Copy
Feb 29 2024
Surface
Design Dispatch
Detroit’s new art micro-neighborhood, Daphne takes diners down the rabbit hole, and Saltburn estate trespassers.
FIRST THIS
“Nature is the greatest teacher if we pay attention and are willing to listen.”
HERE’S THE LATEST

notification-Transparent_2x

Behind the Scenes in Detroit’s New Art Micro-Neighborhood

What’s Happening: The founders of Detroit’s Library Street Collective have devoted a square block of the city’s East Village neighborhood to public access to the arts. At the center of it all is ALEO, a bed and breakfast with art from the gallery and its founders, and the new headquarters of McArthur Binion’s Modern Ancient Brown residency for BIPOC artists and writers.

The Download: In 2012, collectors and dealers JJ and Anthony Curis opened the art gallery Library Street Collective in Detroit, with ambitions of supporting Motor City artists and museums from within the space’s four walls and beyond. Just a few years later, the partners debuted The Belt, an alleyway art walk and nightlife hub that helped reinvigorate the former Garment District. Now comes Little Village, a project whose scope goes beyond the confines of a downtown alleyway to bring an art- and architecture-centric town square to life in the city’s East Village neighborhood.


There, space to roam abounds in the form of a skate park designed by Tony Hawk with Modern Ancient Brown founder McArthur Binion, and a sculpture garden dedicated to Charles McGee, the late great hometown painter and sculptor. Also on the premises is The Shepherd: a century-old Romanesque church that, in one wing, will house an exhibition dedicated to McGee and curated by Jova Lynne of the Museum of Contemporary Arts Detroit; another will be inhabited by The East Village Arts Library, whose titles will be curated by Asmaa Walton of The Black Art Library. Finally, in the rectory, four bed and breakfast rooms at ALEO will host visitors; four additional rooms are allocated to the Detroit outpost of Binion’s Modern Ancient Brown residency for artists who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

Binion, who will relocate the residency’s headquarters to ALEO once it opens, plays a pivotal role in the property and the project at large. The Curises view their “collaborator, friend, and mentor” as “one of the most important artists working today,” says Anthony, who emphasized the importance of Binion’s support for BIPOC writers and artists in an interview with Surface. For his part, Binion voiced a reciprocal respect for the Curises’ work. “I partner with Library Street Collective because they are committed to a long-term realignment of the social order in Detroit, specifically in the visual arts,” he says.


The property’s name is an acronym created from an erstwhile mural of an Angel, Lion, Eagle, and Ox that once graced the former church’s interior. There, guests can look forward to homey interiors by Holly Jonsson Studio, common spaces with the artists in residence, breakfast by James Beard-decorated chef Warda Bouguettaya, and contemporary artwork pulled from both the Curises’ personal collection and Library Street Collective’s holdings.

In Their Own Words: Combining a bed and breakfast, an artist residency, and an ambitious development built to benefit the public is a considerable undertaking—but to Anthony, it seemed like a logical next step. “There’s a lot of excitement in Detroit and we often host artists and arts patrons in the city. The former rectory gave us a unique opportunity to create a meaningful space for those looking to stay in an inspiring neighborhood,” he says. “Although ALEO will ultimately serve as a cultural retreat, we intend on programming the space in ways that give the community access to it.”

Surface Says: We hope to see more of this and fewer Airbnb horror stories.

notification-Transparent_2x

What Else Is Happening?

Check-Circle_2x Despite decades of delays, the world’s longest suspension bridge moves ahead in Italy.
Check-Circle_2x Flaco, the Central Park owl, sparks legislative action after dying from a building collision.
Check-Circle_2x Perrotin’s newly opened L.A. gallery launches with an Izumi Kato exhibition during Frieze.
Check-Circle_2x Gensler reveals plans for a substantial overhaul of JPMorgan Chase’s Chicago office.
Check-Circle_2x Italy’s culture minister claims the Venice Biennale won’t exclude Israel, despite protests.


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

PARTNER WITH US

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

RESTAURANT

notification-Transparent_2x

In Toronto, Daphne Takes Diners Down the Rabbit Hole

Never has “new American” looked so good: the Ontario-based interiors firm Studio Paolo Ferrari has outdone itself with Daphne, a welcome addition to Toronto’s bistro scene. Elaborate interiors immerse diners in a wonderland of modern design, rooted in homages to the greats of classic film, from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining to the oeuvre of Nancy Meyers. The firm even likened the space to “an exquisitely designed film set” and leaned heavily on custom furnishings and artisan craftsmanship for the restaurant, which features a hand-painted landscape mural and a monochromatic burnt orange dining room that would feel right at home in a futuristic Twin Peaks reboot.

