Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L'Amour Fou

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, I suggest heading over to the Gagosian Gallery to see the new Picasso exhibition, Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L'Amour Fou.  When Picasso saw the beautiful and blonde Marie-Thérèse Walter outside the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris in 1927, he told her, "You have an interesting face.  I would like to do a portrait of you.  I have a feeling we will do great things together."  The fact that she was 16 and he was 45 and married didn't matter and she went on to become his muse and mistress.  The exhibition chronicles the life of Marie-Thérèse and their love affair through Picasso's paintings. There is a wonderful excerpt from the exhibition catalog written by John Richardson in the May 2011 issue of Vanity Fair and online for those of you who can't make it to the show in person.  The exhibition was also made possible with help from Diana Widmaier-Picasso, the granddaughter or Picasso and Marie-Thérèse.

Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L'Amour Fou

Gagosian Gallery

522 West 21st Street

New York, NY 10011

April 14 - June 25, 2011

www.gagosian.com

Marie-Thérèse Leaning on One Arm, 1939

Marie-Thérèse Coiffee d'un Beret, 1927

Photo of Marie-Thérèse Walter, date unknown

Top Painting: Marie-Thérèse with Garland, 1937

Joan Mitchell: Lady Painter

I am still editing all my photos from High Point but decided to take a break today.  While catching up on my favorite websites, I was excited to read on Vogue.com that there is a book about to be released about my favorite artist Joan Mitchell. While I absolutely love Joan Mitchell's abstract paintings, I just realized that I don't know much about her life. Joan Mitchell: Lady Painter by Patricia Albers won't be out until May 3rd so I'll have to wait until then to read it...unless Knopf wants to send me an advance copy as a birthday present.  I have no shame when it comes to a subject I love!  Bon Weekend!

Revisiting the Art of James Nares

I wrote about artist James Nares shortly after a began my blog which was almost three and a half years ago.  Since then, his work has shown up in many more publications.  I love seeing how great his flowing calligraphy brush stroke art looks in such a variety of interiors.  What's even more interesting is James Nares suspends himself to paint them.  I think I might have to see if he's open to a studio visit!  Bon Weekend!

John Barrett residence from Elle Decor

Todd Alexander Romano via New York Social Diary

Josie Natori from Elle Decor

Baroness Bruno de Pampleonne

Michael Rosenberg and Assoc.

Foley & Cox

Alexandra von Furstenberg

Kara Mann

Laura Day via Lonny

Michael Smith

Blue Carreon

“It’s a fine balance between design and the thing making itself happen. The stroke has to have complete precision to work. Sometimes I lose it on the exit. You can’t fudge it. It ruins the whole thing.” The resulting figures are almost always contained within the rectangle. “It’s less of a window if I keep it within the confines of the canvas, but there’s almost always a drip that’s an umbilical cord.” - James Nares

Chic and Colorful and Art Filled

The calendar says spring but the temperature says winter. Makes me wish I had a conservatory like Alexis and Trevor Traina in San Francisco. Vogue featured the home in the December 2009 issue and just posted some party pics online today.  It was fun to see the dining room set for a chic lunch to celebrate the new Balenciaga exhibit at the de Young Museum and a visit from Hamish Bowles who curated it. 

The Trainas renovated the home and added the conservatory by Amdega. The furniture was designed by Ann Getty who collaborated on the interior design with the couple and interior designer Thomas Britt.

The dining room set for lunch.

I love the pop of pink stemware against all the green in the room.

The chairs were designed by Ann Getty and Andrew Fisher designed the abalone topped tables.  The chandelier was found at Coleen & Company.

The entrance hall is perfect for tricycle riding.  The artwork is Studio Wall Drawing: 13th May 2004 by Keith Tyson.

Another Keith Tyson painting, History Painting (Baden-Baden, 1942) hangs in the entrance gallery.

Thomas Britt thought the red velvet by Sabina Fay Braxton would be the perfect backdrop for Trevor Traina's photography collection.  Queen Elizabeth II, 1999 is by Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Alexis and Trevor Traina with their children in the drawing room.

Thomas Britt also designed the Lucite banister which adds a modern touch to the old house.  Hanging on the stairs is Walking Cake II by Laurie Simmons.  The artist's daughter Lena Dunham wrote, directed and starred in an independent film Tiny Furniture which is also worth checking out.  Hope this colorful home brightened your day!

Photos by Andi Hatch and Francois Halard

Avenue Antiques & Art at the Armory Discount

The Avenue Antiques & Art at the Armory show has generously offered Habitually Chic readers a 50% discount on tickets to the show this weekend.  The tickets are regularly $20 so you will be able to attend for only $10 with the code DBLOG.  Perhaps you could then donate the $10 you saved to the American Red Cross to help those affected by the recent earthquake in Japan and resultin tsunamis. 

Avenue Antiques & Art at the Armory

Park Avenue Armory

643 Park Avenue at 67th Street

Friday and Saturday 11:00am - 7:30pm

Sunday 11:00am - 5:30pm

www.avenueshows.com

Colorful Mats

The apartment of Ingrid Bergman in the 1958 film Indiscreet has become a design favorite.  I've never seen anyone else frame their art so colorfully until yesterday when I came across two examples. 

David Hicks also used colorful mats or "picture mounts" as they are called in David Hicks: A Life of Design.  This London apartment from 1954 was also featured in House & Garden so I wonder if the set designer from Indiscreet happened to see it.

While looking through Tales of Endearment, the blog by Natalie Joos yesterday, I came across a photo of Fabiola Beracasa's apartment.  I love how cheerful the bright colors look on the dark wall. 

Kate and Andy Spade also hung artwork with colorful mats in their daughter's room.  The craziest color I've used for a mat is pale blue so I might have to add this idea to my list of things to try this year!

The Fantastic Work of Jeremiah Goodman

One of my dreams is to meet artist Jeremiah Goodman and watch him work.  Since that hasn't happened in person yet, I'm glad I can see photos of him sketching and painting.  Usually his work is on the smaller scale but the Swedish retailer Acne commissioned him to create three large canvas murals for their London boutique.  I don't usually like to mention age but Mr. Goodman is 88 and his fantastic work is clearly keeping him young!

Photos by Dean Rhys Morgan

The Big Bambú

The best part about the roof garden at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is that it's open to the sky. So imagine my surprise when I stepped off the elevator and was faced with a 100 foot long bamboo structure that blocked the sun! It looked like a cross between Kon-Tiki and a hippie Swiss Family Robinson habitat. My visit was at the end of May when I was at the Met to see the Picasso exhibit so I hadn't read yet anything about the summer installation which officially entitled Big Bambú: You Can't, You Don't, and You Won't Stop. At first, I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not but once I had a chance to walk through it and read more about it, I definitely came to appreciate this amazing art exhibition.

Twin brothers Doug and Mike Starn and a team of rock climbers will be constructing Big Bambú until October and you can watch them build it before your eyes. I witnessed one worker strip the bamboo poles of leaves and cut them for the other members tied them together with nylon rope. You can see in my photos that the team climb very high off the ground and dotted throughout the installation. If you are also dressed properly, meaning sneakers and shorts or pants, you can schedule a guided tour that takes you along the footpaths and bridges that weave through the structure. I, of course, was wearing sandals and a dress so I didn't not take advantage of this opportunity which quite frankly looked scary! I am sure it would be very exciting for children though. It will interesting to check in periodically throughout the summer and see how Big Bambú has evolved and even more so to see how it ends. And more importantly, I wonder how many months it will take them to clean up!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic