Tuesday, November 30, 2010, posted by Laura Roberts | (15) Comments
How fitting that Roi James is the steward (his word) of a 16th c. Italian Renaissance painting from the circle of Barocci. It was the Renaissance paintings that originally attracted Roi to painting in the first place. He started painting seriously at the age of 28 with oils. He had dabbled in watercolors with his mother, also a painter, at a young age and did quite a bit of drawing. He has become one of my favorite painters of any time period or any location on the planet. I wouldn’t mind at all if my home was a Roi James gallery. Roi was kind enough to share his favorite pieces in his collection in his home with me today.
On his gallery wall in his living room, which he 
considers one large installation piece of his favorite things, the top piece on the left was his very first painting purchase in the early 1990s. A friend of his was an exchange student in Russia and came home with some pieces that he later sold and Roi was a lucky purchaser. It is by Alexander Macholov and though he felt a little traumatized spending $400 on the purchase at the time it is still one of his favorite pieces today.
The painting on the bottom left is by Christopher Fitzgerald. Roi liked it so much that he commissioned him to do a larger one. This led Fitzgerald to do a series of about 30. Roi ended up with one of the later in the series Old Masters Palette (far right). There is actually an artist’s palette underneath all those thick layers of paint!
Next from top to bottom is a plaster cast of Roi’s face when he was 36, then a Russian icon, then a small construct Roi made. He has collected Russion icons for a while and has several more in the hallway. This one is Christ Descending.
The center piece is Roi’s New Language which is appropriately named. He hasn’t done anything quite like it since but it did lead to an incredible body of abstract work which was a big departure from his landcapes and figurative work and makes him a great modern painter.
The next piece of map, silver leaf and iron wax (top) is by Sodalitas, a collaborative of three that work in a wide range of media. The four 5 x 7” pieces that comprise this were in totally parts of the room when Roi went to the 5 x 7 show one year. He grabbed two then went to another part of the room and grabbed two more. Sondalitas framed them together for him. Under the Sodalitas piece is a piece by Garcia Gasco . Roi thinks it is from the 1950s because of the frame.
The cubist piece, Man in Cathedral is by Roi when he was experimenting with this period. The next piece he found at The City Wide Garage Sale. The sellers thought it was a decal but Roi took it outside and looked at it under a loop and found it was a painting. $100 well spent!
In the music room (yes – he plays!) is a Will Klemm and another important artist, Ralph White. White was a professor at UT Austin and his Siftings in Oblivion from the 1970s was purchased posthumously – Roi did meet him before he died.
The piece at the end of the hall is Journey of My Prayers so he can see his dreams and visions manifesting when gets up every morning. The butterfly, I Am Almost, greets him at the front door.
Faith, Hope and Love (below) is across from his 16th Century Renaissance painting as a mirror of sorts. It is listed on his website and not marked with the red dot for "sold" but he is not sure he could ever part with it.
Roi has pieces by Lance Letscher, David Fullton and Vincent Mariani and many more. Thank you for sharing Roi!
Friday, November 12, 2010, posted by Laura Roberts | (94) Comments
The Stephen L. Clark Gallery held a book signing for Kate Breakey’s Painted Light by University of Texas Press on Sunday night. This is a follow up to her first book Small Deaths and is very much a retrospective from her earliest mathematical work and still lives through small deaths of flowers and birds, cacti, and memories and dreams.
A Kate Breakey opening at the gallery is always a fun event. Andrea caught some fun photos of Kate meeting photographer James Evans for the first time and also Kate signing book. Do you know anyone in this photo?
I am quite a fan of Kate’s work and by lucky chance own the front and back cover of her first book. Upon opening the front leaf of Painted Light for her to personalize her signing to Steve and me – my friend and client Sondra Murray and I gasp and look at each other when we see a horse that looks like a mystical being galloping on the sand. We have been looking for just the right horse photo for her family room. Kate advises us that almost all of the photos in the book are on display at The Wittliff Collections at Texas State-San Marcos where they had a book signing the evening before.
