It seems counterintuitive, but trying to make a home look elegant is often where things go wrong. And no, it’s usually not because someone has “bad taste.” More often, it’s because elegance is a style that punishes over-effort. The moment a room starts trying too hard to look expensive, it can end up feeling cheaper instead. It’s unfair, but it’s true.
Continue reading Why Do Elegant Homes Sometimes Look Worse?
All Photos By Gail
Even in the steady drizzle that fell over Central Park on the day I snapped these photos, Monira Al Qadiri’s new public art sculpture First Sun looked radiant. Installed at Doris C. Freedman Plaza at the park’s southeast entrance, the 17-foot-tall work commands the space with an otherworldly presence that feels both ancient and futuristic.
Continue reading First Sun By Monira Al Qadiri Radiates at Doris C. Freedman Plaza
Photo By Gail
Artist Statement:
This sculpture depicts the graceful curves of the female figure, boldly portraying inner confidence and beauty, suggesting that people should not blindly pursue superficial glamour or extravagance at the expense of practicality. Instead, they should establish a correct outlook on life and values.
Photographed at ICFF 2024 in NYC
Photo By Gail
French artist Pierre Roy’s 1949 painting, the full title of which is Boris Anrep in his Studio, 65 Boulevard Arago, is portraiture once removed; a painting of an imagined carved likeness.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Pierre Roy, Boris Anrep in his Studio
Beauty (All Photos By Gail)
While most of the street art that I discover on my adventures is clearly tagged, sometimes that tag is hard to decipher, and I need some assistance identifying the artist. By connecting with artists on Instagram, I’ve learned that they all seem to know and support each other, which is cool and very helpful. If I don’t know the artist behind a work that I want to put on the blog, and the first person I ask doesn’t know, then they know someone who does.
This is how I ended up connecting with the creator of an unsigned series of works that I’ve been seeing on the streets, and documenting, since around Christmastime last year. Each of the paste-ups in this very distinctive series features one to three still life images accompanied by a one-word title, with the artist’s signature being conspicuously absent. If you live in the east village or downtown, there’s no way you haven’t seen them. All I can say is that they speak to me.
Continue reading The Story Behind A Charming Street Art Enigma: The Spray Paints Series