ONE OF FEW IN THE COUNTRY : GALLERY KEEPS EYE ON MODERN DESIGN

It’s one of less than a dozen galleries in the nation with a focus on modern design.

At the Michael Dunsford Gallery (828 G. St.) you will find contemporary and modern decorative arts dating from the turn of the century to the 1960s. The young art dealer’s primary interest has been furniture, but more recently he has begun to exhibit glass, studio ceramics and Mexican and Scandinavian silver jewelry.

“My business has been an excuse for me to have the things I love around me,” Dunsford reflected. “I’ve been able to sell enough to support my habit.”

His inventory has included pieces designed by turn-of-the-century California figure Gustav Stickley and more recent artists such as Charles Eames, George Nelson and Isamu Noguchi.

Eames’ pieces are probably the most familiar to non-specialists. His molded plywood and molded fiberglass side chairs are ubiquitous in corporate America. His classic enveloping rosewood and leather chair has been an invitation to comfort and relaxation for decades. It has also symbolized good taste and prestige.

Most of us can appreciate such pieces of furniture for their fine design, although it may puzzle us that mass-produced objects should be considered collectibles with substantial price tags.

What may puzzle us even more is to learn that now even 1960s Italian plastic furniture is considered collectible.

Why are the objects we see at the Dunsford Gallery collectible and not just used furniture?

“The difference is good design and scarcity,” the dealer said. “The modern period is very popular. People are just discovering it.

“I have people coming in and seeing Mies and Le Corbusier chairs for the first time and thinking they’re the wildest things they’ve ever seen. It’s a shock for them to learn that they’ve been around for 60 years.”

The angular chrome-and-leather chair that architect and Bauhaus leader Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed for the German Pavilion at the Barcelona Exhibition in 1929 was a prototypical example of the type of furniture-as-art that nowadays is found in many corporate offices.

Artists see what the real nature of time is, he said.

“They are of their own time,” Dunsford said. “The rest of us are always trying to catch up. We’re a generation behind our time.

“There’s also the element of fashion, which seems to run in 20-year cycles. Now we seem to be re-experiencing the 1960s. The 1950s happened in the early ‘80s. They’ll come around again in a few years with more punch, and Eames chairs will increase in value. With each cycle there are fewer good examples of anything available.”

Dunsford’s current special interests are post-World War II American studio ceramics and 1950s Italian glass. Ceramics by Maija Grotell, Beatrice Wood and Otto and Gertrude Natzler epitomize the realization of a contemporary vision in a traditional medium.

“I like Italian glass because it’s eccentric,” Dunsford said. “Most people would say it’s ugly and gaudy. But that’s why it’s interesting. It’s very decorative and very much sought-after.”

Dunsford conveys his enthusiasm and historical information with elegant ease.

The Italian glass field is “so new that little research has been done and few books are available,” he said.

“I spend as much time looking for reference materials as I do for objects, and I’ve acquired a substantial library. Often, I’ll see things in books, then try to find them in the real world.”

Dunsford is a pioneer in his field of contemporary and modern decorative arts. He was also a pioneer in establishing the art community in the area of 8th Avenue and G Street.

He began his career, however, dealing in traditional materials such as 18th- and early 19th-Century decorative arts, American country furniture and English porcelains and ceramics. As early as age 15, he worked under the guidance of his mother, a native of Colombia, who operated Paula’s Antiques for several years in Rancho Santa Fe. After her death he became an itinerant dealer, driving a trailer between San Diego and Oregon. Then in 1980 he settled in Mission Hills.

He and his wife, Irene, decided five years ago to move downtown, where they envisioned the possibility of a community of artists and galleries developing. The location they chose was centrally located but not immediately threatened by redevelopment. The building they rented provided a ground-floor exhibition area with good light; the two upper floors were for themselves and their cat “Pineapple,” who liked to lounge in the display window. (The Dunsfords’ recent return to Mission Hills to live ended Pineapple’s public career.)

When they first moved downtown, some art interest had already been generated there by Installation, Sushi and Pawnshop Gallery, all alternative organizations run by artists on a nonprofit basis. After their move to 8th and G, a cluster of galleries developed in the area--International, Spectrum, Perspectives, Patty Aande, Mark Quint, Natalie Bush and others--several of which are located in the “9G Arts Complex,” which is also the address of Java, a coffeehouse and art gallery.

The nature of Dunsford’s business gave him the freedom to choose where he wanted to locate.

“I settled in San Diego because it’s a great place to live,” he said. “But you can’t make a living here. Fortunately, I’m not dependent on a local clientele. Mostly I sell in New York. But I have clients in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia, and as far away as Paris.

“Few people in San Diego are interested in what I show. Occasionally someone will buy here, but not too often. The serious informed interest in contemporary decorative arts is on the East Coast.

“But the market’s growing, and I like being part of the general energy here. I like seeing people collect what they’re passionate about and helping them.”