My e-mail inbox gets clogged up on a daily basis with all sorts of rubbish, but numbered among the few things I actually enjoy opening are the regular mailings from Caviar20. It's simple really, since Caviar20 mailers are always jammed with drool-worthy collectibles sourced by Troy Seidman. I bumped into Troy at the recent IDS and bugged him to let me in on that one great thing, so hear goes.
Troy Seidman: As a 20th century design dealer, the distinction between what belongs to Caviar20's inventory and my own personal collection is sometimes unclear. It's a pleasure of the business to get to live with beautiful objects. Sometimes pieces are in my life for only a few days... sometimes years. Of course I'm happy when pieces sell quickly, but I can also feel a bit melancholy when I don't get to spend more time with pieces, as I only buy things that I'm passionate about.
I acquired this amazing Verner Panton panel about a year ago. About 8 months later, I thought it was sold to a collector in France and so removed it from my site... but then it was never paid for. So I've been happy to keep it for myself... for now.
Most people who see it in my apartment assume that it's a contemporary work. For a piece that's over 40 years old, the colours are incredibly vibrant and the overall piece is in very good condition. Most importantly, the composition and the choice of colors feel very fresh (I'm a big fan of deep purples). Other panels (in scales of orange and brown) from this series have perhaps not aged so well.
The piece has a dual significance for me, since it's both aesthetically powerful/decorative while simultaneously being an important piece from Verner Panton's oeuvre. Panton is best known for his iconic cantilevered eponymously named chair, first made in 1967 from a single-piece of molded plastic. It's possibly one of the most popular (and copied) chairs from the 20th century. He designed quite a bit more than chairs (Panton's "Cone" "Heart Cone" and "Relaxer" are also staples of his design canon) including lighting, other furniture and accessories. His aesthetic is a bold intersection between space-age and 60's pop.
In 1969 he created a number of highly graphic and groovy designs for the Swiss company Mira X applying his geometric compositions to rugs, upholstery fabric and single tapestry-like panels. This period was arguably the apex of his career and around the time he created his "fantasy interiors" (where these graphic fabrics were essential elements in the overall design of the projects).
As for my Mira X panel, I might be willing to part with it (provided - this time - it's paid for). The fact that I've only been able to find one auction record, (Philips in London, 2004) for an identical panel makes it that much more special and rare.
