Daniella Ohad

When inviting Benjamin Macklowe to speak about French Art Nouveau in the program Collecting Design this morning (online), he suggested to focus on formative figures who came to shape the essence of this prominent chapter in the history of French design. The three, Hector Guimard (1867-1942), Louis Majorelle (1859-1926), and Emile Gallé (1846-1904) couldn’t have […]

The interiors of Carol Egan perfectly capture what I have been teaching and advocating in recent years. They are sophisticated, complex, containing extraordinary and unexpected juxtaposition of objects, mostly collectible furniture, lightings, and accessories. This type of spaces, which I like to refer to as ‘The New Interiors’ or ‘The Curated Interior,’ or ‘The Sustainable

Design and COVID-19. Here are several design-related inspiring initiatives, which came address the fight against coronavirus pandemic and to empowering us all. When we are living through this silence, when everyone stays in their own home, worrying about our family, our city, our economy, these people are trying to make this world a bit better. 

Take a glass of wine before dinner and join me for a storytime, the story of modern design – at your home. Wherever you are across the globe, every Friday at 5:00 pm (EST), I will teach the program ‘The Story and History of Modern Design, 1850-2020’ – on Zoom. With the Center for Architecture/AIA.

This morning I had the sweet taste of going back to normal, when my program Collecting Design at the Center for Architecture/AIA has resumed as a webinar on Zoom. The topic,  as originally planned was ‘Japanese Contemporary Design.’ In order to understand 21st-century Japanese design, one has to know the traditional concepts that have shaped

As we all face the challenges of COVID-19, I have started a series of posts on a variety of themes related to design and architecture. I have asked influencers and key players in the world of design and architecture to express their voice on those questions. ​What is the most intriguing contemporary piece of furniture created this

​As I am currently writing a magazine article on Japanese contemporary design, it has occurred to me that while we have all been aware of the Japanese aesthetics in crafts – simplicity, vernacular, imperfection, irregularity — we should recognize its father. Tomorrow will mark the birthday of the man who is known as the guru

How sad. Italian architect Vittorio Gregotti (1927-2020), the father of the Venice Architecture Biennale has passed today of coronavirus in San Giuseppe clinic, Milan, at 92. Urban planner, architect, educator, curator, industrial designer, and a key figure in the Italian Communist Party, Gregotti was the embodiment of the Italian Renaissance Man. A pillar in the world of modern Italian

AboveI was first introduced to the work of American designer David Wiseman in the 2006 National Design Triennial at the Cooper Hewitt. For that legendary show, entitled ‘Design Life Now,’ he created a site specific installation in the form of Cherry Blossoms. His most ambitious work to date, it consisted of 500 porcelain blossoms, which grew

Misha Kahn opened his third solo exhibition at Friedman Benda last week and hosted my class in discussing the pieces, the process, the narrative, and what they mean. I was introduced to him at his first solo show four years ago. He was 27, created a space of chaos, full of tapestries, painted tiles, enormous