The Accessorator: Art & Artists Archives

NY Gift Show ..... Handmade by Terrafirma Ceramics!!!

August 24, 2010 1:00 AM

Handmade in NYC, Terrafirma Ceramics founded by artist Ellen Evans is soooo chic!!!

"One-of-a-kind" .... each piece is signed & dated by the artist!!!

They are the perfect new "accessoration" for my dinning table for Fall 2010!!!!!

Now I just have to decide the plate shapes & colorway ... and which patterns I want!!!

Very difficult choices, I want everything!!!

Terrafirma Ceramics website

Must, Must, Must See ........ Murakami @ Versailles!!!!!

August 18, 2010 1:00 AM

I was to ill to leave my bed in Paris to see Jeff Koons at Versailles, but ........

I am definitely not missing Murakami!!!!

A collection of work by world renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami is taking up residence at the Château du Versailles beginning September 14, and continuing thru December 13. The exhibition includes 22 pieces installed throughout the estate and includes 11 that were made exclusively for this exhibition.

Text from Murakami .........

For Japanese, myself included, the Château de Versailles is one of the greatest symbols of Western history. It is emblematic of an elegance, sophistication and artistic ambition most of us could only dream of.

We understand, of course, that the fuse that sparked the fires of revolution led right through the centre of the building.

But in many ways, it all comes across as a fantastic tale from a kingdom far, far away. Just as the people of France might find it difficult to recreate in their minds an accurate image of the age of the Samurai, so too does the story of the palace become one that is, for us, diluted of reality.

Thus, it is that i have tried to capture in this exhibition.

I am The Cheshire Cay who greets Alice in Wonderland with his devilish grin, and chatters on as she wanders around the Château.

With my playful smile, I invite you all to the Wonderland of Versailles.

Aspen "Accessoration" #3 ... Re-Claimed & Re-Cycled!!!

August 12, 2010 1:00 AM

Available from "cycle artist" Billy Taylor, Saturday's at Aspen's Farmers Market!!!!

Divine handcrafted, re-cycled, vintage bikes!!!!!

Townies + Single Speeds + Fixies .......

A plethora of sizes, colors, silhouettes, and styles!!!!!

I want at least 6 shipped to NYC, to "accessorate" my garage!!!!!

Color coordinated, of course!!!!

Billy Taylor's telephone number

Aspen "Accessoration" #2 ..... Perfect in Every Way!!!

August 11, 2010 1:00 AM

This sculpture is by Mexican/American activist artist Marcos Ramírez ERRE and was commissioned by the divine TDL, my Aspen hostess and one of Aspen's premier art collectors!!! The piece stands in a well manicured, park-like setting next to her house. It is inspired by an earlier politically charged work by the artist, titled "Crossroads," that was shown at the Havana Biennial and remade for an exhibition at the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio. For this incarnation, the iconic signpost is personalized, it is a collection of places & thoughts that are significant to both TDL and her family. The distances are calculated from the location of the sculpture in Aspen and the quotes are most often art related, as art collecting is a family tradition!!!!

I adore this piece ..... it's visually stimulating ..... sits in a magical setting .......

and it's words, both locations & quotes, are thought provoking!!!!

A perfect "accessoration" in a perfect place ....... Aspen!!!!!

"Hunt & Chase" ......... @ Salomon Contemporary!!!

