The Limited Barrier III, Flameworked, Borosilicate Glass, Eunsuh Choi, $72,000, Tansey Contemporary Gallery, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi CortierArchipelago & Glass, 2014, Oil on Panel, Tom Betts, $12,800, Dawson Cole Fine Art, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi CortierDelusion (Study), Oil on Canvas, 40 x 30, Lui Ferreyra, $4,500, William Havu Gallery, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi CortierBTWITIAILWY, Neon Sign, Edition 2/3, 32 x 40, Rachel Hovnanian, $9,000, Imago Galleries, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi CortierCovenant with Diamond Dust, 2013, Silkscreen Print with Glaze and Diamond Dust, 53 1/2 x 53 1/2, Damien Hirst, $55,000, Heather james Fine Art, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi CortierNoe Katz, Thomas Paul Fine Art, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi CortierRetardashians, 2011, Acrylic and Spray Paint on Faux Brick Panel, Adam Mars, $5,000, Gusford Gallery, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi Cortier#22, Oil on Canvas, 45 x 35, Ryan Magyar, $4,000, William Havu Gallery, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi CortierGoing out of Business, 2012, Monoprint and Collage on Handmade Paper, Mel Bochner, $120,000, Heather James Fine Art, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi CortierHypochondria 60, 2014, Mixed Media, Klari Reis via The Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2015, Photo Romi Cortier
The Palm Springs Fine Art Fair of 2015 lived up to my expectations. It has always been one of my favorites and this year it included 66 Galleries from 7 countries, focusing on post-war and contemporary art. As you can see from the images I’ve posted, there was a huge variety and style of works priced from $4,000 – $120,000. Some of the works were elegant and refined, while others were snarky and irreverent.
Patrons were gathering around the Gusford Gallery enjoying the amusing quotes of artist Adam Mars such as: Retardashians, I Stand By My Uninformed Opinions, Good Lay Bad Texter, True Love Waits and We’re Impatient, and For Eli Broad or some Rich Broad.
The exquisite painting by Mexican born Noe Katz was a show stopper. I love the long sinewy lines wrapping around the male figure, which looks like it could have been painted by Fernand Leger with its Deco inspired shading. His work has been seen at exhibitions in the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City, the Tokoro Museum of Modern Art in Japan and the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach.
Ryan Magyar’s#22 lept off the gallery wall from across the room, glowing like embers in a fireplace. In my opinion it’s remarkably well executed and very affordable at $4,000. Imagine it hanging on a nearly black wall at the end of long corridor, it would be stunning.
Portrait artist Lui Ferreyra used a sublime muted color palette for his oil painting Delusion (study). It has a vintage cubist vibe and reminds me of the Italian Futurist exhibit I saw at the Guggenheim in New York last spring. At $4,500 I think it’s also a remarkable value.
I’m a huge fan of photorealism. Tom Bett’sArchipelago & Glass looks like it could have been painted by a Dutch master. He used thin layers of paint on a smooth panel, therefore, there are no ridges on the surface like you’d see on canvas. Art consultant Marty Raichle tells me that the painting literally glows once the lights are turned off, and I’m inclined to believe her. At $12,800 it’s a steep price point if you’re a novice art collector. That said, anytime you’re willing to lay out that much for a painting you’ll need to do your homework and look at the artists Curriculum Vitae. Who’s collecting them? Are they in any museum collections? Do they have any resale value in the secondary art market… you get the picture.
Artist Mel Bochner has his own dedicated Wikipedia page, which helps you understand why his works on paper go for $120,000. He’s an American conceptual artist and his works are in nearly 2 dozen Public Collections in Switzerland, Germany, Australia and France.
To quote art critic and museum curator Peter FrankThe fair has variety and surprise, two qualities I look for in a fair. I’m so glad that I made the drive from Los Angeles to see the 2015 fine art fair. Good art is satisfying and inspiring, and I for one left with a big smile on my face.
Hollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi CortierHollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi CortierHollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi CortierHollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi CortierHollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi CortierHollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi CortierHollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi CortierHollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi Cortier
Viewing the Hollyhock House at Night was a rare opportunity, and I for one wasn’t going to miss it.
On February 13th, 2015, after a four year restoration at a cost of $4.5 million, Frank Lloyd Wrights iconic home in Barnsdall Park reopened to the public. In the spirit of giving back to the community, the nominal entry fee of $7 was waived, and the home was open to the public complimentary for a full 24-hour period. And best of all, photos were allowed! This is what kept running through my mind as I stood in line… for three, yes three very long hours. Otherwise I would have gladly come back at another time. Yes, I have photos from an earlier visit to the home in 2005, but it’s never open during the night. Wisely, there was a Girl Scout with her wagon of cookies working the extensive lines wrapping around the estate. I think her box of Do-si-dos saved my life, or the lives of those around me… low blood sugar is never my friend.
