ARTmonday: @StyleCarrotCurates Best Nine 2016

@StyleCarrotCurates Instagram Feed Best Nine 2016

All photos by Marni Elyse Katz/StyleCarrot

Along with everyone else with an Instagram account I created a #topnine2016 for my @StyleCarrotCurates account, where I exclusively post artwork that I live with, work with, or discover as I go about my life. (My main account @StyleCarrot has a broader reach, featuring interiors, food, cocktails, art, nature, and other beautiful things that catch my eye. I hope you will follow both @StyleCarrotCurates and@StyleCarrot on Instagram!) Here’s a bit more about the top nine (plus one, which tied for ninth place). They’re all wonderful works and include a pieces from a couple of the world’s best known artists, local New England artists, pieces I’ve shown in my curatorial endeavors, and also an artwork from my living room.

Abstract Painting By Karine Leger At Lanoue Gallery

Que Tourne Le Vent, acrylic on canvas, 48×48

Abstract painting by Canadian artist Karine Leger from her exhibition at Lanoue Gallery in Boston’s SoWa district that I saw at a First Friday a year ago. I love her work and clearly so does everyone else as this is the most liked post on my @StyleCarrotCurates Instagram feed.

Abstract Paintings By Sarah Lutz At StyleCarrot's Truro Pop Up Gallery

Rapture and Persimmon, oil, resin, spray paint and paper on linen, 48×36

These two stunning beauties are by my friend Sarah Lutz, who lives and works as a full time artist in New York City and Provincetown. She and Mike Carroll of Schoolhouse Gallery in Ptown  lent me the paintings for a pop-up art gallery cocktail party I threw at my home in Truro this summer. I wanted to keep them forever; it’s as if Sarah painted them for the space. Although I didn’t splurge on these (they are still available; let me know if you’re interested), I did acquire a Sarah Lutz original at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill auction. I posted it here, and although it didn’t make the top nine likes on IG, it easily tops my list of personal favorites.

Fish Prints By Pete's Fish Tales On Nantucket

This fall my husband and I took a weekend jaunt to Nantucket. Another big thank you to White Elephant Elephant Hotel, Hy-Line Cruises,Lola 41, and the boutiques I visited, which included Pete’s Fish Tales Prints. Artist Peter Van Dingstee studied the Japanese art of gyotaku which entails creating prints on rice paper using actual fish. Here he has rolled out a large swordfish print. You can see more of his work on the full blog post I did here.

Photograph By Hannah Bates At SMFA Sale 2016

from the Synthetic series

It’s not fall without plenty of shots from the SMFA Sale. This portrait by L.A. fashion photographer Hannah Bates is right up my alley. So much so that my husband purchased it for me for Chanukah. At least I think he did; there’s been an artwork just this size wrapped in brown paper in our living room since that night. I’ll find out for sure when I return to Boston after holiday break; fingers crossed.  Hannah Bates is an MFA candidate at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Sea Inspired Collage By Providence Based Artist Jenny Brown

Celestial Anemone, pen, ink & collage on paper, 11 x 8.5

Providence-based artist Jenny Brown makes the most magical marine-inspired mixed media collages. I hung three at my pop-up this summer and a Truro couple bought two for their daughter. Jenny gave me this piece, which is a print of an original, this fall when I returned the third piece. I still need to have it framed, but it the meantime it’s propped up on my living room bookshelf.

Abstract Art By Ellsworth Kelly At SMFA Sale 2016

A work by Ellsworth Kelly at the 2016 SMFA Sale.

Abstract Paintings By Boston Artist Laura Allis Richardson

My Garden Door and Entering the Garden, oil on canvas, 25×25

A new acquaintance told me to check out Boston-based artist Laura Allis Richardson, who works at Fenway Studios. She graciously invited me for a studio visit (full blog post here). I left with these two pieces, now on display and for sale  at Webster & Company in the Boston Design Center. (I can help if you are interested.) Mr. Webster and I have mounted a new exhibition for the Fall/Winter 2016-17 season; here’s a peek.

