Tag Archives: lacquer

Design and Innovation

Pink Thing of The Day: Pink Lacquer Storage Boxes

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pink lacquer box photo by gail worley
All Photos By Gail

The multi-story behemoth that is Restoration Hardware’s Meatpacking district flagship store is very much like a museum of home design retail. You could spend a week in that place. The abundance of fully-furnished display rooms also makes it a great place to find Pink Things. Case in point: these Paris Pink Lacquered Storage Boxes, which I covet wildly.

pink lacquer box photo by gail worley

These hand-poured and polished lacquer wood boxes — each layer individually hand polished to create a deep, rich finish impervious to heat and alcohol — feature a a velvet-lined interior, which makes them ideal for keeping your jewelry safe and pampered.  Made in the United States by Pacific Connections, they are available in a range of sizes and can be purchased online Here.

pink lacquer box photo by gail worley
Oh, You Pretty Things . . .

Photographed in the Restoration Hardware Flagship Store in NYC’s Meatpacking District. 

Arts and Culture

Sebastian Wahl’s Psychedelic Gravy for the Receptive Mind at Joseph Gross Gallery

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Sebastian Wahl 3 Mandalas
From Left, Kaleidoscope Vision (1 and 2) and Third Eye Vision, Collage Layered in Resin, 2014 (All Photos By Gail)

Because it is up for only one more week, you should make every effort to head to the Joseph Gross Gallery for Sebastian Wohl’s amazing solo exhibition, Psychedelic Gravy For the Receptive Mind.

Wahl is a Swedish artist now living in NYC who works with collage and lacquer in a manner similar to that of artist Fred Tomaselli, but on a much more cerebrally expansive scale. Geoffrey and I were fortunate to meet and chat briefly with Sebastian at the exhibit’s opening reception, back on February 12th, and when I mentioned how much his work reminded me of Tomaselli, he did confess to also being a fan, and offered that Tomaselli’s use of lacquer had been a tremendous influence on this new body of work.

Vahalla
Vahalla

To achieve his multidimensional effect, Wahl carefully places handmade papers and images between layers and layers of resin. The result is a collage time capsule with real shadows cast within each piece. “Collage is my medium, resin is just the gravy on top,” the artist states in the exhibits press release, adding that, “The mystical experience has always been a point of reference for my work so Psychedelic Gravy For the Receptive Mind seemed like a fitting title for the exhibition.”

Mandalla 4
Mandalla 4

Wahl’s goal is to trigger an awakening of imagination, spirituality and vision. In his work everything is balanced with the attention of a tightrope walker. This attention to balance transforms into symmetry and repetition in the three new circular works that he created for this exhibition. These three pieces are titled Kaleidoscope Vision (1 and 2) and Third Eye Vision (see the first photo in this post) and are loosely inspired by traditional Thangka painting.

The Conductress
The Conductress

Flying Lotus, VooDoo Chile, Kaliucifer
Juju Elves From Left: Flying Lotus, VooDoo Chile, Kaliucifer

Sebastian also created a new series of 7 small pieces that he refers to as the Juju Elves. The works are charged with positive energy and the intention of protecting their owner’s home.

Jimi Hendrix 4 and Jimi Hendrix 2
Jimi Hendrix 4 and Jimi Hendrix 3

He also did series of portraits of Jimi Hendrix, each one unique from the others.

Detail of Jimi Hendrix 2
Detail of Jimi Hendrix 3

12/21/12
12/21/12

Sebastian Wahl’s Psychedelic Gravy for the Receptive Mind will be on exhibit only through February 28th, at the Joseph Gross Gallery, Located at 548 W. 28th Street, Suite 243, in the Chelsea Gallery District.

Mandalla 1
Mandalla 1

Detail of Mandalla 1
Detail of Mandalla 1

Sebastian Wahl Signage

Arts and Culture

James Cohan Gallery Presents Fred Tomaselli’s Current Events

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Firey Swirl
After Oct. 16, 2010, 2014, By Fred Tomaselli. Photo-collage, Leaves, Acrylic, and Resin on Wood Panel (All Photos By Gail)

My first exposure to painter/collagist Fred Tomaselli’s work was his exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum back in 2011, so I was very excited about attending the opening reception for his latest collection of paintings and collages entitled Current Events, which opened at the James Cohan Gallery on May 1st.

Firey Swirl Product Detail
Detail from After Oct. 16, 2010

In his fourth solo exhibition at the gallery, Tomaselli presents eights new collage paintings and over 30 works from his ongoing New York Times collage series. The gallery space is huge and there is a ton of cool stuff to look at.

Black Star By Fred Tomaselli
Black Star

Detail from Black Star
Detail from Black Star

Tomaselli’s art is very visually psychedelic, but there is also so much going on as far as the actual form of the work and the story each tells that you could spend hours studying and enjoying each piece.

Gyre By Fred Tomaselli
Gyre

Fish Spew Detail
Detail from Gyre

As the exhibit’s press release explains, “over the course of a career that spans three decades, Tomaselli has transformed his daily life and many obsessions — gardening, birding, fly-fishing, recreational drugs – into mind-bending, consciousness-expanding paintings.

Bird and Serpent
Penetrators

Serpent Detail
Serpent’s Body Detail from Pentrators

Since March 16th, 2005 Tomaselli has been working on The New York Times paintings. According the the Press Release, “He became absorbed by the photo on the front page in which he describes, “Bernie Ebbers, the just convicted WorldCom chairman, was clutching the hand of his wife as he was being expelled from ‘the Eden of Finance’ by the camera-wielding angels of the paparazzi.” Drawing and collaging directly on the photo, Tomaselli created his first “collaboration” with the lead page of The New York Times. The series now consists of 80+ works.”

Here are a few from the exhibit:

NYT Queens Catholic Church
Nov. 25, 2010

NYT Putin\
Nov. 9, 2011

NYT Oval Office
Aug. 19, 2009

NYT Gingrich
Jan. 21, 2012

So, you know what you like to look at and what stimulates your mind. Surely I do not need to say anymore to talk you into going to see this exhibit: just do yourself a favor and go.

Fred Tomaselli’s Current Events will be on Exhibit Through June 14th, 2014 at James Cohan Gallery, Located at 533 West 26th Street in the Chelsea Gallery District. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM.