News

Ladakh

2010-04-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

Spring in the City

2010-04-15T07:29:00.001-07:00

How these don't get stolen right off the stoop amazes me.

A Day in the Shop

2010-04-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

working, working, working....

A Walk in Tribeca

2010-04-12T08:06:00.001-07:00

Something nice for the backyard.

Fiyel Levent at @RT: Art at Ridgewood Times

2010-04-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

Hmmm.....where shall we go today?

2010-04-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

New Installation Pieces

2010-04-05T05:46:00.000-07:00

Color....

2010-03-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

...from another continent.

I'd rather be traveling on a day like this.

2010-03-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Ladakh Region, in India

New Little Things

2010-03-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

OBJET, a design book

2010-03-24T06:32:00.001-07:00

Featured!

Greetings From Finland!

2010-03-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

Clockwise from Top Left: 1. Marimekko Bag 2. Ruisleipä - the REAL rye bread 3. The best business cards ever from PINO 4. Fazer Chocolate - egg shaped yummies 5. My new hand knit hat from Oulu 6. Oltermanni - THE Finnish Cheese

Sun!

2010-03-22T11:22:00.001-07:00

Istanbul - Kapalıçarşı

2010-03-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

New Project Palate

2010-03-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

We're midway through an interiors project at a Gordon Bunshaft building in The City. Though I never really took notice of modern apartment buildings in New York, and indeed tended to shun them, I've fallen in love with this particular one with all it's split level entrances and sub-grade gardens. The aim of the interior was to tie back to the era: Knoll, Breuer, Corbusier, Rodrigues, etc. Above you'll see the palate we put together; textiles, surfaces, fabrics, colors.

Design Thinking Group Show

2010-03-18T06:33:00.001-07:00

Design Thinking is Design Doing Group Show

The Opening is on Saturday, March 20th

2010-01-09T15:35:00.001-08:00

RITES OF PASSAGE EXHIBITION

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 6-9 pm

Exhibition on view: January 21 - February 11, 2010

Rites of Passage is a group exhibition, organized by guest curator Thomas Micchelli, that considers the multiple paths taken by new forms of expression at the turn of the 21st Century, specifically those found in the work of alumni of The Cooper Union who graduated between the years 1995 and 2009 from The School of Art, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, and The Albert Nerken School of Engineering. Their explorations range from the intangibility of light and sound to the poetry of infrastructure, autobiographical reflection to political outrage, naked terror to absurdist humor. Rites of Passage takes its title from a poem by Audre Lorde that speaks of the transition between generations, of young people as agents of change as well as witnesses to the passing of obsolete ideas.

The works in this exhibition, most of which were made especially for the show, denote some kind of journey that signaled a turning point in the participants' lives or worldviews.. Whether the passages are interior or external, they are accomplished through an openness and honesty of expression, a blurring of the lines between disciplines, and a willingness to try anything that might break apart an old paradigm and engender something new.

In connection with the exhibition there will be a panel discussion entitled Rock the Boat: Art as Intervention on Friday, February 5, 2010, from 6 to 9 pm in the Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square, New York City.

Participants:

Courtney J Angermeier	Charles H. Krekelberg
Dorit Aviv and Dionisio Cortes	Georgia Küng
Rush Baker + Sam Vernon	Laura Lee-Georgescu
Salman Bakht	Fiyel Levent
Vivek Gopal Baliga	Edmundo Majchrzyk
Sofia Berinstein	Gaurav Namit
Mitsuko Brooks	Laura Napier
Adrien Casey	Ryan and Trevor Oakes
Krystal Chang	Miroslav Ovcharik & Maximiliano Ferro
Jaeho Chong	Kate Parnell
Nicky Enright	Anik Pearson
Adriana Farmiga	Noëlle Raffaele
Grigori Fateyev	Jenevieve Reid
Josephine Halvorson	David A. Ross
Sue Havens	Taylor Shields
Kim Holleman	Natalie Shook in collaboration with Mike Circosta
Jane V. Hsu	Veronica Tyson-Strait
Kenny Komer & Boris Rasin	Spring Ulmer
	Peonia Vázquez-D'Amico

