Residential developments are increasingly incorporating oversized art, and it’s bigger and better than ever.
These powerful and room-defining pieces each have a huge impact on the spaces they inhabit, drawing the eye in new directions. Here are four examples of NYC luxury developments spearheading this trend in a major way, commissioning local artists to create unique, oversized artwork.
525 West 52nd Street
Upon walking through the grand, double-height entrance, residents pass under Rachel Mica Weiss’ “Inverted Arches.” Commissioned by Art Assets, the 20-foot entrance piece made of nylon rope creates striking silhouettes and intricate, dramatic shadows that change throughout the day. Rachel’s use of industrial materials and hand-crafted techniques seamlessly integrate art and architecture, while simultaneously highlighting the history of the industrial neighborhood and reflecting the daily lives of residents.
Photo courtesy of Danielle Gottesman
The Jackson
This lobby was designed with a stunning double-height, floor-to-ceiling glass art installation that was inspired by the building’s neighbor, MoMa PS1. The Long Island City condominium’s developer commissioned artist Tom Fruin to curate a one-of-a-kind mosaic glass-art wall in the building’s entryway, giving the space a unique gallery feel.
Photo courtesy of Qualls Benson
Photo courtesy of Art Assets
90 Morton
This boutique condominium features an entire gallery exhibition of eye-level floor sculptures curated by artist Danielle Gottesman.
Gottesman was inspired by the architectural floor plans of the property, and when adding light behind these pieces, one can actually see the shadows of the floor plans.
Photo courtesy of Modern Spaces
50 West
A glass-walled exhibition space in the lobby of 50 West is hosting a rotating display of art. The first piece on view is a 10-foot-tall twister sculpture of white powder-coated aluminum by the artist Alice Aycock.
Alice’s work can be found in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum and the National Gallery of Art.
Photographers, writers and videographers can enter with the chance to win money, mentorship and an “adventure mobile.”
By Brielle Bryan
Travis Burke, the widely followed adventure photographer, is on a quest to find some of the most talented individuals who are looking to tell a story through their art. Burke started the Ultimate Storyteller contest to encourage others to follow their dreams and embrace their creativity, which he decided to do four years ago when he took a huge leap of faith. With just $81 to his name, Burke decided to trust his instincts and set out to follow his passion. This calling has taken him around the country in a van or “adventure mobile,” which Burke affectionately refers to as “Betty the Grey Wolf.”
Through the Ultimate Storyteller contest, Burke is seeking entries from photographers, writers and videographers, and will be choosing winners based on their works’ creativity and authenticity. The contest is accepting admissions during the entire month of May, and winners will enter with the chance to receive “Betty the Grey Wolf,” $6,000 worth of gear and a one-on-one mentorship with Burke himself.
Burke hopes to share his personal experiences with aspiring artists seeking adventure. Burke has visited the backroads of Vermont during Fall to photograph a covered bridge under the star-filled night sky. He’s captured the dangerous, yet stunningly beautiful ice caves in Washington and spent months in Utah exploring some of the longest and deepest slot canyons in the world in search for the perfect light. Burke is following his dreams, wherever they take him — chasing inspiring images and capturing them for everyone to see.
Burke’s breathtaking pictures feature the unending beauty of the natural world. A trademark of his images is the human touch — a man on a cliff admiring the beauty before him, a trio trekking through rock formations, a couple kissing under a waterfall. Burke said that his photographs help people experience the emotion and grandeur of a location so that they can imagine themselves being there.
Along his journey, the avid athlete can be found walking slacklines over canyons, freediving through caves in the ocean and just pushing himself and the boundaries of his craft. Burke has enjoyed the insight and experiences that he has gained from his travels. It’s a life that has fed his soul. Now Burke wants to pay it forward!
Photos courtesy of Travis Burke Photography
Professor and author Mary Guzowski has a new architectural book debuting this summer entitled The Art of Architectural Daylighting. She recently sat down to discuss her interests in daylight as a building material and its importance in the architectural industry.
How can light affect the way a building is designed?
Lighting in buildings is dynamic, changing, and responsive… it’s not static. The building allows people to engage with it depending on how it’s designed — maybe walls open and close, or maybe sections of the home shut down depending on the season. Light is a literal building material.
What was your goal when writing “The Art of Architectural Daylighting?”
In the last decade there’s been a lot of new guidelines and standards, in particular a lot of new metrics around daylighting design that is more analytical. There’s a risk of ignoring the poetic aspect of daylighting. I wrote the book because I feel that it’s important to balance both.
I interviewed 18 architects and selected 12 interpretations of how to bridge the practical and poetic sides to daylighting. Each had different priorities, but there were patterns that I saw from interviews, which I structured into different categories in my book.
What about the process of putting this and the other books you’ve done do you enjoy?
I always write a book about things I want to learn about or don’t know. The most wonderful thing is talking with architects and engineers and learning how they do what they do. I love looking at patterns and trying to discern what other ideas might inform people and how I can be a channel for these patterns.
What lessons do you want readers to take from the book?
It was unanimous from all the architects that to study and understand daylighting it’s good to use physical models and put them outside, to understand the phenomenon of natural light. Many of the architects would start with small models and look inside to see how the light changed, experiment with texture and colors, then make mockups of full-scale spaces.
Guzowski has written other books regarding sustainability, including Towards Zero Energy Architecture: New Solar Design and Daylighting for Sustainable Design. She is a professor in the School of Architecture and helped design the MS in Sustainable Design at the University of Minnesota, as well as a co-author of the Carbon Neutral Design Project. The Art of Architectural Daylighting will be available for sale June 25th.
Martin Lawrence Galleries recently announced that the latest works from pop-illusionist Philippe Bertho — which showcase his recent decision to explore the dreamlike deliriums and the vibrant pleasure of his own personal narrative, context and texture — will be exhibited at its SoHo location.
Philippe Bertho, Gruetesque, acrylic on canvas, 47 1/2 x 47 1/2 inches
Philippe Bertho, Le Grand Saut, acrylic on canvas, 23 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches
Philippe Bertho, Love Pop 3, hand-signed serigraph on linen, 24 x 24 inches
Philippe Bertho, Le Plus Beau Cosmonaute, acrylic on canvas, 28 3/4 x 23 1/2 inches
MLG began presenting the unique works of Philippe Bertho exclusively at its nine galleries across the country a decade ago, noting that never before had it seen a painter of such magnificent vision and unique perspective. Since then, Bertho’s work is exclusively offered at its fine art galleries from New York to Orleans to Maui to La Jolla. MLG notes that Bertho’s personal and visual works illustrate, enlighten and — with gloriously subtle nuance — confound the eye.
“I think my paintings are paintings of ideas. There are many kinds of painters; I am a painter of ideas who paints with delicacy and restraint,” says Bertho. Bertho, born in the Brittany of France, is a classically trained artist who began studying his craft in the early 1990s in Reims. He spent considerable time mastering trompe l’oeil (“to fool the eye”) painting, a technique which literally creates the illusion of a third dimension on a flat surface.
“For a long time, I naively believed that painting was a matter of technique. Then I read about Picasso, son of a drawing teacher, who spent his life learning to draw as a child; then and there, my perspective on art was transformed forever. To represent a face in profile and from the front at the same time; it is simply great poetry,” says Bertho.
Bertho’s newest works, now offered for acquisition at MLG’s SoHo, New York and San Francisco locations, reflect his desire and recent decision to return to his vision of life as new ideas. New and original works on canvas and hand-signed prints are available to view and acquire.