In Plain View

By Roger Grody

The art on our cities’ streets and plazas is sometimes taken for granted, but a commitment to public art is one of America’s greatest traditions. The egalitarian concept ensures that everybody, even those who may never step into a museum, can be inspired by artistic achievement. While formal statues in town squares may be the earliest efforts, public art now encompasses contemporary murals and interactive sculptures that encourage a physical, as well as emotional, connection.

Chicago is not only the architectural capital of America — the city was shaped by masters like Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan and Mies van der Rohe — but is arguably the epicenter of public art in America. A leisurely stroll through the Loop reveals the works of some of the very same artists showcased in the revered Art Institute of Chicago, anchoring public spaces in the shadows of famous skyscrapers.

Soaring 50 feet and weighing more than 160 tons is an untitled Pablo Picasso sculpture at Chicago’s Daley Plaza, a piece endearingly characterized as resembling a giant insect or baboon. Picasso donated the steel fabricated artwork — the eccentric artist did not specify his inspiration for the piece — to the people of Chicago in 1967 and it has become one of the city’s most iconic works of art. Among the first to depart from a historic theme, the sculpture ushered in a wave of modern and abstract expressions by other famous artists on the streets of Chicago.

Perhaps the most iconic of Chicago’s downtown sculptures is “Flamingo” by Alexander Calder, an arching 53 foot structure placed outside the Mies van der Rohe-designed Federal Center. The color of Flamingo is technically vermilion, but has become so closely associated with the commission that it is frequently referred to as “Calder red.” The sculpture has long been one of the most photographed sites in Chicago, but in the era of Instagram it has been eclipsed by Millennium Park’s “Cloud Gate.”

None of Chicago’s 20th-century monuments currently receive as much attention as Cloud Gate, the curvilinear structure by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, dedicated in 2006. The 110-ton, highly polished steel sculpture — people are allowed, even encouraged, to touch — captivates visitors walking around and under it as the Chicago skyline is reflected in its elliptical form. “Cloud Gate, affectionately called ‘The Bean,’ is a great example of a wildly popular public artwork,” reports professor Erika Doss of the University of Notre Dame, an authority on public art in America. “Why do people love it? Because they can play with it, use it for photo ops and wonder how it was made, why it’s so shiny,” explains Doss, who admits visiting the site many times herself.

Lydia Ross, the city’s acting director of public art, reports that Chicagoans’ embrace of public art runs much deeper than those world-famous sculptures. In addition to Chicago’s celebrated downtown public art, handsomely funded by corporations, there is a vibrant public art culture driven by social consciousness in the city’s less glamorous neighborhoods. “Chicago is a city that supports public art, and local artists are committed to creating a better and more just world,” says Ross of two parallel but equally significant public art movements.

Despite the Windy City’s riches, New Yorkers will not concede public art supremacy to Chicago, as the streets of the Big Apple are filled with both historic and contemporary pieces of engaging, sometimes interactive art. Enduringly popular is the 1989 “Charging Bull” statue by Arturo Di Modica in the financial district, literally a metaphor for the stock market, while sculptor Kristen Visbal’s more recent “Fearless Girl” near the New York Stock Exchange is an homage to female empowerment.

Public art in New York’s Zuccotti Park includes “Red Cube” by sculptor Isamu Noguchi and Mark di Suvero’s towering “Joie de Vivre.” Near the Museum of Modern Art sits “Love,” the instantly recognizable piece by Robert Indiana, while modern artist Jeff Koons’ distinctive “Balloon Flower (Red)” sits in the hallowed shadows of the World Trade Center. Engineer Gilmore D. Clarke’s “Unisphere,” a nostalgic remnant of the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens, is monumental, eclipsed only by New York City’s preeminent piece of public art: the Statue of Liberty.

One of New York’s most prominent and controversial modern works of public art is “Vessel” at Hudson Yards, an intricate structure of interlocking stairways completed in 2019. With approximately 150 flights of stairs (2,500 total steps), it creates an imposing, beguiling centerpiece to the ambitious $25 billion mixed-used development. Conceived by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, Vessel remains closed until new safety measures can be incorporated into the 150-foot-tall structure, but it remains a striking piece of visual, if not interactive, art.

The value of public art installations in open spaces was heightened during the pandemic, according to the Public Art Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing art to wide audiences in New York City. “The pandemic has highlighted our shared outdoor spaces as essential community resources and spaces of both physical and spiritual renewal,” observed artistic and executive director Nicholas Baume, noting that the organization’s resolve only intensified when local museums were shuttered.

In the spirit of Chicago’s towering downtown artwork is Philadelphia’s “Clothespin,” the 45-foot steel sculpture by Claes Oldenburg, a master of public art who recently passed away. Gracing a plaza facing Philadelphia’s City Hall — that historic building being crowned with a bronze statue of William Penn — Clothespin creates a quintessential juxtaposition between historic and contemporary public art.

For an emerging metropolis, Charlotte, North Carolina, boasts a surprisingly impressive portfolio of contemporary public art. Most conspicuous is the glistening “Metalmorphosis” from Czech sculptor David Cerny, a 31-foot-tall head rising from a reflecting pool on a plaza at Whitehall Corporate Center, a development featuring an entire collection of public art.

The piece, clad in mirror-finished steel plates, consists of rotating layers that create abstract forms, but when they are all aligned, water flows from the mouth of the perfectly formed head into the surrounding pool. The fluidity of Metalmorphosis provides a sense of symmetry with the water feature and its otherworldly looking face demands attention. “Pillars of Dreams,” a cloudlike structure of perforated aluminum by Brooklyn-based architect Marc Fornes, is another significant piece of public art in the Queen City.

“Pillars of Dreams,” a cloudlike structure of perforated aluminum by Brooklyn-based architect Marc Fornes, is another significant piece of public art in the Queen City.

Los Angeles has a strong tradition of public art, from the Watts Towers to artist Chris Burden’s addictive “Urban Light” installation, an interactive collection of 200-plus vintage streetlamps. The city also boasts an extensive collection of independent and publicly sponsored murals fueled by the city’s rich history of street art. Felicia Filer, acting assistant general manager and public art division director of the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), reports, “Murals and street art continue to be some of the most publicly accessible public art forms in Los Angeles.”

Referencing the city’s wealth of artistic talent, Filer states, “The artists want to make their murals and works accessible to all, and DCA does all it can to support them and their efforts whenever possible.” She adds, “The painted history of L.A., one of the major mural capitals of the world, encapsulates a great pride in this art form that continues to appeal to people with important social justice messages.”

Classic L.A. murals include “Morning Shot,” a 35-foot-tall Venice Beach image of rock music icon Jim Morrison painted by Rip Cronk, and “The Pope of Broadway” from muralist Eloy Torrez that depicts actor Anthony Quinn. Adding a touch of culture to the morning commute for 30 years is artist Kent Twitchell’s signature “Harbor Freeway Overture,” an elegant portrait of a chamber orchestra towering above a downtown freeway interchange.

August 31, 2023 Leave a comment

Telling the Story

with:Unique Homes Staff

By Ritika Jain

Looking to admire or purchase historically significant works of art? Head over to Artistoric.com, an online retail gallery devoted to showcasing exquisite ceramic pieces all made prior to the 1900s. A brief scroll through the collections presents an array of timeless, aesthetic designs on mugs, vases, tile, plates, and other dishes from all over the world. Each object is paired with elaborate research detailing its dimensions, artistic origins, and historic significance to the time period it was created in.

