Herve Van Der Straeten, James Brown & Josef Astor

Hervé Van der Straeten was born in 1965 and is an independent artist-designer who was first known for his jewelry creations, and now enjoys worldwide recognition for his furniture and lighting, which are instantly recognizable for the way he combines contrasting materials, bold variations of form and defiant volumes with perfect proportions, precision and detail. He designs and makes everything in his own dedicated bronze and cabinet making workshops and displays a selection of both his unique and limited-edition pieces in his own gallery in Paris. The artist-designer is also known for his projects with French luxury houses. Van der Straeten has received numerous awards from the French government during his career including L’Enterprise du Patrimonie Vivant and the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. He joined RALPH PUCCI in 2004.

Josef Astor was born in Ohio. He graduated with a BFA from Syracuse University and soon moved to New York where he worked as a photo assistant for Gosta Peterson, Deborah Turbeville, Irving Penn, and, briefly, Angus McBean. In 1985, he opened his own studio and began his historically informed, theatrically staged style that drew upon various influences from his life: art history, his father’s medical practice, science and magic. Astor has worked for such advertising clients as AT&T, IBM, Phillip Morris, Bergdorf Goodman, Absolut Vodka, and such magazines as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, GQ and The New York Times magazine. In 1996 he received the Infinity Award for Applied Photography from the International Center of Photography.