I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Wednesday October 21st — —

The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Wednesday October 21st — —

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” – Herbert Simon — Wednesday October 21st — —

Chamber Collection #2

After last year’s impressive debut of the New York-based inspirational boutique of limited edition design, objects and art named Chamber, this month the second annual collection, given the moniker ‘Human | Nature’, opened its doors. Curated by celebrated photographer and filmmaker Andrew Zuckerman who, just as his predecessors Studio Job, has worked closely with Chamber’s founder, Juan Garcia Mosqueda, in shaping the year-long project. With his curation for Chamber Collection #2, Andrew Zuckerman explores the theme of how the natural world interacts with man’s living environment as expressed through objects of design, art, and various types of ephemera. Zuckerman’s collaboration with Chamber draws on a broad array of sources, including Japanese aesthetics, ethnographic art, and biomimetics, in the service of creating a collection of objects that reintroduce organic forms or concepts into designed spaces. When in New York city this is a must see!

As an artist I’ve been deeply invested in an exploration of the natural world. So when I was approached about assembling Collection #2 for Chamber it felt right to delve into the conversation between design and nature, and its function in our living spaces. The show encompasses a collection of objects that reflect a meeting point between man and the environment.

The new collection explores how nature interacts with the built environment and investigates how objects have a transformative effect on our lives. Consisting of customized contemporary design pieces, specially commissioned unique editions, and historic objects, the collection will evolve throughout the year as a living, ever-changing presentation of rare and unusual artifacts.

Chamber Collection #2 will be presented in three separate installments, called Chapters, in the fall, winter and spring. The first Chapter presents an impressive array of contemporary designers and artists – from established figures such as next level botanic artist Azuma Makoto (Exobiotanica), architect Bjarke Ingels, artist Adam Fuss, designer Carl Auböck, landscape architect Marc Keane, and Zuckerman himself, to emerging figures such as Chen Chen & Kai Williams, Fort Standard, Ika Künzel, Karl-Johan Hjerling, Marlène Huissoud and rising star; Argentinian Alexandra Kehayoglou, who created another incredible original carpet for Chamber.

Zuckerman also expands Chamber’s concept of the contemporary Wunderkammer by presenting new designs for Austrian glassware company J. & L. Lobmeyr, as well as classics from German porcelain manufacturer Nymphenburg and rare design objects like a vintage ant farm, NASA’s lunar rake, and the Japanese Motocompo miniature vehicle. Collection #2 also includes specially commissioned work by former curators Studio Job.

In an effort to reconcile what he considers an innate human desire to be connected to nature with our increasing urban and technological isolation from it, Zuckerman sought out objects that utilized or echoed materials, forms and rhythms found in the natural world.

Photography by Fran Parente.

Chamber is located underneath the High Line in the HL23 building, designed by Neil Denari, at 515 West 23rd Street.

For more information see here