September 25, 2024
HBTX Profiles, HBCM Profiles, HBBO Profiles, HBCA Profiles, HBNY Profiles, HBSC Profiles, HBMI Profiles, HBAT Profiles, HBDC Profiles,
Artist and designer Doug Meyer re-imagines the classics with his new collection, American Rhapsody, for Modern Matter.
The American Rhapsody collection is composed of four small groups, each one inspired by a movement or particular period of time in America,” explains artist and designer Doug Meyer of his new collection for Modern Matter.
Meyer crafted “X” and “O” cabinet pulls using enamel and brass for the Kiss and Hug group as a nod to the Pop Art era
The first group, aptly named Americana, draws from traditional American design elements. Meyer describes his approach: “I took classic hardware shapes—a batwing drawer pull (Chippendale style) and a knob with a backplate (Shaker style)—and coated these pieces with Colonial Williamsburg- inspired blues and greens. It’s such an obvious thing, yet no one has done it. I love taking a simple object and coloring it—color is so transformative, it can take a mundane object and make it remarkable.”
The second group, Kiss and Hug, is a playful nod to the Pop Art era of the late 1960s. Inspired by cultural icons like Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and psychedelic artist Peter Max, Meyer crafted “X” and “O” cabinet pulls using enamel and brass. “These are designed to bring color and whimsy to any space,” he notes.
The Foundation group offers bold, linear designs like the Rebar pull and the intricate Dahlia pull.
Meyer’s admiration for American architecture shines through in the third group, Falling Water, which pays homage to Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic design. “The moment I saw the burnished brass that Modern Matter could make, I realized I wanted to combine ceramic with beautiful glazes, where each piece becomes unique,” he says. He also introduced the Sherwood Forest series, inspired by the natural patina of oxidized brass and organic forms.
Foundation, the fourth group, reflects America’s architectural ingenuity, channeling the spirit of Louis Sullivan, the father of skyscrapers. This group features bold, linear designs like the Rebar pull and the intricately detailed Dahlia pull, merging masculine and feminine elements.
“One of my guiding principles in creating the American Rhapsody collection was to design decorative hardware that I had not seen in the marketplace but pieces that were nonetheless distinctive, timeless and untrendy,” Meyer says.
Photography by:
.jpg)
