A Summer Home designed for Family and Gracious Entertaining

At the heart of this residence in Lake Geneva is a wonderful room for gracious summer entertaining. For more about this residence, please view a recent article entitled Glass Act in CS Interiors magazine.

Notice particularly, “The Bathers”, a painting by Nicolas Carone (to the right of the fireplace) as it is one of our favorites, and is in such a fabulous spot as it sits in tandem with a spectacular view of Lake Geneva…

…a joy to see and explore!…Perhaps even in the client’s classic, fully-restored Chris Craft boat.

And thus, a commissioned painting of a vintage Chris Craft graces the elegant, centrally located zinc and mahogany bar.  A Bulthaup kitchen follows poolside…

…And then, here’s to looking back from the real Chris Craft boat at night.

Handwovens as Inspiration

Sam Kasten, the master weaver of Twill Textiles fame… you’ve heard a great deal about him and about his daughter Ani who is such a marvelous potter.  As I look at her latest vessels I think of the amazing connection between her textures in clay as influenced by her father’s fantastic work with textiles of many textures!

I want to go back to innovation again, for it is Sam who pushed me to realize that new ideas inspired by old techniques were what design was all about. The creation of a new view just by innovating with an old/simple weaving technique. Classic Black Mountain College approach to understanding a material intimately leads to new and creative ideas for its everyday use.

Ani Kasten has used the basic twill weave as a texture on the sides of her vessel.  She has shown us that an ottoman rib is just as effective in clay as it is in a classic piece of cloth.  Clearly her inspiration has roots in her father’s world of weaving.  See anipots.com and of course her father’s handwoven masterpieces at samkasten.com

Polidori & Hofer large scale photographs

We are very excited to be purchasing a very large (approx. 96″ x 79″) and spectacular Candida Hofer photograph! Her image of this 18th century Portuguese university library, one of the oldest still in operation, holds a wealth of knowledge and beauty.

In addition to this spectacular photograph we are also collecting for our client a pair of Polidori photographs from his famous series taken at Versailles. All of which were photographs taken with only natural light.

Also exciting is the promise of a wonderful exhibition coming to the Met in 2012 featuring Polidori’s work.

The exploration of photography is such an exciting area of growth in the art world as many photographers are still in the process of defining themselves in the world of digital vs. film photography.

Photographing American History and Beyond

Re-framing people’s view of history is a specialty of many photographers. As Edward Curtis succeeded in his lifetime to redefine our view of the Native American Indian to one of peace and beauty.

…so too has Jack Spencer refined our view of the American South, the Hudson River Valley and the American West.

Michael Eastman is another of our favorites with his amazing focus on the American South as well as many locations around the world, including Venice!

Venice Biennale- Congratulations to Bruce Nauman

Speaking of Venice, I have so much to share. First and foremost is the thrill of Bruce Nauman winning the most coveted Golden Lion award for his work shown in the U.S. Pavilion and beyond at the Venice Biennale.

As quoted by Sperone Westwater Gallery in NYC, the Biennale selected Nauman “in recognition of the sustained energy and precision of [his] art.  From iconic embodiments of human pain and fragility to pithy jabs at our frailties, his oeuvre reveals the magic of meaning as it emerges through relentless repetition of language and form”.  This is the first time since 1990 that the United States has received this award.

Venice Biennale – Favorites

I was absolutely overwhelmed with the expression of broad talent at the Venice Biennale and certainly at the Italian Pavilion.

With ceramics that would blow your mind,  and a series of back lit computer rendered photography, I am only scratching the surface of the exceptional works within the Italian Pavilion.  The superb execution by each artist was years of work and focus to bring us such a statement of commitment to the expression of art.

And below……

…..the Russian Pavilion was a thrill as the messages were abounding with creative thought. Particularly Pavel Pepperstein’s watercolor “Landscapes of the Furure” – his imaginitive view of the future left you wanting for more as his projection of our positive/negative evolution seemed to make so much “accurate to the real facts” sense of the possibilities that lie ahead with the example of the reality of today.

Andre Molodkin’s winged victory and her internal bath of what looked like blood was simply outstanding. The thought of watching the dynamic  of large photo/video installation in one room, and an animated sculpture in another connected by sound and motion only was fabulous.

And as for the one to watch….

…….certainly the UAE is making a strong push for excellence in art and architecture, in an effort to become a world leader of collections. Their message of audio guides as hampering the dialogue around art couldn’t be more right on!

Most outstanding was their fabulous party on the Grand Canal at none other than the Peggy Guggenheim Collection!  With Wim Delvoye’s work adding regal elegance to the front facade of the famous collectors home,  one could only admire the talented and educated eye with which her amazing collection continues to be expanded.

Although I didn’t think this Biennale was as good as the one in 2007, without a doubt I will go back in 2011!  So much talent concentration in one city is invigorating and inspirational.  Talented dreamers work tirelessly to create installations that force you to think and evolve. Back to my favorite topic, innovation!  In a world view, art has the power to open our minds and our thoughts to a greater humanity; to challenge us to look and see the world with an open heart for the spirit of human consciousness and compassion.  Looking at art is simply a MUST DO in this world of information and opinions !!