Cool Hunting

Unlike some auction houses, the Chicago-based Wright tends to eschew sensational events and publicity-hungry sales. Instead, it simply offers (quite modestly) some of the best design available on the secondary market. The forthcoming Modern Design auction, taking place on 7 October 2008, is no exception. In addition to showcasing the work of mid-century icons Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, George Nakashima, Isamu Noguchi, Gio Ponti, George Nelson, Hans Wegner, Poul Kjærholm and many others, this auction features stunning inclusions from more recent decades. Here are a few of the designs that caught our eyes.

Nearly forty years ago, long before Marc Newson became the art world's design darling with his Carrara collection for Larry Gagosian, Angelo Mangiarotti created sculptural furniture out of marble. This occasional table (above) from the Eros collection, produced by the Italian company Skipper, was designed in 1971. It's estimated to sell for between $5,000 and $7,000.

Shiro Kuramata, probably the modern era's most renowned Japanese designer, created this glass chair in 1976 (above left), right around the time that Donald Judd was producing his minimal pinewood furniture. From a limited edition of forty, it carries an estimate of between $40,000 and $60,000. Like a tangerine Loch Ness Monster, the Floris chair (above right) by Günter Beltzig captured the attention of fairgoers at the 1968 Cologne Furniture Fair. One of the few successful three-legged chair designs, the fiberglass form proved too difficult to produce and only fifty were made. It's estimated between $30,000 and $40,000.

Check out more from the forthcoming Modern Design auction on the Wright site.