Inside Basic.Space LA with Founder Jesse Lee
3 days, 80+ artists and designers, 4,000+ members, a Pizzaslime after-party, and a $2M modernist masterpiece.
This past weekend, Basic.Space returned to the Pacific Design Center for our second inaugural LA edition – bringing together over 80 designers, artists, brands and galleries joined by one idea: Own The Future™.
"Own The Future is more than our tagline, it's the ethos behind why, how and what we do. It's about finding what's new and next - discovering something you love, and may want to own, is part of this experience."
- Jesse Lee, Founder of Basic.Space
We kicked off the weekend with a VIP preview day, followed by an afterparty (our “House Party”) in the PDC plaza c/o Pizzaslime. Paul Rudolph's 1952 Walker Guest House stood at the center of it all – surrounded by vintage cars from L'art de l'automobile and a ceramic garden of Willy Guhl pieces curated by serpentine.
Photo: Toasty Cakes
THE WALKER GUEST HOUSE
The Walker Guest House was the centerpiece of the weekend – a 75-year-old modernist gem with adjustable exterior wooden panels operated by 77-pound cannonball counterweights. It was also available for purchase at $2 million.
For Jesse, bringing a landmark architectural piece to the event has become something of a tradition. "We featured the Prouvé gas station last year, which sold to a collector for $1.5M, so we had to bring another special architectural gem to the event," he said.
A$AP Rocky's HOMMEMADE – a furniture interior design studio – curated the space with Charley Vezza of Italian Radical Design (Gufram, Memphis Milano & Meritalia), furnishing it with a Raphael Raffel Sofa, 1971 Super Studio Onos Bed (purchased at the first edition of Basic.Space LA) Gaetano Pesce Dining Chairs, and a Bolotas Armchair, and more.
“HOMMEMADE isn’t about decorating, it’s about storytelling through space,” A$AP Rocky shared with Architectural Digest.
“I like when something feels intentional, but still lived in. It can be playful, it can be luxurious, but it should always feel real. I want people to experience design the same way they experience music - fully immersed.”
This year, for the first time, we introduced curated spaces, "It's just another layer of consideration to making a room or a space feel more special and unique," Jesse said. "We have a lot of friends with great taste - so why not let them curate within Basic.Space LA?"
Basic.Space LA has always been as much about the people in the room as the objects in it. Designers, artists, and galleries that might not otherwise share the same space end up side by side for a weekend – and that energy is felt throughout. "The energy should always be exactly what it was – positive, optimistic and fun.“ For Jesse, the mix is always intentional.
"Basic.Space LA will always include a mix of design, art and fashion. Expect individual designers, artists and creatives as well as brands and galleries to participate in different capacities."
It's a dynamic that speaks to something larger - the way categories in design, art, and fashion are increasingly blurring. "Categories in general are collapsing as we have less attention spans and less time to interact with different categories," Jesse notes. "The younger generations are all growing up as multidisciplinary." And for those paying attention, that's not a problem - it's an opportunity.
"Critics or traditional gatekeepers of anything aren't always right. Taste is highly subjective - sometimes you have to go against the grain. Good taste is also timeless, so perhaps it's more about others catching up onto something years or decades later." - Jesse Lee.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS
The Glade by Rick Owens Furniture, curated by Marquel Williams – a monolithic seating space constructed with Batipan plywood and draped in French wool army blankets, conjuring an atmosphere that was equal parts raw and refined.
Kelly Wearstler presented Side Hustle, featuring 90210 stools by Dutch sculptor Nynke Koster as well as the Hollywood Chair by Sam Klemick.
Same Old presented 033 Salarymen - a portrait series observing individuality within corporate structure, conceptualized by Olivier Leone.
James De Wulf brought his Resonating Ping Pong Table - winner of Best Design at Design Miami.Paris - a reimagining of the classic table tennis table fitted with aluminum bell panels that ring out with every bounce of the ball, turning a game into a full sensory experience.
Isabelle Angèle curated the Dreamspace featuring works by Pierre Jeanneret, Jean Prouvé, Olivier Mourgue, Parafernalia, Gufram, and more.
A Woman’s Work, curated by Bonnie Langedijk of HURS - featuring works by Elhanati x Conie Vallese, Charlotte Perriand, Laffanour | Galerie Downtown, Studio Sabine Marcelis, Emma cc Cook, Mariyo Yagi and more.
THANKS FOR BEING A PART OF BASIC.SPACE LA
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