Los Angeles Design Blog | Material Girls | LA Interior Design

This Thursday, January 28th join Angeleno magazine in sponsoring the Art Los Angeles Contemporary opening night reception at the Pacific Design Center.  For more info and to purchase tickets, go to:  www.artlosangelesfair.com

The placement of artwork is something I often work with a client on towards the end of a project.  It usually involves us spending time together figuring the best placement for each piece.  Often I find a client may have a personal attachment to a piece of artwork that they will want to place in a special or specific location.  I tend to place artwork based on scale of the wall and arrangement of furniture. But truly, there are many ways and means of how and in what way to hang artwork.  I’ve also worked on projects where the client needed to acquire art and have worked with that client to help them select pieces.  Although, I always start by telling the client art is a very personal choice and feel they should buy what appeals to them.  Some clients have collections, others are looking to acquire, and still others are on budgets and are looking to simply decorate.  I had a client who wanted to invest in fine art and we worked collaboratively with a fine arts dealer, another client who’s husband had a comic book collection that we framed for the home office, and another client where we shopped at home good stores to find inexpensive artwork to fill the walls.

Domino magazine always featured great little how to tidbits and creative adivce like this spread on different ways to hang artwork.

This breakfast nook featured in a spread from Elle Decor displays family photos and children’s artwork with a mix of pictures leaning on a shelf and  collaged walls below.  A very personable display of art.

Framing like items is always such a great way to feature a collection, similar frames and matting define the grouping and look ideal in a hallway or corridor if there are many to display.

Clustering a set of pictures appears as one large back drop of artwork.

An interesting vignette of different scaled artwork.

Art en masse in the same size and framing creates a gallery of artwork.

Balance dominates in this living room display of art although the pieces of artwork are different in size and frames, but the arrangement is of equal balance.

Another past Domino magazine feature, a collection of plates (left) and a series of art (right) offer another way of arranging.

{There are so many creative ways to display artwork and arrange wall collections. Analyzing interiors can give you a lot of ideas on how to arrange artwork and figure which works best for your space.}

I have this thing for design boards.  Must have started from back in the days of design school.  I found it to be the most creative part in putting a presentation together:  flipping thru magazines for pictures, cutting up tear sheets, finding great fabric swatches, paint chips, etc.  So much fun!  (Then came the dreaded presentation – even though I hated getting up in front of the class – I loved seeing my classmates design boards and listening to them explain the thought process.) Still today, I am, of course, pulling together boards for each and every one of my projects.  No longer in design school so the opportunity to view other design boards isn’t as convenient, but FlickR has a group dedicated especially to inspiration boards.  Call it what you will:  inspiration boards, concept boards, mood boards, design boards – many creative people in all aspects of design feature their inspirations in some sort of format.

This board is by bubbo-tubbo for Decor8.

Mood board by Daily Inspiration.

By Petrified in Pink.

By mel829.

By Acorn Tree.

By Paulabirdy.

By kelly_rose.

I couldn’t feature all the many boards here so if you are ever looking to find inspiration, check out FlickR!

I am excited to announce a new exhibition at the International Center of Photography in New York, that of the late photographer David Seidner. The exhibition opens on May 15th and is titled “David Seidner: Paris Fashions, 1945.” The exhibition features photographs of couture-clad dolls made for the Theatre de la Mode, a creative effort by the French fashion industry to broadcast to the world they were back in business after World War II. In 1990, the dolls were rediscovered and returned to Paris, where they were recoiffed and restyled for an exhibition at the Musee de la Mode. David Seidner was asked to photograph them. In his images, he captured the essense of French postwar style using rough, abandoned sets to reflect postwar Paris.

David Seidner was born in Los Angeles and had worked as a top fashion photographer for twenty five years, best known for his work with Yves Saint Laurent. He had homes in Paris, New York, & Miami and spent much of his time in Paris before his passing in June 1999.

My favorite book by David Seidner is “Portraits” which features elegant and timeless photographs of well-known people:

Portrait of Marie-Chantal Miller (1995):

Portrait of Princess Alexandra Von Furstenberg (1995):

Portrait of Pia Getty (1995):

Portrait of Honor Fraser (1994):

Portrait of Helena Bonham Carter (1998):

Portrait of Bernadette Jukowski (1995):

The exhibition runs from May 15th – September 15th, 2009. For more info, please visit the ICP website. To view the David Seidner archive at the International Center of Photography, click here.

Thought I would feature an opening exhibition at a local art gallery here in Los Angeles. The timing of the exhibition is concurrent with the Los Angeles Art Show going on this week which is a big event for many local art galleries and artists, in addition to art galleries nationwide attending the art show.

I am a huge fan of pop art. While I feel artwork is a very personal selection per individual and I often tell my clients to purchase works they are drawn to, I love pairing pop art or abstract art with traditional or transitional furnishings. I love the juxtaposition. I love modern art in both comtemporary and traditional settings.

The opening exhibition taking place this Saturday, January 24th at the Hamilton-Selway Fine Art gallery in West Hollywood and is titled “15 + Minutes.” It features the works of Wesselman, Lichtenstein, Rosenquist, Warhol and Oldenberg (also pictured above in a photograph I’ve never seen!).

I am looking forward to seeing some of these many masterpieces in person at the opening!

James Rosenquist, a piece titled “Communication Center.”

Tom Wesselman, “Still Life with Matisse and Johns.”

Roy Lichtenstein, an artist with his own unique way of creating a masterpiece.

And of course, the one and only Andy Warhol who coined their term “15 Minutes.”

Hamilton-Selway Fine Art is located in West Hollywood at 8678 Merlose Avenue in the heart of the Avenues of Art & Design District across from the Pacific Design Center.

The current exhibition is also coinciding with the Los Angeles Art Show. If you happen to be in LA, the event is taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from January 21st – 25th.

For those who have known me forever, most know I am a huge huge huge fan of Keith Haring’s artwork. Since high school, I have collected his works: lithographs, prints, posters, and all else that is Keith Haring (Pop Shop: calendars, books, postcards, toys, watches, etc.)

So on my recent trip to New York (where I spent the day with my friend Tanya – whom I’ve known since the 7th Grade!) it was only fitting that we came upon the building that houses the Keith Haring Foundation. I was so happy to find his (original) artwork in the lobby of the building.

What a great find for me – my love of Keith Haring along with experiencing it with my friend Tanya – both I’ve had a “relationship” with for over the past twenty years! (Pictured above: Jill & Tanya)

For the art lover or the art student, these books featuring the great masters and historical movements are individual volumes on specific artists. Each book features an introduction, illustrated essays, and 48 full color plates.

Build a collection with such artists as: Cezanne, Chagall, Cubism, Dali, Degas, Dutch Painting, Goya, Impressionism, Klimt, Magritte, Manet, Monet, Picasso, Pop Art, Rembrant, Renoir, Surrealist Painting, Van Gogh, and more!

Ah, if only I had these for all those art history courses!

Available from Phaidon for $9.95 per book.