Slinky, kinky, and plastic. These are the descriptors that Joe Colombo's version of a utopian space-age future calls to mind. In the 1960s, sci-fi fantasies gave rise to molded curves, tubular furniture, and synthetic fabrics. The Italians and Scandinavians were at the forefront of the design revolut

Fantastic, Playful, Pop/surrealism/anti-design, Quirky, Round

We say that the French have a certain "joie de vivre," but Italians have something else more difficult to label. Italian culture couples a love of beauty with an ability to laugh at itself. The designs of Milan-born architect Alessandro Mendini embrace this attitude with their color and humor -- thou

Decorative, Funny, Ironic, Pop/surrealism/anti-design, Repetition

He hails from the land of tea and crumpets, but Nigel Coates first found success in a country better known for sushi and sake. But though Japan was the first to embrace his futuristic, semi-permanent "pop" stylings, it wasn't long before his buttoned-down countrymen recognized Coates' avant-garde vis

Eclectic, Fantastic, Pop, Postmodern architecture, Quirky, Round

When the arts were being revolutionized in Paris in the 1920s, sculpture was being pushed in two directions: toward the abstract and toward the constructive. Much of the stylistic developments came from Cubism, while Surrealism introduced the subconscious as a source for subject matter. And the young

Eclectic, Grotesque, Modern sculpture, Post-war american design, Public art, Surreal