August 6, 2010 1:00 AM

CHRISTOPHER ASTLEY, Groan Blind, 2010

Concrete & acrylic paint, 84 x 18 x 29 in

ROBERT BECK, The Family Photo ("Christmas 1968"), 1999

Fuiji pictography & deer leg frame, 14 x 16 in

KIMBERLY HART, Spectre, 2009

Fabric & feathers, dimensions variable

PIA DEHNE, Bow Hunter, 2009

Oil on canvas, 54 x 88 in

STEVEN & WILLIAM, Bunny Down, 2010

Archival paperboard, fabric, beads, & metal, 9 x 6 x 14 in

MICHAEL COMBS, Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, 2010

Carved wood, dimensions variable

HOLTON ROWER, Untitled, 2010

$$$ dollar bills, dimensions variable

SEBASTIÅN ERRAZURIZ, Twin Towers on Double Trouble, 2008

Plastic, wood, & acrylic, 23 x 22 x 6 in

ALICE HOPE, Stockpiling, 1009-10

Steel plates, magnets, & BBs, Dimensions variable

ROBERT NEUMAN, Lame Deer Big Eagle, 2007

Oil on linen, 51 x 42 in

GUERRA DE LA PAZ, Martyr, 2007

Mixed media, 120 x 96 x 14 in

"Hunt & Chase" at Salomon Contemporary, East Hampton was co-curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody and gallery owner James Salomon. Beth, known for her enormous passion for art, is the ultimate art collector ........ buying only what she loves without thought of profit (rare in this market!!), she adores both art and artists. She is excited by what she sees and inspires the creative process in the artists she meets. Having curated several gallery shows, this is her first collaboration. The exhibition is interesting and eclectic .... flowing easily, clearly the result of the compatible natures of Beth and James. Featuring over 30 contemporary artists in a variety of media including video, sculpture, painting, photography, assemblage, and works on paper the show will be on until August 15, 2010.

"The exhibition focuses on both the accessible and unobtainable with works that demonstrate the hunt and chase of humans, animals, objects or the intangible: and illuminates emotions and subjects associated with the persuit- impulse, fear, desire, competition, force, and endurance." The work varies from classically literal pieces with a twist, to more abstract applications of the premise. Going beyond the expected hunting imagery, the works are often provocative and unusual ...... beneath the surface of the usually associated imagery.

Salomon Contemporary website

Recycled, Sustainable Plastic Planters in London!!!

August 2, 2010 1:00 AM

English artist Anna Garforth calls herself an "urban land artist," a "guerilla gardener" & a "green graffiti extrodinaire." Her work integrates her interest in urban ecology & sustainability with her creative practice. According to Anna, this has "led me into a world of moss collecting, wild city foraging and hunting down all the undomesticated areas of our urban forest. It has inspired me to discover and understand more about our natural surroundings. I have learnt how to communicate and engage creatively with positive impact, both socially and environmentally."

This project titled HEAD GARDENER turns plastic milk bottles into these eccentric "character" planters!!! Painting and planting the bottles give them unique visual personalities, each with a definitive life cycle based on the plant materials. The ephemeral nature of the work creates an immediate impact and is in collusion with transitory nature of the plantings. Anna says, "I don't wish to preserve it, it lives, it dies, and new growth ensues." In addition to this project, Anna has "written with" moss and leaves ...... which while being ecologically inspired, also relates back to the world of decay, death and rebirth.

I find these pieces very appealing ..... their mask-like faces remind me of African art.

I love the simplicity of thought in their design and their graphic quality .......

and I find the idea of birth, decay, & rebirth an intriguing part of ecology

Anna Garforth's website

Jasleen Kaur ..... A Dialogue Between Two Cultures!!!

July 28, 2010 1:00 AM

In June, I was fortunate enough to see Jasleen Kaur's Royal College of Art graduate show.

It was found it intelligent, innovative, smart ...... and extremely thought provoking!!!!

I was particularly intrigued with her installation "Tools for Living." Branded "britesh made" with a well-designed logo, the project "explores how cultures continually evolve and adapt to new environments wilst keeping their traditions and subtle habits." This series of re-configured objects represent the melding of two cultures ...... blending them, rather than obliterating one or the other. They are displayed on brackets attached to pegboards, giving the illusion of being for sale in a hardware shop ....... a reference to her great granddad's peddling from door to door, and her family's current business.

Jasleen's project relates to her great granddad's move to Britan in 1950, referring to how he acclimated to living in the U.K., while continuing to honor his Indian culture. Her relationship and connection with him are also part of the project. Her "utensils," re-formulated from two distinct objects, are symbols of binding the two traditions and cultures. A prime example is the everyday stainless steel curry tray's (thaali) that are subtly changed with the addition of silver handles ........ Indian functionality joins traditional English formality.

"He made a living from pushing a homemade cart from door to door selling goods or spotting construction sites from afar and turning up to see if there were any jobs going. He dressed like a real gentleman, like one of those proud to be British types, with a well kept moustache and tweed hat (a modern replacement for his once traditional turban). He was an in-betweener, a hybrid of both Indian and British and in his undecided state, functioned beautifully in his new surroundings."

"The thing I observe and make are how I see my great granddad and myself Although constructed from many things, they just work. Because cutlery is not really used in Indian cusine I am making a series of "tools for living" that reference everyday habits rather than etiquette. They are built for how we do things, not for how we should do thing."

Jasleen's graduate project, "design as a cultural unifier," teaches us how generations adapt and evolve in new surroundings, while maintaining their cultural roots. Her great granddad's door-to-door business evolved into a chain of family-run hardware shops in Glasglow.

