Coast Restaurant in London

I first became truly infatuated with Australian Marc Newson's work in the mid-90s when I lived in London. He had designed COAST, a restaurant in a former car showroom in Mayfair, from top to bottom – everything from the central staircase to the ashtrays. At the time, it wasn’t unusual for London restaurants to be very DESIGNED, but Newson’s style – elegant, futuristic, biomorphic – stood out. Coast's interior was retro and modern and terribly chic, all at the same time. Newson would go on to create countless other interiors, furniture, objects, jewelry, planes, cars, clothing and shoes.

The infamous Lockheed Lounge

Newson's most infamous design is his 1990 Lockheed Lounge, a riveted fiberglass and aluminum chaise longue created in an edition of 10 with 4 artist’s proofs. In 1990, Phillipe Starck had one installed in the lobby of The Paramount, Ian Schrager's newly refurbished New York hotel. The Lockheed Lounge went on to gain international fame when Madonna was seen reclining on one in the music video for her 1993 song, “Rain.” In April 2015, an example sold at Phillips in London for £2.4 million [$3.7 Million], a record for a work by a living designer. 

The Orgone Vase for Cappellini
White glazed ceramic | Italy |1992 | 15" h x 6.5" w x 6.5" d | $1,950

Though not many of us will own a Lockheed Lounge [or even his 1993 $4,000ish Felt chair that has had a resurgence in the interior design world of late], his 1992 porcelain Orgone Vase for Cappelini – long out of production – is an affordable, table top example of Newson’s biomorphic futurism. The vase’s name [that is shares with a Newson Chair, Lounge/Table, and Rings] must be a reference to the pseudoscientific life force proposed by Wilhelm Reich in the 1930s. Designed with a lid and three holes, it is as much sculpture as flower vase and is available in the online shop.