NEW WORK

2010-01-04T13:56:00.001-08:00

New Project - Corian Shutters

2009-09-15T09:04:00.001-07:00

This was a project I completed in an apartment in Woodside, Queens last month. The shutters are made from Corian which are milled with a very simple pattern and a handle under the panels so you don't need any hardware. The bedrooms in this apartment are very sunny in the mornings, and these shutters do the job in keeping direct sunlight out. And they aren't too heavy and dark, like they would be if they had been made of wood.

The Show Continues

2009-09-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

on the second floor at http://www.christopherhenrygallery.com

Traveling in Ladakh

2009-09-02T06:38:00.001-07:00

Summer Traveling - Istanbul

2009-09-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

Houses along the Bosphorus.

Traveling in Ladakh

2009-08-28T06:28:00.001-07:00

An image from India, the Ladakh Region. Photo taken by Basar Girit, some five years ago.

Summer Traveling - Medusa in the Cisterns

2009-08-26T18:01:00.001-07:00

Summer Traveling

2009-08-21T10:17:00.001-07:00

Summer Traveling - Istanbul

2009-08-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

Summer Traveling - Finlandia Archipelago

2009-08-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Summer Traveling - Tammisaari

2009-08-12T06:24:00.001-07:00

We visited my aunt's summer cottage, which is located on an island off the coast of Finland and about two hours from Helsinki. The island on which they live can only be reached by boat, and the closest town is Tammisaari. This is the view from their little dock.

Summer Traveling - Agia Sophia

2009-08-11T09:31:00.001-07:00

I don't think the work on this structure will ever come to completion.

Summer Traveling - Agia Sophia

2009-08-10T16:01:00.001-07:00

Of Ether and Grace

2009-08-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

We have an exhibition up for the next month at The Christopher Henry Gallery on Elizabeth Street, between Grand and Broome. There are two of our installation pieces and a series of new works. Please feel free to go and see it. www.christopherhenrygallery.com

Summer Traveling - The Islands off the Coast of Istanbul

2009-08-03T10:51:00.001-07:00

Summer Traveling - Istanbul

2009-08-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

Summer Traveling - Istanbul

2009-07-31T05:05:00.001-07:00

Summer Traveling - Helsinki at Midnight

2009-07-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Summer Traveling

2009-07-30T15:54:00.001-07:00

Well, I don't have any new projects to report as of yet, so I'm going to post some photos of where I've been able to go this summer. My husband and I took a trip to with both family and friends, a long needed and long awaited frenetic adventure through the woodlands of Finland, the wilds of Istanbul and various villages of Turkey. It was such a great pleasure traveling with friends, particularly friends who happen to know their cities inside and out, that we've vowed to do it more often. And since coming back, I've found myself flipping through my photo album over and over again. So instead of waiting to post images of some new projects we are currently working on, I'm going to start a new series of photos of where I've been and what I've seen.

Cardboard Shutters

2009-06-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

These are some closeups of cardboard shutter mock ups that I've made recently. The real shutters will be made of Corian, but these cardboard ones aren't bad either. So I think I'm going to keep developing them in both materials.

Also, one of our Levent&Romme sculptures will be showing at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City this weekend, represented by the Spring Gallery. It's free admission and a beautiful space right by the river, so please feel take a visit if you can. Also, my pattern lights are available and visible at Voos, a cool little store in Williamsburg. You can see images of them both on their website and ours. Also, we have a new website up with a bit more information then before. I'm going to keep adding to it little by little.

This Past Weekend

2009-05-31T15:43:00.000-07:00

It's been a beautiful weekend. Incredible weather, nice drinks, and a lot of laughing. I met some very interesting people in Park Slope this past Saturday, and had the loveliest conversations, but I only caught their first names unfortunately. Too bad.

