Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1541556
P H OTO S BY J O E K R A M M ; C O U R T E S Y O F T H E F U T U R E P E R F EC T offerings encompass many media and a variety of categories, including furniture, lighting, sculpture, and objects, which the gallery has championed since it first opened its doors in Brooklyn in 2003. "There was something about seeing work in a residential space that made scale understandable," recalls Alhadeff. "It felt like we're inviting you into our home, into an experience. The context is amazing, but it also gives us the opportunity to engage with our friends in a more concerted way." Still, Alhadeff had his doubts about the New York gallery's initial move to a residential location. "There was something about losing the sign on the street that bothered me," he admits. "But our numbers went up substantially." The Future Perfect followed this up with a circa-1916 Hollywood Hills house in Los Angeles and a traditional gallery in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, which is arranged as a series of vignettes. What attracted Alhadeff to Villa Paula in Miami was "the standalone presence it had on the block." But it also had a fascinating provenance. "That narrative architectural history!" he says. "If I was sold before, I was doubly sold at that point." In Paula Milord's day, her home served as a cultural salon that buzzed with artists, poets and musicians. But the Milords lived there only a few years, after which it operated variously as a clinic, a senior residence, and an art gallery and events venue, as well as a private residence. The location's 18-foot ceilings, hand-painted tile floors, stained glass windows that diffused light, and neoclassical details were too enticing for Alhadeff to pass up. "We leaned into the floors to select the palette," he explains. He used lime wash paints whose staining and aging would boost the villa's sense of faded grandeur. It also offered an opportunity for The Future Perfect to create dialogues between the roster of artists and the architecture of the space. Pointing toward artist Chris Wolston—who splits his time between Brooklyn and Colombia, where he works with artisans to create whimsical furniture and lighting—Alhadeff says, "You don't just encounter a Chris Wolston vignette, you experience Wolston interacting with the architecture." Currently, the only Miami-based artist shown at the new outpost is Autumn Casey, who uses recycled materials to create illuminated sculptures that can appear as stained glass, and that double as lamps. However, adds Alhadeff, the entire Future Perfect roster is available through Villa Paula, and "We will add local artists as we get to know our place and our community within that place." As for Casey, she's thrilled. "I think it's great for Miami," she enthuses. "They have done an amazing job transforming the space while honoring its history." " There is something about seeing work in a residential space that makes scale understandable. It felt like we're inviting you into our home, into an experience." —DAVID A LH A DEFF ABOVE Lamps by Autumn Casey, Dolores (left) and Mining for Pink Diamonds, stand beside Christophe Delcourt for Collection Particulière's Lek banquette. RIGHT Pinch's Soren Globe pendant light hangs above the Marenco sofa by Mario Marenco for Arflex; Jane Yang D'Haene's Stool 4 sits beyond the doorway. BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M