Your name: Melissa Loughnan
What you do: Director of Utopian Slumps, a contemporary commercial art gallery in Melbourne.
Your latest project: Opening a non-profit curator-run gallery with artist-curator Brooke Babington and writer Helen Hughes – SLOPES. SLOPES will run for approximately twelve months, presenting the work of contemporary Australian artists and curators alongside international artists, and is situated within Neometro’s Nine Smith Street development in Fitzroy.
Who are three people that inspire/excite you:
1) My partner Simon Griffiths, who’s helping the developing world through his businesses Shebeen and Who Gives A Crap.
2) I’m in love with the work of young UK artist Helen Marten
3) Curator Massimiliano Gioni and artist Maurizio Cattelan, their projects such as The Wrong Gallery and Family Business are unexpected, rebellious and exciting.
What is your favourite…
Car/bike/plane/boat model: My Allegro Pista bike
Chair model: Anything from Martino Gamper
Residential space: I’ve dreamt of living in Heide II, an amazing modernist limestone house, since I was a child.
Commercial space: I love the classical façade and industrial interior of the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
Decorative product: If I ever have the resources I’d like to build a pool lined with a Cecily Brown glass mosaic from Cumulus Studios!
Functional product: My home office could benefit from Henry Wilson’s bronze Vide Poche and leather desk mat. I’m also in love with the Tom Dixon brass tea set at Third Drawer Down
Handmade good: Bridget Bodenham’s ceramic mugs at Mr Kitly.
Mass-produced good: David Shrigley’s brass tooth and Elizabeth Peyton’s photo-silkscreen on glass from Cereal Art.
Meal: The Macro Dragon Bowl at Yong Green Food, satisfying yet wholesome.
Restaurant: Moon Under Water.
Drink: Campari and soda with an orange slice.
Bar: Shebeen.
Item in your studio: My tool kit.
Piece of technology: My iPad – my iPhone is an everyday necessity but I spend much more leisure time on my iPad.
Historical figure: Marchesa Casati, I’m reading her biography at the moment.
Fictional character: Bernadette Corporation. An art collaborative that is more of a fictional company than a character.
Vice: Fashion. My wish list on Pinterest eats up way too much of my time.
Virtue: Art
What does the term ‘Design Hunter’ mean to you? Seeking out unique, one of a kind and interesting items, and having a broader appreciation for good design.
Utopian Slumps
utopianslumps.com