Artistoric started in 2020 during the pandemic, when co-founders Bailey Tichenor and Michael Assis sought out to curate a collection that paid homage to decorative arts and material culture, subjects they are both highly educated in. Tichenor sat down with The High End to expand on how the gallery came about and her long-held passion for art history.

The gallery director recounts channeling her love for antiques in high school by selling vintage wares and jewelry made from antique pieces. She then decided to major in art history in college, and went on to earn her master’s degree in the subject at Bard Graduate Center, where she met Assis. Her first love, she says, was collections management, which she developed while working in the collections departments of a few museums in Nashville.

She was most recently the curator at the Historic House Trust of New York City, where she oversaw the curatorial and collections affairs of the organization’s 23 historic houses.

Assis, who heads the gallery’s research program, has had prior experience managing private collections and is now a doctoral candidate at Bard Graduate Center, specializing in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque European arts for digital spaces. Now married, the couple is fulfilling their dream of owning and operating a gallery that celebrates their passions.

Speaking of their initial inspirations for the gallery, Tichenor relays that she and Assis “noticed that a growing interest in decorative arts and material culture in academia and museum contexts has started to trickle into the art market. More and more people are finally beginning to view these things as the works of art that they are, much like how we’ve felt throughout our entire lives.”

Material objects have the power to tell stories and preserve different moments in time, proving that art and history have always been interconnected. Many of the beautiful artifacts displayed in the gallery harken back to previous art movements and social contexts.

“A useful way to look at it is through the idea that art resonates with other social, cultural, and economic structures within the context in which it is made, and also influences them. It’s an intricate mesh, and as historians, we find this out by rooting objects in their contexts, identifying parallels, and forming scientific arguments that are based on physical evidence and a wide variety of theory and methodology that stands at our disposal,” explains Tichenor.

This relationship between art and history allows objects from bygone eras to connect with audiences today. Tichenor provides the example of Victorian pie dishes from the 1860s, which she says embodies the same concerns of exploitation of natural resources and predatory capitalism we face today. One of the most striking pieces featured in the gallery is of this sort, designed as a wicker basket with the lid depicting real-life imagery of a dead rabbit, mallard, and crow resting on a bed of leaves.

“The stories, the contexts, the feats, and the roles these objects played in history all make the pieces in our collection much more than mere antiques. It makes them meaningful and significant traces of an expansive past that personally connects people to something larger,” says Tichenor.

Artistoric is founded on the basis of research, not unlike museums, infusing a visual experience with valuable knowledge that allows audiences to build an intimate connection to these works of art. Tichenor explains that resources like relevant literature, scholarly articles, past auctions, and primary sources are used to gain more background on an object. This approach aims to bridge the gap between galleries and museums, offering consumers access to pieces of history that have transcended time.

Running the gallery also allows the co-founders to delve into forms of art they are unfamiliar with. For Tichenor, an example is the vibrant, decorative majolica collection.

“I’m also proud of our small but mighty majolica collection, which we explore in depth through our digital exhibition The Majolica Movement. Prior to curating the exhibition, my experience with Victorian majolica was limited, so the project provided the opportunity to learn more about this fascinating medium. One of the best perks of the job!”

Interested customers can browse through the selection of ceramic pieces on the gallery’s website as well as check out its creative online exhibitions, which showcase a distinct object or material with an assessment of its history and related art movements. Artistoric is a concept well executed, merging beautiful photography with thoughtful research to promote decorative arts as an art form.

Having opened the gallery in the early days of the pandemic, Tichenor and Assis hope to attend more in-person events in the future, engage with new technologies, and work with additional guest scholars, building a positive community for art lovers and history buffs all around.

July 18, 2022 Leave a comment

Caution, Curves Ahead

with:Unique Homes Staff

By Camilla McLaughlin

Design trends seem to suddenly materialize, even though most have been percolating among designers and consumer attitudes for months, even years.

“2022 is going to be a fun year to watch trends!” says Kim Armstrong, an interior designer in Rockwall, Texas. “There are so many influences that are smashing together. First off, we have the ‘coming out of COVID syndrome. We, of course, have supply chain issues, and we have a wave of younger idealistic thinkers and trendsetters entering the home decorating phases of their life. All of these things will come into play with the new trends.”

“In 2022, we anticipate the design community, in both architectural and decorative elements, to favor rich, warm autumnal tones, pattern-on-pattern, lots of layering of scale and texture, in both natural elements like wood, metals and stone as well as decorative materials like hardware, fabrics, wall coverings and furnishings,” explains Karen Karautuneian, principal at Hub of the House Studio in West Hollywood, California. “We can confidently say goodbye to whitewashed woods, boucle fabrics and brass, and warmly welcome medium-toned natural woods, boldly patterned fabrics, and bronze.”

This is a year of bold patterns and vibrant splashes of color. Maximalism is how designers characterize this vibrant look. “People are favoring a chic, maximalist design over a look that is minimalist and neutral. Some of the ways we have recently incorporated maximalism are with large curated art collections, oversized furniture and highly textured fabrics,” says Brittany Farinas of House of One interior design in Miami, Florida.

What’s Old is New This Year

Another strong trend highlighted by Armstrong is reuse and repurpose, spurred in part by shipping and supply delays. Designers such as Joshua Smith, owner of an eponymous firm based in Palm Springs, New York City and Vermont, expect antique furniture to take center state in 2022. “The Midcentury Modern craze we’ve seen in the last few years will be tempered by the addition of more refined antiques cleverly thrown into the design mix.”

Not only will 2022 present some surprising switch-ups on long-running aesthetics, but curves literally will be more prominent. Expect to see the form in sofas and chairs, patterns, and architectural elements such as doorways, windows and ceilings. “I think we are looking for softer lines and more comforting designs. People are loving this soft line that feels like it wraps you in a hug after being through the hard times that COVID brought on,” observes Armstrong.

Even more traditional skirted furniture will make a comeback, says Smith. “There seems to be a move toward comfort and livability and there’s something about a soft, supple chair that makes you want to sink into it.”

Color Wash

Colors shape yearly trends, and this year is awash in hues. Overall, designers say jewel tones will be hot this year, from deep purples to forest greens.

Green may have had a moment a few years ago, but it’s back. A majority of color forecasts showcased some take on green from Sherwin Williams Evergreen Fog, potentially a hot neutral, to Behr’s October Mist, which evokes the silver green stem of a flower.

Green marble is also poised to be a top trend, shares Mark Lavender, principal of M. Lavender Interiors in Chicago and Memphis. Color is also making its way into kitchens. “The trend of all-white kitchen is decreasing, and we’re incorporating more colorful stone stabs. I’ve recently worked with three different clients, one choosing white marble with maroon and red veins, another selecting black stone with brown tiger stripes, and a third loving a white and blue/green piece,” says Houston-based designer Mary Patton.

Blues will still be in vogue. As the year progresses, don’t be surprised to see periwinkle (Pantone’s color for 2022 is Veri Peri) cropping up everywhere from dining rooms to ceilings. “Veri Peri is nuanced and unfamiliar, which will inspire designers to explore its possibilities. It would pair nicely with navy, white, tan and green,” says Lance Thomas of Thomas Guy Interiors in Louisiana.

