Abu Dhabi’s The National takes a look at New Zealand’s Design 55 store, owned by Vicky Vuleta and her partner Gary Langsford, one of New Zealand’s leading Contemporary art dealers. To the reporter, the store gives more evidence that design has found a place in the pantheon of high art:

In a space that looks much like a gallery – white walls, exposed concrete beams, suitably quiet ambience – Design 55 in Auckland has filled a niche for limited-edition design pieces that walk this fine line between design and art. The Sushi IV chair is here, along with many other handcrafted pieces from the Campana brothers’ studio. Committee lamps from London resemble an artwork of found objects strung upon a rod, and there is that welcome addition of functionality with the lamp up top. And Fornasetti’s graphic prints on plates and chairs with Corinthian column backs verge on becoming sculpture.

And then what is most obviously a swaying waltz between design and art: two Yves Klein tables, one filled with gossamer sheets of gold leaf, the other with his trademarked electric blue pigment, IKB – International Klein Blue. You may be able to rest your tea cup on it, but it will always be a piece of art. The price tag too suggests this is more than a mere coffee table. And yet, given the prices achieved for the same tables at a recent auction in London, Design 55 is a hidden gem, with reasonable prices to match.

Artful Ideas (The National)