Here are a few of our favourite kitsch artworks and designs to inspire you to bring home a spot of bold, brash but tongue-in-cheek style.

Join The Dots

Ninety-two-year-old Yayoi Kusama is one of the world’s most celebrated living artists – and remarkably, she has voluntarily resided in a psychiatric hospital for 45 years. Best known for her “immersive infinity rooms”, she uses lots of borderline-kitsch pop-vegetal imagery, including pumpkins. Her work is mind-bending, witty and wise. yayoi-kusama.jp

Floral Fantasia

Wide-ranging in expression and commercially successful, Takashi Murakami’s work is frequently read as an ironic commentary on art itself. He has 2.3-million Instagram followers, and uses elements derived from anime, traditional Japanese painting and sci-fi to make his work. Invited to exhibit at the palace of Versailles in France (pictured opposite), he controversially filled its opulent halls with smiley plastic flowers and manga-style characters.

Diamonds Are Forever

One of a group of young British artists who took the art scene by storm in the 1990s, Damien Hirst has always worked with humour and parody. Artworks such as his 2007 piece For the Love of God (pictured above right) are kitsch in the word’s classic definition: “Art, objects or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.”

Wall And All

The art of Vladimir Tretchikoff (1913-2006) was immensely popular during his lifetime – but also derided as vulgar and kitsch. Criticised for mass-producing prints of his works, he responded, “Why should my art only be available to the rich and famous? I want everyone to enjoy it.” Today his work adorns walls around the world.

Wag The Dog

Renowned for his deliberate use of “kitsch”, Jeff Koons is another contemporary artist who combines massive commercial success with critical appreciation. Koons’s instantly recognisable Balloon Dog sculptures are made from stainless steel with a transparent colour coating, and evoke the playful shapes made out of balloons at kids’ parties. The orange version seen here sold at Christie’s in 2013 for $58.4-million – a record price for a living sculptor.

Form And Function

French designer Philippe Starck’s witty take on Kartell’s Componibili storage unit was produced as part of a series of collaborations to mark the iconic piece’s 50th anniversary in 2017. It combines the classic cylinder shape and form of the Componibili with bases that mimic one of the ultimate pieces of middle-class kitsch: the garden gnome. Starck’s comment on his design? “We support good ideas.”

Animal Crackers

Inspired by a street vendor carrying stuffed toys, Brazilian design duo Humberto and Fernando Campana created their first Banquete chair in 2002. They stitched toys together to create the upholstery for an easy chair with a metal frame. The Banquete was an instant hit, and has since been made in multiple variations.

Big Daddy

Also regularly dismissed as a purveyor of “kitsch” during his lifetime, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) is now lauded the world over – and his work commands enormous sums at auction. This screen print of Mick Jagger was produced in 1975; Warhol also designed the famous sleeve for the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers album. Fascinated by popular culture, money and celebrity, he now seems more like a visionary artist than a “vulgar” one.

Statement Pieces

“Subversive, ethical, ecological, political, humorous… This is how I see my duty as a designer,” says Philippe Starck. His Gun Collection of lamps, designed in 2005 for Flos, is based on the silhouettes of actual weapons, including a Beretta handgun and the M16 rifle. The provocative designs will always be a talking point: do they provide critical social commentary, or aesthetically glorify the very items they seek to deplore? You decide.

String Theory

Created in 1993, the iconic Vermelha chair was the Campana brothers’ first design. Using 500 metres of rope, the duo initially created each chair by hand, looping and coiling it around a basic frame to create the seat, armrests and back. Manufactured by Italian design company Edra from 1998, the Vermelha is in the permanent collections of many art and design institutions, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Pompidou Centre in Paris.

Looking for more on local art? Take a look at these South African abstract artists.

The post VISION: Kitschy Cool appeared first on Visi.

Renowned French designer and architect Philippe Starck has added two new chairs to the Lou collection for Italian designer furniture company Driade.

Upholstered in leather, they were debuted at Salone del Mobile 2016, the furniture fair held annually in Milan. All are defined by their anthropomorphic qualities and sculptural shapes.

There’s the “Lou Think”, which has an elongated backrest and a rounded hood, emphasising a feeling of privacy as well as shade, as well as the “Lou Eat”, a versatile design conceived as a dining chair. Both are an extension of the “Lou Read” chair, a style created in 2011.

In addition to these armchairs, Philippe Starck has also designed the “Wow” sofa for Driade, a modular design that can be rearranged to create different forms, including a chaise lounge or L-shape corner sofa.

