Archive for category Art

Gertrude Stein’s Collection at The Met

Posted by Vicente in Art on April 11, 2012

If any of you go to the Met, be sure to visit Gertrude Stein’s collection which is being shown right now. Gertrude Stein and her brother were collecting when the Picassos and Matisses were strangers on the block. It was a great show, and you can see the advantage of collecting early in artists’ careers.

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Join Me For an Evening Discussion @ Swann Auction Galleries on Feb. 23

Posted by Vicente in Art, Events on February 17, 2012

Join me, Swann Auction Galleries Director of Photographs, Daile Kaplan and the International Furnishing and Design Association (IFDA) for an evening discussion on home trends as represented by popularity in auction and art. The program will explore the influence of art and photography on home furnishings and interior design, the impact of the right artwork in a space and how auction acts as an early indicator of what’s to come.

I will be talking about how art influences how I plan the design of a space, the impact the right artwork or photography have on a space, and how art influences home furnishings design for VW Home.

Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., 6 – 6:45 p.m. networking reception followed by program

Where: 104 East 25^th Street between Park and Lexington, 5^th Floor Gallery

To RSVP and register, please visit: http://conta.cc/zxvkcp

About IFDA
IFDA (the International Furnishings & Design Association) is the only organization whose members represent the total design and furnishings industry in all its aspects. IFDA provides a professional forum for communication and interaction for people in all facets of the home furnishings and design industries. In 2012 the group is celebrating its 65th year.

Link to IFDA”s new blog: http://ifdany.blogspot.com/

About Swann Galleries
Swann Auction Galleries was founded in 1941 as an auction house specializing in Rare and Antiquarian Books, and today is the largest specialist auctioneers of Works on Paper in the world. Swann conducts an average of 40 sales a year, encompassing Rare & Antiquarian Books, Autographs, Maps, Photographs & Photobooks, Old Master through Contemporary Prints & Drawings and Vintage Posters and African-American Fine Art. Visit www.swanngalleries.com for more information.

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Auction Action

Posted by Vicente in Art, Travels on September 20, 2011

Yesterday I attended an auction at Christies outside of Paris, featuring items from the neoclassic Palais Abbatial de Royaumont. This small palace houses a remarkable collection of Old Master and 19th century drawings, European furniture and works of art, sculpture, ceramics, silver and Asian art.

I saw wonderful pieces of furniture, all from far-flung places and bid on two items (in the thousand to few thousand dollar range) but didn’t end up with anything. In general, prices were over the top, with dealers bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars for items like small side tables. I had a lovely time, nevertheless, and am enjoying my holiday in France!

Do you enjoy going to auctions? Have you ever come away with a beautiful piece that you love?

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Just walked in the door

Posted by Vicente in Art, Travels on December 1, 2010

from my trip to Italy, I will be sharing my photos and destination spots soon but wanted to give you a sneak peek.

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Artist Len Davis

Posted by Vicente in Art on July 21, 2010

I came across artist Len Davis who creates beautiful collages – one of my favorite types of art. At home I have a large collection of photography collages and thought I’d share these with you. Be sure to click through to his website for more of his pieces. For those readers who are not able to browse the art galleries of New York for themselves, I’ll continue to share new up and coming artists that I think worthy of including in your projects here.

What do you think?

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Ask Vicente: Finding Art

Posted by Vicente in Art, Ask Vicente on July 1, 2010

Name: Brenda Biondo
City: Manitou Springs
State: CO

Comment:

Hi Vicente,
I have a question for your Ask Vicente section: how do you and other designers find out about the fabulous art you use in your interiors? Do you visit a lot of galleries? Check out artist websites? Use art consultants? It’s a question I’ve had for a long time. Thanks!

Vicente Responds:

If you live in New York it’s very easy. Go down to Chelsea or midtown Manhattan and the galleries are by the handful. Sometimes some of my clients have art consultants that help them build their collection and then there are some that have asked me to help them pick photography. Sometimes I walk into a gallery and see an artist that I like so I recommend them to clients whose taste might match the art that I’ve found. There are no hard and fast rules and I always try to be flexible to suit the client’s needs.

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Art Show

Posted by Vicente in Art, Photography on March 13, 2010

Last week was a big art week in NY and on the weekend was the opening of The Armory show at The Pier with between 300 and 400 dealers from around the world showing contemporary and mid-century art up to ’94. The show in its entirety is a little overwhelming once you pass the 100th gallery and you’re still looking at art, but I saw some wonderful photographs by Philip Lorca di Corcia who does these wonderful set up scenes with random people on the street, including how much he paid the ‘model’ in the title of each shot. Part of his works that was on show were from his series called ’1000 Polaroids’ and it was really wonderful.

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Georgia O’Keeffe at the Whitney

Posted by Vicente in Art, Photography, Projects on November 25, 2009

I’m designing a new collection of tile for a major tile producer and I’ve been trying to gather ideas and inspirations. Among the places I went to for that was the Whitney Museum where there is a really beautiful retrospective on Georgia O’Keefe and her earlier work. It is not the intense color and graphic style that one is accustomed of seeing of her. It’s beautiful, soft coloration and really such romantic paintings, plus a wonderful photograph that her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, took of her. It’s running until January 2010 and a must if you’re in New York.

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Ralph Pucci

Posted by Vicente in Art, Events, Photography on November 9, 2009

Deborah Turbeville from the Pucci invitation Last week Ralph Pucci hosted the opening of a Deborah Turbeville photography collection and it featured a cross section of her work, mainly of her series at Versailles where she went into the storerooms and photographed furniture and statuary that was in storage.

I haven’t been in his showroom for a while, but it’s always such a thrill to be there. First just to love the space with its skylights, windows and amazing downtown views – it makes me wish I could have it as an apartment – and secondly to see how he has created a collection of designers so varied one from the other, but still with a strong design cohesiveness.

If you haven’t been to his showroom, you should make that a priority when you next find yourself in New York. To me it’s the epitomy of a high-end, modern furniture collection in New York.

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Inspiration

Posted by Vicente in Art, Random on July 22, 2009

My creative inspiration has always come from travel – seeing and experiencing new things in far-off countries awaken my creative thinking process and awakes my imagination. But when I’m not traveling, I draw inspiration from looking at artwork and paintings – whether impressionist or some contemporary artists. A few weeks ago, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a new retrospective on Francis Bacon opened. He’s one of the people whose color range and juxtaposition of tones have always been an inspiration to me. I guess it’s a contrast between harsh images and delicate coloration that has always appealed to me. How he plays one color against the other has always moved me and gotten me thinking how I could interpret that in my own work. Which artist inspires you and why? Or do you find your color inspiration in other places?