prattfolio - Harry Allen Design

SPRING 2015
PRATTFOLIO
THE MAGAZINE OF PRAT T INSTITUTE
THE ART OF THE BOOK
Beyond Binding | Books in the Digital Age | The Art of the Yearbook
6
P R AT T F O L IO
INSIDE
LOOK
At Home with Harry Allen, M.I.D. ’94
P R AT T F O L IO
7
Above: Harry Allen in his living room, which features a light sculpture of his design; Right: A ceramic teapot by Allen’s late friend
Steven Hill, who was lost to AIDS, is surrounded by a glass skull
created by the Esque Studio and a bronze skeleton. The wallmounted sculpture in the background is by Nachum Tevet, one
of Allen’s early teachers who directed him to Pratt; Opposite:
Allen’s dining area features an eclectic mix of items including
a painting by Meg Franklin, which sits atop a white sculpture by
Sol Lewitt, and a large photograph by Liz Deshenes, who photographed Allen’s work before becoming an artist herself.
“Everything in my life has meaning,”
says award-winning designer
Harry Allen, M.I.D. ’94.
That statement applies aptly to his home in New York City’s
East Village, where works of art share space with family
heirlooms, classic design pieces, and products from the various
collections that Allen has produced over the course of his 20year career. For Allen, whose work can be found in such diverse
places as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Target,
objects can—and should—be in dialogue with each other.
He attributes this understanding of how objects interact
to Murray Moss, for whom he designed the iconic Moss Gallery
and More Moss boutique in the mid-1990s. An emphasis
on interaction informs Allen’s overall design ethos, and by
extension the products, furniture, and interiors that he creates.
Allen’s creations serve as cornerstones of the dialogue that
he promotes. By playfully balancing the look and functionality
of his creations, Allen infuses meaning into pieces that are produced and manufactured on a large scale, such as the now classic
Kila lamp that he designed for Ikea.
In his own home, Allen has made meaning not by collecting for
accumulation’s sake, but by bringing together objects—ranging
from a Donald Judd chair to his aunt’s candlesticks—that
remind him of people he has loved and admired. Displaying
pieces from those who have inspired, taught, and known
him, Allen pays homage to the people who have been influential
in his life. Allen feels that, in his apartment, they are all
able to engage with one another. He says, “In so many ways,
my apartment is like a party.”