“It’s actually very versatile, as it works well in a multitude of spaces. Periwinkle can be used for walls and can be a great option for painting furniture or cabinetry,” observes Tulsa, Oklahoma, designer Mel Bean.

Searching For Privacy

Consumers still love open-concept layouts, particularly for family and entertaining, but they also want spaces adaptable to whatever life presents. Designers continue to tweak the open concept, often using found spaces to enhance privacy. “We’ve learned how important pocket spaces can be whether they’re used for work or learning or for other activities like exercising or crafting,” said Mary Cook, founder and president of the commercial design firm Mary Cook Associates.

What doesn’t change this year? Plenty, say designers. Anything considered a classic will remain timeless. What also continues to be important, according to Smith, is “developing your own personal, unique style and unabashedly creating the space you envision for yourself. Our homes should inspire our mind and nourish our spirit, which can be expressed in so many ways. It’s just so personal.”

Regardless of the year and the trend, our approach is to always incorporate classic features with new and emerging ideas, creating timeless interiors,” shares Chicago designer Jessica Lagrange.

July 13, 2022 Leave a comment

Windows of Imagination

with:Unique Homes Staff

By Roger Grody

For most people, the admiration of stained glass is reserved for worship services, tours of European cathedrals or Tiffany lamps, but the versatility of the centuries-old art is being rediscovered by craftsmen around the world. Contemporary stained glass artisans are designing windows and wall sculptures for trendsetting hotels, corporate offices and sleek modern homes, giving the ancient art an entirely new image.

The medium’s transition from religious symbolism to a more secular, modern expression of art was pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright, whose Prairie-style residences were enhanced with extraordinary leaded glass windows, doors and ceilings referred to as “light screens.” Julie L. Sloan, whose book Light Screens: The Leaded Glass of Frank Lloyd Wright examines several decades of Wright’s prolific glass design, confirms the architect’s aesthetics were a clear departure from those of contemporaries Louis Comfort Tiffany and John La Farge. “His clear glass in abstract patterns was nothing short of revolutionary,” reports Sloan, who notes that, unlike the nearly opaque stained glass in preceding centuries, Wright’s light screens were designed to integrate indoor spaces with the natural environment.

Although it was founded at the end of the 19th century, Los Angeles’ Judson Studios does not treat stained glass as simply architectural salvage, but as a dynamic contemporary medium. Its artisans apply avant-garde designs and innovative techniques to a wide range of projects that transcend religious institutions. David Judson, fifth-generation company president and author of Judson: Innovation in Stained Glass, reports, “Glass has maintained its relevance over time because it reflects contemporary society. What remains unchanged is the pure, visceral impact of color and light through stained glass.”

Signature projects of Judson Studios include the Natural History Museum in L.A. and the iconic Air Force Academy Chapel in Colorado. The firm’s pioneering efforts in fused glass — this technique creates the effect of leaded glass without the need for soldered metal dividers — led to Judson’s creation of the world’s largest fused glass window in 2018. The formidable panel, encompassing more than 3,400 square feet of art glass, was installed in the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.

“The design world is increasingly attracted to the medium for its vibrant color and connection to tradition, the idea of taking something old and making it new,” says Judson of the introduction of glasswork into contemporary settings. He adds, “The beauty of glass is that it can withstand the environment while dealing with light in a different way … that interpretation of light can have a great impact.”

Adamm’s Stained Glass & Art Gallery in Santa Monica, California, exhibits the works of prominent stained glass artisans, and in addition to churches and synagogues, owner Adamm Gritlefeld installs his own glasswork in trendy hotels and celebrity-owned residences. His restoration projects have included Frank Lloyd Wright residences and the former Tower Theatre in downtown L.A., recently reimagined as a particularly showy Apple Store.

While bold palettes frequently draw consumers to this medium, Gritlefeld reports that intriguing designs composed of colorless diamond-shaped glass with varying textures and beveling account for many of his current architectural commissions. “People are inspired by what they see in museums or traveling and seek to reproduce it,” explains the glass specialist, who adheres to traditional fabrication techniques. “A recent client admired some windows in Italy and wanted the same look in his Malibu villa,” reports Gritlefeld of a typical request.

The work of Brooklyn-based artist Tom Fruin is in demand by architects, galleries and private collectors around the world. Rather than glass and lead, Fruin works with scavenged, reclaimed pieces of plexiglass and steel. The artist, who once created quilts from materials most people would consider litter, explains, “Those items showed patterns of human behavior and informed the design of my glass structures.” The artist’s glass houses, public art installations injecting explosions of color in urban spaces from Copenhagen to Orlando, transform discarded materials into enriching art.

His compelling series of water towers — vibrantly colored versions of the nondescript rooftop water towers scattered across the skyline of his adopted hometown of Brooklyn — are unexpected eye candy for motorists entering the borough on the historic Brooklyn Bridge. “Water towers, part of an overlooked infrastructure, are emblematic of all of New York, and mine change people’s perceptions about their surroundings,” says Fruin.

The illuminated, solar-powered structures have become iconic symbols of Brooklyn’s rebirth, and the artist has also created a full-size sculpture of the Statue of Liberty’s flame, constructed of broken windows from abandoned factories.

Nadine Keegan, a prominent stained glass practitioner in Melbourne, Australia, is a self-taught artisan who fell in love with the medium after viewing the famous glass murals at Cosmovitral in Toluca, Mexico. “Broadly, I draw inspiration from the Romantic appreciation of the ephemerality of light and life as well as from textiles, architecture, history, and art,” reports Keegan, who cites Australian modernism, Japanese woodblock prints and Frank Lloyd Wright as specific influences.

“Contemporary stained glass fulfills many architectural roles. It can be a subtle accompaniment or bold centerpiece,” states Keegan, who creates both objets d’art and architectural windows. “The legacy of the craft is extremely important to me, and while I honor this in the content of my art, I don’t use pure lead, which is the main separation between my work and traditional leadlights,” explains Keegan. “I’ve developed ways of combining the use of zinc, Tiffany-style metalwork and fused glass to expand beyond the limitations of the past,” adds the artist, who reports growing interest in stained glass by both residential and commercial sectors in Australia.

Lesley Green, owner of Arizona-based Bespoke Glass, reports, “When I started the company in Brooklyn, everyone I knew lived in apartments, so my initial idea was to make sets of small pieces that could be arranged in various ways depending on the space.” She still sells that line, which she calls “Elements,” but has moved on to larger installations in restaurants and retail establishments around the world. Green tends to employ a relatively tight palette of about 30 colors, and the copper foil method she practices (a technique often attributed to Tiffany) results in a distinct, uniform solder line.

Windows from Bespoke Glass generally reflect geometric patterns devoid of imagery, resulting in clean, modern aesthetics. Although her work is vaguely evocative of Wright’s, Green is more apt to draw her inspiration from textile design, murals and street art. With much of her work hanging from ceilings or on walls, the artist comments, “There are many more ways to bring the light and color of stained glass into your home beyond the commitment of an installed window panel.”