Built in 1921 for Bohemian oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, this 11-acre site known as Barnsdall Park, sits on a hill overlooking Hollywood with spectacular city views. The first of several Mayan concrete block structures created by Wright in Los Angeles, this home was inspired by Ms. Barnsdall’s love of hollyhock flowers. I’ll admit I didn’t know what a hollyhock flower actually looked like until now, so here it is.
You can see how the vertical spine of the flower inspired Wright’s concrete panel below, which is seen throughout the home. It appears that the lush color of the flower also influenced the color palette for both the Library and the Dining Room. And take a closer look at the chairs in the dining room. You’ll see that geometrized floral pattern appearing there as well.
Hollyhock Panel from Hollyhock Home, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi Cortier
The exterior Colonnade below is another version of the Hollyhock panel stretched out, offering structural support for the roof. This is such a perfect example of utilizing a design motif in multiple ways, thus creating the visual rhythm for the space. All it takes in money, and lots of it. Even an oil heiress can get fed up with cost overruns and fire her architect, which is exactly what happened here. It’s hard to believe Ms. Barnsdall never actually lived in the home.
Hollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Photo Romi Cortier
According to curator Jeffrey Herr, his devoted team spent countless hours returning the Hollyhock House back to its 1920’s glory, from the wall moldings to the bas-reliefs to the paint color. It seems the original forest green walls have chemicals banned by California, so they engineered a chemical formula that exactly resembled it… but safer of course. And for the golden glisten on top, they crafted a formula of mica, suspended in alcohol. According to Los Angeles Magazine, Herr hopes that viewers will walk in and go, This is great, what did they do? For him, that’s the sign of a good restoration. From my point of view, the home was impeccable. As everyone said as they left the home, it was worth the wait. And it was.
Illuminated Modern, Palm Springs Visitor Center, Modernism Week 2015, Photo Romi CortierIlluminated Modern, Coachella Valley Savings & Loan, Modernism Week 2015, Palm Springs, Photo Romi CortierIlluminated Modern, Town Palm Springs, Modernism Week 2015, Palm Springs, Photo Romi CortierIlluminated Modern, Kaplan Medical Building, Modernism Week 2015, Palm Springs, Photo Romi CortierIlluminated Modern, Gas Station, Modernism Week 2015, Palm Springs, Photo Romi CortierIlluminated Modern, Palm Springs Visitor Center, Modernism Week 2015, Photo Romi CortierIlluminated Modern, Palm Springs Visitor Center, Modernism Week 2015, Photo Romi Cortier
Here’s a few of my favorite shots from Illuminated Modern, during Palm Springs Modernism Week 2015.
Now in it’s fourth year, Illuminated Modern focuses on significant modernist buildings in Palm Springs. It happens every night of Modernism Week, from February 12 -22. It’s a free self guided tour that simply requires you to get in your car and drive along Palm Canyon Drive between sundown and midnight. Therefore, no reservations are required, that is, unless you need to borrow a car or bicycle from someone.
I have no idea who came up with this brilliant idea, but it certainly adds another level of excitement to the full array of events happening during modernism’s 10 day extravaganza. Even though it feels a bit like Vegas, I really like it and almost wish they’d keep it lit like this year round. It would force both the tourists and locals to take note of the significant structures in town. However, that’s highly impractical. See that beautiful gas station by William F. Cody? I had to scramble through the sage brush to reach that vantage point while using the flashlight on my iphone. I don’t think of February as rattlesnake season… but who wants to take chances. That said, once I snapped my photo, it made me think of Ed Ruscha’s famous Standard Station screen print. I absolutely love how the paper thin roof nearly floats over the gas pumps, and I’d never noticed it while driving past it on the 111.
Ed Ruscha, Standard Station, 1966, Screenprint, Image Courtesy Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Here’s a quick run down on the architects of these buildings.
Palm Springs Visitor Center, 2901 N. Palm Canyon Dr. Albert Frey & Robson Chambers, 1963. (Photos 1, 6 & 7)
Coachella Valley Savings & Loan, 383 S. Palm Canyon Drive, E. Stewart Williams, 1956.