We're going to have our new website up and running this week and we'll have a few new blog posts, too. So please keep checking in...

Screens available

2009-05-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

We are currently looking for a home for the two screens that we created for Bklyn Designs: The White Screens and The Weave Screen. Please let us know at info@leventandromme.com if you know of a suitable home for our pieces.

BKLYN Designs

2009-05-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

We had an incredible weekend at Bklyn Designs. As a young group of designers, it was wonderful to be able to showcase our work for the first time the way we did, and have the opportunity to meet so many people who gave us wonderful feedback on our work. We thank everyone who came to see us. Over the coming weeks, we will be working on our website - making it more informative, straight forward and easier to use - so we hope you will keep your interest in us and check in again. In the meantime, if you have inquiries, please feel free to contact us at info@leventandromme.com and either Anne or I (Fiyel) will get back to you as soon as we can! Thanks again!

BKLYN Designs

2009-05-10T21:57:00.001-07:00

Rolling into BKLYN Designs

2009-05-08T22:04:00.000-07:00

After setting up our booth at BKLYN designs yesterday - which included rolling the Weave Screen through the streets in Dumbo after the rain finally stopped - we had a great day at St. Annes Warehouse today. Thank you to everyone who came by and looked at our work.

We will be at BKLYN Designs all of this weekend.

The Blink, A Coffee Table

2009-05-05T00:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some late night photos of our coffee table, The Blink, which will be featured at BKLYN DESIGNS.

Invite

2009-04-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

The Bed Almost Complete

2009-04-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

The Aluminum trim is still missing.

Details of the Bed

2009-04-27T19:05:00.001-07:00

I assembled the bed for the first time, after having it lacquered, and the above photos are some detail shots of it. The base is currently painted black, but I was wondering if perhaps I shouldn't have gone with a brighter color, something that would have given it some glow. A red, perhaps, or orange? The white lacquered frame is missing the aluminum trim, however. That will be applied at the end by the week.

New Screen Wall

2009-04-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

New Screen Wall

2009-04-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

Our most recent piece, a wall consisting of two screens weaving in and out of each other, has now been assembled.
The images above show it in its raw state (MDF) before being painted.

Envelopes

2009-04-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

Production

2009-04-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

White Screens

2009-04-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

The white polyethylene screens are being cleaned up, hole by hole. Drilling the holes on the CNC-router turned out to be only half of the work done...

Head Board Tiles

2009-04-08T19:35:00.001-07:00

We are in production mode these days. A few photos of the head board tiles for the bed we are working on. The wood grain and hole patterns are merging beautifully - soon to be subtly toned by a light white-wash.

CU@LUNCH!

2009-04-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

BKLYN DESIGNS - Postcards

2009-04-03T09:12:00.000-07:00

Time is running short, and we have potfuls to do. Here are some prototypes for our postcards that we have been working on for BKLYN DESIGNS, to give out to our visitors.

Box Theater Project

2009-03-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

Three screens milled

Lamp

2009-03-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

Double-layered lamp
Inner shell bass wood, outer shell white translucent plexi-glass, laser-cut
A sketch for our Brooklyn Designs installation

Box Theater Project - patterns

2009-03-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

15,000

2009-03-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

New Project:

I've recently been working on a new adventure with a computer scientist, Baris Yuksel, in creating a series of installations based on my drawings (you can find the originals in this blog). Using Processing 1.0 and Rhino, we've been trying to design a spatial experience, a galaxy, which comes together at certain points to create patterns. The installation will be interactive, but with what variables, we haven't yet decided. We are at the very earliest stages of this project so hopefully it gets more interesting as it develops. These are the first renderings we came out with. What you see is amazing, because each little cube signifies the computer recognizing the underlying structure of my dots. There are approximately 15,000 dots in this particualar drawing.

New Screen Wall

2009-03-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

Milling a new screen, a re-design of the screen I did for the Time To Design exhibtion. Shifting materials and technique (to ultra-light MDF and CNC-milling) the design has been adjusted accordingly.