May 26, 2022 Leave a comment

Keep Things Sophisticated

with:Unique Homes Staff

By Kristen Ordonez

For designer Marissa Stokes, home has been a variety of places. Home was growing up in New Jersey, where creative parents and a need for change led to an intense love for interior design at a young age. Home was also New York, where she earned a degree from Parsons School of Design and worked her first jobs at elite design firms, including David Kleinberg Design Associates, Victoria Hagan Interiors and Jayne Design Studio. And now as an accomplished designer, home is more than just a place — it’s every threshold she passes, every piece of furniture she chooses, every decision she makes in order to help craft the perfect space for her clients. We spoke with Stokes about her experiences in the industry and how her love of interior design has transformed her career so far.

How do you think living in New York affected your design style and preferences?

You’re just exposed to so many amazing things, being in and around New York City. The architecture alone, having incredible museums at your fingertips. I also went to school in NYC; I think that was an incredible experience, but also had a huge influence on my design aesthetic, just having everything at your fingertips, between different cultures, food, architecture. I feel fortunate to have lived there and so close to there still now. I love New York City.

When was the first time that you ever thought about working in design?

I really have always wanted to be an interior designer from a very young age…. I think it’s because my parents are both very creative people, always doing things to improve our home…. My dad made furniture, we even had a woodshop in our basement. I just had this love for transforming spaces and the process, and I just fell into it very naturally.

Did you learn wood craftsmanship yourself?

Yes! I had all the tools at my fingertips in the shop, and I am still able to use them now, a bandsaw, a tablesaw, et cetera. We also had a sewing machine, so I grew up sewing at a young age — we’d be making window treatments and pillows. I was always transforming my personal space, shifting things around, changing them or painting them. Making them look different. It was just something I always loved to do, and still love it.

Why do you do what you do, what about art and design draws you into doing it every day?

I love making people’s dreams come true. There’s something so rewarding about helping a client transform their space so it’s not only functional, but beautiful. In terms of art and design, there’s so many artists and creatives out there who are doing incredible work, and I’m being exposed to them, just learning and growing. It’s another reason why I love what I do. Every day is different and I just love that.

Are there any activities outside of work that help inspire you or your work?

Outside of work, I’m always trying to get out in nature, go for a walk or hike – nature is always inspiring. I feel like I can always pull things from that. I love to travel as well, even though it’s been a bit difficult to do so.

Where’s somewhere you love or would love to go?

My dream place I’d love to go is Greece. It really offers everything. It has ancient and historical sights, of course, but also beautiful landscapes and amazing food.

What has been your favorite project to do?

I worked on a project for Jayne Design Studio in Palm Beach. It was my first project as a senior designer for the firm. It’s a Venetian-inspired home on the Intracoastal. The clients were art collectors who wanted to enjoy the views and display their art. We designed and decorated a home that was quiet, clean and sophisticated to balance their collection and the architecture. I loved the home, its location and the clients. I will always have a soft spot for it.

When it comes to designing, what is the most important element you have to remember?

Well one thing that tends to be overlooked, I think, is the ceiling. It’s very important to design from top to bottom, to think about ceiling work, a lighting plan, and overall how it’s treated and how it affects the space.

Is there a piece of art in your own home that you would never consider selling?

Everything is here for a reason, so not one specific piece. It’s always important to surround yourself with things you love, even if it’s a bit eclectic, surround yourself with furniture and art that you love. When you do that, things just kind of work together. There’s no standard.

What do you want people to take away when they look at your work?

I want people to find it classic and timeless, something that could last forever. I don’t want someone to walk into a space and instantly date it. I want the clients to be comfortable in their home for a long time.

Keep things sophisticated.

What advice would you give to someone going into design?

Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves, you have to wear a lot of hats in this industry. Maybe start with an internship, but, all in all, do whatever you need to do to learn.

April 8, 2022 Leave a comment

Q&A with Chris Goddard of HGTV’s Design Star

with:Kristen Ordonez

Photos by Mark Jackson/CHROMA Photography.

Designer Chris Goddard grew up in Arkansas in a house full of built-in furniture. As his love for design started early in life, he says this situation “drove me nuts.” Now, as the principal founder of Goddard Design Group, he credits these hurdles, as well as the creative nurturing of his family, for his love of change, which continues to inspire every facet of his work.

It was the need to produce something new every time, and the drive to push himself past his own creative limits, that helped Goddard become a finalist on the most recent season of HGTV’s Design Star: Next Gen.

We spoke with Goddard about his whirlwind experience of creating interior design for TV, and how his reality TV appearance inspired an even deeper love for design than he’d had in 30-plus years.

For those who haven’t watched the latest season of Design Star, can you relay to audiences your method of design?

I’m a big proponent of change, if you’re doing the same thing you did 3 years ago you’re doing something wrong. I never do the same thing twice, so in 30 years we’ve never used the same fabric twice, the same piece of furniture twice — it’s kind of my trademark. I don’t want anybody to have something somebody else has.

What has been your biggest inspiration, since you were young, to work in such a creative field?

I grew up in a very creative family, always surrounded by creativity and the arts. My family, especially my mother and my grandmother, were big on travel and exposing me to as much as possible. So I traveled a lot and spent a lot of time in museums. They would always take me out of school for weeks at a time; they always said ‘the best education was travel and experiencing things.’ I grew up a little globe-trotting kid, seeing the world, which was wonderful and super inspiring.

You received both design and business degrees in college. Have you found this type of structured education helpful as well?

I’ve found that having a business degree really makes a huge difference. Most designers are creative but can’t always run a business, and I’ve been able to strike a good balance. That’s not to say I haven’t ever screwed up — we all have — but those are called learning experiences.

You mentioned loving to travel, what’s one of your favorite places to visit?

One of my favorite places is Morocco. I try and go once a year. I’m super inspired by the colors and textures, anything that’s handmade. When you have something that’s made by hand, at least one thing in your house, it gives your house a soul and gives the room a sense of place, like it’s always been there. That’s my whole deal, creating timeless rooms. I don’t want anything to look like it was stuck in time, and the key to doing that is layering in parts of the past, present and modern so you get something that never really goes out of style.

A traditional Southern estate with hints of modern elegance in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

What is your primary focus when you’re designing a space?

I’m designing for the client, or if it’s commercial, for the space. You want to create an experience that is singular to them. I think the death of most design is becoming a trend or doing anything trendy, so I always try to be very specific in what I’m doing and make sure it’s uber-tailored to the space or the client.

I think as a designer the biggest compliment I can ever get is when someone comes in and says “Oh this looks like the homeowner,” instead of “this looks like a Chris Goddard house.” The biggest compliment is that it’s a reflection of the homeowner or the space.

What was it like to be on an HGTV show? Did you enjoy your time on set?

When I started my business I taught myself how to do everything, how to put on wallpaper, how to paint — to be a good designer you have to have an understanding of all the people that work for you. I haven’t done that [in person] in over 25 years, but [on the show] it all came back to me like riding a bike. … Each episode was like a day and a half, so cranking everything out and then being judged on it was a little tricky. In our career, our clients are the judges and you kind of have an idea of what they want, but when you go into things blind, you don’t know.

For me it was more fun because I got to push myself out of my comfort zone, which I really needed. I kind of looked at the whole experience as an opportunity to reignite my passion for design. It’s easy when I get to the level I am at and get comfortable — and I think I was feeling a little comfortable — which was the reason I wanted to compete. Doing it, I came back and I couldn’t have been more excited about design than I had in my whole life. It was the best experience I could have ever had.

What lessons have you taken away from the experience?