My Photos friend, Andrea Turner, pipes in that she would love to join us if we take a trip to San Marcos. The deal was done. We enjoyed a lovely morning at the Wittliff Gallery. It was an easy trip down I-35. Andrea’s comment at the exhibit was that it gave her a whole new appreciation for Kate as an artist and for just how hard she works. All of us felt it was a precursor to a museum show.
If you make the short trip from Austin then have lunch at Palmer’s and sit in the garden paradise as Bill Wittliff suggested to us. Congratulation to Kate for another beautiful and enduring book. You can get signed copies at the Stephen L. Clark Gallery. Painted Light at the Wittliff Gallery runs until February 4, 2011. Thank you for the photos Andrea.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010, posted by Laura Roberts | (19) Comments
David and Ransom’s home was one of the favorites on the 2009 AIA Homes Tour. The harmony of the architecture, materials, furnishings, and art is perfection. I came away wanting to have my own private art tour. So when I ran into David and Ransom on the 2010 AIA Homes Tour at the Webber + Studio remodel at Chimney Corners I asked for a private tour and was greeted with an enthusiastic and immediate “yes”.
David Webber is on the board of AMOA and they are Webber + Studio architecture. They started their home in 2006 and moved in 2008. Definitely check out the professional architectural photos of their home on their website Webber + Studio.
One of the most memorable vignettes in the home is the grouping of four Four Feet of Texas by Katie Maratta above the Herman Miller Nelson Bench. Each are their own unique pieces. The couple loved the photo transfer strips so much they picked their four favorite then hung them to make one landscape.
Ransom and David were the very first collectors of Phil Durst. Phil is a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin and also an artist. Ransom saw the paint chip piece that is now above their white credenza at Magnolia Café and eventually brokered the purchase with the manager. The obsessive, relentless use of the same type of material from paint chips to candy wrappers create rhythmic quilts/fields.
Ransom really likes pieces like Durst that have a process to them. He would also throw Gail Dawson and the Alesi’s into that category. They purchased the Gail Dawson’s Urban Birds - Brewer’s Blackbird at a 5 x 7 UT Graduate show years ago. She paints the image to look like a television still. The couple has three Stella and Leon Alesi photographs.
Many of the pieces in the collection are from people they have met along the way. The entry piece is by Sara, someone David knew from Deep Eddy. The sculptural piece next to the credenza with the Durst piece is by their friend JP Grumble’s father. Mr. Grumble had many random pecan turnings stacked in their barn that were decades old. David thought they were very beautiful and JP drove out to find one of the largest to bring to the couple for a house warming gift.
The Lucille Ball image above the upstairs sofa is by John O’Connor whom Ransom was friends with in Chicago. It is the exact 40 x 40 dimension and process Warhol used as O’Connor used to work with Warhol at The Factory in the 1980’s .
The drawing above the bed is by a client of Webber’s. The artist hired the architect when she was 84 years old and ended up with the Impluvian House. Good move! The clients home became her gallery. The couple seems to be early adopters. The Roi James painting in the bedroom was purchased at a silent auction and was an abstract departure from his more realistic style which is now so popular.
Two of their favorite pieces are by Boberg and Lennie. The Museum of Contemporary Photography calls Oliver Boberg’s work “meticulously crafted illusions”. Webber and Baldasari have Boberg’s parking garage which is a photograph of a model made from a photograph. The Janaki Lennie piece greets them at the front door. Most of her graphite on paper pieces are larger but they purchased this pencil piece at a 5 x 7 red dot sale at Women & Their Work.
Other artists in their collection include Dan Sutherland, Joyce Rosner, and Paul Beck. From Wally Workman Gallery – Angie Renfro and several Will Klemm pieces. They started purchasing Will Klemm paintings when they were even more affordable.
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David and Ransom have many more notable pieces and more artists that they would like to collect. It is no surprise that the couple would like their next house to have a long art hallway with built-ins for storage so they can rotate pieces. Webber and Baldasari’s recommendation on art purchasing is that if you like it then it doesn’t matter if an artist is well known. Thank you David and Ransom!