Jasleen Kaur website

Contemporary Design at Historic Sudeley Castle!!!!!

July 26, 2010 1:00 AM

Pablo Reinoso HUGE SUDELEY BENCH Painted Steel

Conceived in 2010, Edition of 8 + 4 AP's

Atelier Van Lieshout WELLNESS SKULL Fiberglass, Polystyrene & Plywood

Conceived 2007, Edition of 3

Sebastian Brajkovic LATHE X Aluminium

Conceived in 2010, Edition 8 + 4 AP's

Lionel Scoccimaro GIANT JAR Painted Aluminium

Conceived in 2010, Edition of 8 + 4 AP's

Studio Job POURING JUG Polished & Painted Bronze

Conceived in 2008 & Cast in 2010, Unique

Marcel Wanders BON BON GOLD Resin, Rope, & Precious Metal

Conceived in 2010, Edition of 20 + 2 AP's

This exciting "selling exhibition," a joint venture between Sotheby's UK, Studley Castle, and Carpenters Workshop Gallery showcases a series of one-off and limited edition pieces by leading international contemporary designers and artists. The works are utilitarian pieces that can work as functional objects or pieces that can be appreciated as works of art with "profound aesthetic appeal."

According to Alexander Planton & Simon Stock, Sotheby's curators of the Sudeley exhibition "Contemporary design is an area of the international art market that ha been making waves in recent years and the Sudeley show will present works by some of the boldest and most visionary talents in the field of design today."

Carpenters Workshop in London, one of the premier galleries featuring contemporary design, is know for encouraging up-and-coming young artists, as well as presenting extraordinary works from established artists such as Ron Arad, Marteen bas, Wendell Castle. This joint venture is the latest project that the gallery is involved in "to promote the careers and foster the careers of contemporary designers through exhibiting unique and limited-edition works in solo and group exhibitions and at international art and design fairs. It also aims to expose the public to the latest design aesthetic, enriching and enlightening the contemporary design landscape and discourse."

Sudeley Castle is located in the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire. It was the royal household of Queen Katherine Parr during Tudor times. It is currently the home of Lady Ashcombe and the Dent-Brocklehurst family, who are dedicated to the restoration of the castle and it's gardens, with a particular emphasis on environmental sustainability. Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst has presented several exhibitions at the castle and says of this installation ..... "A thousand years of history at Sudeley represents a thousand years of design and creation and it is wonderful to be presenting such a current and visually exciting exhibition that is in such striking contrast to the historic castle itself."

I think this unique exhibition ..... the scope of the work is brilliant,

and the stunning surroundings add an extraordinary dimension to the collection!!!!

Carpenters Workshop Gallery website

The Ultimate "Shop till you Drop" Shopping Bag!!!!!

July 13, 2010 1:00 AM

NewYork artist Brian Tolle's sculpture for this California mall is whimsical & witty ......

And what could possibly say "shopping mall" better than this giant shopping bag!!!

Installed this past month at the entrance to the Los Cerritos Shopping Center, the stainless steel sculpture is 20 feet high, 16 feet wide and 9 feet deep ...... and glows with LED's that project a changing range of color. Titled "Remembering Walter Deubner: Inventor of the Shopping Bag," the piece was commissioned by the Macerich Company, owners of the California property, and it is the center-piece of the $95 million mall expansion that has just been completed.

Brian, an award winning artist and graduate of Yale University School of Art, has done a number of complex site-specific public commissions....... including works in Battery Park and City Hall in New York City, for the Cleveland Public Art Project, as well as the University of Washington in Seattle. He is represented by CRG Gallery in New York.

"Brian Tolle's sculptures and installations emphasize a formal and iconographic dialogue with history and context. Architecture, site, and technology are recurring themes. Using a variety of media, his work draws from the scale and experience of it's surroundings, provoking a re-reading by cross-wiring reality and fiction."

CRG Gallery website

Jenny Holzer & Keds ..... "Supporting" The Whitney!!!

June 30, 2010 1:00 AM

I adore creative ways of "giving back" ....... and this is a fantastic example

of an iconic brand's concern for the arts!!!

Keds has commissioned conceptual artist Jenny Holzer to design a collection of Keds based on her signature word-based art. The collection features classic canvas sneakers ..... black, grey, or white colors ..... low and hi-top silhouettes ...... with the text "PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT." The sale of these sneakers is part of Keds sponsorship of the Whitney Museum of Art's summer program.