Louise Nevelson Sculpture At Boca Raton Museum

Last February I went to the Boca Raton Museum for the first time, where I spotted this Louise Nevelson assemblage. I still remember learning about Louise Nevelson’s work in the Art Since 1945 class I took at summer semester at NYU in college. A week later I went to a dinner party at a friend’s parents’ home on Fifth Avenue (or maybe it was Park Avenue?) . . . in their foyer was a small Nevelson sculpture, as well as a Giacometti.

Modern Dancer By Walkowitz In The Home Of StyleCarrot Blogger Marni Elyse Katz

This is a favorite piece from my personal collection, purchased for me by my husband at Skinner Auctions, so I’m thrilled it made it into the @StyleCarrotCurates #topnine2016.  It’s a dancer by the Russian-born, American artist Abraham Walkowitz. The piece, which sits on my mantle in Boston, pictures modern dancer Isadora Duncan, of whom he has done over 5,000 drawings. It inspires me during my living room yoga sessions.

Abstract Paintings By Maine Based Artist Jenny Prinn

Jitterbug, oil on canvas, 24×18 •  Sun on the Shore, acrylic on canvas, 24×24

This is technically the tenth, but it tied in the number of likes with the dancer above. This Instagram shot pictures a stretch of wall on the second floor of our Truro house, hung with lots of artwork for the pop up. The two paintings on the left are by Maine artist Jenny Prinn. I first hung Jitterbug at the model apartment I decorated at Troy Boston. Later both pieces hung at Webster & Company. I haven’t returned them to Jenny yet so if you’re interested they are still for sale!

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ARTmonday: Nude Drawings at PAAM

The other night I went to a reading by Taylor Larsen from her book Stranger, Father, Beloved at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM).  I haven’t read the book yet, but from what I’ve heard, Larsen has created complex and compelling characters.

One of the advantages of attending evening programs is the chance to wander through an empty gallery or two. In addition to David Hilliard’s large format photos, I saw “Drawings from the Permanent Collection,” on view through August 28, 2016.

Curated by Christine McCarthy, the Executive Director of the Museum, the show pulls from PAAM’s 3,000 plus works by over 750 twentieth century and contemporary artists who have worked in Provincetown and on Cape Cod. Most of them are nude drawings.

We know how I love nude artworks. The fluid lines of the female form are so alluring. So much of the woman’s essence is captured from the seemingly simple swoosh of a line defining her back, her shoulder, the swell of her breast, the roundness of her bottom Or, in the case of de Groot’s pieces, with its sharper lines, her modern strength.

Here are six nude drawings from the permanent collection of PAAM. If you’re in Ptown be sure to stop in.

Nude Drawing by Fritz Bultman In Provincetown

Fritz Bultman (1919-1985)
Tacke, 1968
Graphite on paper

Detail of Nude Woman Reclining At PAAM

Fritz Bultman, Tacke (detail)

Nude Drawing By Tony Vevers In Provincetown

Tony Vevers (1926-2008)
untitled (nude, back), 1963
Mixed media on paper

Nude Drawing By Irving Marantz In Provincetown

Irving Marantz (1912-1972)
Study of a Bather, n.d.
Charcoal on paper

Nude Drawing By Nanno de Groot In Provincetown

Nanno de Groot (1913-1963)
untitled (female nude 2/29/1956), 1956
Graphite on paper

Nude Drawing By Nanno de Groot In Provincetown

Nanno de Groot (1913-1963)
untitled (female nude 3/3/1956), 1956
Graphite on paper

Drawings From The Permanent Collection At PAAM

Installation at PAAM

ARTmonday: Judyth Honeycutt Katz at Berta Walker Gallery

Friday night we went to the opening of a group show at the Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown. My mother-in-law, Judyth Honeycutt Katz, had 11 pieces hanging in the show. Like last year, they hung alongside some of the best artists in Provincetown— Robert Henry, Salvatore Del Deo and Romolo Del Deo. Berta Walker represents some of the best known artists on the Outer Cape, including Paul Resika, Selina Trieff, and Elspeth Halvorsen, Penelope Jencks, Sky Power, and Varujan Boghosian. She always has a few treasures by Hans Hoffman too. The exhibition runs through August 11, so stop by if you’re in Provincetown. This is Judy’s second show; I blogged about the Berta Walker opening last year here.

