Delving Deeper

GEOMETRY SUSPENDED
Rondelays are perhaps the Higginses’ most iconic and enduring pieces, particularly at auction, having sustained a healthy market presence seemingly contradictory to their do-it-yourself ethos. (Still sold by the Higgins Studio today, the parts must be manually linked by the purchaser.) Lisanne Dickson of the Modern Design Department at Treadway Toomey attributes this success to the rondelays’ versatility. “They mark status with no comparable in terms of style,” she says, citing the Higginses’ use of color and form. While the rondelays may be notable for their service to spatial functionality, a playful spirit effervesces from the Higginses’ glass mobiles, also regular contestants at auction. With their pop palette of primary and secondary colors and congregation of humble shapes, an anthropomorphic personality emerges from the suspended pieces. The lot from the Treadway Toomey sale offers a particular vitality and intrigue.