Magazine
Following the success of last year’s debut show, Rose Uniacke brought her signature aesthetic back to Frieze Masters in October 2024.
An exploration of darkness, materiality and master craftsmanship, Uniacke exhibited a curation of cross-genre works through the ages - from antiquity to the modern day.
Highlights included a European Bronze Age Spear Head circa 1200-900 BC; a Unique Custom Writing Desk circa 1946-47 by Gio Ponti, furniture and lighting by Jean-Michel Frank, a Rare Tall 'Spiralled' Table Lamp circa 1951 by Georges Jouve, and a Pair of 'Pommeaux de Canne' Armchairs circa 1979 by Diego Giacometti.
Further exploring the idea of darkness, three black watercolour paintings on paper by Bob Law, circa 1987, were on display. Rarely ever purely black, these works modulate from blue, to violet and defy photographic reproduction.
Rose Uniacke exhibited at Frieze Masters, Stand F10, 9-13 October 2024, The Regent’s Park.
Rose Uniacke brought her signature aesthetic back to PAD London in October 2024.
Uniacke’s distinct approach to collecting was evident via an elegant range of furniture, lighting and accessories making for a refined edit inspired by Swedish sports cabins from the early 20th Century. The collection on display included works by eminent designers including Otto Dahlin, Victor Courtray and Hans Wegner.
The curation was marked by a notable use of Scandinavian pine, celebrating its strength, endurance and striking natural grain. Of particular note was a range from Axel Einar Hjorth, including the Utö Dining Table. From Hjorth’s Sportsugemöbler collection, the table showcased the mix of modernism and provisional handicraft espoused by the designer during the 1930s. Also of note, the designer’s ‘Sport’s Cabin’ Pine Sofa - the large sofa was originally intended to be sat against the interior wall of a Swedish Summer House, with the back stained dark as to be un-viewed. Impressively long, the sofa would have been purposely built for the Sports Cabin market, when affluent Swedes began to acquire and furnish rural cabins in the early 20th century for the then emerging bourgeoisie concept of the Summer Holidays. Equally, Hjorth’s High Back Lovö Chairs and the Lovö Side Table were further examples of sturdy and handsome pine furniture.
Elsewhere, a very rare pine dresser or bookcase by Otto Dahlin. Reminiscent of the Sports Cabin furniture produced by Hjorth, Dahlin’s design was also inspired by affluent Swedes escaping the city in search of a healthier way to relax.
Further rich and natural patinas were explored via a 1950’s Oak Games Table by Victor Courtray, a teak and oak Valet Chair by Hans Wegner, a pair of polished mahogany Acajou Wall Cabinets by Eugène Printz and a Walnut Coffee Table, with a rough and natural free edge.
Offering a more textural feel was the early ‘Flagline’ chair by Hans Wegner. The defining characteristic of the chair is its use of hand-woven ‘halyard’ rope - a strong and hardy material much used in sailing and flagpoles. As legend attests, Hans Wegner’s vision for the chair arose during a hot summer’s afternoon in 1949 as he relaxed on the beach, ingeniously shaping the design while digging himself into the sand with a shovel. Later, back in the summer house, the ‘King of Chairs’, as he was often referred to, made his first preliminary design sketches, utilising the perfect lean - back position and seating angles that he had conceived on the beach.
To illuminate the edit was a range of remarkable lights by Alvar Aalto; a 1950’s Ceiling Light Model A604 in white lacquered metal and brass and a pair of ‘Hand Grenade’ Pendant Lights, the name attributed to the lights aesthetic resemblance to the German designed ‘stick’ grenade used in the First World War. Further lighting of note included a pair of Pierced Brass Pendant Lights by ‘the man who illuminated Finland’ Paavo Tynell, a paper Table or Floor Lamp by Isamu Noguchi, a pair of Art Deco Table or Wall Lights by Margin Jean Gauthier and a pair of Art Deco ‘Rinceaux’ Plafonniers designed by Rene Lalique in 1926.
View the collection here.
Rose Uniacke was located at Stand B3 at PAD London 2024. The fair ran from 08-13 October, Berkeley Square, Mayfair.
