Life Imitates Art: 4 Intriguing Examples

Left: Working with cardboard, paper, and other prosaic materials, the Congolese sculptor Bodys Isek Kingelez constructed fantastical, elaborate models of imaginary cities, such as this one, titled Sète en 3009. The artist, who died in 2015, will receive his first full retrospective, at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, opening May 26; moma.org. Right: The Promenade au Faubourg tray by Hermès, crafted from maple with a bridle-leather tab, features a playful depiction of the maze of stairs and hallways inside the legendary firm’s Paris flagship at 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré; hermes.com. Photo: Left: Pierre Schwartz, Courtesy of Musée international des arts modestes, Sète, France. Right: Courtesy of Hermès.

Left: For the spring 2018 Dior collection, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri used embroidered gem-colored rhinestones to spectacular effect on dresses such as this rainbow whirl of a shift; 800-929-DIOR. Right: A glorious array of rubies, diamonds, emeralds, chalcedony, agate, and rock crystal embellishes a 19th-century gilded-silver shield. The 20-inch-diameter masterpiece is a highlight of the exhibition “Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India,” which debuts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, on March 4; mfah.org. Photo: Left: Courtesy of Dior. Right: Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Left: A marvel of technology and style, this matte-black solid-metal faucet from Kallista’s Grid collection—produced using 3-D printing—seems to defy the laws of nature with its divided spout, while its pared-down, cubic forms nod to the modernist de Stijl movement. Available this summer; kallista.com. Right: Minimalist master Sol LeWitt’s sculptural practice was radically reductive yet offered seemingly limitless possibilities for variation. Pictured here is his 1991 One x Two Half Off, in painted aluminum, part of a 2011 retrospective mounted by the Public Art Fund in Manhattan’s City Hall Park; publicartfund.org. Photo: Left: Courtesy of Kallista. Right: Jason Wyche, Courtesy of Public Art Fund, NY

Left: A detail of Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s “The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born” Might Not Hold True For Much Longer, 2013, an acrylic and transfers-on-paper work, from the collection of the Nasher Museum of Art. The 64” × 82 7/8” inch-piece was a gift of Marjorie and Michael Levine; nasher.duke.edu. Right: Featuring a dazzling patchwork of triangles, this one-of-a-kind vintage quilt from Calvin Klein Home is meant to evoke a flock of birds midflight. It measures 76” x 74.” Price upon request; calvinklein.us.  Photo: Left: © Njideka Akunyili Crosby; photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion. Right: Calvin Klein Home