This Tuesday, the Christina Grajales Gallery will open “Baroccabilly,” the first U.S. show of British architect and furniture designer Nigel Coates (through April 1; cristinagrajalesinc.com). “Nigel has always been an irreverent designer,” Cristina says. His pieces”Pop-accented takes on Baroque architecture and furnishings”are intelligent, witty, and playful, much like the maverick gallerist herself. Christina opened her gallery in 2001, specializing in twentieth-century modern masters like Charlotte Perriand and Alexandre Noll. Here is Coates’s Castellieri chandelier made of Swarovski crystal, stainless steel, fabric, and leather. Photo: Courtesy of Cristina Grajales Gallery
Nigel’s Pompadour Chair incorporates a timber frame and silk upholstery to make a comical but stately slipper chair. To me, the seat evokes a huge eighteenth-century ball gown. Photo: Courtesy of Cristina Grajales Gallery
The Baroccabilly carpet brings to mind a modern Rorschach test. Photo: Courtesy of Cristina Grajales Gallery
The Aviator sofa (velvet and silk upholstery over a timber frame) is one of several homages to the iconic sunglasses. Photo: Courtesy of Cristina Grajales Gallery
These silvered beveled-glass mirrors are another play on aviator glasses, though they stand on their own as abstract sculptures. Photo: Courtesy of Cristina Grajales Gallery
A silvered-glass-and-stainless-steel wall mount comes in an edition of twelve. Photo: Courtesy of Cristina Grajales Gallery
The Gianno lamp suggests a person’s face being lit up from several angles at once. Photo: Courtesy of Cristina Grajales Gallery
