The inaugural ‘Sized: an exhibition of works for the home and life’, is a striking collision of art and design by more than 40 creatives opening on 15 June in Los Angeles

Installation view of LA exhibition ’Sized’ featuring JF Chen, Greg Lynn ’Ravioli’ Prototype Chair

Founded and curated by Alexander May, the brains behind creative enterprise Offsite.Studio which focuses on artist collaborations, the inaugural Los Angeles exhibition ‘Sized’ will feature works by over 40 artists and designers; all individuals and friends that May has known or admired for some time.

With all items available to purchase, the ‘collision of art and design’ will address our desire for collecting, says May. The eclectic mix of objects on display includes a pair of vintage stools on loan from Neutra’s VDL House on the same stage as a Sterling Ruby contemporary piece and a pre-Columbian urn.

Top: Installation view featuring Sterling Ruby / S.R. Studio. LA. CA, Unique (7676), 2021 and Michèle Lamy for Rick Owens furniture, Gallic Chair, 2007. Above: Installation view featuring Jordan Wolfson, Chair 01, 2018

Other highlights include a stickered chair by Jordan Wolfson; a sculpture by Sterling Ruby / S.R. Studio. LA. CA; glassware and candleholders by Permanent Collection; a Gallic chair by Michèle Lamy for Rick Owens Furniture; a selection of Lykke Li’s musical instruments from her personal collection; unique hand-crafted garments by collective No Sesso; and a book, Dižà Nó Ole, by Cielo, the Indigenous-women-led nonprofit dedicated to Indigenous communities in Los Angeles.

Several key design launches are simultaneously happening on-site, including the debut of bi-coastal horticultural operation Cactus Store premiering its furniture and the unveiling of Studio Shamshiri’s chair in collaboration with John Williams. Pamela Shamshiri extols the power of in-person events, saying, ‘Even before the pandemic, we were living more and more in virtual worlds, but a digital photo can never show the way that sunlight changes the shadows on a painting, or the way it feels to be in the presence of a Rodin, or how you can be blown away by the incredible craftsmanship in a piece of furniture just by spending time exploring its details in front of you. I think that feeling is very primal and human, and something we’ve been hungry for. Also, so many people have spent quarantine making amazing things, and it’s exciting to see what everyone has been up to.’

Top: Tiwa Select / Megumi Shauna Ari, Large Noren, natural fabric, vintage textile, 2021. Above: Installation view of ’Sized’.

Tantalising all the senses, the physical experience will be enhanced by a pop-up installation space by Alex Tieghi-Walker of Tiwa Select that will operate as a tearoom by day, serving a custom blend by California-based Leaves and Flowers, and as a mezcal bar on special evenings, with pourings of Yola Mezcal. Guests can enjoy their drinks under the indigo-dyed canopy by artist Megumi Shauna Arai, around a 12-foot oak table created from salvaged Victorian floorboards while seated on Vince Skelly stools. ‘During a year in which we have been so isolated from each other, I want to create an experience that unites people in a way that feels personal, intimate, and tactile – albeit on a modest, friendly scale,’ says Tieghi-Walker.

‘There’s no comparison’, says May of the importance of physical experiences. May previously founded Fondazione Converso, the non-profit arts space housed inside the 16th-century Church of San Paolo Converso in Milan, committed to fostering the dialogue of art and architecture through performative exhibitions – so he knows a thing or two about the impact of in-person events. ‘Coming out of a year where we’ve all experienced so much through digital mediums, creating a physical environment that people can enjoy — and reconnect with one another — is exciting. There’s something that happens in a room when all the right elements come together; there’s a knowing that occurs.’ §

Installation view featuring Rewire Nuvola Suspension lighting by Tobia Scarpa, and Vanessa Beecroft VB.B.031, 2019, bronze head