For nearly two decades, New York City–based publicist Michael McGraw has helped shape the stories of leading interior designers, including Jamie Drake and Damon Liss. All the while, he’s harbored a strong, not-so-secret curatorial instinct. “I have been bookmarking and screenshotting designers and artists that have caught my eye for years,” McGraw says. “I was certain that one day I would have a place to show off their talents.”
With his Dernier Cri, that time has come. Located on the parlor floor of the Upper East Side town house he shares with his husband, David Duncan, McGraw’s new art and design gallery allows him to introduce the work of up-and-coming creatives to his extensive network of design lovers. “I want to give designers and architects a reason to regularly stop in and see what’s new,” he says, adding that he plans to refresh the space every few weeks.
For the inaugural exhibition, a group show titled “Night Shift,” McGraw commissioned 13 designers and artists to create works rendered entirely in black. Julian Mayor’s shiny, stalagmite-like stainless steel chair, Jessie Nelson’s tables of cast concrete and burned ash, Windy Chien’s rope-based wall sculptures, and other works explore how restraint can illuminate form, texture, and light. “Limiting the palette to only black was a fun challenge,” says McGraw of the show, which runs through March 5. Upcoming exhibitions include a show with an ecological theme, and, in warmer weather, sculpture and outdoor furniture shows staged on the terrace. —Sylvie Florman
