A Conversation with Daniella Ohad

Dr. Daniella Ohad is a design historian, connoisseur, educator, curator, writer, talk show hostess, and influencer. Her commitment to modern design history and collecting design includes extensive work in education in the fields of design culture, history and theory, interiors, material culture, contemporary design, connoisseurship, and the decorative arts. As a returning member of our Honorary Committee for the 14th edition of Salon Art + Design, Daniella joined us for a round of rapid-fire questions on emerging artists she thinks everyone should know, favorite pieces of her art and design collection, and where people can see her work next.

Art + Design Favorites 

Who is an emerging artist or designer you think everyone should know?

Right now I am excited about the work of Japanese glass artist Masaaki Yonemoto, whose studio I have recently visited. He is 38 and the way he is turning ordinary glass sheets—typically used in commercial construction—into spectacular, fresh, and intriguing minimalist architectural sculptures is breathtaking.

What’s a piece in your collection that always sparks conversation?

Each one of the pieces in my collection is special, each carries a memory, and each is considered a masterpiece of design. Always buy the best, is my philosophy. Do not compromise on the mediocre.

If you could collaborate with any artist or designer, living or dead, who would it be?

Olga de Amaral.

What’s your favorite space you’ve ever visited for its design or art alone?

Tomba Brion by Carlo Scarpa.

What’s the first piece of art or design you ever purchased?

I was 25 and it was the Travertine Coffee Table by Massimo & Lella Vignelli. I still use it.

Plugs

What’s next on your own creative or collecting horizon?

I am excited about the first piece in a series in which I collaborate with master craftsmen. The first piece produced for Daniella on Design is a small collection by glass maker Eric Powell.

Where can people see your work next?

I will open two programs this fall: Design in NYC, which is a series of visits in exploring the best of design that the city offers this season, and Design and Architecture Masterpieces, a virtual series where I host some of the most intriguing figures in the world of design and architecture: curators, writers, designers, and scholars, illuminating on their recent projects and perspectives, and offering my audience to enjoy design at its best, to shape their knowledge, and to learn to recognize greatness.