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48 DIGS.NET | 5.14.2021 P R O F I L E | L U S S H O U S E RITSUE MISHIMA, OUVO DI NEVE, 2021, IN AT THE LUSS HOUSE: BLUM & POE, MENDES WOOD DM AND OBJECT & THING ; PRESENTED BY OBJECT & THING, CONTRIB- UTED BY ALISON BRADLEY PROJECTS, NEW YORK, PHOTO BY YASUSHI ICHIKAWA PAULO MONTEIRO, UNTITLED, 2018, IN AT THE LUSS HOUSE: BLUM & POE, MENDES WOOD DM AND OBJECT & THING ; COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MENDES WOOD DM, SAÕ PAOLO/BRUSSELS/NEW YORK PAULO NAZARETH, VÁRZEA, 2020 IN AT THE LUSS HOUSE: BLUM & POE, MENDES WOOD DM AND OBJECT & THING ; COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MENDES WOOD DM, SAÕ PAOLO/BRUSSELS/NEW YORK RITSUE MISHIMA, JOMON, 2020, IN AT THE LUSS HOUSE: BLUM & POE, MENDES WOOD DM AND OBJECT & THING ; PRESENTED BY OBJECT & THING, CONTRIBUTED BY ALISON BRADLEY PROJECTS, NEW YORK , PHOTO BY YASUSHI ICHIKAWA A GROUP OF CERAMIC VESSELS BY JOHNNY ORTIZ, 2021, IN AT THE LUSS HOUSE: BLUM & POE, MENDES WOOD DM AND OBJECT & THING ; PRESENTED BY OBJECT & THING, PHOTO BY MAIDA BRANCH AND JOHNNY ORTIZ A GROUP OF VASES BY FRANCES PALMER, 2021, EXAMPLE OF SIMILAR WORKS IN AT THE LUSS HOUSE: BLUM & POE, MENDES WOOD DM AND OBJECT & THING ; PRESENTED BY OBJECT & THING, PHOTO BY FRANCES PALMER I n the fall of 2020, at a time when visit- ing art galleries in New York proved t o to be challenging due to the pandemic, Blum & Poe, Mendes Wood DM and Object & Thing conceived of and collaborated on an exhibition of art and design objects at the Eliot Noyes House in New Canaan, Connecticut," remembers Matt Bangser, partner at Blum & Poe. "The show was extremely well-received and we collectively decided a second exhibition would be a natural follow-up, which led us to organizing 'At the Luss House.'" On view through July 24, 2021, this exhibition showcases new and site-specific contemporary art and design works by 18 international artists includ- ing Alma Allen, Lucas Arruda, Cecily Brown, Matt Connors, Green River Project LLC, Tony Lewis, Eddie Martinez, Ritsue Mishima, Paulo Monteiro, Johnny Ortiz, Frances Palmer, and Marina Perez Simão, among others. One specificity of the show is its location, as it takes place in the former residence of Gerald Luss (born in 1926). The architect and designer designed the mid-century home in 1955 in Ossining, New York. "It is unique to find a home in largely orig- inal condition that was made by and for the architect himself," Bangser says. "The Luss House is sited in a quiet residential area, approximately 45 minutes north of New York City up the Hudson River. It is built on a sloped piece of land supported by steel pillars, which give the feeling of the house floating in nature, with trees and grass on all sides. The rectilinear modernist structure with wraparound glass sits beautifully in its surrounding natural environment. The works we have chosen respond to these forms found within the architecture of the home and the landscape." The story of Luss's first freestanding architec- tural project dates back to 1952, when the architect bought the land and first constructed a treehouse to live on-site, with the objective of experiencing the lot before designing the current house, which was built from prefabricated industrial components. Hand- crafted interior details, built-in shelving and cabinetry, and exposed planks (including cedar, macassar ebony and teak woods) characterize the spaces. Luss and his family lived here during the three years the architect spent working on the 350,000-square-foot Time-Life office building (1959), a 48-story skyscraper located on Avenue of the Americas in midtown. During this period, the Luss home became a place for meetings with the Time-Life staff. The designs of both buildings were influenced by each other, resulting in the same type of connection between interior and exterior, and a similar material and color palette. "It is satisfying to have this exhibition infuse new life in the home I designed for my family at the onset of my career, and to see new generations of artists and designers bring their contemporary perspective into ALMA ALLEN, NOT YET TITLED, 2019, IN AT THE LUSS HOUSE: BLUM & POE, MENDES WOOD DM AND OB- JECT & THING ; © ALMA ALLEN, COURTESY THE ARTIST PHOTO BY GENEVIEVE LUTKIN "We want people to step away from a visit to this exhibition with an appreciation for the ways in which art and design objects can heighten an experience with architecture and nature." A R C H I T E C T U R E + D E S I G N