I must have these immediately ....... you too??????

A Room of One's Own ..... with Andy Coolquitt!!!

June 29, 2010 1:00 AM

i'm telling you what 2010

metal, wire, light bulb, fabric

74 x 84x 20 inches approx.

It is no secret that I am captivated by the work of Texas artist, Andy Coolquitt (see blog 10/23/09). His current show at the Lisa Cooley Gallery on Orchard Street made me smile from the moment I walked in!!!! I loved the new pieces and even wanted to own the "non-art" works, they were wonderful too!!!

But, my "most favorite" piece is "i'm telling you what" .......

I want to move into this "tableaux" immediately!!!!

Imagine being sprawled out on this "settee" of vintage polyester stripes .....

reading a trashy novel or watching junk TV endlessly .....

all under this fabulous "light"!!!!!

I know that life is perfect "inside" these 3 pieces, and I will be happy forever!!!!

Want to join me????

Andy Coolquitt website

Lisa Cooley Gallery website

2010 Ceramics Graduate Show ......... @ RCA, London!!!!

June 8, 2010 1:00 AM

MOVING STORIES I, II, III MATTHEW RAW

white grogged earthenware

TRéSOR DéCOUVERT AMY JAYNE HUGHES

reduction-fired porcelain

SEVENTY FOUR THREADS OF LIFE HANNE MANNHEIMER

porcelain,wool, thread,metal,wool

TRINARY 2010 KOJI SHIRAYA

porcelain, feldspar

The very different work by these 4 artists captivated me at

the RCA Graduate show last week, and I had to

share their pieces with you!!!

I adore ceramics and the Royal College of Art in London has the premier ceramics & glass master degree program in the world!!!! I am lucky enough to own a number of pieces from past RCA graduates and last week I was lucky enough to see the Summer RCA Graduate show ..... and fortunate enough to add several pieces to my collection!!!

The artist's speak best about their own work ..........

MATTHEW RAW- "I have created sculptural ceramic forms in reaction to the current situation of people seeking asylum in the UK. My aesthetic response has developed at the RCA to integrate these two elements. Rather than rely on second-hand accounts, I have actively sought out real-life stories. With this language I have fused a relationship between the structure and the narrative: form lead by content."

AMY JAYNE HUGHES- "Symbolic of an important time in Ceramic history. the collection bridges the gap between the past and the present, finding a new home in contemporary culture. The pieces speak of the highly prestigious Porcelain wares produced at the Royal Sévres Factory in the late 17th and 18th Centuries. Objects d'art produced there were so refined and tightly controlled they carried no visible suggestion of their material identity. and so lavishly decorated that each detail was left in competition on the surface, striving to attract attention. In contract, through fresh interpretation the clay body and its material qualities are both elevated and celebrated."

HANNE MANNHEIMER- "More often than not, it begins with a found object, like the texture of a thread or the memory of a porcelain figure. Sometimes, the found can be a story, even a few words describing something or a feeling that needs to be made in a tactile and fragile material. The combination of the found and the made, a tangible object and an abstract idea is what motivates me the most. This allows the material qualities of the clay to interact with the refined details of the found elements. I love the clumsy, awkward and sometimes ugly qualities that can be found in old and discarded objects with inherent narratives, suggesting the passage of time."

KOJI SHIRAYA- "Man lives out daily contradictions in his relationship with nature. in my work I express the harmony of nature's beauty and man's use of it. By using only two materials, porcelain and feldspar, I have controlled their reaction at a specific level of heat. Porcelain and feldspar are naturally occurring materials, and in combination, under controlled heat, they change in expression from solid to fluid. My intention is to offer a place of contemplation , bringing nature closer to us, and magnifying detail of its reality."

Matthew Raw website

Amy Jayne Hughes website

Hanna Mannheimer website

Koji Shiraya website

Louise Bourgeois ....... Lossing An Incredible Spirit!!!

June 2, 2010 1:00 AM

Self Portrait (2009)

details

Louise Bourgeois (1911 - 2010) has been an incredible force in the art world for over 70 years. She was "one of a kind," unique, an individual ....... her work was that of a woman "searching" her life. Nothing was off-limits ..... she delved into every crevice of her being. She subjected her insides and outsides to public scrutiny, and was fearless in her exploration of self. She didn't care what critics had to say, she worked outside the boundaries of being a woman ..... she made feminism a part of her process. She lived "between two worlds, within two languages ..... male and female, order and chaos." Working endlessly she created an enormous body of work that will be with us forever.