judyth-honeycutt-katz-hill-magic-truro

Hill Magic, Truro

judyth-honeycutt-katz-little-sur

Little Sur

judyth-honeycutt-katz-morning-fog-truro

Morning Fog, Truro

judyth-honeycutt-katz-west-beach-prouts-neck

West Beach, Prout’s Neck

judyth-honeycutt-katz-big-sur-II

Big Surr II

judyth-honeycutt-katz-clouds-with-fog-ii

Clouds with Fog II

judyth-honeycutt-katz-racing-thunder-cloud

Cloud Dance, Pilgrim Lake

judyth-honeycutt-katz-racing-thunder-cloud

Racing Thunder Cloud

berta-walker-gallery-provincetown

Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown

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Judy has masses of amazing work. I should dig through her studio. I spent the last week sleeping in the same building, but alas I was too busy being on vacation. Here are a few photos I took last year, of her pieces that hang in my apartment and her own house.

judyth-katz-green-landscape

This large wild landscape hangs in my living room in Boston.

judyth-honeycutt-katz-sailboat

Judy just gave this one to my husband to hang at the office.

judyth-honeycutt-katz-landscapes

This is my in-law’s living room on the Cape.
I think all three paintings are from a trip to the Southwest.
Better shots of each below.

judyth-honeycutt-katz-sw-series-2

judyth-honeycutt-katz-sw-series-3

judyth-honeycutt-katz-southewest-series-1

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The next two are hanging in their house in Connecticut.
I think they were done during an excursion to Alaska.

judyth-honeycutt-alaska-series-2

judyth-honeycutt-katz-alaska-series

Get the Look: 34 (Mostly) Modern Sculptures

Bronze sculptures are expensive, modern or new, but there are examples of vintage and contemporary pieces in other mediums, like wood and ceramic, that are well within reach. I love the well-above-my-price-range biomorphic bronze by Antoine Poncet, as well as Kelly Wearstler’s cheeky legs. And the Finnish sheep in smooth black wood is adorable.

S H O P P I N G
‘Crystal Angel’ by Martti Rytkönen for Orrefors, $125 at Unica.
C. Jere Sputnik in Polished Chrome, $99 at Jonathan Adler.
Porcelain Skull by Nymphenburg, $439 at Unica.
Brass Knot, $1,495 at Kelly Wearstler.
‘Totemic Dreams’ with Bronze and Shino Glaze by Victoria Shaw.
‘Pointing Figure’ by Bernard Meadows, 1967, $10,000-$15,000, Sotheby’s
Bronze Legs, $1,495 at Kelly Wearstler.
Black Wood Ram by Aarikka Finland, approx. $615 at Aarikka.
Teak Fish Sculpture by Mike Morgenroth,1979, $24 at Abodeon.
Smolten Mirror by Cmmnwlth, $4,000 at Matter.
Vitra Miniature Wiggle Chair by Frank Gehry, 1972, $130 at MoMA Store.
‘Construction of My Heart’  in Alabaster, $4,500 at Arlene Angard.
Green Laminated Milled Acrylic by Phillip Low, $750 at Moss.
Puppy Abstract by Eero Aarnio for Magis, $147 at Nova68.
Nobuho Miya Iron Birds, $120 at Abodeon.
Briciole Sculpture/Divider by Paola Navone for Riva 1920 at Unica.
Resin Bottles by Constantin & Laurene Leon Boym, $55 at The Future Perfect.
Unglazed Abstract, 1952 by William August Hoffman, $2,500 at Assemblage.
Sputnik by Tony Duquette, c.1960, at Lamberty, 1st Dibs.
Primary Color Cubist Sculpture by Adolf Odorfer, 1971, $8,000 at design/one.
Biomorphic Bronze by Antoine Poncet, late‘50s, $12,800 at Sam Kaufman.
‘Minhir’ by Hans van De Bovenkamp, 2009, $16,000 at Lon Hamaekers.
Kostick Bronze Star, $160 at Abodeon.
Multicolor Acrylic Shapes by Vasa Mihich, $950-$1850 at Galere, 1st Dibs.
Primitive Style African Sculpture, $800 on eBay.
‘Small Boxes #4’ by Mike Wright at Williams McCall Gallery.
Reclaimed Wood Sculpture, $99.95 at Crate & Barrel.
Black Rib Cage in Porcelain By Celia Nkala for Perception Park.
African Fertility Figures, Sierra Leone, 20th c., $5,400 each at Wyeth.
‘The Alexander,’ Stabile, $75 at Nova68.
Wood ‘Ascension,’ by Autin Wright, 2011, bid $6,500 at Grounds for Sculpture.
Brass Salvador Orb Brass Bibelots on Marble, $225 at Jonathan Adler.
‘Some Cords are Feathers’ Bronze by Romolo del Deo.
‘Tangle’ in Chrome by Richard X. Zawitz, 1981, $35 at MoMA Store.

