cover image DISH: International Design for the Home

DISH: International Design for the Home

Julie M]ller Stahl, Julie Ma1/4ller Stahl, . . Princeton Architectural Press, $34.95 (192pp) ISBN 978-1-56898-476-6

There's no good way to do it, but the title of this book should somewhere reflect that the exhibition for which it is the catalogue (and from which it takes its title), was conceived "to promote women in the field of industrial design," and thus includes only women designers. With that clarified, the contributions from the 30 young artists represented here come through as great design bracingly packaged. Müller is a consultant who head-hunts designers for industry; her eight-paragraph introduction notes that the designers chosen (born all over, but working mostly in New York and Europe) do work that breaks ground in "fabrication, material, or concept." Nicolette Brunklaus contributes "Blonde curtains" (not hair, but silk imprinted with a digital image of hair); Anette Hermann made the "Glory light blanket" of clear silicone and optic fibers; Marre Moerel's "Barnacle wall tiles and towel hooks" look like lovely white bulbous coral growths. Each designer is represented by five to 10 pieces shown in 250 captioned color illustrations and further explained in first-person artists' statements (which serve as the only commentary on each designer). No one here is a household name (yet), but the whole reflects thought, care and understated glamour. (Feb. 7)