No Overmantles

Works by Gerhard Richter

Painting by Cecily Brown

When placing art in a client's environment, my first motivation is never decorative.  But rather it is about bringing richness and depth into the daily experience of living.  Living with art connects us with different points of view, and those views open doors to new worlds.

In the play Red, the Tony award wining script chronicles the abstract painter Mark Rothko's tumultuous struggles with his famous commission for Philip Johnson.  His distain for 'over mantles' (art as decor) is central in this recounting of conflicted artistic ideology.   Attending the Vancouver production of Red recently brought to mind, where art lives ...... so lives the spirit of the work and it's creator.  Art elevates space and that space can also support art, with understanding and respect for the artist who created it.

For the art works pictured here we elected a traditional approach, where colour and or texture promote it's prominence and beauty. Ultimately art does play a decorative role in interiors, but is so much more than that.

John Baldessari, MOMA 2010

Transcendent

Some interior design elements float between styles, and are equally at home in modern or traditional environments.  Aqua Creations produces elegant silhouettes in a timeless delicate ruching, that transcend style labels.  The Dippa pendant (pictured here), is a stylized organic form, as romantic as the panelled foyer it occupies, different but related sets of ideas.  I think our decision to use three colours, keeps it whimsical, while still feeling classic.  Aqua Creations is a perfect combination of artistic values and bespoke quality.

'Decorating is the art of arranging beautiful things comfortably; stick to the things you really love.  An honest room is always up to date.'  Billy Baldwin.