ARTmonday: Tabitha Vevers

I first became acquainted with the artwork of Tabitha Vevers through my mother-in-law, who gave me a series of three small works – birds eggs in architectural frames. Later I saw one of her gilded shell pieces at their home in Cape Cod – a disturbing but compelling image painstakingly painted on the interior of a seashell. That summer I had the pleasure of dining with Tabitha, along with a number of other Provincetown artists, including her husband, photographer Daniel Ranalli, and her mother, artist Elspeth Halvorsen, who constructs dioramas. Tabitha’s dad, the late Tony Vevers, is a well-known painter. It was a fun evening, and ever since, I’ve followed her work.

I missed Tabitha’s spring show at the De Cordova, but I plan to pop into the DNA Gallery in Provincetown this week, where a group show with her work just opened. Her depictions are not only incredibly skilled and fantastically creative, but often cerebral. (Not surprising, since she graduated from Yale.) The scale of her work is small, but the pieces are not the least bit precious. I find the gold leaf adds to their surreal appeal. Tabitha creates works in series. I included a bit about each below, along with images.

Eden Series

The impetus for this series came from the confrontation over teaching the Theory of Evolution in schools.

Eden(Expulsion)Expulsion

Eden (Eveandadam)Eveandadam

Eden (Dehibernation)Dehibernation

trouble in paradise

Trouble in Paradise

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Shell Series

Tabitha describes this series as both a nod to her Cape Cod childhood and a challenge to see if she could paint shells as an adult without creating kitsch. She’s often chosen to paint on unusual materials if they resonate with her ideas, but with the Shell Series it’s the other way around—the imagery has grown out of the medium itself. These works draw on mythology and folklore.

Reunion

Reunion

sheep

shell_src_05

The Seaweed CollectorThe Seaweed Collector

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Lover’s Eyes Series

This series plays on the convention of eye portraiture during the Georgian period of the late 18th century. Such paintings were commissioned as secret gifts for illicit lovers. These excerpt images of women’s eyes from well-known paintings, but give primacy to the gaze of the model looking out, rather than the male gaze of the original artist’s eye.

Lover's Eye La Magadelena (after Titian) Oil on Ivorine clark

La Magdalena (after Titian)

Lovers Eye Young Woman after de Benvenuto clark

Young Woman (after Girolamo de Benvenuto)

Lover's Eye- Inka (after Chuck Close

Inka (after Chuck Close)

* * *

Flying Dreams Series

Tabitha interviewed over two hundred people about their flying dreams to create this series. The paintings are painted on metal in the style of Mexican devotional paintings (ex-votos), and include a description of the dreams in the dreamers’ own words. The scenes are depicted as described, not as interpretations.

Flying Dream (Claire)

Flying Dream (Claire)

Flying Dream (Mary)

Flying Dream (Mary)

Flying Dream (Water Ballet)

Flying Dream (Water Ballet)

flyFlying Dream (Irene)