For more than 50 years, the pioneering American designer and craftsman Wendell Castle has been creating exquisite forms in wood, fiberglass, stainless steel, and other materials, often blurring the line between fine art and furniture. Now 80, the undercelebrated artisan is suddenly enjoying the limelight, with solo exhibitions at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Connecticut and the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, two shows at Chelsea galleries, and a group exhibition, “Against the Grain,” on view through September 15 at the Museum of Arts and Design. Craving a Castle piece for yourself? His works are also included in an auction at Doyle New York on April 8. “Each year has been getting better and better for me,” says Castle, marveling at the renewed interest in his work. “And things are not slowing down.” —Carmela Ciuraru
Out this month from Prestel, The Green Florilegium ($150) is a gorgeous reproduction of a rare 17th-century album of floral illustrations. Neither signed nor dated, the originals are generally attributed to the German painter Hans Simon Holzbecker and now reside at a Copenhagen museum. The oversize volume of 400 botanical images is a must-have garden of delights for any cocktail table.
bench: CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD.
On April 23 and 24, Christie’s will auction off more than 500 items from a Palladian-style villa in California decorated by Michael S. Smith, including this Italian rococo bench (below, est. $12,000–$18,000). “This extraordinary house took five years to complete, and so much thought went into the selection of every detail,” says Smith, whose book about the project, Building Beauty, will be published next month by Rizzoli. For more information, go to christies.com.
