spot stool

Michael Anastassiades launched his studio in 1994 to explore contemporary notions of culture and aesthetics through a combination of product, furniture and environmental design. Positioned between fine art and design, his work aims to provoke dialogue, participation and interaction. He creates objects that are minimal, utilitarian and almost mundane, yet full of vitality one might not expect. Anastassiades’ work is featured in permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Craft Council in London, the FRAC Centre in Orleans, France, and the MAK in Vienna. His solo exhibitions include Time and Again at the Geymüllerschl?ssel/MAK in Vienna, To Be Perfectly Frank at Svenskt Tenn in Stockholm, Norfolk House Music room at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Cyprus Presidency at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. One of the most recent exhibitions explores what Anastassiades calls the “contemporary anxieties of modern Cyprus” entitled Reload the Current Page at the Point Centre for Contemporary Art in Nicosia, Cyprus, and the collection General Illuminations, as part of the exhibition Doings on Time and Light at Rodeo Gallery, Istanbul.

Herman Miller was a West Michigan businessman who helped his son-in-law, D.J. De Pree, buy the Michigan Star Furniture Company in 1923. De Pree had been working at the company, which opened in 1905, since he was hired in 1909 as a clerk. De Pree knew his father-in-law was a man of integrity, so he decided to rename the company after him. By the middle of the 20th century, the name Herman Miller had become synonymous with “modern” furniture. Working with legendary designers George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, the company produced pieces that would become classics of industrial design.