Being Golightly over at Lennys - art/furniture auction at Leonard Joel

Ok ... in an effort to curb our cat's recent ablution patterns, we are currently forced to exist in a series of 2 room compartments, delineated by closed off doors in order to channel a pathway from loungeroom, up a homemade stepped ramp, onto window sill and out into the wild blue yonder that is our backyard ... aka the pussy toilet! So its fitting that my mind turns to other more shall we say, robust living arrangements, and possibly more aesthetic surrounds ... the kind you find south of the yarra.

We recently channelled our inner ponce and decided to puruse the items up for grabs as part of the Modern Design Auction at Leonard Joel. Ok that is a bit harsh as it turned out to be quite a lovely day out. And there are arguably price points to suit all budgets, although M and I have decided that we have expensvie tastes.

Leonard Joel is housed in an old school building, so walking up its wooden panel stairs and dim corridors didn't quite prepare us for the light filled space absolutely packed with the busy geometry and colour that is part of what is broadly termed modern design. Whether deliberate or not, it was good spacial psychology, as the heart fairly jumps at the prospect of finding something amazing in such a vibrantly packed room.

We didn't really know when to start, and we certainly did not want it to end.

There were quite a few items I could easily have bid on. And though we did return the next day for the auction proper and even registered for a number, we left empty handed, and I guess wisely so as our front verandah needs propping up and that is what in life is called a necessity! Terribly boring ... but vital.

Gordon from The Collectors was there filming ... so maybe you might see our ugly mugs in the shot at some stage. But regardless of whether you are a European car driving, armani dacks showing, vintage givenchy scarf and paint splattered overall wearing sort of person, you should check out these auctions every now and then, you may actually find yourself a bargain. Or at least something you would proudly consider displaying in your home at a comparatively inexpensive cost.

These were some of the items we lusted after ...

Lot 157A Poul Henningsen Artichoke Light - Designed in 1958 - this one is a c1990 repro

Hands down this was the most desirable item for me ... and the most expensive item sold at the auction. Estimated to cost about $3600, active bidding drove it up to a cool $13420 ... this for a repro. But it was in decent nick.

This mid-80s gold and chrome wall hanging caught my eye. Although manufactured in the mid-80s, it had more of the high gloss 70s disco-era vibe for me, although fan shapes were quite the thing in my teenage years.

Lot 79 Curtis Jere Wave Sculpture c.1985

This went for $480. The catalogue has it pictured in a horizontal fashion ... I quite like it in a vertical stance.

We briefly contemplated these white and black lampshades by Bertjan Pot made out of latticed fibreglass, epoxy resin and powder coated aluminium.

I liked the size of the white one but M reckoned it would have been disproportionate to the size of our room and obvously so. I thought the black version was a little too small. And as it turned out it was sold as a set of 3.

Lot 222 A Non Random Light by Bertjan Pot (c2010) - $780

The Black Version sold as a set of 3 - 1920

But if money was no object, and we had a suitably large house, we would have gone out on a stylistic limb and opted for the full-blown late 70s high gloss polished wood and chrome extravanganza that was the Paolo Barrachia loungeroom, dining and bedroom suite.

 

Photo taken from Leonard Joel catalogue showing sideboard and dining suite

Imagine the lines drawn on that table. I'm seeing Bee Gees unbuttoned satin shirts and Olivia Newton John hair. Amazing! And maybe KC spreading a bit of his sunshine.