PRODUCT PORCH, A UNIQUE POP-UP STORE, OPENS AT MCASD DOWNTOWN AUGUST 4 AT TNT (THURSDAY NIGHT THING)

San Diego, CA—On August 4, 2011, a unique pop-up shop will open at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s downtown location. Product Porch is a six-month retail experiment that will serve as a destination for new design and creative retail in San Diego.

A collaboration between MCASD and successful design retailers Brooks Hudson Thomas and Blaire Dessent, Product Porch will offer accessories, functional objects, and furniture made by a new generation of creative talents from all over the world.

TNT (Thursday Night Thing) on August 4 from 7-10 PM will serve as the grand opening celebration for the Product Porch. Titled “TNT: Emerge,” the evening focuses on emerging design, music, and taste. In addition to the debut of Product Porch, guests can also enjoy cocktails, art-making activities, artist talks, and live music by San Diego Music Award nominees. Republic of Letters will take the stage at 8:15 PM, followed by the Nervous Wreckords at 9:15 PM. TNT will also be the first opportunity for many people to view the work of artists Larry Bell, Mary Corse, and James Turrell, whose work is being installed on a staggered schedule leading up to the official grand opening of Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface on September 25.

MCASD Members enjoy early admission into TNT for a preview hour from 6-7 PM. At 6:30 PM, Brooks and Blaire will be joined in the Jacobs building galleries by David John of You Have Been Here Sometime (http://youhavebeenheresometime.blogspot.com/), the acclaimed art and interiors blog, for an informal, Members-only discussion about the Product Porch and their respective projects.

Product Porch will occupy a portion of the Museum’s building at 1001 Kettner Blvd. throughout the run of the exhibition Phenomenal, which will be on view through January 22, 2012. Continually rotating merchandise along with a series of interactive programs inspired by the exhibition will offer a reason for people to continue to return to the Museum.

Product Porch is organized by Brooks Hudson Thomas and Blaire Dessent, both La Jolla natives who have become international tastemakers. Brooks operates a Los Angeles-based storefront project called Specific Merchandise, a one-of-a-kind shop offering artist-made furniture, editions, antiques, and artwork. Paris-based Blaire Dessent runs an online boutique called Vitrine (thevitrine.com) which presents artists’ editions, housewares, and personal accessories by artists and designers from Europe and the United States. The two attended La Jolla High School more than 20 years ago, but only met last year when their similar interests and business models brought them together. Both have backgrounds in contemporary art, Brooks as an artist, and Blaire as an art historian. After two informal collaborations in Los Angeles and New York City, Product Porch is the first official business partnership between the two.

Among the artists and designers to be included in the shop are Jason Meadows, Brendan Ravenhill, Fern, Dino Sanchez, Sarah Crowner, Dino Sanchez, Sarah Crowner, Smockshop, Design Bitches, Tanya Aguiñiga, todosomething, Soledad Proaño, ¿Adonde?, Welcome, Workstead, Kimmel Kids, Objeti, Scout Regalia, Makelike, and more.

Select offerings at Product Porch include:

Pedestal Side Tableby FERN, $1,400

· Made of Eastern black walnut, this contemporary interpretation of the classic American side table is scaled to modern proportions. FERN is a Brooklyn-based company crafting heirloom quality furniture from American hardwoods, reclaimed antique timbers, and salvaged objects. FERN was founded by Jason Roskey and Maggie Goudsmit in 2009.

A+ Chairsby To Do Something, $950-1,800

· To Do Something is a custom design and fabrication studio in Los Angeles that specializes in custom furniture and cabinetry.

Stacks Lampsby Dino Sanchez, $185-$215

· Dino Sanchez is a New York City-based artist and designer. He studied industrial design at Carnegie Mellon, but his work often involves a variety of disciplines depending on the idea and the project at hand. After college Sanchez started Orange Italic with type designer Christian Schwartz as a creative outlet outside of his day-to-day work. In 2002 he started his own practice with the same approach: focusing on the idea of something and having the ability to execute it the way he really envisions it; creating something simply for the sake of creating something. Product Porch will offer three styles of Sanchez’s hand-crafted birch plywood lamps, just released to market.

o Size A - 9inW x 9inH x 5.75inD - $215

o Size B - 8inW x 10inH x 5.75inD - $200

o Size C - 6.5inW x 12inH x 5.75inD -$185

Benchby Design Bitches, $1,800

· Design Bitches isa collaborative and multidisciplinary architecture and design practice in Los Angeles. They create environments that allow for freedom—of use, of expression, of experimentation. They try to remain sustainable and high tech, but with low high-tech demands.

Rope Knot Braceletsby Tanya Aguiñiga, $75

· Tanya Aguiñiga received an MFA in furniture design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2005, and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Having grown up between San Diego and Tijuana, her work is very much informed by the issues surrounding the border between them. Her color palette is inspired by the fruit and candy vendors in Tijuana, and her clean lines from the organized structuring of California freeways. Moving easily between furniture, jewelry, art, installation, textiles, and fashion, Aguiñiga mixes beautiful, vivid color with modernist forms and contemporary shapes. Felt and fiber are frequent materials, as are weaving and the use of natural dyes. Product Porch will present Aguiñiga’s rope knot bracelets and will bring in her furniture designs at a later date.

Silk scarvesby Sarah Crowner, $180

· Sarah Crowner lives and works in New York City. She received her BA from the University of Santa Cruz and her Master's in Art from Hunter College in 2002. She also studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Crowner’s artistic practice is a multi-disciplinary one, moving between painting, sculpture, literature, and textiles. Her 2008 solo show with Nicelle Beauchene Gallery in New York City, titled "Paintings & Pots," included a selection of paintings created through a process of sewing together pieces of fabric into various geometric patterns, and also included a series of white ceramic pots inspired by the work of legendary artist, Beatrice Wood. Crowner's paintings were most recently included in the 2010 Whitney Biennial in New York. Images of her work were digitally printed onto a series of 36” square silk scarves, a limited edition of 100.

The offerings at Product Porch complement those featured in the X Store, the Museum’s gift shop in La Jolla. The X Store offers a full range of books on contemporary art, architecture, photography, and culture, in addition to a selection of children’s products, gifts items for the home or office, and personal accessories.

Product Porch will be open during standard Museum hours: 11 AM – 5 PM daily; closed Wednesdays. Open until 7 PM the third Thursday of every month. Connect with Product Porch at productporch.tumblr.com or on Twitter @productporch

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO (MCASD)

Founded in 1941, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is the preeminent contemporary visual arts institution in San Diego County. The Museum’s collection includes more than 4,000 works of art created since 1950. In addition to presenting exhibitions by international contemporary artists, the Museum serves thousands of children and adults annually at its varied education programs, and offers a rich program of film, performance, and lectures. MCASD is a private, nonprofit organization, with 501c3 tax-exempt status; it is supported by generous contributions and grants from MCASD Members and other individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies. Dr. Hugh M. Davies is The David C. Copley Director and CEO at MCASD.

Institutional support for MCASD is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.

www.mcasd.org

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