Objects of Desire

The Wick Culture - Design illy Art Collection x Ai Weiwei

Design illy Art Collection x Ai Weiwei

The art of morning coffee. From Louise Bourgeois to Marina Abramović, illy have collaborated with a range of high-profile contemporary artists over the years – and this latest launch sees the art of Ai Weiwei adorn their famous coffee sets. The collection is inspired by Ai’s ‘Coloured Vases’ exhibition in 2006, in which he submerged Neolithic vases into industrial paint tins – bringing new perspectives to traditional objects. ‘I think it is very important to give power to art and design while drinking good coffee, because it affects everybody’s life. We should enjoy it,’ says Ai. Amen to that – ours is a latte.

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The Wick Culture - Jewellery Niki de Saint Phalle, Assemblage Necklace 1974/2015, Louisa Guinness Gallery

Jewellery Niki de Saint Phalle, Assemblage Necklace 1974/2015, Louisa Guinness Gallery

Celebrated as one of the few female monumental sculptors, Niki de Saint Phalle also brought her distinguished hand to smaller artforms – such as this eye-catching necklace. A self-taught and versatile artist, her creations – often noted for their simplicity, directness and naïve style – engaged freely with a range of artistic influences, from pop to cubism. Her jewellery required skilled craftsmen and could take months to perfect, resulting in exquisite and unique designs. An example is this ‘Assemblage Necklace’, exhibited and on sale with Louisa Guinness Gallery, which continues to champion Saint Phalle’s pioneering contribution to the fields of art and jewellery.

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The Wick Culture - Fashion Max Bill Geelong Blanket x Hauser & Wirth

Fashion Max Bill Geelong Blanket x Hauser & Wirth

Art to cosy up with. The Geelong Blanket by Max Bill is part of Hauser & Wirth’s Artist Blanket series: an annual collaboration between the gallery’s artists and ROAM, a small studio based at the heart of the Scottish cashmere and fine woollens industry. As a student of the Bauhaus where he was taught by the likes of Josef Albers and Wassily Kandinsky, Bill pioneered a new visual language of geometric abstraction that would define the conventions of twentieth-century Swiss design. For decades since, Bill’s creations have lit up the world – now they’re warming us up too.

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The Wick Culture - Jewellery ‘Bitten’ Biscuit Pendant, Gavin Turk x True Rocks

Jewellery ‘Bitten’ Biscuit Pendant, Gavin Turk x True Rocks

Art meets jewellery – via the humble rich tea. Gavin Turk’s famous biscuit first premiered as limited-edition artworks at the 2006 Art Car Boot Fair, after the artist bit, signed and framed an original rich tea. Echoing the Duchampian ‘readymade’, it was intended as a celebration of the cultural history of Britain and its quintessential obsession with tea-drinking. Eight years later, the now-iconic work provided the inspiration for this collaboration with jewellery brand True Rocks – which reimagines the ‘bitten’ biscuit in gold, silver or bronze pendant form. For art- and tea-lovers alike, this is one to wear with pride.

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The Wick Culture - Design Fireside Chair Togo, Michel Ducaroy

Design Fireside Chair Togo, Michel Ducaroy

A staple lounger for over four decades, Michel Ducaroy’s Fireside Chair Togo is reigning proof that comfort and style are timeless. Giving the phrase ‘sit back and relax’ a whole new meaning, the chair was first designed by Ligne Roset back in 1973 and has ever since endured as a mid-century classic. Complete with pleated fabric and made from foam of three different densities, the chair is versatile in design and can be used alone or paired with multiple pieces (for the full body experience). The perfect way to envelop after a long week, there’s no place like Togo.

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The Wick Culture - Design Soft Amphora Vase, Vase Tapis Tapis, Charles Antonie Chappuis

Design Soft Amphora Vase, Vase Tapis Tapis, Charles Antonie Chappuis

A sustainable blend of sculpture, textile and domestic object, this Soft Amphora Vase is the latest art-design must-have. Handmade by the Amsterdam-based, Swiss-Brazilian designer Charles Antoine Chappuis as part of his Vase Tapis Tapis collection, it epitomises the signature sweet-spot of his work between the functional and the sculptural. The Vase is composed of recycled glass, linen and mix of recycled fibres and covered with a flexible, hand-knitted fabric. To make it feel even more like ‘yours’ (a relatable impulse), the handles themselves are malleable, lending a personalised touch.

The flowers are optional with this one.

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The Wick Culture - Künstlerstuhl (Artist's Chair), Franz West

Design Künstlerstuhl (Artist’s Chair), Franz West

‘I came to art via the places where artists meet, places where you would go and sit,’ once recalled Franz West. In these Künstlerstuhl (Artist’s Chairs), he brings his artistic touch to where it all began. The late Austrian artist was celebrated all over the world for his abstract and interactive sculptures, and his foray into furniture design reflected his passion for the relationship between art and social experience, viewer and object. The chairs were even the subject of an exhibition at David Zwirner in 2019, who described them as ‘among the most comfortable that I’ve come across.’

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The Wick Culture - PANGAIA x Takashi Murakami x Bee The Change

Fashion PANGAIA x Takashi Murakami x Bee The Change

With World Bee Day approaching on 20 May, sustainable clothing brand PANGAIA is all abuzz with a new fashion collaboration to mark the launch of its new Bee the Change fund. The PANGAIA x Takashi Murakami collection features the artist’s signature flower prints and a new bee character designed specifically for the project. Aiming to raise funds to protect and preserve vulnerable and endangered bee species across the world, the T-shirts ($95) and hoodies ($220) are made from organic and recycled cotton and come in a variety of orchid, cobalt and daisy-yellow colours. It’s a must-have intersection of art, design and awareness-raising.

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The Wick Culture - Hold Still by The Duchess of Cambridge

Photography Hold Still by The Duchess of Cambridge

The words ‘photobook’ and ‘pandemic’ might not sound particularly congruous – but this new publication, Hold Still, provides a snapshot of 2020 Britain that is poignant, powerful and life-affirming. The project was started by the Duchess of Cambridge a year ago with the intention of capturing a ‘portrait of the nation’ during Covid-19. The 100 images, hand-selected from more than 31,000 entries by the Duchess herself, were first put on display in a digital exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and have been assembled into this brand-new book on sale from today. Whether your coffee table’s ready for it just yet, it’s a historic document in the making.

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