Design Edit: Glass Block Lamps, Ettore Sottsass, and More

The chaotic magic of may be over now that it’s June, but there is still a lot to see this month. This edition includes a group show that interprets the woodlands and Wales at , a giant textile sculpture by Joana Vasconcelos at the Roche Bobois flagship, and a glass-block and metal furniture collection from artist Micah Rosenblatt.

We could see glimpses of Micah Rosenblatt’s latest collection in the office he created for along with Sophie Parker. In “City Block,” a 16-piece furniture collection showing at the Front Gallery, Rosenblatt takes it further with a study in contrasts that brings together chunky glass blocks and thin wire forms that reference the city’s weird and sometimes jarring mash-up of construction materials. In Rosenblatt’s hands, the industrial blocks look more like Art Deco objects, framed in complementary green and topped with spheres, and his spiral steel chairs are a striking, dressed-up version of the city’s wrought-iron fencing. Closes June 23.

Nordic Knots, maker of , opens its first store outside Stockholm in Soho. Taking its cues from an archive room, large samples of the Scandinavian company’s rugs and curtains hang from stainless-steel units in a space designed by Studio Giancarlo Valle. It’s a refined and functional showroom that fits its contemporary Swedish aesthetic, and the Greene Street location showcases its full range: striped, shaggy, artist collaborations, and works by legacy Nordic designers, with a worktable by Axel Einar Hjorth and lighting from Palle Suenson. Moving to America means moving closer to the brand’s largest customer base, and the designers wanted the store to feel warm and homey. “For us, it’s important to have a space that is more than just a white box,” said co-founder Fabian Berglund. Opens June 13.

Opening in time for summer solstice, Tiwa’s second-ever group show invites you to discover what woodland mythology means to 24 artists — the show’s name, “Coetir,” is Welsh for woodland, a nod to founder s Wales roots. Expect to find intriguing, distinct objects of glass, ceramic and wood in a circular, ceremonial arrangement. Along with some designers who have shown at Tiwa before, including Dana Arbib, Vince Skelly, and Minjae Kim, London-based ’s sculptural ceramic and , known for his dramatic wood furniture, will be showing for the first time. Opens June 21.

Master works of design are sometimes viewed from inches away but rarely without a security guard present or the company of meandering guided tours. But Raisonné, a design gallery in Soho, has opened a large survey of Italian designer and architect Ettore Sottsass without any of the guardrails, presenting over 100 works spanning across five decades of his practice. Sottsass himself thought retrospectives felt “like having a birthday party where too many relatives show up,” but the show manages to create an intimate environment that highlights each piece without overwhelming the senses. His signature zigzag appears in the marble, metal, and gold furniture that cemented his legacy as a postmodern innovator. But beyond the more familiar Memphis Group works, there are surprises in the rare blown-glass pieces and one-off furniture commissions. Closes June 28.

Commemorating 50 years in America, French design juggernaut Roche Bobois, perhaps best known for its Bubble couches, will install Amazonia, by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, in its flagship store on Madison Avenue. The massive, winding fabric sculpture, stretching nearly 150 feet long, will be suspended from its roof, in all its crocheted, beaded, and felted glory, until October 31. In her 30 years as an artist, Vasconcelos has become the youngest and only woman to present at Versailles Palace, and the first Portuguese artist to exhibit at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Set off against Bobois’s colorful BomBom seating, her hanging piece looks oddly at home. Opens June 13.

At Salon 94, the paintings of late French American artist Niki de Saint Phalle see you too; each of her Burst Paintings contain photo sensors that react to a viewer’s presence and trigger motorized elements that light up or move elements on her folk-art landscapes. A life-size board game comes to mind. The artist, now recognized as one of the most significant women in sculpture, made the kinetic paintings in her final years, an homage to her late husband, Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely, and his trademark machine sculptures. Across three rooms at Salon 94, life-size wood sculptures, cactus-like painted statues adorned in light bulbs, and a glossy rose-colored mosaic table burst with color and energy. Closes June 22.