Minimalism Comes Later
Works by Sonia Delaunay, a prewar design ace who dabbled in textiles, graphics, and interiors, are going up at Cooper-Hewitt this week. Entitled “Color Moves,” the exhibit will include over 300 of Delaunay’s wildly hued fabrics and fashion designs from the twenties and thirties, with artwork, garments, and photographs borrowed from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, and various other museums and private collections (2 E. 91st St., at Fifth Ave.; 212-849-8400; 3/18–6/5; $15).
Pretty Things Slashed
Anyone aching for a good discount-shopping spree is in luck this week, with two huge housewares sales on the horizon. Carpet aficionados will be saddened to hear that Oriental-rug wholesaler Mirza A. Kalaty is ending his 30-year career, but delighted that he’s opening his showroom to the public and cutting prices 50 to 70 percent. This week also marks the beginning of Property’s bi-annual sale in Soho, where the label will offer up its collection of sleek, ultracontemporary furniture for up to 60 percent off original prices (Kalaty Rug Corp., 443 Park Ave. S., nr. 30th St.; 212-683-7222; 3/21 through June; Property, 14 Wooster St., nr. Grand St.; 917-237-0123; 3/19–4/5).
Designers Wheel Out Their Latest
Architectural Digest brings its annual Home Design Show to town this week. The design juggernaut presents three days of demonstrations, book signings, consultations, and curated tours of the latest in housewares from the likes of Ethan Allen, Georg Jensen, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, and about 300 others. In addition to scanning housewares, you can pick up contemporary art at Pier 92, as part of the Artist Project New York, a show of up-and-comers from around the world (Pier 92 and 94, Hudson River at 55th St.; Fri.–Sat. 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; $25 for three days).
A Bittersweet Fire Sale
After four years, Liberty Sunset Garden Center, named the city’s best plant nursery by New York in 2008, is leaving its lush waterfront digs on Red Hook’s Pier 41 at the end of the month. The 8,000-square-foot converted warehouse makes a scenic spot for exploring, flanked by a wraparound deck, greenhouse, and outdoor garden with views of the Statue of Liberty. While owner Sandor Gubis searches for a new location, he’s offering up to 50 percent off an impressive stash of plants, wood furniture, pots, planters, and rare décor accumulated over the past two decades, like intricate twelve-foot-tall wooden church doors from the early-nineteenth century ($4,000 for a pair). The greenery ranges from five-inch potted ferns for $10 to fruit-bearing lemon trees for $100 to $300, and includes yucca, shrubs, cacti, perennials, and tropical indoor plants from the greenhouse (204-207 Van Dyke St., nr. Ferris St., Red Hook; no number; through 3/31).