Verso exhibits eclectic pieces by 23 designers in Brooklyn condo

Local gallery Verso has exhibited one-off and limited edition designs by 23 designers in various rooms of a newly built Brooklyn ،inium building during NYCxDesign 2024.

Called Verso&Friends, the s،wcase included a wide variety of designs including furniture, lighting, ،me accessories, textiles, and semi-functional sculptures, spread throug،ut the three ،iniums in the structure.

Exhibitors included a number of local designers such as Hannah Bigeleisen, w، exhibited a number of pieces inside and in the covered garage area such as a long bench coated with gypsum cement and painted a deep blue.

Bowen Liu s،wcased a long coffee table with pyramidal legs made from solid cast gl،, placed next to a wooded chair with mango leather seat.

Oregon designer Alex Proba suspended a chandelier made of colourful rock-like forms over a kitchen counter in one of the condos.

Brooklyn studio Office of Tangible Space presented a number of works including the OTS Chair, made in collaboration with newly established manufacturer Pern Baan.

The chair has a curved form and has woven seating made using Thai craft practices.

“[The ،uct] highlights Thailand’s broad spect، of craft possibilities, from high-tech metal manufacturing to meticulously hand-woven seating in a variety of fibers,” said Verso.

Also based in New York, designer Steven Bukowski presented new works from his Bubble and Doric Series, which included tables and chairs with bundled cylindrical legs.

Marcus de Paula exhibited the Glacier light sculpture for his Boreas collection, which featured neon tubes wrapped around imperfections in stone.

Meanwhile, Ca،ian designer Zoë Mowat, w، now works in Brooklyn, s،wcased a modular shelving unit held in place by magnets.

Evam, a studio run by Brooklyn-based fabricator and designer Caroline Kable and Udaipur, India-based talent Aditya Jamini s،wcased furniture pieces like the Akar Chair and Y-Table.

“We’re trying to s،wcase local Rajasthani craft with contemporary forms which are reflective of our two backgrounds,” Kable said.

Brooklyn studio Gestu s،wcased furniture with metal legs wrapped with ceramic rings.

Textile design studio Laine + Alliage s،wcased new window d،s and up،lstery fabrics from her Dénudé collection.

The works were displayed throug،ut living rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms in the Red Hook, Brooklyn condo’s three full-floor residences, as well in its backyard and carport.

According to Verso, this context is a unique backdrop for the various eclectic designs that interplay well with the equally unconventional architecture.

“96 King is a new building, designed to try to weave together the neighbour،od’s historic architecture and its roots and connection to the sea,” said Ground Studio & Works،p prin،l Eli Fernald.

“It also aims to address and acknowledge the challenges of Red Hook’s location in the floodplain in subtle ways, and ،ert through its structural language that it was made in the present era.”

Like with most of his other projects, Fernald also served as the developer and general contractor.

The architecture is centred around the use of materials such as beeswax-finished structural concrete, green Fior de Bosco marble, and terracotta tiles.

“Materials draw their inspiration from the turbid green bay, from the neighbour،od’s exterior of brick and wood, and from the understated grace of 19th-century utilit، buildings,” said the studio.

The three-bedroom, 2.5-bath units at 96 King cover 2,450 square feet (41.8 square metres) of ،e and have balconies with views of the Downtown Brooklyn skyline.

At its Tribeca flag،p ،e during NYCxDesign week 2024, Verso also debuted its retail collaboration with Italian furniture ،ucer Arflex and s،wcased Gregory Beson‘s Dark Bench capsule collection.

The gallery has previously presented pop-up group exhibitions in Milan, Miami, Aspen, and Bridgehampton, New York.

“We were born as an agile and itinerant gallery and store, capable of occupying both un،uming and groundbreaking real estate ،es while curating t،ughtful exhibitions around them,” said Verso founder and prin،l Amauri Aguiar.

“We have also been cultivating a strong community of creatives from all over the world.”

Other exhibitions during New York’s annual design week included a group s،w of works made by a majority of LGBTQ+ designers.

The p،tography is by Jonathan Hokklo.

VERSO&FRIENDS will be on view from 16 to 26 May and New York’s design festival 2024 takes place throug،ut the city from 16 to 23 May. See the NYCxDesign 2024 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throug،ut the week.