My Own Personal Superbowl

Being the girl I am, the zenith of awards season – Oscar night – is my own personal Superbowl. The drinks are flowing and the snacks are out. My breath is baited to see who will win, who will disappoint, and who will never live down their fashion shame. Here’s a short highlight reel of the plays so far  (bear with me for the cheesy football analogies)!

 

Unfortunately, these passes fell a couple yards short.

Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lopez

Players destined for greatness

Michelle Williams, Octavia Spencer, Rose Byrne

Allusions of grandeur

Emma Stone, Glenn Close, and Stacy Kiebler

And my Superbowl MVPs are… 

In forever classic black and white… Angelina and Gwyneth.

Home Is Where the Art Is

On Friday, February 9th, Bill Lowe Gallery launched a brand new event series entitled “Home Is Where the Art Is”. This innovative show concept takes contemporary art out of the “white box” and into a residential setting  to demonstrate the way art can turn a house into a home.

 

The first installment of this series took place in a traditional Atlanta Buckhead manor owned by the former Atlanta Braves pitcher, Derek Lowe. Partnering with Harry Norman Realtors / Christie’s, Bill Lowe Gallery took this furnished residence and imbued it with heart and soul using a mixture of contemporary art and African tribal antiquities. The result is one of surprising drama that elevates the architecture beyond it’s classical design origins.

We conceptualized this event series in order to highlight one of our most valuable attributes: the ability to decipher a client’s motivations and aspirations to determine exactly which pieces will move their spirit and energy to a higher dimension.  Or to break it down in layman’s terms: we figure you out and then we figure your art out.

We often hear the phrase “well I love it, but I can’t see it in my home”; on the contrary, what you love is exactly what you need in your home and we did this to show you precisely how it’s done. You can put a larger-than-life sculpture in your foyer. You can mix tribal material with chic contemporary paintings. You can take risks and they can pay off… beautifully.

 

The Living Room

The Dining Room

The Study

The Stairwell

All of the art placed in the home totaled a retail value of over $1 million. Within a week of the showcase, after being on the market for three months, the house had gone under contract.

The gallery will continue transforming residences throughout the year to advocate an appreciation for art and to show how vital art can be to creating homes that heal, nourish, and protect the soul.

For more pictures from the “Home Is Where The Art Is” installation, click here.

For pictures from the “Home Is Where The Art Is” private reception, click here.

Behind the Set of Fashion Week

Many of the designers showing at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 2012 incorporated intricate sets to showcase their fall lines. The bold color palettes and textural elements of their designs are further enhanced through the incorporation of these elaborate sets. Award-winning architect Zaha Hadid adds a sense of playfulness and whimsy to the streamlined designs of Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel.

 

Architect Zaha Hadid for Karl Lagerfeld with Chanel

 

Other designers remove their work from the starkness of a white runway and add dimension through color, texture, and even reflection. Whether it’s to enhance the expressive lines of the design or to create a powerful back-drop, the sets of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2012 are something that no spectator could miss. In some instances, these sets stole the show! Enjoy the runway highlights!

 

Sculptor Rachel Feinstein for Marc Jacobs

Chris Benz

Prabal Gurung

Band of Outsiders

Cynthia Rowley

Imitation

Jason Wu

Freud and the Duchess

Kate Middleton chose the National Portrait Gallery’s opening of a special collection of Lucian Freud the occasion for her first solo public appearance. The Duchess of Cambridge majored in art history while attending St. Andrews University so it’s fitting that the Gallery museum is one of her preferred charities.

 

 

As described by the National Portrait Gallery, “Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011) was one of the most important and influential artists of his generation. Insightful paintings of the artist’s lovers, friends and family, referred to by the artist as the ‘people in my life’, demonstrate the psychological drama and unrelenting observational intensity of his work.”

 

Reflection, Lucian Freud, 1985

Portrait of the Queen

Freud was one of the most famous British artists of the 20th century. His piece “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping” set an auction record for a living artist when it sold for 33.6 million in 2008.

 

Also in attendance for the opening event was acclaimed photographer Mary McCartney, eldest daughter of Paul McCartney.

Lucian Freud: Portraits runs February 9 – May 27 at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Why I Still Love Rothko

Working in the “art world” (strong emphasis on the quotes), I often find myself visually bored or tired. Toss in the fact that everyone is always searching for the hot new thing and you’ve basically got an easy recipe for disillusion or complacency. The only thing that keeps me going is the art that continues to transcend time, space, and matter. Sounds heady, right?

 

 

Some beauty is fleeting, but there’s actually some out there that isn’t. Exhibit A: Mark Rothko. His deceivingly simple compositions are what dreams are made of – purified color relationships creating vibrational fields, atmosphere and reactive energy. Though he’s a commonly named master of the 20th century, his work continues to be remarkable and even ground-breaking (for me).

 

As the years fly by, the paintings evolve with me. They reveal, transform and cleanse.

Add to your bucket list the Rothko Chapel and I’ll meet you on the other side.