Selected objects
For more than half a century, the Axel Vervoordt Company’s relationship with art and antiques has been a way to share our experiences of the world. We believe the best way to full inhabit a space is by being surrounded by architecture, furniture, art, and objects that are represented by the honesty of their materials and the purity of intent in their creation.
Architectural model of a classical temple
Models of Ancient Greek and Roman buildings are associated with the concept of the 'Grand Tour'. From the late seventeenth until well into the nineteenth century, the education of a young European aristocrat could not be considered complete unless he had undertaken a 'Grand Tour', a journey to the preeminent cultural sites of southern Europe, in particular Italy. The models served not only as souvenirs but were also the first plastic examples for scholars unable to travel to Italy or Greece, who previously had only books and paintings to study with.
Fragment of a Head of Pharaoh Senusret I
Fragmentary head of a pharaoh in black granite. The right side of the face features an almond shaped eye supporting a thick make-up line; the cheek is well-rounded with a high cheekbone. A small preserved fraction of the nemes (royal headdress) close to the right temple indicates this is a pharaoh's portrait. The left side of the face, the nose and mouth are fragmentary.
Pair of Lounge Chairs, Jorge Zalszupin (Warsaw, 1922 - Sao Paulo, 2020)
This pair of lounge chairs allowed Jorge Zalszupin to explore the contemporary possibilities of traditional materials such as Brazilian rosewood and leather, thus creating an innovative formal language. The combination of the slender, dark wooden frame and warm colour of the leather seat and backrest confers a welcoming elegance, free of excess.
Gotthard Graubner, Untitled, 1983-84
Graubner's paintings concentrate on allowing pure colour to appear in the most immaterial possible way. Volume, space and colour are at the heart of the artist's body of work. During his artistic career, Graubner materialized his pictorial concept through the notion of Farbraumkörper or 'Color Space Body', producing a colour formation of indefinite depth comparable to the works of Mark Rothko. Colour became the medium of the art work itself.
Chair
Arthur W. Simpson was a carver and designer of ecclesiastical and domestic furniture, and founder of the Kendal workshop that became known as 'The Handicrafts' (1888). In 1889 one of his pieces was selected for the London Arts and Crafts Society Exhibition. His style underwent a dramatic change: from traditional designs to a more formalized, abstract style of carving. The superb workmanship and clean lines of his furniture quickly found local buyers. To emphasize this new approach, Simpson used light English oak, which was oiled, polished and waxed to reveal its natural beauty.