I would like to share one of the last pieces she made for her French gallery, Galerie Piece Unique. Owned by my friends, Marussa Gravagnuolo & Christine Lahoud, I was lucky enough to see this work in Paris and longed to live with it!!!!!

The piece has a fabulous history ..... the original piece of cloth, with the initials LB was found by Marussa & Christine during their travels. The initialed piece of antique linen appeared to be a sign and was meant for only one person!!! They lovingly hand-carried the piece to New York to Louise, and she promised to make a unique work to be shown at the gallery.

In her 98th year, Self Portrait (2009) was presented at the gallery. Bourgeois created a clock of 24 hours, representing her life. The hands of the clock stand a 19h11 - the year of her birth. The 24 images placed at each hour reveal her history .... a self-portrait of memories ..... childhood, couple, maternity and family, and the themes of her art, are all etched in dry point and sewn to the linen.

The piece is stunning and I am so thrilled that I was privy to it's story!!!

Galerie Piece Unique website

Garland Rugs by Amy Helfand ........ @ 2010 ICFF!!!!!

June 1, 2010 1:00 AM

At the ICFF, Brooklyn-based artist/designer Amy Helfand's presented her newest collection of rugs made in Nepal. Titled "Devotion," they are the result of a collection of by images she photographed while traveling in Nepal, overseeing production of her rugs. Amy was moved by the shrines and temples around her, and inspired by the great faith of the Tibetans. The images of the prayer flags resonated strongly with her and she used them as the basis for this collection of hand-knotted rugs, made of Tibetan wools and Chinese silks. These stunning rugs are available in custom sizes and colors.

I adored these rugs, the colors are exception and the movement & flow

of the designs are stunning!!!!

Amy Helfand website

1935 Palazzo + 2010 Design @ Villa Necchi Campiglio!!!

May 17, 2010 1:00 AM

SNAKE COFFEE TABLE, CARLO CONTIN 2006 for MERITALIA

BRASILIA TABLES, COMPANA BROTHERS, 2006 for EDRA

MUMMY CHAIR, PETER TRAAG, 2005 for EDRA

MIRROR, ETTORE SOTTSASS, 2007 for GLAS ITALIA

CHAIR, DOMINIQUE PERRAULT & GAELLE LAURIOT-PREVOST, 2009 for

SAWAYA & MORONI

NAKED LEGO TABLE, GILES MILLER, 2009

GEO ART CARPET, LUCA NICHETTO, 2009 for NODUS

PROVA PRIMA DINNERWARE, PAOLA NAVONE, 2009 for RICHARD GINORI

LEFT CHAIR, PIET HEIN EEK, 2005 ...... RIGHT CHAIR NAOTO FUKASAWA, 2009 for B&B ITALIA

SATURN STOOL, EDWARD BARBER & JAY OSGERBY, 2008 for CLASSICON

VALISE WARDROBE, MAARTEN DE CEULAER, 2008 for CASAMANIA

PXL LAMP, FREDRIK MATTSON, 2007 for ZERO

CLAY CHAIR, MAARTEN BAS, 2006

THE ROCKING CHICKEN RIDE CERAMIC, JAIME HAYON, 2008 for LLADRO

Blending the historical richness of the architect of the houses and their

antiques, with the work of contemporary designers results

in an amazing design dialogue, which we

were so lucky to experience!!!

One of the fantastic things about getting stuck in Milan, while the Icelandic volcano spewed ash, was getting to visit two of the four Milanese House Museums, homes with a unique combination of period architecture and antiques, with the addition of contemporary design ...... old and new working in tandem, showing how contemporary furniture and objects belong everywhere!!!!

I was particularly taken with the Villa Necchi Campiglio, a residence built in the 1930's, designed by architect Piero Portaluppi. The interiors were created by a collection of important Italian designers and decorators of the period, including Albini-Palanti, Buzzi, Marelli, and Ulrich. After the war, an extensive collection of antique furniture was added.

"As such, today the Villa allows cutting-edge design to come face-to-face, and engage in an intelligent game of contrast, with both the pure lines of 30's design - as occurs, for example, through the sitting of the De Ceulaer wardrobe in the prince's bathroom - and with the antique elements, as demonstrated by the dynamic Wrong lamp that stands against the Louis XV armchairs and sofas in the Drawing Room."

Milan House Museums website

Recently in “Art & Artists”

NY Gift Show ..... Handmade by Terrafirma Ceramics!!!

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