partnership with Dorsia, a members-only platform with access to reservations at the most in-demand restaurants in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.

What if we told you that one of L.A.’s most sensational restaurants is piloted by a chef with no formal training? Meet Justin Pichetrungsi, the mastermind behind Anajak Thai. “People are like, did you go to culinary school?” he says. “The answer is no. My father trained me, and when he became ill, I was really the only one who knew how to do his job.”

Since opening in 1981, the humble Sherman Oaks restaurant existed as a classic Thai food joint. Pichetrungsi grew up working for the family business, though he was ultimately destined for art school. But when his dad’s health problems arose in 2019, Pichetrungsi left an art director job at Disney to take the reins of Anajak. Building atop the decades-long foundation, he began introducing some fresh ideas.

When: Until Sept. 9

Where: Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam

What: Fashion researcher Eldina Begic zeroes in on the symbolism and manifold uses of workwear by highlighting vintage classics, current staples, and futuristic experiments. The show demonstrates how simple design language and hardwearing materials appeal to the imagination—and have inspired everyday fashion and haute couture as symbols of solidarity and equality. Examples include X-rays of Neil Armstrong’s lunar landing suit displayed next to the “space suit” with zip-off legs worn by members of the Dutch Provo Movement; an original over-shirt by Arts and Crafts designer William Morris; and Maria Blaisse’s Flexicap that nods to a textile sculpture by Franz Erhard Walther.

Touchscreens in vehicles have come a long way since the “add-on” days of rickety GPS systems and portable DVD players. Most new cars sport at least one built-in screen—and they’re expanding in size. S&P Global Mobility estimates a quarter of American cars and trucks have command displays spanning 11 inches or more. This is largely thanks to Elon Musk, who unveiled the Tesla Model S in 2009 with a command center equipped with a 17-inch LCD touchscreen. Younger startups like Rivian and Lucid followed suit, and now cars are “rolling supercomputers” that process up to 14 times more code than a Boeing 787.

Touchscreens come with a multitude of benefits: drivers can seamlessly connect their vehicles to mobile devices and automakers save money on manufacturing small switches and toggles while rolling out new features remotely via software updates. But when giant touchscreens start distracting drivers from the road, how much is too much?

Ross Gardam is a team of designers, engineers, and makers who work collaboratively from ideation to realization. The Ross Gardam studio focuses on producing contemporary furniture, lighting, and objects working across a variety of innovative mediums. Merging traditional craft with modern techniques is paramount to Gardam’s methodology and informs each design. All Ross Gardam products are designed and produced in Melbourne, Australia.

Surface Says: Ross Gardam’s eponymous design studio goes beyond the oft-touted virtues of materiality and craft, bringing a focus on inspiring joy and defying convention with creations that span lighting, furniture, and beyond.

Magicians competing at the “Magic Olympics” win by fooling each other.

Cooperatives are curbing unsustainable farming within the mezcal market.

MSCHF unveils a pair of sneakers that can be worn backward like sandals.

Take a look back at the greatest hits of MAD Magazine cartoonist Al Jaffee.