It’s best to go with your first thoughts. If you get too much in your head, it throws off the creative process. Don’t be afraid to try anything new. The main thing [I learned], though, was to trust my gut, be authentic and keep pushing myself. And to learn something new. I learned so many new design tips, technology tips — everyone had so many things to share. It was nice to just be able to soak it all in.

How have things progressed since going back to the firm? Any big plans for the future?

I’m excited to see what happens in the next few years, as design is having a Renaissance. Right now we’re busier than ever, since people have been stuck in their homes and they see things they want to change. They want multifunctional spaces, beautiful spaces, there’s been this huge resurgence in an interest in design. The whole world is once again interested in how they live.

The design style of this home evolved from Spanish Mission into an eclectic mixture of modernism and neoclassical, created through thoughtfully curated collections, from vintage Chinese rugs to contemporary art.

A key component to the design of this Fayetteville penthouse was the incorporation of pieces from the client’s extensive modern art collection, seen above and below. “It was a lot of fun to pull modern furniture and art together to create a new space that still resonates our client’s unique, eclectic personality,” according to Goddard Design Group.

Top photo by Rett Peek Photography.

December 28, 2021 Leave a comment

Completing the Collection

with:Marlene Ridgway

Featured image ©istockphoto.com / AntonioGuillem

New technology and the need to adapt have transformed the traditional feel of museums and galleries around the world.

From smartphones to staying at home, the way we experience art has metamorphosed into something more comprehensive.

In a world ruled by social media, viewers are allowed an inside look into the lives of artists all over and their unique way of making art. Everything from gathering materials, to creating pieces, to live streaming exhibits are available. Now, we’re getting an inside look at entire collections, and it’s easy and accessible.

In Rotterdam, Netherlands, and part of the lush, rosebush-filled Museumpark, is the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. The museum displays an incredibly diverse collection of art and right beside it, donned in over 1,500 mirrored panels is the museum’s depot.

“Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has a collection of more than 151,000 artworks but — like all museums worldwide — only displays between 6 to 8 percent in the galleries. The remaining objects are kept in storage facilities, closed to the public,” says Ina Klaassen, museum director of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen. The first of its kind, the depot will transform the way visitors view the museum’s collection.

The Musée du Louvre has never before been so accessible. The museum’s most obscure and most well-known pieces are just a click away.

©istockphoto.com / TomasSereda

Open since autumn 2021, the depot creates a one-of-a-kind opportunity in the art world. “The entire collection will be accessible to the public — a world first — and will be stored at a single location next to the museum,” according to Klaassen. Even the building itself is a masterpiece. Created by the architects of MVRDV — a global architecture practice — the mirrors brilliantly reflect the surrounding museumpark, which allows the depot to seamlessly blend into the existing cityscape.

Certainly not alone in their quest to enhance the art world, the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France is also striving for something similar. The museum has moved the impressive entirety of its collection to an online platform and launched a new website, which extends the experience for those who have already visited or hope to visit in the future. “Today, the Louvre is dusting off its treasures, even the least-known,” according to Jean-Luc Martinez, president/director of the Musée du Louvre. “For the first time, anyone can access the entire collection of works from a computer or smartphone for free, whether they are on display in the museum, on loan, or in storage.”

The architects of MVRDV have created an iconic building, giving a boost to the Rotterdam Museumpark. The choice to use mirrors came with the idea to make the surrounding park appear bigger, integrating the building into the landscape.

Photo by Ossip van Duivenbode.

Even prior to the pandemic, museums, galleries, and artists were working to bring art from all over the world to the masses. The British Museum, in partnership with the Google Cultural Institute, created a highly interactive timeline through history with the option to explore multiple eras, continents, and cultures throughout history and art. The Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum offers virtual exhibits that take advantage of the additional space for lengthier descriptions and personal narratives from artists.

These innovative techniques continue to expand the way we experience museums and galleries. “A museum and the new publicly accessible art depot are very different,” says Klaassen. “The museum has three main functions: namely the displaying of a collection in an art/historical context, as well as conserving and researching it. The museum is the showroom, the depot is behind-the-scenes.”

The idea that an entire collection can be available is a glimpse into the future of art and adds an element of freedom when viewing it.

Typically, art in a closed depository is not accessible to the public; only a small, select group has the privilege. Approximately 95-percent of the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is open to the public where they can “witness museum activities such as the packaging of objects out for loan and other conservation and restoration activities,” says Klaassen.

These new types of displays and virtual tours extend the art — even the most prestigious pieces — to the far corners of the world. “The dynamics in the depot will be different from those of the museum: in the museum, exhibitions are presented, whereas the depot allows for the visitor to explore the collection of more than 151,000 objects in whatever way they like,” adds Klaassen.

France’s iconic museum has integrated an interactive map and its website allows visitors to easily navigate through different mediums, themes, or even specific rooms in the museum. “The Louvre’s stunning cultural heritage is all now just a click away,” says Martinez. Each entry is a comprehensive display of the piece, with data such as the title, artist, inventory number, dimensions, materials and techniques, date and place of production, object history, current location, and bibliography included.

For the first time in history, the art in the Musée du Louvre is accessible for viewers at any time. It is suddenly possible for visitors who missed an exhibit or simply wish to revisit a piece to do just that. These changes are shifting the relationship between art and viewers to a new level, which will only elevate the overall experience of museums and galleries. “I am sure that this digital content is going to further inspire people to come to the Louvre to discover the collections in person,” says Martinez.

The Musée du Louvre’s new website is also a place where original content is made accessible for both in-person and virtual visitors, such as live and recorded podcasts, lectures, and concerts, web series, animated stories, filmed exhibition walk-throughs, interviews, and more. “We look forward to welcoming the public to join us on a journey behind the scenes and experience all facets of working with such a high-end art collection,” notes Klaassen about the depot.

The sleek, modern design of the exterior continues inside the depot. Once inside, visitors will have the option for guided tours or to explore the building independently and peek inside restoration studios and other spaces normally closed to the public.

Photo by Ossip van Duivenbode;

Rendering courtesy of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen

December 17, 2021 Leave a comment

Glass Ceilings: Designed to be Broken

with:Roger Grody

Cover image: ©istockphoto.com / Rost-9D

In the male-dominated field of architecture, women struggle to overcome institutionalized barriers to gender equity.

At her eponymous New York City studio, architect Nina Cooke John creates sophisticated spaces through “high-impact” residential architecture.

Nina Cooke John photo by Ball & Albanese; Below photo by Lisa Russman Photography.

Courtrooms are increasingly occupied by women attorneys and even judges, and world-class hospitals have no shortage of women physicians. But, regrettably, the profession of architecture remains nearly as male-dominated as the halls of the U.S. Senate or Fortune 500 boardrooms. In a field that demands both artistic achievement and construction expertise, gender equity has been painstakingly slow.

There are certainly some bona fide celebrity women architects, such as Jeanne Gang who is dramatically redefining the skyscraper, and Elizabeth Diller whose firm of Diller Scofidio + Renfro created The High Line in New York and The Broad in Los Angeles. They follow Zaha Hadid, the trailblazing Pritzker Prize-winning designer who passed in 2016. The prominence of these women has inspired a new generation of female architects, but that path is still laden with roadblocks.