For more information, visit starck.com.

The post New From Philippe Starck: Lou Collection appeared first on Visi.

A collaboration between the French designer and Hansgrohe’s designer brand, AXOR, has led to the reinvention of the humble tap.

Designed to show off the vitality of nature, the AXOR Starck V tap by Philippe Starck, in collaboration with Hansgrohe, makes use of a specially designed mixer that pushes water into a spinning vortex before channelling it into the open-ended spout. The tap’s crystal glass body is an organic sculptural shape that shows off the clear liquid inside a tap mixer for the first time, allowing users to experience this precious natural resource in a completely new way.

Watch how it works below.

Visit hansgrohe.co.za for more information.

The post Philippe Starck’s Animated Axor Starck V Tap appeared first on Visi.

Gone are the days when cabinets simply housed fancy crockery, or when a lampstand provided only lighting and aesthetic value. Today, interior pieces do everything from interchangeably amplifying various portable devices’ audio to charging them, with some even doubling up as control centres. What a relief not to have to turn the whole house upside down to find the charger, or even worse… your phone. Smart, savvy and downright desirable, here are some of our favourite modern must-haves.

1. Caixa by Paolo Cappello for Miniforms 
Available in white, red or black lacquer or canaletto walnut, or a combination, this entertainment table comes with a universal iPod dock and Bluetooth-integrated stereo system. Connect your TV, computer, iPod and more.

miliashop.com, paolocappello.com, miniforms.eu

2. Jukebox from Shox 
Don’t let its size fool you; this 200g-pocket speaker packs quite a punch. With a 10m Bluetooth range, up to five hours of playback, hands-free capability and built-in stereo should you wish to add another mini juke, this is one capable little accessory.

tevo.co.za

3. Embrace from Spell
If you can’t afford the whole MyWorld couch, upgrade what you have with this sleek portable desk that hooks all your chargers in one place and gets rid of most cables in sight. Made from walnut and epoxy steel, not only is it a convenient resting spot for your phone or tablet, but it can also provide a perch for a cuppa.

spell-online.com

4. Nomad Nightstand from Spell 
This steel-and-wood nightstand simplifies life by organising and hiding unsightly cables, with the added bonus of being a charging dock and having only one main AC supply.

spell-online.com

5. MyWorld by Philippe Starck for Cassina
“MyWorld is a cocoon, a nest, a world where we can be egocentric and comfortably commune with our own shadow or collect snippets of news from the world that is said to be real,” says Philippe about the collection. The two and three-seater sofas, an armchair, chaise longue and ottoman, can be decked out with tech-equipped accessories that include a side table with electric sockets, USB charger, induction charger and smartphone receiver.

afritaly.com, starck.com, cassina.com

The post Device-enabled furniture appeared first on Visi.

At Kong restaurant in Paris, deputy editor Annemarie Meintjes spied an inspired display of old picture frames and hurried home to doodle up her own.

“I have a storeroom full of beautiful old frames picked up at charity shops and church bazaars,” says Annemarie, “but I never find the right pictures to fit them or to justify the reframing costs. On my recent visit to Paris I had dinner at Kong restaurant where – on the walls of the new smoking room – Philippe Starck simply hung empty frames with random black and white images doodled onto the glass. I loved it!”

To get the look, use a black waterproof koki pen and Plascon’s white grouting pen to draw, write and scribble on the glass of old picture frames. Rope in family and friends and, if you don’t like the result, or are ready for a change, simply remove your doodles with benzine or turpentine. Decide on a composition for your frames and hang them as a fun display of home-grown creativity.

Did you like this Smart Idea? See others here.

The post Smart Idea: Framed appeared first on Visi.

In a 21st-century in which space, time and natural resources are experiencing massive constraints, it’s time to redefine the bathroom says Philippe Grohe. Hansgrohe’s designer brand Axor’s main man, Philippe was the driving force behind the WaterDream project that we featured in the new SPRINGLOADED VISI 68. Recently he was in Joburg to launch the Hansgrohe Inspiration Centre in Kramerville and the Starck Organic range of designer bathroom products. VISI chatted to him about life, butterflies and beautiful bathrooms.

When you were a child, what did you want to grow up to be?

That’s a difficult question! My grandfather was a doctor in Switzerland and when I was a little boy, I often visited his office. I was always so intrigued by all the prescriptions and receipts lying around and one day, I scratched out his title on one of the cards and replaced it with what I wanted to be one day – a researcher of insects. I love research! But today, although I have a scientific and photographic background, I don’t run around with a white shirt and net chasing butterflies anymore. I still do research in a way though – through travelling a lot and really taking in all the amazing things around me.