Toying with Light and with Lamps

2009-03-02T08:54:00.001-08:00

Prototypes

2009-03-01T22:17:00.000-08:00

Polyethylene, CNC-milled, 2'x8'

3D Prints

2009-02-24T21:59:00.000-08:00

Sketches for the Time To Design Screen Wall

Distortions

2009-02-23T14:52:00.000-08:00

Screen Wall - Time To Design New Talent Award 2008

2009-02-12T20:34:00.000-08:00

Screen Wall, 3' x 10.5', height: 6.5' , alder wood, 2008

2009-02-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

http://brooklyndesigns.net/

2009-01-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

Erwin Hauer Screen reproduction
CNC, painted high-density foam
2007

Screen inspired by Erwin Hauer
CNC, painted high-density foam
2007

Drawing in Large Scale - Series 2

2009-01-10T14:27:00.000-08:00

Textures in Islamic Spain - Part 2

2009-01-10T13:42:00.000-08:00

Perforation Sketches

2008-12-29T15:37:00.001-08:00

I have always been fascinated by exhausting a technique or pushing a tool to the limit, just before the material deteriorates. A few years ago, when I for the first time had unlimited access to a laser cutter, I started working with perforation as a technique to achieve visually stimulating effects. It was the first step into creating depth in what later has become our screen projects.

Drawing in Small Scale

2008-12-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

In the process of drawing the patterns for the Box Theater Project, I made this small scale experiment. The drawing consists of two layers, ink on perforated mylar in front, white drawing paper behind. Dim. appr. 6x9"

Drawing in Large Scale - Series 1

2008-12-23T18:27:00.000-08:00

drawing 1.1
19"x24"

drawing 1.2
19"x24"

drawing 1.3
19"x24"

This is a series of drawings I began two years ago following a trip I took to San Francisco; I ended up going to see the de Young Museum. There was an exhibition of Ruth Asawa's work which affected me in a profoundly visceral way. I should really say these drawings were inspired by her work and her drawings. Each one has taken a few months to complete; it was very much a meditation for me. I would come home from work and draw for a few hours. They are posted in the order they were completed. Following the black and white palate of the ones shown above, I turned to color. Those drawings will posted at a later date. Currently, I am working on a new series with a little bit of experimentation. It takes me a long time to be courageous.

I am uncertain as to what I should do with these drawings. I was thinking they would make pretty nice greeting cards.

Textures in Islamic Spain

2008-12-18T21:30:00.000-08:00

The Mosque Series

60" x 60"

The Ceilings Series
10" x 90"

I will begin posting photographs from my travels to Southern Spain based on a project I was working on between 2007 and 2008. The trip was funded through the Deborah J. Norden Fund Travel Grant given out through the Architectural League of New York, and in late November I gave a lecture regarding these travels at The Urban Center in Midtown. These photograph series were a part of my presentation. There are ten of these series that I developed, and they will be posted over time.

My project was based on researching ornament throughout the buildings and cities of what was once an Islamic center in Europe [the Mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra being the more obvious structures]. The original intention as I was beginning this project was to explore the concept of tolerance as it was represented through ornament and ornamentation in Andalucia. After vising the lands and delving deeper into its rich history, this concept broadened, and the role of toleration took on more complex flavors. I became interested in how this concept of toleration could be read into the variety of built forms and histories of the Andalucian empires.

Box Theater Project - "The Panels"

2008-12-15T21:30:00.001-08:00

Panel 1
dim: 24"x96"
mat: polyethylene

Panel 2
dim: 24"x96"
mat: polyethylene

The following are two screens that have been completed. We had a great debate on whether or not we should use 1/8" holes. Panel 1 has them; Panel 2 does not. When we went ahead with it, it did end up adding another seven hours to the process. But it makes quite a difference when viewed in person. Panel 2 took only two weekends to complete while Panel 1 took three.

