I’ve been piling on the pink to lighten the dark days.
Abstract painting by artist Sarah Lutz from Schoolhouse Gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Blush candleholders by Hawkins New York from Salt in Wellfleet, Massachusetts (sold out, but also available at here). Tapered candlesticks from Danica Design Candles in Rockport, Maine. Ridged porcelain vase available here and pink glass vase available here. The Issey Miyake book is a recent gift and available here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A work by Ellsworth Kelly at the 2016 SMFA Sale.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Last weekend I held a pop-up art gallery event on the Cape. My husband hung 96 works of art on our very bare white walls. It was so much work, but it looked fantastic, and ultimately everyone had fun. We even sold some pieces.
We hung oil paintings, acrylic on board, ink and pastels on rice paper, collage, acrylic on canvas, encaustic, and others. Styles included graphic abstracts, abstracted landscapes, portraits, marine-inspired abstracts, and more. We also had a lot of photography, which I will post next Monday.
Here is a sampling of work we displayed from 18 different artists. You can check out some installation photos on my StyleCarrot and StyleCarrotCurates Instagram accounts, as well as some artist’s feeds; we used #artandcocktailstruro. If you’re interested in learning more about or purchasing any of these pieces, email me at stylecarrot@gmail.com
Kristi Kohut, Chromatic Harmony #12 Acrylic, ink and pastels on Mulberry rice paper, 11.5×16.5 inches, $840
Jenny Prinn, Sun on the Shore Acrylic on canvas, 24×24 inches, $1,100
Carolyn T. Burns, Can We Get a Puppy? Acrylic on canvas on panel, 10×8 inches, $400
Kishore Kumar, Exuberance 1
Acrylic on canvas, 12×12 inches, $250
Lee Essex Doyle, Prada I Palazzo Papadopoli Turquoise, Venice
Mixed media, 12×12 inches, $2,000
Amanda Hawkins, Untitled 2015
Acrylic on canvas, 14×14 inches, $375
Maureen Holub, Taffy Acrylic and mixed media, 24×18 inches, $850
Thanks to my friend interior designer Dee Elms of Terrat Elms, who suggested me for the project, Mr. Webster and I have been collaborating on bringing new artwork to his Boston Design Center showroom, Webster & Company.
I pick the artists (most have ties to New England) and present available pieces to Mr. Webster. He and Visual Design Director Jonathan Giacoletto choose which ones to feature and where to hang them. We began in fall 2015 and it’s an ongoing success.
For a full listing of available works (as well as those that have sold), see the Webster Art Project tab here on my blog. If you are interested in pricing, please email me at stylecarrot [at] gmail [dot] com.
This fall I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wonderful new project: curating artwork for the Webster & Company showroom at the Boston Design Center.
I love art. I buy art like other women buy shoes. I have master’s in art history that I did for fun and I started collecting art around the same time. Friends have asked me for help choosing artwork, and over the years I’ve often thought of art consulting for interior designers.
This summer I was at the bar at Blackfish in Truro with my friend Dee Elms,who encouraged me. (If you don’t know her, she is a very talented, supremely generous Boston-based interior designer). A week later I got an email from Mr. Webster at Webster & Company, asking me if I’d be interested in helping find local Boston artists whose work he could hang in his showroom. (A little birdie suggested me.) He was looking to do a complete swap of everything he had hanging. Within a month.
In a frenzy, I scoured my files and sources for Boston artists (and some further afield in Maine and on the Cape) whose work I loved that aligned with Mr. Webster’s tastes. We met in early September, narrowed down my finds, and over the last few weeks the very gracious Mr. Webster and his meticulous visual design director Jonathan Giacoletto have hung the work. There are about 75 pieces from almost 20 artists, all either local or with ties to the area.
It’s been a thrilling experience, both working with Mr. Webster and his team and all the artists. I haven’t seen everything hung yet, but I plan to go this week. If you happen to be over there, stop by. (Obviously they’re all for sale. If you you’re interested, you can let me know.) Here is one piece from each artist represented. If you read ARTmonday regularly you will recognize some names. More photos to come of the installations in the coming weeks.
John Ross
John Ross, who has a degree from UCLA and is co-founder of design label PATCH NYC, composes photos inspired by Dutch still life paintings in his South End studio using only natural light.
Tess Atkinson
Tess Atkinson, who graduated from Skidmore College and studied photography at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, likens her images to being lost in a trance.
Linda Pagani
Linda Pagani, who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, photographs vast spaces to compose abstract new environments.
Anna Kasabian
In her studio in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Anna Kasabian crafts wafer thin porcelain pieces that recall the forms and motions of flowers, sea plants, and ocean waves.
Jenny Brillhart
Abstracting beauty from the ordinary, Jenny Brillhart, who holds an M.F.A. from New York Academy of Art and a B.A. from Smith College, lives and works in Miami and Stonington, Maine.
Judyth Katz
Having begun her career as a fiber artist, today Judyth Katz works in paints and pastels to create abstracted landscapes en plain air and from her studio on the Outer Cape.
MP Landis
MP Landis, who traveled the world with his Mennonite missionary parents, opened a bookstore, and painted in Provincetown, recently relocated from Brooklyn to Portland, Maine.
Jenny Prinn
Rain, laughter, footsteps, and foghorns are examples of the fleeting inspirational moments that inform Maine-based artist Jenny Prinn’s colorful abstract paintings.
Grace Hopkins
Grace Hopkins, who holds a B.F.A. from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, creates photographs with he look and feel of abstract paintings.
Hilary Tait Norod
Neuroscience and psychology are strong influences on Boston-based painter Hilary Tait Norod, who holds a B.A. in studio art from Skidmore College.
Steve Barylick
Former creative director and muralist Steve Barylick, who holds a B.F.A. from Massachusetts College of Art, paints abstracts at Joy Street Artist Studios in Somerville.
Linda Cordner
Linda Cordner layers pigmented translucent wax to depict subtle, atmospheric landscapes, all created in her SoWa studio.
Alicia Savage
Boston-based photographer Alicia Savage, who holds a B.A. from Northeastern University, documents her life and mind in self-portraits that hide her face but uncover her journey.
Budd Hopkins
Abstract Expressionist Budd Hopkins (1931—2011), who worked in New York and Wellfleet, combined geometrics with a gestural style. The Whitney Museum and The Guggenheim, among others, own his work.
Sarah Lutz
Sarah Lutz, whose abstract work refers to the natural world, holds a B.S. from Skidmore College, an M.F.A. from The American University, and lives and works in New York City and Truro, Mass.
Stephen Sheffield
Using film and nontraditional techniques, South Shore-based photographer Stephen Sheffield, an alumnus of Cornell University and California College of the Arts, creates narrative images with a cinematic feel.
Ellen Levine Dodd
Ellen Levine Dodd, who grew up and studied art in New England, creates expressive compositions with colorful gestural brushwork in her Northern California studio.
Joe Diggs
Working from his home studio overlooking a pond on Cape Cod, Joe Diggs sometimes strategically plans his compositions while other times is guided by pure emotion.
