Kitsch is a delicate distinction that quickly turns on those who apply it. Originally coined to disparage the tastes of Britain's 17th-century bourgeoisie, kitsch has been adopted by every aesthetic movement since to embody the notion of common vulgarity. Jonathan Adler embraces the quintessentially trite and tacky with an unabashed adoration and thumbs his nose at contemporary decor's dated notions of good taste.
Adler has combined his preteen obsession with pottery and love of rustic modernism into a brand that lends a comforting familiarity and subtle humor to interior design. Barney's was the first to recognize his aesthetic back in 1994, and his shapely pots proved a popular commodity among urban hipsters and suburban socialites alike.
Perhaps best known for his Relief collection, Adler takes note of midcentury motifs and applies them with all the novelty of reinvention, creating designs that smack of vintage appreciation without imitation. Characterized by muted matte glazes, graceful curvature and striated surfaces, Relief bespeaks Adler's more demure sensibilities while the greater breadth of his line showcases his playful spirit.
Menagerie is a set of stylized animal figurines somehow simultaneously reminiscent of prehistoric cave illustrations and classic toddler toys. His Utopia pieces could be mistaken for genuine Arts and Crafts stoneware but for his whimsical Victorian references. His Sgraffito bowls and canisters recall the '60s fusion of Mondrian and polyester country-cottage chic a la the Partridge Family. My favorites are in his High Gloss and Platinum offerings, highlighting the signature elements of each set caramelized in a rich glaze, candy-coated in chartreuse or high-polished platinum.
Since launching his furniture collection in 2002, Adler's line has grown to include all aspects of interior design, from lamps that make further use of his pottery designs to sleek, lacquer soap dishes and needlepoint pillows in psychedelic, disco and contemporary art motifs. Adler's self-proclaimed "raging obsession with WASPy country club style" is another perfectly pleasing application of all that was cliché and now so I-wish-I-had-all-of-my-Grandmother-who-retired-in-Boca's-lacquered-bamboo-furniture chic.
Local fans can peruse a cross-section of designs at Blankspace, Mandalay Place's modern lifestyle boutique newly christened in June 2005. Adler's exclusive local dealer, Blankspace grants its customers full access to everything Adler and the promise of prompt delivery, usually within a week.
Blankspace, Mandalay Place, 3930 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 632-9399.
Jennifer Henry has got the goods on what to get and where. E-mail her at
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