Tuesday, October 05, 2010, posted by Laura Roberts | (14) Comments
Jennifer Elsner and David Shields have probably never spent more than $250 for a piece of art in their collection and yet they have quite a collection… with stories to tell. The couple have the design studio, Viewers Like You, and David is the Assistant Chair of Design at UT Austin and is also the primary researcher for the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection. The couple met and fell in love while getting their M.F.A. s from the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
The couple’s collection has grown by getting pieces for free, trade, and gifts. The large print behind the sofa is by Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Many of his installations invite the viewer to take a piece of the work with them which is how the couple ended up with this artists work. They picked a free poster from a stack of an unlimited edition and framed it. We should have all been so lucky to have been there for that freebie. Felix Gonzalez-Torres really believed in the democracy of art.
The two “Just Say No” posters above the console were acquired at a James Victore lecture when he was giving out free posters. They each took one then had them framed with one upside down. Brilliant!
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Their Cranbrook friends Mary Magsamen and Stephan Hillerbrand did a trade for a poster for the two stills of bubble blowing from the video Air Hunger. Jennifer and David later purchased pieces from Coffee And Milk. Just below the bubble blowing are the Indonesian wedding couple that David bought to bless their marriage and home when they were newlyweds. Sweet!!!
Jennifer and David designed and commissioned the presentation bar for the posters in the bedroom. The newest addition is the "Save Our Gulf” poster from a benefit from the San Jose Hotel in Austin. It is a signed, limited edition print and probably cost less than $200.
The couple have a few paintings by Tim Crowder. If you live in Austin you have probably seen his work at the kids/mens entrance to Nordstrom’s. David worked with him in Memphis. The large painting in the kitchen is one that Crowder’s gallery rejected so the couple was the lucky recipient.
With David’s passion for type and printing, it’s no surprise they have a Jim Sherraden, artist, printer and curator of the renowned Hatch Show Project. "Hatch" is a letterpress poster print shop in downtown Nashville that has been producing show posters for famous acts since 1879. This was a special gift for David from Jennifer.
They have many other wonderful pieces to hightlight --- prints from Denise Prince in the bathroom, a print from the Hamilton Wood Type Museum that is hung with a simple binder clip (below). One of my favorite is the curious almost Mona Lisa like expression of the woman’s portrait over the door from the living room to the kitchen. It is one of two portraits of Jennifer’s sister. It was the last piece that they hung after a major remodel of their home. I love how it is aligned with the left edge of the door frame next to the library shelves as though she is the oracle for the books.
It was a real pleasure to meet and visit with Jennifer about their collection. She recommends visiting exhibits, festivals, and shows to find pieces and buying more prints and posters than paintings to keep costs down and...gift art on special occasions to your loved ones. Thank you Jennifer and David and Chelsea Fullerton for many of the photographs.. There will be more from them in the future.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010, posted by Laura Roberts | (34) Comments
Coming up on October 2 at The Blanton is "Turner to Monet: Masters from the Walters Art Museum". When you go -- take a short trip upstairs to the Manuel Bravo exhibit. I went with two photography friends, Andrea Turner and Ashley Unbehagen and had a lovely afternoon. The show features Manuel Bravo and some of his contemporaries such as Bresson and Kertesz who are two of my all time favorites. We took our time taking in each photograph. Then went back and each picked out our top five and why. The gentleman at the left made all of our lists.
On display in the center of first room was the book The Family of Man by Carl Sandburg and Edward Steichen. It documented an exhibition curated by Edward Steichen in 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It included 503 photos by 273 photographers in 68 countries. Somehow I had never run across this book before. Ashley commented that her parents had given it to her for a Christmas gift many years ago. I just added it to my birthday list for my folks.
Visit the museum cafe next time you go to the Blanton. The portobello sandwich is delicious. A nice little getaway afternoon is just a few minutes away.
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