No. 42: Charlotte von Hardenburgh
Spiral metal jewelry by Fran Hosken, moiré silk, Agnieszka Owsiany, a floral color palette, and cork.
Charlotte von Hardenburgh is a Brooklyn-based designer, professor, and historian (and will often do calligraphy for events, style photo shoots, or model for her friends’ brands). She uses design as a way to problem solve and applies her technical design skills to improve other parts of her career. As an adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design where she teaches the history of design, fashion, and typography, Charlotte creates an aesthetically sound experience for her students: “the syllabus for my class is superbly typeset (if I do say so myself!), my lectures and presentations are visually coherent with templated slides and compelling imagery (rather than most educators who flood screens with text).” She told me that when she was a student, she received a syllabus that was typeset in Tahoma and was definitely “unsettled by the lack of design awareness” (and she wouldn’t dare do the same to her students!) As a historian, Charlotte focuses mainly on researching women designers from the midcentury modern era whose lives have not been celebrated and whose work has not been added to the canon of design history. Charlotte inspires me to take a close look, and then take an even closer look. From Charlotte —
I. a material
Oddly enough, I’ve been intrigued by cork ever since I first learned to read. One of my favorite books as a child was Ferdinand the Bull and although I feel like a chaotic person, my internal self is always sitting under the cork trees smelling the flowers—just like Ferdinand. I loved the illustrations of the cork tree in this book and I'll pinpoint my material fascination with cork to this cultural artifact.
Fast forward to some decades later and I remember the first time I visited the home of the architect Walter Gropius. Upon entering the space, I recall being entranced by the cork tiled floors of the entrance, hallway and stairwell. The tour guide noted that Gropius preferred cork flooring for this particular area because it would muffle footsteps while he worked nearby in his office. I think cork is beautiful in its coloring, “marbling” and I love its sponge-like feel.
II. an artist
This spring, I met the artist Agnieszka Owsiany right before she began a residency at The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. I gravitate towards Agnieszka’s work because it reminds me of the way I like to approach dressing. Her pieces focus heavily on materials—undyed Polish sheep’s wool in a myriad of textures—and she works primarily in beige, which is a color I hold close to my heart.
III. a color palette
Okay so yes I love beige, but I do enjoy color ! I recently walked by this patch of flora and fell in love with the colors. I hope you also find it inspiring.
IV. a textile
I first learned about moiré silk years ago when I was in graduate school. I became enthralled by the pattern and process. I recently wore two custom looks (both made by my students) in moiré silk and cannot get enough of it. Here’s a short description of how the wood grain pattern is created: the fabric is moistened, then run through specially patterned rollers under high temperature and pressure. This process, called calendaring, crushes and alters the appearance of some fibers while leaving others untouched.
V. a designer
My current research project involves the spiral metal jewelry of Fran Hosken (Austrian, 1919–2006). A mid-century modern designer and the third woman to attend Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Hosken studied under Walter Gropius and later established her own studio which produced flat-pack furniture and jewelry. Historically, the craft of making jewelry is an artisanal process, however, Hosken’s approach was innovative in its industrial production methods. After visiting a factory and witnessing how springs were made, she applied the same idea but worked with different shapes and various materials to make industrial chic necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.
~ bulletin ~
los angeles
On view: Alicja Kwade and Agnes Martin’s Space Between the Lines at Pace Gallery. Emily Ferguson’s It Girl upstairs at Nicodim (read her Affection Archives feature!). David Zwirner’s 30th anniversary show. Angel Otero’s The First Rain in May and the late Winfred Rembert’s Hard Times at Hauser & Wirth. Loren Erdrich’s Little Stars at Shrine. Lois Dodd & Ellen Siebers at Parrasch Heijnen. Ryan Sullivan, Sebastian Silva, Roberto Matta, JB Blunk, and pascALEjandro at Blum. Phil Davis’ Chorus at Fernberger. Camille Claudel sculptures at the Getty Museum. Ed Ruscha’s Now Then at LACMA.
new york
On view: Christopher Wool’s See Stop Run at 101 Greenwich St. Jenny Holzer’s Light Line at Guggenheim. Joshua Charow’s Loft Law at Westwood Gallery. Photos from Stephen Shore’s topography series at 303 Gallery. Dan Flanagan’s Nora at Harper’s Chelsea. Areum Yang’s Home of Being at Derek Eller. Erica Newton’s Never No Treasure opens Friday at Entrance. Alex Gardner’s Pyschic Stamina at Perrotin. Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion at the Met.
Tomorrow: TIWA Gallery’s group show Coetir (Of The Woods) opens featuring 24 artists’ works.
Affection Archives is a weekly look into the archives of yours truly (Arielle Eshel) and humans I admire. If you’d like to add an event to the bulletin, DM on Instagram or reply to this email.