BLOG - Art

Today, the design team that we share an office with was talking about the artist, Jeremiah Goodman. They were discussing his beautiful, painterly interior renderings and I had to investigate. I immediately fell in love. Jeremiah Goodman has been on the scene for quite a while; this year he will celebrate his 90th birthday. While his original plan was to become a Hollywood set designer, he began his interior renderings in 1952 for Lord and Taylor.  I have to say, I'm pleased he never made it to set design because his illustrations are so beautiful and expressive.

Bedroom of Bill Blass

Sitting Room of Carolina Herrera

Room in the house of Greta Garbo

Metropolitan Museum

I must be in an artsy mood. Yesterday I went to the Met. To be honest I was going in hopes of giant Christmas trees and pretty lights. What I found, however, was the amazing photography exhibit : Faking It. This exhibit was dedicated to the art of photo manipulation before Photoshop. Most of the images shown below are more surreal, but the exhibit was showing things from early color correction (as you can see in the studio photograph of the Woman with Umbrella in the Rain) to multiple exposures to editing people in (or out) of the picture. The exhibition is on display until January 27.

Audrey Hepburn : by Richard Avedon, 1967

Woman Riding a Moth : Unknown, 1950

Untitled : by Jerry N. Uelsmann, 1976

Sealed Power Piston Rings : by John Paul Pennebaker, 1933

Woman in Champagne Glass : by Howard S. Redell, 1930

Woman with Umbrella in the Rain : by Kusakabe Kimbei, 1870s

Leap into the Void : by Yves Klein, 1960

Me + Cat : by Wanda Wulz, 1932

One of the great things about New York is all of the public art. It's everywhere. One place that has become a staple for public sculpture exhibitions is Madison Square Park. (And it's just a couple of blocks from our office!) During the summer I loved to sit in the park after work and enjoy the last hours of sunlight. As the days have grown shorter... and colder, I haven't been quite as willing to sit outside. However, an exception needs to be made to visit Leo Villareal's Buckyball. This massive light sculpture, 20 ft in diameter, pulses with 180 LED light tubes. (Leo Villareal's public light sculptures can also be found at the Bleecker St B,D,F & 6 subway station.)

Buckyball : by Leo Villareal

Echo : by Jaume Plensa

Scattered Light : by James Campbell

Scattered Light : by James Campbell

Trees : by Roxy Paine

Pet Sounds : by Charles Long

Markers : by Mel Kendrick

Double Tetrahedron : Mark di Suvero

If you have some free time this week I highly recommend stopping by the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show at the Park Avenue Armory.  Whether you’re in the market or just browsing, the impressive and diverse collection of art and antiques from a wide range of exhibitors is definitely worth checking out! Here are a few pieces that caught my eye… 

“Flowers of The Four Seasons”

Pair of six-panel folding screens

Erik Thomsen 

“After Bathing”

Gaston Priou

Gallery Lefebvre

Asymmetrical Mirror

Libor David

Gallery Lefebvre

Giltwood Mirror

Ronald Phillips Ltd

Thomas Chippendale dining chairs

Thomas Coulborn & Sons Ltd

Carpet

Keshishian

Early on Tuesday morning, seven paintings were stolen from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This is one of the largest scale heists in recent Dutch history. Experts are hopeful for a quick recovery of the stolen paintings as all of the works are too famous to be sold. Below I've shown all seven paintings with contemporary architecture and interiors that I believe correspond to the paintings.

Girl in Front of Open Window : by Paul Gauguin, 1898

Family Home : by Pedro Gadanho

Charing Cross Bridge, London : by Claude Monet, 1901

Chelsea Loft : by Amy Lau

Self-Portrait : by Meyer de Haan, circa 1890

Modern Hall : by Jagoda Architecture

Woman with Eyes Closed by : Lucian Freud, 2002

Contemporary Kitchen : by Jennifer Gilmer

Waterloo Bridge, London : by Claude Monet, 1901

Living Room : by Rafael de Cárdenas 

Harlequin Head : by Pablo Picasso, 1971

Green Lighthouse : by Christensen & Co Arkitekter

Reading Girl in White and Yellow : by Henri Matisse, 1919

Today I want to share the works of Mexican artist, Gabriel Dawe. The first time I saw images of his works, I thought he was manipulating colored lights. After investigating a little further, I realized he was using colored threads to create his large installations. Each installation takes upwards of 5 weeks to create and is comprised of tens of thousands of threads. The results are ethereal and beautiful.

Gabriel Dawe

Plexus no. 2

Plexus no. 3

Plexus no. 3

Plexus no. 4

threads threads threads!

As I was searching for art for the nursery this week I stumbled upon the photographer Sharon Montrose's site The Animal Print Shop.  I absolutely love her series of baby animals and am trying to decide which ones to purchase for the baby's room. Her prices are very reasonable and I just love the sweetness of these images!

Baby Giraffe #5

Baby Monkey #5

Baby Monkey #6

Baby White Tiger No. 5

Bear Cub No. 3

Bear Cub No. 4

Piglet No. 2

Collection of Little Darlings Prints

My friends are often asking me where they can find art that is both "real" and affordable. Anyone can buy a poster from a museum gift shop but the work is neither original, signed, or will ever have any real value.  The same is true for reproductions of pieces by famous photographers.  When decorating your home, the last you want is to put a lot of effort into the style of a room only to have the same thing on your walls as all of your friends. So leave the posters behind. I know this sounds expensive, but it does not have to be with new websites such as 20x200.com.

Each print made available on the site is a limited edition, signed by the artists, and is accompanied with supporting documentation. At the very least you are purchasing something unique, and who knows, maybe the artist's work will appreciate in value over time.

The site offers the ability to search by theme, price, and color, which makes the whole process approachable.  Say you want to add a pop of red to a room. Perfect, search by color! They will even frame it for you!

A selection of what you will find is below....

Waiting, by Ian Baguskas (click to purchase)

My Butt, Helen Wurzel (click to purchase)

Standing at the Edge of the Water, By Helena Wurzel (Click to purchase)

Ideal Bookshelf 367, Jane Mount (click here to purchase)

Floral and Insects, Laura Bell (Click Here to Purchase)

Vogue March 2010, p. 230 List of Contributors, by Lauren DiCioccio (click here to purchase)

Pretty Maps (Amsterdam), by Aaron Straup Cope (click here to purchase)