Towne Palm Springs, Originally The Harold Hicks – Desert Water Building, 1345 N. Palm Canyon Drive, E. Stewart Williams, 1955/1960
Kaplan Medical Building, 1492 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Bill Krisel
Karl Benjamin,#44, Oil on Canvas, Lot 311, Image Courtesy LAMAMurakami, Lot 120, Image Courtesy LAMAWayne Thiebaud, Lot 262, Image Courtesy LAMAJulian Schnabel, Lot 424, Image Courtesy LAMADamien Hirst, Lot 222, Image Courtesy LAMAJohn Baldessari, Lot 061, Image Courtesy LAMAJosef Albers, Lot 302, Image Courtesy LAMALari Pittman, Lot 430, Image Courtesy LAMAJoan Miro, Lot 167, Image Courtesy LAMAJun Dobashi, Lot 156, Image Courtesy LAMAPablo Picasso, Lot 140, Image Courtesy LAMA
Here’s a few of my favorite images from the upcoming Los Angeles Modern Art & Design Auction. The images that I’ve chosen to feature here on my Design Diary are primarily prints, however, this isn’t the full breadth of the upcoming auction.
To quote Los Angeles Modern Auctions: The March 1, 2015 Modern Art & Design Auction will feature an important and monumental Harry Bertoia sculpture, paintings by School of Paris masters Massimo Campigli and Antoni Clave, sculptures by De Wain Valentine, George Rickey, and Peter Alexander, in addition to works by George Condo, Billy Al Bengston, Roy Lichtenstein, Oskar Fischinger, and Bruce Conner.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing major exhibitions by nearly all of the artists shown above, which is why I can relate to their work. That’s not to say that just because I’ve seen their works, I automatically love and resonate with everything that artist does. On the contrary. What it does do, is give me perspective on their work and a point of reference. That is why I’m such a huge advocate of seeing as much art as you have available to you, regardless of the venue. Auctions, Museums Shows, Gallery Exhibitions… and even flea markets or thrift stores. An educated eye can find the needle in a hay stack, which is an amazing thrill. Case in point, a decade ago I was driving by a garage sale when something caught my eye. I circled, parked, and found an amazing piece of art for about 20 bucks. I later had it appraised for $1800, and ultimately sold it at auction for a few hundred when I needed a little extra cash.
Karl Benjamin, #44, Oil on Canvas. Estimate $20,000 – $30,000. I first became aware of his work at the Birth of the Cool exhibit in Orange County Museum of Art, 2007. Since then I’ve seen his work for sale at several Southern California venues.
Takashi Murakami,And Then, And Then And Then and Then (4), Offset Color Lithograph on Paper From the edition of 300, Estimate $4,000 – $5,000. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA Los Angeles had a massive exhibit of Murakami’s works in 2007. I was both spellbound and speechless at the scale and depth of his work. You might say he’s the Japanese equivalent of Jeff Koons, working in multiple mediums, blurring the line between high and low art.
Wayne Thiebaud, Eight Lipsticks, 1 of 7 unnumbered Trial Proofs, Estimate $25,000 – $35,000. The Palm Springs Art Museum had a recent retrospective of his work in 2009, covering 70 years of the artist works. I loved his more recent abstract landscapes, as well as his famous Cake and Dessert still life paintings. At nearly 95 years of age, he’s still making art.
Julian Schnabel, Color Screenprint on Arches paper, #125 of 250, Estimate $1,500 – $2,000. Sadly I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing a major exhibition of his work. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s also an award winning filmmaker. Think Before Night Falls and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Damien Hirst, Silkscreen with bronze glitter on Somerset Tub-Sized 410-gram paper, #101 of 150. Estimate $6,000 – $8,000. I’ve seen his work at several venues, including the recent Los Angeles Art Fair. If you’ve seen my Butterfly Mural DIY video, I make reference to him and his famous Butterfly piece I Am Become Death, Shatterer of Worlds.
John Baldessari, Photogravure, aquatint, and sanding on torn Rives BFK paper, #3 of 35, Estimate $4,000 – $6,000. In 2010 LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) had a retrospective of his work titled Pure Beauty. I was quite surprised to see his 1977 series Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line, which reminded me of my own Red Ball oil paintings.
Josef Albers, Encircled, Woodcut on Paper, Estimate $5,000 – $7,000. I love this piece because it’s so not what Albers is famous for. Homage to the Square is a massive series of mid-century works, with yep, you guessed it, variations of squares set into bigger squares and even bigger squares. I recently bought one of these pieces at an Estate Sale, Homage to the Square in Black.