What is a good bathroom to you?

In today’s society, where we have to make do with less space and people are on a budget, I think the absolute minimum requirement is a good shower. One that evokes maximum emotion with minimum stress on natural resources, in this case water. In other words, getting the best feeling from using the least amount of water. Today’s bathroom is not the same as some decades ago when it was purely a hygienic and functional space. Modern ablutions are often small these days and they somehow have to manage a combination between nature and technology. Water is a very demanding element that needs to be respected and controlled. We are in fact highly functional animals who mostly live in cities where things move faster and on tight schedules. It’s not natural. It’s demanding. Thus, the modern bathroom should incorporate nature through intelligent use of natural light in economical shared home spaces to maximise emotional benefits and help balance the demands of modern life. 

What do you do in the business?

I am responsible for Hansgrohe’s luxury designer brand, Axor. I function as a type of bridge between the company and the creatives we work with on experimental projects like the Axor WaterDreams (read more about it in the SPRINGLOADED VISI 68). I have to fight for that kind of freedom in the company, as there are always questions about how much money creative projects generate for the business and how viable they are. It all inspires the team though and together we explore the possibilities of new concepts and design.

Tell us about the Hansgrohe Inspiration Centre.

Water is a commodity that must be respected. It’s a global phenomenon that most people don’t realise the value of water enough. They do what their parents have always done: start their day by opening a tap, the same kind that’s always been there, in the same way, expecting the same thing. We have researched the water and the bathroom issue extensively. Lifestyles need to change. We have to question the meaning of the house, learn to value what is important to us. Bourgeois 20th-century ideas of neatly compartmentalising space into sleeping, living and washing areas need to change. Once people start thinking creatively about their living spaces, a lot of new possibilities will open up then, like combining it with a gym, a garden, etc. The Inspiration Centre is just that, a place that will inspire people to think of their living spaces as experiences in ambience as well as being highly functional. It’s for everybody, from interior designers and architects to people who want to create their own perfect bathroom.

How is the new Axor Starck Organic range special?

It’s simply a new cocktail made up of the highest technology and creative design, and it does exactly what we at Hansgrohe strive to do – getting the best out of it while treating it with respect. The Axor Starck Organic range works with half the quantity of water than usual taps! It’s an intelligent, environmentally conscious, ergonomically designed product with handles integrated into the body of the spout. We have been collaborating with Philippe Starck for 20 years now and over time we have gotten to know each other well, and know how to work with one another’s strengths and limitations. Philippe pushes you and addresses new product designs with a buoyant freshness, like a kid (see Philippe talk about his Axor Starck Organic range here).

What inspires you?

Everything, frankly. I am privileged to be able to travel often and I have learnt that one has to look at the smallest things in order to see everything. It’s how we observe things that bring us inspiration. This can happen in the most unexpected places and with the strangest of things. 

www.hansgrohe.co.za

Read more about the pioneering WaterDream project with Scandinavian design trio Front and Japanese topical Japanese design studio Nendo in the SPRINGLOADED VISI 68 available at selected stockists or get the digital edition right now. 

See more of our coverage of the budding Kramerville design district here.

The post The bathroom of the future appeared first on Visi.

“Innovation, high quality and perfect form – everything that is needed to take the bathroom to a new level.” Duravit’s promise comes with brand-new developments that set new standards in bathrooms, reports our deputy editor Annemarie Meintjes.

Everything is brand new!

The new DuraStyle bathroom series by Matteo Thun & Partners is deliberately simple and reduced, with a focus on functionality that allows for flexibility and freedom of style in your bathroom.

We love the “upward lip” on the rear rim of the bathtub, which not only conceals toiletries and other bathroom products, it also provides support when getting in and out of the bath.

The slender, understated and almost weightless flat toilet seat and cover gets our thumb’s up, but the Scandi-chic washbasin, with its timber legs and slim silhouette, steals the show, creating an air of sophistication and serenity.

Sound reflections

Queuing for the bathroom is about to get real, with Duravit introducing an integrated sound system for bathrooms. Music can be streamed wirelessly from any Bluetooth-compatible devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and up to eight different users can be registered in the system, allowing every member of the family to enjoy their own playlists! (Read more articles about techorating here.)

