Bernd Goeckler Antiques is really one of the top stops for anybody shopping for blue-chip 20th and 21st century design in New York.Ā And while he has a number of smoking hot pieces on offer, what I find utterly delectable are the pendant lights he has in the store.Ā Mind you, itās not like shopping for lighting at IKEA, but the lighting he has selected with his keenly weathered eye is quite remarkable.
As a buyer looking for lighting, one of the most difficult exercises is to go into a store dripping with hundreds of hanging pendants and making a selection.Ā Itās in these cases that I suggest having the owner walk you through and point out some of his picks (otherwise you may overlook some gems) before doing a solo walk-through to select your own.Ā I followed my own advice and these are some of the beauties I found for a client project in Brazil.
(top) Max Ingrand (1908-1969) for Fontana Arte (model 1441, Milan, c. 1955). Wonderfully thick clear glass with a beveled edge and a brass pierced structure in the center with twelve lights suspended by 3 brass rods. Pure midcentury elegance.Ā Canāt you just picture it in the movie set of I am Love (lo sono lāamore) with Tilda Swinton? This one Iāll have to duke it out with my friend David Scott!
Simone Crestani (b. 1984).Ā Bubble chandelier (Veneto, 2012). Three-tiered frosted orbs with cascading transparent glass spheres.Ā This would rock in an entryway or above a staircase.
Orrefors (Sweden, 1970s). Ceiling pendant, textured sections in glass fastened with brass mounts. Discrete and elegant.Ā Think of several hanging āen filladeā in a hallway.
Stilnovo, chandelier (Italy c. 1955).Ā Triangular brass structure, each side with 3 spherical frosted globes and black diffusers.Ā Great over a dining table or in a study/library.
Bakalowits & Sohne, Miracle chandelier (Austria c. 1970s).Ā Most people would associate this with the Sputnik chandelier but this one is soooo much more special.Ā Rather than having bulbs at the end of the rods, this āsputnikā has one strong light source in the center that emits the light out of the tip of the rod.Ā Wow.Ā This is one that has Kelly Wearstlerās name all over it.
Bernd opened the doors of his NY gallery in 1990 after years of building and exhibiting antique furniture in his adopted homeland of Switzerland. Having the foresight that the buying consumer was veering towards 20th century modernism, he adjusted his inventory and over the last 10+ years has become an authority on 20th century European furniture and decorative arts.
image credits: Bernd Goeckler, New York
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