Rottet Collection Opens an Airy Manhattan Showroom, and Other News – Surface Magazine

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Lauren Rottet envisions the expressive yet understated furniture, lighting, and accessories in her home collection as an array of functional art objects “designed to endure and be passed down from generation to generation,” she says. That’s because the award-winning architect, who launched her influential interiors firm in 2008, is a rigorous student of the arts, particularly the Light and Space movement. 
Each piece is imbued with movement and character, from the energetic Walking Bench’s askew legs to the Aurora Table’s luminous bronze and cast amber glass panes. They take pride of place in Rottet Collection’s newly opened Manhattan showroom, a light-filled Nomad loft that presents an array of pieces within welcoming vignettes, all unified under Rottet’s deft hand. —Ryan Waddoups
André Leon Talley, the well-known Black fashion editor, was known for his extravagant taste and love of luxurious items. After his death this past January, speculation began about the fate of the collections he amassed over the years and kept in his homes in White Plains, NY, and Durham, NC, a trove of artifacts representing a certain style of luxury in the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Christie’s recently unveiled “The Collection of André Leon Talley,” a 448-lot auction featuring items such as designer caftans, towering fur hats, and Louis Vuitton trunks. The collection will tour three cities, starting in Palm Beach, FL, before moving to Paris during Couture Week, and New York during Fashion Week. The sale will culminate in a live auction of 68 lots on Feb. 15, during Black History Month. 
England has confirmed a ban on single-use items like plastic cutlery, plates, and polystyrene trays. It’s not clear when the ban will come into effect, but it follows similar moves made by Scotland and Wales. The move intends to help protect the environment for future generations. Campaigners have welcomed the ban, but call for a wider-ranging plastic reduction strategy.
Artists Karla Ortiz, Kelly Mckernan, and Sarah Andersen have filed a class action lawsuit against three companies—Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt—that have released AI-powered image generators that can transform simple text prompts into convincingly rendered images. The artists claim the companies violated copyright laws by using their images—along with those of tens of thousands of other artists—to train image generators and produce derivative works, infringing on 17 U.S. Code § 106, exclusive rights in copyrighted works, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the Unfair Competition law. The plaintiffs claim that these copied images are then used to create “derivative works,” a work that “incorporate[s] enough of the original work that it obviously stems from the original.”
In Houston, a giant printer is building what designers claim is the country’s first 3D-printed two-story house. The machine has been pouring a concrete mix from a nozzle, one layer at a time, to create a 4,000-square-foot home. While 3D-printed construction has been around for more than a decade, the technology has only started to enter the U.S. homebuilding market over the past couple of years. The three-bedroom home is a two-year collaboration between design firm Hannah, Peri 3D Construction, and Cive, a local engineering company. The team aims to use the technology to address a range of construction challenges, including labor shortages and building more resilient homes in the face of natural disasters.
The Vivienne Foundation is launching this week to protect and continue the legacy of the late fashion designer’s life and activism. Founded by Westwood in 2019, the foundation’s goal is to create a better world through tangible action in four key areas: halting climate change, stopping war, defending human rights, and protesting capitalism. The foundation will work with NGOs and individuals to raise awareness and initiate positive change in these areas. Its priority is to reduce emissions and protect and restore biodiversity and wildlife. The foundation also aims to stand against war and the arms trade, protect human rights and freedom of speech, and work towards an equal and sustainable economy.
Peter Doig has won a $2.5 million judgment against a former corrections officer, gallery, and their former lawyer, who claimed that Doig had painted a landscape they hoped to sell. The judge ruled in Doig’s favor in 2016 and in December 2020, supported the sanctions because the parties had pursued the case even when it was clear it would not succeed. This case comes after a 2013 lawsuit by the former corrections officer who claimed that he had bought a painting by Doig for $100 in the prison where he worked, but Doig denied authorship, claiming it was painted by another man.
Scientists have figured out how to steer lightning bolts using lasers.
Orient Express is planning to launch the world’s largest sailing ship. 
Hong Kong artist Gabe Lau fashions timepieces out of cardboard.
The creator of the “this is fine” dog wants us to collectively move on.
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