Art Hijacked by Yacht Hoppers and Party Hijinks

Last Year, I had meant to remind you all to make the pilgrimage to Venice for the 54th Biennale, the oldest   and biggest and most important art exhibition in the world.  Closing day was November 27th.  Art Basel Miami Beach, a little closer to home, was another big one which closed December 4th.

Was it the art or the parties that made all the headlines?  My impression was that the parties got just as much coverage, if not moreso, than the art!  The super-rich art crowd is annoyingly predictable with both their collections of trophy wives and trophy art.  Whether it's multi-million dollar contemporary art collections in a surround of cabbage leaf chintz and dainty Chippendale antiques or austere modernist revisions, there is an emotional disconnect.  I'm tired already of seeing the same old iconic artists (especially my favorites) being rehashed again and again, in over-the-top homes just because they have been stamped Certified and Approved by the DDCWC, or, Department of Dealers, Curators, and Wealthy Collectors.

This article by Charles Saatchi, art's own Oprah Winfrey for laying the golden mantle on young artists, is commendable for its candor.  Saatchi could likely afford the yacht shown below, but more likely he will spend his profits on more art to feed the world.

Quick Quiz Question:  Who is the biggest art spender?

Answer: Sheikh Saud bin Ali-al-Thani, of the Qatar royal family. He reportedly spent several hundred million dollars in just the past two years.  So put THAT in your decorating budget and smoke it!

A super yacht moored in Venice for the art biennale.
 Photograph: Chris Helgren/Reuters/Corbis

And now may I introduce Charles Saatchi, self-professed artaholic, commenting on the State of the Art: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/02/saatchi-hideousness-art-world/print

Winter: Fog Blog

I love the color gray. I have used it often in kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms. It is a calm and peaceful color; ever ready to invoke a subtle, sophisticated and steady influence on the cacophony of our lives. I have been asked to do an apartment in Chicago and spent time there this past week. Floor to ceiling windows on the the 10th floor presented a vista of gray, overcast skies. Somehow, intuitively, my client and I decided on a soft gray for the kitchen walls. Being on the far end of the apartment, yet in view of the windows, it seemed the right visual balance for a typical gray Chicago day. The apartment will be alive with plenty of bright colors, so the grey will act as a neutralizing force.

When I returned to St. Louis, a thick blanket of fog had descended. Again, it is the quiet, the muting of color, that I find so magical about fog. The nuances are infinite, as one's vision makes constant adjustments to focus.

Perhaps because I weary of the bombardment of color, I welcome the respite of gray to collect my thoughts. I also like the way that a familiar place can be altered so as to be unrecognizable. It makes the ordinary extraordinary. But be careful: one can easily lose one's way in a thick fog!

St. Louis Country Club

My daughter is now at University College London. She has been there a few weeks and has seen the sun on only two days. Fortunately, she loves the color gray! When I first went to England, I felt I understood why the English enjoy all those riotous colorful floral chintzes.  They need the color to offset the gray!