In the summer 2010 issue of Modern, Editor Gregory Cerio, makes an interesting observation about work at SOFA (the Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art exposition) and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s Design Triennial. In Surprised by Sincerity, Cerio admits that he was skeptical of both (despite some fine pieces at the first SOFA he attended, “a voice in the back of my mind kept whispering words like ‘macrame’ and ‘patchouli oil’ “), but writes that his “travels through the leafy glades of the high-end design market have forced a reassessment.” At “fashionable fairs” and “tony galleries” he  has seen works “done with a smirk, or of design by irony.” Cerio says that he has to come to realize that at SOFA and the Cooper-Hewitt, by contrast,”they are presenting work made with honesty and conviction.” To read the entire editorial, get a copy of Modern at http://www.idealmodern.com/2009/11/modern-magazine-is-available-at-below.html.

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