Lari Pittman,Untitled #27, Acrylic on paper, Estimate $5,000 – $7,000. Nearly 20 years ago in 1996 I saw a Survey of Lari Pittman’s work at LACMA. It was so bold and inventive that I never forgot it. The show was referred to as a Defining Moment in his career.
Joan Miro, Untitled, Etching and aquatint on Rives paper, #23 of 50, Estimate $2,000 – $3,000. Miro is a name that’s synonymous with Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike… It makes me think of a re-occuring nightmare I had as a child that featured an inner tube, a needle and thread, and floating sensations. I still have no clue what the dream was really about.
Jun Dobashi,La Priere au Balcon, Oil on canvas laid down on board, Estimate $2,000 – $3,000. I’ve never seen the work of this artist before, but I love the composition of this piece and his use of black. Divided into 4 regions, light on one side, dark on the other, it feels religious, as if someone is in a state of prayer.
Pablo Picasso,Femme regardant par la Fenetre, Color linocut print on Arches paper, #43 of 50, Estimate $18,000 – $25,000. Nearly every major museum in the United States has some form of Picasso’s work, so it’s hard not to have seen something from the epic career of one of the most important artists of the 20th Century. I love how the subject of this piece leans forward to open the drape, letting the light into the room. The use of off white is so effective and powerful.
Hysterikos Book, Drawings by Francoise Gilot, Collection of Romi CortierRemnant Drawing by Francoise Gilot, Collection of Romi CortierFrancoise Gilot Easel, Collection of Romi CortierPaloma – Sphynx by Francoise Gilot, #214 of 300, Collection of Romi CortierInterior page of Paloma – Sphynx by Francoise Gilot, Collection of Romi CortierBack Jacket of Paloma – Sphynx by Francoise Gilot, Collection of Romi CortierFrancoise Gilot and Romi Cortier, Elkon Gallery NYC, October 2006
I had the distinct pleasure of Meeting Francoise Gilot during an exhibition of her art work at the Elkon Gallery in New York City, in 2006.
I was introduced to Francoise by Mel Yoakum Ph. D., a long time client and friend of mine who was the curator of the F. Gilot Archivesfor over two decades. Having published several books on Ms. Gilot, Mel is the foremost authority on her work. He gave me a tremendous education about her over the years, as well as some of these priceless treasures shown above. There’s her plein air easel for outdoor painting from her days in La Jolla, when married to Jonas Salk. A rare numbered book published by her daughter Paloma Picasso in 1975, featuring drawings by Francoise. A 1946 remnant drawing that now sits on my nightstand. And most importantly, the golden opportunity of meeting Ms. Gilot during her art show on Manhattan’s upper east side.
I travelled from LA to New York the day of the exhibition, stopping to pick up my buddies David and Courtney en route to the Gallery. It was chic beyond belief. Ms. Kitty Carlisle was dressed from head to toe in red, in a room full of people wearing only black. Ms. Gilot and myself were the only other two people in the room wearing color (my shirt is pale pink). I’ll never forget the moment I first laid eyes on her. She seemed so tiny for a woman with such bold and powerful work hanging on the walls. Mel introduced me to her as a Los Angeles collector who’d flown in for her show, as well as the owner of Citrus and Alizarine, 2003, a painting he’d recently sold me. She was demure, smiled, and firmly shook my hand. After mingling with the other art patrons for about 30 minutes, my friends and I retreated to the lounge just off the main gallery. As we were discussing the show, a very spirited blonde socialite bounced into the room and began talking with one of the men in the room. They knew each from boarding school, possibly in Florida. She stood in the doorway, tilted her head and said Well… it’s a Small World… at the Top! She then spun on her heels and made a grand exit. We were all dying of laughter, her timing was impeccable.
A few minutes later Francoise entered the room and plopped down on the Sofa next to me. For a woman in her mid 80’s she was holding up remarkably well. We sat around and chatted for a bit, and then she happily posed for a photo with me. This photo was the basis for my painting below. I was inspired to paint her with a green halo which barely shows in this photo. I later found out that Matisse and Picasso had also been inspired to use green as a major component in their portraits of her. Trust me, I’m not comparing myself to those two masters, I just find it curious that I dialed into that energy with no prior knowledge of their interpretation of her.
Francoise Gilot – 1500 Paintings, Oil on Canvas, by Romi Cortier
I love Francoise’s mid-century work, especially her use of the square for texture. I used that square as a pattern to represent the tremendous amount of paintings she’s created in her lifetime, over 1600 at last count. I continue to observe and study her work, which gives me inspiration in new and powerful ways. I feel about her the same way she felt about Matisse, which you can watch in the video below.
