Design Duo Wagner Van Dam Add Wow Factor to Metro Show Entrance With a Colorful Variegated Vignette

17-Jan-2012

NEW YORK – As they step into the Metro Show, designers, antiques collectors and tastemakers alike will first set their discerning eyes on a display hardly possible to miss: The bold, attention- grabbing vignette by New York-based design team Wagner Van Dam.

“What an honor to be able to show off our design philosophy in the inaugural Metro Show—and all the more so in such a prominent position, right at the front entrance,” says designer Timothy Van Dam, who, with co- principal Ron Wagner, chose the diverse pieces for the eclectic décor from dealers at the Metro Show. The four-day showcase of art and antiques opens on January 19 at New York City’s Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, and runs through January 22.

Recognized for their work by Architectural Digest and Interior Design, Wagner Van Dam recently completed a top-to-bottom refurbishment of the Patrons’ Lounge and Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The designers are noted for interiors that deftly blend disparate styles, and for their vignette they borrowed widely from dealers at the Metro Show—itself a rich array of wide-ranging furniture and artwork.  “We especially wanted to capitalize on the vitality of Mid-Century design,” says Wagner, an intention evidenced in the vignette by an Ed Wormley cabinet and cocktail table, circa 1952, and a Vladimir Kagan sofa from the 1970s, all from Lillian Nassau.

Anchoring the room is Life on a Merry-Go-Round, a riotously colorful oil painting by John Alexander from the Joel Cooner Gallery.

Fusing together all the contrasting elements of the Wagner Van Dam vignette is the team’s confident use of color, a Wagner Van Dam signature. For the checkerboard floor laid in 24-in. squares, the designers selected high-gloss Benjamin Moore “Chic Lime” and Benjamin Moore “Purple Rain.” For the drapery covering the walls in the Empire mode, Wagner and Van Dam went for lavender—an homage to the favorite hair color and lipstick of singer Nicki Minaj. “Our concept was to have fun with our space,” the designers say about their memorable creation for the Metro Show. “And did we ever!”

Commanding interest in the Wagner Van Dam space is an arresting music-making sculpture in Steampunk style, a design movement originating in the 1980s that blends Victorian-style embellishment with sci-fi newness. For the sculpture—which is the size of a baby grand piano and has a playable, digital-era keyboard—artist Sam Ostroff forged, twisted, hammered and welded more than 600 pounds of steel plate, bar and pipe.

For additional information contact Wagner Van Dam:  212-862-0092;  www.wagnervandam.com