We found the material in a plastics lumberyard outside of Pennsylvania. They had been sitting outside, by the river, and from time to time the river had flooded over them them. There was algae growing on some of them, and they smelled awful.

Screen Wall - Time To Design New Talent Award 2008

2008-12-13T13:43:00.001-08:00

In September 2008 I won the Time To Design - New Talent Award, which allowed me to work for three months at the National Workshops for Arts and Craft in Copenhagen, Denmark. While many of our other projects use CNC-milling to achieve porosity, this project is based entirely on old-school wood-working techniques and details. More than 1500 blocks of wood were cut on a band saw, glued together four and four, sanded and routed, and finally assembled in a double-layered screen wall. The wall measures 10.5’x3.5’, with a height of 6.5’, and is made of alder wood.

Box Theater Project - Working Drawings

2008-12-13T13:10:00.001-08:00

2008-12-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

SCREENS
High-density foam, CNC-milling

Box Theater Project - Introduction

2008-12-10T18:22:00.001-08:00

I am going to show some photos of a project we are currently working on; we have long been developing this path, both on our own and together. And within the last year we decided to join forces, as two heads are always better than one. This is an ongoing project in which we are experimenting in many different directions and mediums. Inspired by geometric designs and the way they convey effects of rhythm and celestial atmosphere, we sought to re-implement texture and decoration into contemporary architectural space. Geometric patterns, because of their repetitive characteristics, have always lent themselves to mass production especially in textiles, fabrics and various other surface treatments. It started with a study of hand drilled material in comparison to machine and computer drilled material, and understanding the characteristics of the computerized milling system as an equally disciplined tool.

We began to experiment with various types of materials, no longer just different types of wood, but materials that coordinate well with the machine. The material we are using for this project is called Polyethylene, a plastic used in products such as the plastic shopping bag. The panels themselves are very translucent and the material tends to have a wax like quality which makes them particularly friendly to mill.

Screens

2008-12-06T15:12:00.001-08:00

The Headboard

2008-12-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

This is one of the first screens I've worked on. Each tile was made with a drill press, one by one, then fixed onto a plexi sheet. The frame is aluminum. The entire piece took one summer to complete; it now serves well as the headboard for a bed.

dim: 24"x 72" mat: poplar wood

Scrappings Series 1

2008-12-06T14:35:00.001-08:00

We often document the process, determining the types of drillbits we use, which then determines what kind of hole it creates and what it leaves behind.

Scrappings Series 2

2008-12-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

1/2 Drillbit Scrappings, No. 1.1 dim: 24"x36"

1/4 Drillbit Scrappings, No. 1.3 dim: 24"x36"

1/8 Drillbit Scrappings, No. 1.1 dim: 24"x36"

1/2 Drillbit Scrappings, No. 1.6 dim: 24"x36"

1/2 Drillbit Scrappings, No. 1.9 dim: 24"x36"

The Osvald Chair

2008-12-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Osvald Chair

A birthday present, for Osvald.

The Coffee Table

2008-12-06T13:22:00.001-08:00

A custom designed coffee table; the owner needed someplace to keep his projector and his magazines. He also requested something that glowed. The dimensions are suited for small apartments.

d24" x w48" x h24"

cnc drilled wood and blackened steel frame

2008-12-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

Weaving Wood
Screen, dim: 150cmx75cm, mat:1.5 mm birch plywood

Drawing in Small Scale - Stationary

2008-12-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

Drawing in Small Scale
The Thank You Cards, dim: 3.5" x 5", mat: handdrawn ink on paper

I wanted a smaller, simpler project after my Drawing Series (the drawings will be posted in a bit) and I felt that this was the perfect opportunity. A request was made for 200 thank you cards and I decided to draw them all by hand. Some of them I took pictures of and scanned, but the rest were sent off before I documented the design. The ones that were saved are going to be letterpressed in January, after I take my course at The Arm.

The Placemats

2008-12-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

Placemats

These, too, were a present. All handdrawn.