Despina Stratigakos, Ph.D., vice provost for inclusive excellence and professor of architecture at the University at Buffalo, states, “Architecture is a male-dominated profession by design,” and explains that there was strong pushback when women first started entering the field 140 years ago. “The justifications given then for excluding them from practice, revolving around women’s negative ‘feminine’ influences, became embedded as core values of the professional culture,” says the professor, who reports that a deep-seated bias against women’s abilities continues today.

Stratigakos’ 2016 book, Where Are the Women Architects? was partly inspired by the emergence of a new movement seeking greater gender equity in the profession. “I wanted to raise awareness of this long-standing question and of the voices of activists pushing for answers today,” she explains. “Women have long advocated for greater diversity in architecture, but too often have been ignored by the profession’s leaders,” says Stratigakos.

The professor cites statistics that reflect approximate gender parity among students enrolled in accredited architecture programs in the U.S. but that is not, however, indicative of women’s advancement in the profession after graduation. “Although the gap has shrunk between the numbers of men and women studying architecture, racial and ethnic disparities are slower to change,” adds Stratigakos, who notes that Black women are sorely underrepresented in architecture schools.

While challenges for women of color can be dispiriting, voices like Nina Cooke John provide inspiration for those entering the field. The Jamaican-born architect, whose New York-based Studio Cooke John specializes in “high-impact” residential architecture — she explains the concept as maximizing and customizing every square inch of the spaces she describes as “machines for living” — and public art.

Cooke John, whose impressive resume includes degrees from Cornell and Columbia, was included in Dwell magazine’s “13 Extraordinary Women in Design and Architecture You Need to Know.” Following faculty positions at Syracuse University and Parsons School of Design, she has returned to Columbia to teach architecture, making the professor well suited to counseling young women entering the field. Informed by her experience as one of the few Black women in her class at Cornell, she advises, “It’s important to speak out and create your own community because support is paramount to your success.” She suggests that if students who feel isolated cannot find that support on campus, they should reach out to practitioners or minority-based professional associations for mentorship.

After practicing and teaching extensively, Cooke John created her own firm with another woman architect — both mothers of young children who appreciated the flexibility most large firms could not provide — and eventually went solo. She reports, “For many women, it’s about finding your voice and creating an environment that’s difficult to find in a male-dominated firm.” Suggesting women tend to approach the profession differently, Cooke John reports, “When women interact with clients, it’s not so often about ego but listening to the clients and responding to their needs.”

“We interact with the built environment constantly, and while some people view it as in the background, it’s really the foreground of everything we do,” says Cooke John, who adds, “When people engage with one another in public spaces, community-building is much stronger.” Her foray into public art installations further advances her philosophy of placemaking, which transforms relationships between people and the human-made environment.

Julia Gamolina is director of strategy at Trahan Architects, an international firm with offices in New Orleans and New York, whose portfolio includes prominent educational, sports and performing arts venues. She is also founder and editor-in-chief of Madame Architect, an online magazine that celebrates the achievements of women in the field and serves as a digital mentor to young professionals. Explaining that challenges for women are exacerbated by influences beyond their own architectural firms’ cultures, Gamolina observes, “Most professions dealing with the built environment, such as commercial real estate, construction and engineering, tend to be even more male-dominated than architecture.”

The editor of Madame Architect not only laments the lack of gender equity in her industry, but suggests progress is unlikely to be swift. “It’s slow to change because architecture itself takes a long time, from financing and government approvals to design and construction,” explains Gamolina, another accomplished Cornell alumna. She reports the numbers of women in leadership positions is more anemic than overall female participation in the industry, but notes some women start their own firms after becoming mothers.

Other women, reports Gamolina, drop out of the rigorous profession when they have their first child because employers do not offer sufficient flexibility. “It’s not a motherhood problem at all,” insists the architect and journalist, who maintains that lack of flexibility applies equally to fathers and even caretakers of elderly parents. One potential dividend from the pandemic was the recognition by employers that staff can be fully productive working outside the office.

Gamolina believes young women need to understand there are exciting roles awaiting them in architecture beyond design itself, and points to her own director of strategy position at Trahan Architects. “Madame Architect showcases all the career possibilities within the field,” she explains, citing specialties in administration, communications and marketing.

Rosa Sheng is a principal at SmithGroup, whose 15 offices create cultural centers, master-planned cities and mixed-use projects around the globe. Sheng also serves as her firm’s director of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and is founding chair of the Equity by Design Committee created by the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Julia Gamolina is director of strategy for Trahan Architects — the Coca-Cola Stage at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre is a signature project — and is also editor-in-chief of Madame Architect.

Photo of Julie Gamolina by Lily Olsen; Theater photo by Leonid Furmansky.

Equity by Design has conducted three pivotal research studies with the most recent, in 2018, involving a survey of more than 14,000 architecture school graduates. For Sheng, therefore, anecdotal stories from her colleagues are supported by hard data. Her research reveals several “pinch points” in the careers of women architects: pathways to licensure, access and opportunities to leadership positions, caregiving navigation/reconciliation, and pay equity for similar roles or positions. Her committee’s early work focused on the “missing 32 percent,” referring to the attrition rate between women architecture school graduates and those who became licensed.

After giving birth to her second child during the Great Recession, Sheng was experiencing one of those pinch points. “I felt like I couldn’t be a good parent or a good architect,” she recalls defeatedly, and adds, “People say there are barriers, but you don’t believe it until you experience them.” In challenging times, women leave the profession, something Sheng herself considered even after years of success. But her work with Equity by Design has provided a new purpose to complement her passion for the discipline. “It’s that feeling of being swept away by the excitement, like, ‘Wow! There’s something here we can influence and help to change,’” explains the activist architect.

Sheng reports, “In addition to Equity by Design, there are many more women in architecture leading efforts to share experiences, celebrate achievements for justice and equity in the profession, and inspiring a more diverse demographic of architectural practitioners.” She cites organizations like 400 Forward, a nonprofit that inspires women of color to become architects.

“Your success will not be determined by your gender or your ethnicity, but only on the scope of your dreams and your hard work to achieve them.” This is not just any motivational trope, but the words of the great Zaha Hadid, who overcame challenges on both fronts.

Rosa Sheng, a principal at SmithGroup — the UC Davis Teaching and Learning Complex is a recent project — was founding chair of the Equity by Design Committee.

Photo by Scott R. Kline; Building renderings courtesy of SMITHGROUP.

December 13, 2021 Leave a comment

ASPIRE House: Princeton Designer Show House

with:Unique Homes Staff

By Jessica Ganga and Victoria Zielinski

Unique Homes Magazine had the opportunity to visit the Princeton Aspire Show House, where designers showcased their elegant and creative designs for each room and area of the home. Located just minutes away from downtown Princeton, this home seamlessly blends modern design with art, creating the perfect balance of the two.

Foyer

Foyer of the home that leads to the offices.

Walking into the home, the first thing you can’t help but notice is the accent wall that travels from the bottom to the top of the staircase. It’s designed by Joe Berkowitz of JAB Design Group. Inspired by a black and white photo he saw, the basis of the foyer is a mix of “edgy” and “traditional contemporary.”

It’s warm and inviting despite the accent color being black and white. The textured wallpaper is a subtle twist, which adds an eclectic focal point. An added touch: Walk up the steps to find the exact image Berkowitz admired for his design.

Library

From the foyer, to the right, is the library, a “dark, mesmerizing, and thought-provoking room,” as described by the designer, Amy Manor of Red Bank Design Center. Manor drew from a childhood memory to create a space that welcomes diversity and is a space without judgement. Continuing with the theme of the home, Manor incorporated art from artists featured in Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park, N.J.

