Decorative art

I read about Cayce Zavaglia in Elle Decor and was so impressed with her arresting embroidered portraits.

Yes, they are needle point.  The last is a close up.

 I thought about a friend & fellow art student from undergrad days, Chris Bogia, who makes incredible art pieces from meticulously placing yarn to create large scale portraits (among other things).  Here, famously, his album covers of essential idols Joni Mitchell, Nico & Nina Simone  

Joni

yarn on wood, glass, walnut, rope, West Elm rug, ceramic

Nico

yarn on canvas, fabric, West Elm hardware, wood, mirror, glass, Jonathan Adler ceramic greyhounds, water, dye, dog leashes

Nina

yarn on wood, ceramic, wood, George Nelson sconce, West Elm Rug and side table, glass, personal lubricant, cock ring

 Yes, those 2D pieces are made from all yarn.

His pieces are also quite arresting, I mean check out the highlights in yarn!  I love his "meditation on a Jonathan Adler pillow" pieces.  

Meditation on a Jonathan Adler pillow (It Gets Better)

yarn on wood, wood, Jonathan Adler pillow, glass, Jonathan Adler customized rug

Meditation on a Jonathan Adler pillow

yarn on wood, Jonathan Adler pillow, West Elm side table

There is more to Chris and his art installations: shrines to gay culture, for example, but what resonates with me most is his passion for decorative arts.  At a time when we were so young and incredibly earnest and identifying ourselves, Chris had unwavering confidence, skill and chutzpah.  He always had a passion for decorative arts.  What could be considered secondary, even kitsch to our molding sensibility, decoration was an art form to him.  It makes me proud to be a decorator today.  I find creating beautiful spaces to be incredibly important and I think other people understand that when they experience it.  It just took me longer to define my path.



Can't help thinking of Joni's "Blue" playing through our shared apartment all semester while we studied in Florence.

cindy sherman

I was a photography major at NYU, back in the day, and Cindy Sherman was arguably the photographer of the time, female or otherwise.  She still is.  No one can argue how important and amazing her work is. I was thrilled to meet her once at an opening  & am super thrilled to check out her show at MoMA up thru june 11th. She has the incredible ability to transform herself as the subject of her pieces into a character without help from anyone.  No make-up artists, assistants, wardrobe stylists of any kind were used in the making of this art.  That's original.

Thank you NYMag for today's Home Design

Christopher Chiappa hand carved this console as well as the moldings and the two-toned paint and plaster job.  I want to meet this artist & exhibition designer.  I mean, he's designed shows for Hella Jongerius?  (Just got her book, Misfit).  

Take me to your LI City loft, please.

Plus he has the Marcel Wanders rope chair.  How does that chair work everywhere?  Everywhere.

This is a Mark Cunningham designed bedroom in a Hudson Valley home.

He designed that crazy hole.  It's an air vent that he built up with styrofoam and plaster to create a creepy but cool portal.

This image really spoke to me more literally as residential designer.  Something to apply to real projects.  It's the black lacquer, of course.  It's also the charm of an antique chair passed down from the resident's grandmother mixed with modern lines and a serene (and stark) palette.  Those closet doors are just so damn cool.

sculptor niho kozuru

I just met Niho Kozuru.  She is a local artist that creates these incredibly cool cast rubber sculptures.  They are of balustrades, architectural elements and other common objects that are reconfigured to be presented in an entirely new way.


Check it out:
http://www.nihokozuru.com/

I want to install her spindles in my staircase!  How about cast yellow rubber?  Cool!