There are more subtle homages throughout, like a fluted cocktail bar that references the columnic works of Beaux-Arts architect Henry Bacon. In keeping with its sumptuous interiors, Daphne’s menu is brimming with hearty savories, like beef tartare and roasted bone marrow with port jam. Wash it down with bar director Nisham Chandra’s namesake cocktail, the Daphne negroni, a cherry-infused-gin take on the classic drink.

NEED TO KNOW

notification-Transparent_2x

F05 Studio’s Overnight Success Was Years in the Making

Felipe Mora is constantly looking for ways to escape his comfort zone. The Colombian architect spent two years in Italy before resolving to seek “a different experience for yet another chapter outside my hometown” in the form of higher education. Only two schools were on his radar: SCAD and Pratt Institute. Seeing SCAD’s national number-one program ranking, he applied there for graduate school. The rest is history.

In the intervening years, his young studio has earned a multitude of recognition and awards. For a cycling brand’s El Retiro concept shop, he helped the sport shed its dorky neon lycra in favor of a moody, backlit jewel box with sleek unbranded bikes suspended in midair. That space went on to become a finalist in the Latin American Design Awards. He snagged an Interior Design Best of Year award for La Puerta 1600, an otherworldly hotel that made careful use of boulders discarded by local coffee farmers to create a wellness-oriented sanctuary that seems to rise from stone ruins. Surface spoke with him about the common threads between his studio’s projects, creative freedom, and how years at SCAD and RH made his present reality possible.

CULTURE CLUB

photo-Transparent_2x

Frieze Los Angeles Kicks Off at the Getty Villa Museum

This week, heavy hitters from the fields of art, fashion, and philanthropy gathered at the Getty Villa Museum for the official launch party for the fifth edition of Frieze Week Los Angeles. The evening kicked off with L.A. Dance Project performing an excerpt of “Be Here Now” choreographed by Benjamin Millepied. Frieze Americas director Christine Messineo and Getty president Katherine E. Fleming then provided welcoming remarks as guests enjoyed cocktails and conversations.

When was it? Feb. 26

Where was it? Getty Villa Museum, Los Angeles

Who was there? Thelma Golden, Michael Govan, Doug Aitken, Tacita Dean, Charles Gaines, Lauren Halsey, Connie Butler, Jesse Krimes, Tyler Mitchell, Catherine Opie, Yvonne Force Villarreal, Gia Coppola, and more.

ITINERARY

itinerary-Transparent_2x

Cristóbal Balenciaga: Master of Tailoring

When: Until June 2

Where: SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion and Film, Atlanta

What: The school for creative careers debuts a groundbreaking exhibition of garments, illustrations, and photos that document the late master couturier’s fashion prowess. The show centers around Balenciaga during the years Cristóbal helmed the house, from the 1940s to the late 1960s. Thanks to a partnership with Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, the show even pulls from the late Azzedine Alaïa’s personal archive of more than 500 Balenciaga garments. Dubbed the “king of Paris couture,” the exhibition shows how his legacy reverberates decades later.

DESIGN DOSE

notification-Transparent_2x

Cedar & Moss: Mason Sconce

The women-owned lighting studio is a Surface favorite for its sleek sense of form and made-to-order sensibility. Last year represented a major benchmark for the business with the production of more than 50 new designs in the span of only six months. Among them? The concrete-backed Mason sconce, whose geometric form is inspired by the textile block system of architecture developed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

In a nod to the company’s roots as a woman-founded and owned business, select pieces are named for fearlessly inventive women of history. The Mason nods to the nurse Bridget “Biddy” Mason, who, though born enslaved in 1818, went on to become a prominent entrepreneur, real estate developer, and philanthropist in Los Angeles.

THE LIST

notification-Transparent_2x

Member Spotlight:
Vitra

Vitra is a Swiss furniture company known worldwide for creating innovative products with lauded designers. Vitra’s catalog includes furniture, lighting, and objects from mid-century titans Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Verner Panton, Alexander Girard, and Jean Prouvé, as well as works from Antonio Citterio, Jasper Morrison, Alberto Meda, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and Hella Jongerius. Vitra products are installed worldwide by architects and designers in living, working, and public spaces that inspire comfort and productivity.

Surface Says: The Swiss furniture brand’s eye for comfort, sleekness, and versatility makes it a standout in a crowded market of beloved brands. Through its collaborations with the industry’s top minds, Vitra goes the extra mile.

AND FINALLY

notification-Transparent_2x

Today’s Attractive Distractions

A pair of giant Jean Jullien sculptures at Le Bon Marché speaks to bookworms.

The Saltburn estate’s owner is now dealing with overzealous trespassing fans.

An asteroid hit by a NASA spacecraft was completely reshaped by the collision.

Two rarely seen films showcase the sheer talent of dancer Louis Johnson.

               


View in Browser

Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved.

Surface Media
Surface Media 3921 Alton Rd Miami Beach, FL 33140 USA 

Unsubscribe from all future emails