The home’s library featuring art from Parlor Gallery.

His & Hers Offices:

Gentleman’s Office: When designers Vivian Hung and Joe Giamarese approached the design of the masculine office space, they took into account the pandemic of 2020. What was important to them when creating the space was keeping in mind how this place will function as a work-from-home space. According to Hung, the design duo loves texture, but didn’t want to be bold with it. They incorporated pattern and texture with the carpet and the drapery that created a calming energy throughout. The main centerpiece of the office? The desk that played with the mix of materials, contrasted well with the carpet and fit perfectly into the space.

Lady’s Office: A true creative escape. This space is one that evokes fun, creativity and a place to genuinely retire for work. Designed by Vicki Kelly Gindy and Tram-Anh Poprik of Red Bank Design Center, the use of color and art combine to make this escape for the “mind, body and spirit.” At the center of the office sits a piece by artist Ray Geary that brings the whole look and feel of the office together. The flow of the colors can’t help but make anyone entering the office stop and say “wow.”

Kitchen + Mudroom

“Overall Asian styling with a cool California modern flare” sets the tone of the home for designer Ginny Padula of Town & Country Kitchen and Bath, providing the cabinetry and permanent fixtures for the kitchen, butler’s pantry, mudroom, bathrooms, and more. The kitchen, showcasing design elements that are sleek, earthy and natural, creates a modern, yet comfortable and warm space for cooking, dining, and entertaining. Unique touches, such as the cozy breakfast area, matching countertops and backsplash, and large island, add to the cohesive flow of the space, making it the perfect space for gathering with family and friends.

The lady’s office featuring art from the Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park, NJ.

The kitchen and breakfast nook look out to the backyard featuring a small pond.

Moving toward the mudroom, designer Tamu Rasheba Green of Lux Pad Interiors sought to create a transition space offering a calming atmosphere from the outside world to inside the home. The mudroom, featuring custom built-ins, closets, and an enclosed powder room, allows for the homeowners to “remove physical baggage” and “release tension of the day” by providing a personalized space to decompress before entering the home’s main quarters.

The Great Room

Designed by Anna Maria Mannarino from Mannarino. The great room flows seamlessly from the kitchen and features a floating stand-alone fireplace that is the centerpiece of the room. For more photos and for Anna Maria’s contact information, click here!

The floating fireplace is the great room’s focal point.

Dining Room

Designer Sam Ciardi of Samuel Robert Signature Spaces was tasked with incorporating the homeowner’s 12 antique wooden panels that depict the Chinese New Year zodiac signs. The result: an earthy room filled with plants, earth tones and “the ultimate expression of minimalist design.”

Drawing Room

Celebrating the atypical and unexpected, the drawing room, the work of designer Alirio Pirela of Pirela Atelier, creates an inviting space with a medley of different styles that blend together seamlessly. From American Art Deco to European Mid-Century masters and modern emerging artists, the result is a multifaceted space perfect for a serene retreat from the day-to-day.

The dining room was designed around the antique, Chinese wooden panels.

The drawing room features stunning art and sculptures.

Master Bedroom + Bathroom

A truly opulent and sophisticated space, the master bedroom, designed by Judy King of Judy King Interiors, embraces comfort and style. A soft mural wall blends with a striking full-wall fireplace and unique accent pieces drawing attention to the room’s distinct decor, and an impressive walk-in closet and master bath highlighting the experience of getting ready for and ending the day.

Boy’s Bedroom

A 9-year-old’s imagination and curiosity about the world, travel, and life inspired designer Diane Durocher of Diane Durocher Interiors to create a timeless bedroom that will grow with him. A walk-in closet and bathroom provide plenty of space, and the decor, such as a large canvas map hanging from the ceiling above the bed, create infinite possibilities for discovery.

The master bedroom features a warm and inviting sitting area with a fireplace.

Carefully curated pieces add some fun to the home’s guest bedroom.

Guest Bedroom

Designed by Gail Davis of Gail Davis Designs, the guest bedroom of the home is a warm and inviting, en suite space for guests. The warm space is accented by the statement bed that features the soft and comfortable linens by Deborah Sharp Linens. For lighting, the room utilizes the natural light that floods in through the large windows, but also uses shorter, standing lights, creating a cool-toned atmosphere. For more photos and Gail’s contact info, click here.

Lower Level — Wet Bar and Gallery Space

The lower level of the home is a large, open space with plenty of amenities. Designed by Ginny Padula of Town & Country Kitchen and Bath, the area was envisioned as “an entertaining space that was both cool and modern yet comfortable and soothing.” Features of this level include a yoga studio, simulation golf room and a theater. The main space, where people would gather, is relaxed with soft-toned fabrics, which perfectly contrasts the main staple of the floor: the bar.

The downstairs bar is the perfect spot for family and friends to gather around.

Acting as an art gallery, the lower level features a painting by American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.

For the Showhouse, though, the lower level was transformed into a pop-up art gallery featuring work provided by Chelsea Art Group, which is based in New York City. There were so many interesting and beautiful pieces in the space, featuring a painting hung up near the bar area by famous pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.

The 2020 Princeton Designer Showhouse was sponsored by the following: Benjamin Moore, Cosentino, Kallista, Kohler, Florense, Signature Kitchen Suite, and LG Signature.

Featured photo: A perfect entertaining space, the lower level features a nice sitting area, golf simulation room, and home theater.

Photography by Mike Van Tassell Architectural Photography

January 4, 2021 Leave a comment

The Magic of ‘Layering Light’

with:Jessica Ganga

Bette Ridgeway creates magic. She pours her heart and soul into the artwork that she creates. When the American abstract artist felt the rush of loneliness during the COVID-19 lockdown in her Santa Fe, New Mexico home, she turned that feeling into a work of art. With tones of grey, blue-grey, and white, Ridgeway let the paint (and gravity) speak for itself. She stepped back and knew that the name of the painting was Loneliness.

Ridgeway doesn’t use any paint brushes. Her canvases don’t sit atop an easel. Instead, she uses acrylic paint, a canvas, stools and plastic cups. The rest, she leaves to gravity.

“I call the technique ‘pouring’ and use the phrase, which I copyrighted, ‘layering light,’” Ridgeway explains.

Bette Ridgeway

Lonliness

The artist accomplishes the “layering light” look by mixing her paints in her nine-inch plastic cups, where she then pours the colorful mixture on her canvas. Ridgeway explains that she manipulates the canvas by stretching it over stools and ladders, allowing the paint to create her signature style. “If you look at the work, you’ll see there’s motion in it and that’s achieved by the speed of the pour, the angle of the pour and that’s what makes it unique, no brush work,” says Ridgeway.

Fandango — Inspired by New Mexican flamenco dancer María Benítez. The twists and turns of the orange and red reminded Ridgeway of the dancer flowing and dancing the flamenco.

With over 30 years of experience as a commercial painter under her belt, Ridgeway has an endless portfolio of paintings, each with its own look. “Every single one of them is so different,” she explains. “Some are really bold and strong. Some are lighter and more transparent. Transparency is what makes the work different because when you pour a watered-down color over another watered-down color, you get a third color. You compose as you go.”