All technical components are concealed behind a panel inside the mirror cabinet, which are only visible when the cabinet doors are open. The module comprises a high-quality 2.1 system with two patented flat-drive speakers and a subwoofer with passive radiator. It’s waterproof and moisture-resistant and emits soft, clean surround-sound.

Starck 2 redesigned

The affordable classic has been redesigned, with small tweaks and slick details giving the new range a fresh, light and modern look. (Read about Philippe Starck’s redesigned Axor Starck Organic faucet collection here.)

The slightly oval, surface-mounted washbasin is more organic in appearance, while the reduced rim-height of the quadrant-shaped shower has a flatter, more elegant look. The show-stopper is undoubtedly the rectangular bathtub with its integrated neck rest, which makes long, languid soaks impossible to resist. 

For more information, visit duravit.com or email karen.robyn@za.duravit.com

Read more articles by Annemarie here.

The post Bathroom bliss appeared first on Visi.

Nestling in a cove of milkwoods is a xanadu of a modern home. The owners, a hard-working couple seeking a private refuge, named it “umthunzi”, Zulu for “meeting place under the trees”.

Ralf and Jacqueline Obry had hunted all the way from Paternoster to Witsand for a property on which to build a weekend home. But when they arrived in Noordhoek near the Cape Peninsula’s Atlantic coast, their search abruptly ended – because it took them less than half an hour to decide that this piece of land was exactly what they wanted. “The beauty of this area simply took our breath away,” Jacqueline says of the couple’s first seeing the property.

As owners of an events company in Germany, the Obrys had spent more than 20 years organising conferences involving large crowds of people, so peace and quiet were foremost on their list of priorities. Firm believers in the adage of a change being as good as a holiday, the couple started initiating major life changes when they visited South Africa with clients and fell in love with it.

With tall milkwood trees occupying a large part of the property, Ralf had a rather small area to play with when designing the house with architect Celia Fraser. But play he did – until he came up with a three-storey home that would be wrapped in an arboreal cocoon. Because, in the meantime, through chatting to a Franschhoek landscaper friend, he had found a way to conserve the property’s magical old milkwoods. Says Ralf, “When outside, on the ground-floor deck, you are under the trees; on the first floor, you are in them, as if in a tree house; and from the second floor, you look down onto an ocean of green leaves … you’ve risen above them.”

Allowing nature to call the shots

To make the most of their natural surroundings, Ralf constructed decks on all sides of the house, with glass forming the only buffer between the tamed and the untamed. The structure’s facade is indicative of the design philosophy on which the house is based: juxtaposing the ultramodern with nature’s unrefined elements.

The result? A strikingly successful combination of the natural world’s raw beauty and the contemporary comfort of a modern home.

Allowing nature to call the shots when designing a house can prove an immense challenge, yet be endlessly rewarding. To all sides of this house, vast glass doors open onto various deck spaces that showcase the diverse surrounding landscape. One side has views of the Atlantic and Noordhoek’s famous stretch of white beach, another draws the eye up towards the jagged textures of Chapman’s Peak, and that to the left of the house shows the lush density of the milkwood forest.

Once inside the property’s elaborate wrought-iron gates, the visitor’s attention is drawn towards the massive, solid-steel front door. But this heavy, fortress-like entrance belies the luminous interior space.

The peace and tranquillity that pervade the house’s natural surroundings are echoed inside with the generous use of light ivory- and chalk-coloured walls, floors and ceilings. While contributing to the home’s calming ambience, the light walls also act as a gallery space for the couple’s impressive collection of works by pioneering South African artists.

A breathtaking cohesion

“The talent in South Africa is outstanding and our home forms the perfect background against which to display it,” says Jacqueline. Though each piece tells a very different story and is unique in design – and sometimes in media – the couple’s sense of styling gives the contrasting parts a breathtaking cohesion.

Immigrating to a sometimes-unpredictable country such as South Africa after a lifetime in uber-organised Germany is an adventure not many people would have the courage to undertake. But for Ralf and Jacqueline, it was the first of many wonderful changes. And, when admiring the milkwood trees proudly adding to the area’s beauty, one can’t help but see the resemblance between them and the Obrys: both are firmly routed in South African soil, and flourishing.

Stretched out on their deckchairs to enjoy another great sunset, with an ice-cold bottle of wine at the ready, they appear to have found the antidote to hard work: perfect relaxation.

Architect Celia Fraser 021 789 2371

First published in VISI 30

The post The magic faraway tree appeared first on Visi.