At #NeoCon09: Bernhardt Design’s Calibra and Area
By Joseph Starr on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Calibra sofa. Designed by Harry and Claudia Washington for Bernhardt.
Down on floor 3 at #NeoCon09, I discovered an alluring circular maze of glassed-walled showrooms. Assigned on the third and final day to report on companies housed on the outside edge of this ring of new design, I happened into Bernhardt Design’s clean, well-lighted place, where I found a profusion of ivory whites and chocolate browns in elegant contrast.
A pair of pieces immediately caught my eye: “Calibra,” a spacious and clean-lined sofa by the San Salvadoran design duo of Harry and Claudia Washington; and “Area,” a series of occasional and coffee tables by New York’s Marc Thorpe. In regards to “Calibra,” Claudia—who apparently has quite a way with words—says she wanted the piece to resemble a “pig on pointe.” The piece, with its “voluptuous, oversized” profile perched on faceted aluminum feet, does just that, though pig isn’t the first animal that comes to mind when grasping for metaphors here. I’d say it has the more elegant bulk of a plains antelope and the color palette to match. And speaking of Thorpe’s “Area,” the series is a joiner’s delight—excellent craftsmanship in wood, matching grains, and an aesthete’s use of negative space. Matched with Calibra, the pair makes quite a statement. And the beautiful show-space carved out by Bernhardt exemplifies both to excellent effect.
Area table. Designed by Marc Thorpe for Bernhardt.
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