As an abstract artist, Ridgeway says, she pulls inspiration for her pieces from a memory, a feeling, or simply a color combination she envisioned or saw. “I don’t set out to paint something,” she says about when she approaches her canvas to paint. “I don’t set out to paint happiness or joy, or anything like that.”

Instead, Ridgeway takes what’s inside of her at the time and lets the colors and the pour shape the painting. This is one of the things that led Ridgeway to transition from figurative painting (painting an object or subject that is real) to abstract painting. “Abstract work is harder because it comes from inside you, you’re not looking at anything. You’re painting a thought, a feeling,” she says. “You’re painting a certain thing that’s come outside of you.”

Harvest Time — “When I started out, I wanted to use earth tones — amber and gold and a little bit of gray — more earthy than primary colors.” Ridgeway explains that when she threw the deep raspberry color and the white on the canvas, it reminded her of the rainforest. She squirted water in the center of the painting and let it drip. “A lot of people don’t know rainforests, but it’s like a soft, misty rain the whole time, so moist,” Ridgeway says. “Fruit everywhere, flowers everywhere, so you get that feeling of Mother Earth, just so abundant and rich and lifegiving.”

When a dear friend of Ridgeway’s passed away in 1999, the feeling that came out of her was sadness. To cope, she took this feeling and created a masterpiece. “I did this gigantic piece with only red and black, on a white canvas and I named it, Mi Corazón Roto, which means ‘my broken heart.’ And it looked like that, to me — an abstract broken heart.” It hung in her studio for a long time, until a best friend and collector of hers lost her husband. Ridgeway gifted the painting to her “and she hung it in her living room and it was like her broken heart,” she says. Ridgeway got the painting back after her friend passed away, saving it from being sold in a consignment shop. “So each piece kind of has a life of its own,” she says, going on to share that the piece recently found a new wall to call home.

Mi Corazón Roto

One of the best parts of what Ridgeway does is when people get to see her paintings. “The viewer is actually the one that completes [the painting] because they see what they see and it might not have anything to do with what I did,” she says. “It’s so much fun to hear what people see. It’s never what I see.”

A Day in the Surf — “You know, with this COVID, we’re not able to travel, at least I’m not, and so I’m missing going to a beach this summer, I’m missing the water,” Ridgeway explains about this piece. Inspired by the water, Ridgeway created this piece that is reminiscent of the beautiful ebb and flow of the waves on a beach.

In a way, Ridgeway has come full circle in her career. In the mid 1970s, the artist visited a big gallery in New York to see the work of abstract artist Paul Jenkins, who used the same method of pouring in his work. “The paintings were enormous and they were in primary colors — red, blue, green, orange, yellow, a lot of black — and it just brought me to my knees,” Ridgeway says. “I had never seen anything like it and it was so powerful, and this entire gallery, with huge walls, was filled with this magnificent work, that I just stood there and cried. It was so beautiful.”

It is Jenkins, according to Ridgeway, that led her down the path to finding her creative voice. “I owe so much to my friend Paul who became a mentor over the years,” she says. “He passed away in 2012 and was a master, his work is in all the major museums in the world.”

Although Ridgeway has accomplished so much during her career and continues to show in galleries and paint commissions, she acknowledges she still has room for growth, “I’m learning every day. I don’t have all the answers,” she says. “And that’s the beauty of this work, it’s so different and every single day I learn something new. And that’s what’s exciting…. I’m just having the time of my life.”

For more information on Bette Ridgeway, upcoming showings, and paintings, go to RidgewayStudio.com or BetteRidgeway.com

Photos of artwork and Bette Ridgeway courtesy of Bette Ridgeway.

November 25, 2020 Leave a comment

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It was the need to produce something new every time, and the drive to push himself past his own creative limits, that helped Goddard become a finalist on the most recent season of HGTV’s Design Star: Next Gen.

We spoke with Goddard about his whirlwind experience of creating interior design for TV, and how his reality TV appearance inspired an even deeper love for design than he’d had in 30-plus years.

For those who haven’t watched the latest season of Design Star, can you relay to audiences your method of design?

What has been your biggest inspiration, since you were young, to work in such a creative field?

You received both design and business degrees in college. Have you found this type of structured education helpful as well?

I’ve found that having a business degree really makes a huge difference. Most designers are creative but can’t always run a business, and I’ve been able to strike a good balance. That’s not to say I haven’t ever screwed up — we all have — but those are called learning experiences.

You mentioned loving to travel, what’s one of your favorite places to visit?

A traditional Southern estate with hints of modern elegance in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

What is your primary focus when you’re designing a space?

I think as a designer the biggest compliment I can ever get is when someone comes in and says “Oh this looks like the homeowner,” instead of “this looks like a Chris Goddard house.” The biggest compliment is that it’s a reflection of the homeowner or the space.

What was it like to be on an HGTV show? Did you enjoy your time on set?

What lessons have you taken away from the experience?

How have things progressed since going back to the firm? Any big plans for the future?

The design style of this home evolved from Spanish Mission into an eclectic mixture of modernism and neoclassical, created through thoughtfully curated collections, from vintage Chinese rugs to contemporary art.

Top photo by Rett Peek Photography.

New technology and the need to adapt have transformed the traditional feel of museums and galleries around the world.

From smartphones to staying at home, the way we experience art has metamorphosed into something more comprehensive.

In Rotterdam, Netherlands, and part of the lush, rosebush-filled Museumpark, is the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. The museum displays an incredibly diverse collection of art and right beside it, donned in over 1,500 mirrored panels is the museum’s depot.

The Musée du Louvre has never before been so accessible. The museum’s most obscure and most well-known pieces are just a click away.

The architects of MVRDV have created an iconic building, giving a boost to the Rotterdam Museumpark. The choice to use mirrors came with the idea to make the surrounding park appear bigger, integrating the building into the landscape.

The idea that an entire collection can be available is a glimpse into the future of art and adds an element of freedom when viewing it.

The sleek, modern design of the exterior continues inside the depot. Once inside, visitors will have the option for guided tours or to explore the building independently and peek inside restoration studios and other spaces normally closed to the public.

In the male-dominated field of architecture, women struggle to overcome institutionalized barriers to gender equity.

At her eponymous New York City studio, architect Nina Cooke John creates sophisticated spaces through “high-impact” residential architecture.

Julia Gamolina is director of strategy for Trahan Architects — the Coca-Cola Stage at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre is a signature project — and is also editor-in-chief of Madame Architect.

“Your success will not be determined by your gender or your ethnicity, but only on the scope of your dreams and your hard work to achieve them.” This is not just any motivational trope, but the words of the great Zaha Hadid, who overcame challenges on both fronts.

Rosa Sheng, a principal at SmithGroup — the UC Davis Teaching and Learning Complex is a recent project — was founding chair of the Equity by Design Committee.

By Jessica Ganga and Victoria Zielinski

Foyer

The 2020 Princeton Designer Showhouse was sponsored by the following: Benjamin Moore, Cosentino, Kallista, Kohler, Florense, Signature Kitchen Suite, and LG Signature.

Featured photo: A perfect entertaining space, the lower level features a nice sitting area, golf simulation room, and home theater.

Photography by Mike Van Tassell Architectural Photography

Lonliness

Mi Corazón Roto

For more information on Bette Ridgeway, upcoming showings, and paintings, go to RidgewayStudio.com or BetteRidgeway.com

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