The Bell Jar of the Illuminated Skull and the Christ of Bees

Design Miami / Basel has a few glass-encased curiosities this year. Netherlands-based Tomáš Gabzdil Libertiny of Libertiny Studio placed a floating sculpture and 40,000 worker bees together, tricking the bees to build a honeycomb around the figure. They’ve even glazed the buzzing Jesus with honey (mmm, sacrelicious). Swiss designer Rolf Sach‘s dome lights cover still life with bell jars with a reflecting, nearly transparent coating that functions as a kind of a one-way mirror. Inside… Read more »

Pharrell Williams continues trying out new careers, designing another piece of furniture for Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin. Following last year’s “Perspective,” a chair resting on a man and woman’s legs in a unsubtle homage to sex, comes “The Tank.” Riding on plexiglass treads, the leather seat, upholstered in blue, black, white or pink, will be unveiled at Art Basel Miami next week to help generate some hype.

In case you can’t wait until the end of summer for a bright yellow spray tip stool, designer Sander van Heukelom already has a couple chairs based on the ubiquitous paint nozzles. Debuted last summer at the Interieur Design Competition, the two oversized fat cap seats are available in white or whatever mess of colors fit your style.

On Friday, as part of Sotheby’s ridiculously priced “Important 20th Century Design” auction, a bunch of furniture and other items will be offered, including these expensive chairs by artists like Tom Sachs, Shiro Kuramata, Gaetano Pesce and Robert Wilson. Also on the block are pieces by Frank Gehry, Tiffany Studios, Jean Prouve, Gustav Stickley, Olafur Eliasson and this tendriled radiator by Joris Laarman. For just 30 to 50 thousand dollars you can heat your home with “one of the most acclaimed designs of the decade,” according to the auction house. Click here to see the full catalogue.