Avenue Antiques & Art at the Armory Discount

The Avenue Antiques & Art at the Armory show has generously offered Habitually Chic readers a 50% discount on tickets to the show this weekend.  The tickets are regularly $20 so you will be able to attend for only $10 with the code DBLOG.  Perhaps you could then donate the $10 you saved to the American Red Cross to help those affected by the recent earthquake in Japan and resultin tsunamis. 

Avenue Antiques & Art at the Armory

Park Avenue Armory

643 Park Avenue at 67th Street

Friday and Saturday 11:00am - 7:30pm

Sunday 11:00am - 5:30pm

www.avenueshows.com

Colorful Mats

The apartment of Ingrid Bergman in the 1958 film Indiscreet has become a design favorite.  I've never seen anyone else frame their art so colorfully until yesterday when I came across two examples. 

David Hicks also used colorful mats or "picture mounts" as they are called in David Hicks: A Life of Design.  This London apartment from 1954 was also featured in House & Garden so I wonder if the set designer from Indiscreet happened to see it.

While looking through Tales of Endearment, the blog by Natalie Joos yesterday, I came across a photo of Fabiola Beracasa's apartment.  I love how cheerful the bright colors look on the dark wall. 

Kate and Andy Spade also hung artwork with colorful mats in their daughter's room.  The craziest color I've used for a mat is pale blue so I might have to add this idea to my list of things to try this year!

Crocker Museum's New Gwathmey Siegel Addition

          

The Original Crocker Art Museum

Last Sunday, my mom and I, along with thousands of other art enthusiasts, decided we had to be a part of the opening day of the Crocker Art Museum's new addition. We have always known the Crocker in it's beautifully historic Victorian incarnation, having been donated to the City of Sacramento and the California Museum Association by Margaret Crocker in 1885.

Original Crocker Art Museum Entrance

  On 10.10.10, the new and very modern addition designed by Gwathmey Siegel and Associates was officially opened to the public. And what an opening! As we approached the building (I had been following progress for months prior to seeing it finished) there was a definite air of celebration. Parked on the street and in the park in front of the museum was a huge collection of cars on display. Not just any cars. These were from the Art Cars Fest 2010.These are cars decorated by artists who use them in their daily lives. I will have more on them later!

The Marriage of Original Craocker and the new Expansion by Gwathmey Siegel

The new building is very modern and creates a beautiful counterpoint to the Victorian tradition. For much more information about the design and process, click HERE.

New Expansion by Gwathmey Siegal

As soon as we entered, we were sold. The spaces soared, as did our spirits. I cannot tell you how we felt. A feeling of civic pride, sure, but also a feeling of excitement and anticipation that we were going to be able to have access to this fantastic new facility.

New Entry look out to the Original Crocker

We noticed how many volunteers were on hand to answer questions and direct traffic flow. Everyone was knowledgeable, helpful and enthusiastic to be a part of something grand. Their enthusiasm is quite catching. Both my mom and I are planning to become much more involved with the museum.

Kamehameha by Deborah Butterfield, with a very helpful docent

So let me show you around a little... This is the main entry level. Already we are seeing monumental art....

Pacific Ocean, by Jennifer Bartlett, "84

 And the space is awesome (to quote a teenager that happened to be standing near us). I discovered that the cafe in the Museum is under the direction of one of my favorite Sacramento restaurateurs, Patrick Mulvaney, owner of Mulvaney's Building and Loan. More info about the cafe HERE. I will be back.....often.



Crocker Art Museum Hall and Cafe Seating



We were advised to head up to the third floor, the main exhibit halls, before they became too crowded...so up we went....

....and in the stair well discovered this ethereal computer animated projection entitled Rapunzel by Jennifer Steinkamp



Rapunzel#10 by Jennifer Steinkam



Rapunzel just got us in the mood for more. The third floor is where the main exhibition galleries are located. We were lucky to see a couple of the galleries full of art that has been promised to the museum by generous donors. I was not able to take pictures here, but there was plenty more to see in the may other gallery spaces....



Cold and Cloudy Today, Tonight and Tomorrow Sam Richardson

This is an example of the spaces allotted to contemporary art....The skylights you see are the sawtooth design on the building exterior. They are reminiscent of the old factories in the Sacramento area....



New Gallery Space

 I have included just some of the pieces that stopped me in my tracks. There is so much to see that we are going to be coming back throughout the year.

Portrait of My Father by Stephen J. Kaltenback

Untitled (Disasters of War 10) by Gettfried Helnwein

Large spaces for large art

Birth of Cain by Troy Dalton

There are also new gallery spaces dedicated to historical California art...

New California Art Gallery Space

 They were buzzing with happy art enthusiasts....

More Gallery Space

California Gallery, Yosemite

This photo is where the new is married to the old. It was not intentional in my photo, but the white walls of the new wing looks almost heavenly as it leads a patron into the gracious tradition of the original building.....

Entering the Original Crocker

Not only did the Crocker treat us to an uplifting new addition to the Sacramento Cultural scene with the museum opening, they also reminded us there is a wealth of culture in the arts that are just as important. The Grand Opening had dancers from Mexico..... 

   

And India.....

And there was inspiring music...

Sacramento Youth Symphony

 I wish that I could have stayed longer, but other commitments were calling....and we promised ourselves we would be back often.

On the way out, I stopped into the Museum gift shop and saw a couple of things to add to my Holiday wish list....

The Crocker Art Museum Collection, Unveiled

The Vase Unveiled, The Sidney Swidler Collection of the Contemporary Vessel (This is one of the exhibits we did not have time to see...we are making it back to the Museum next week!)

I hope you had a memorable 10.10.10!

World Class - The New Crocker Art Museum

Crocker Art Museum and the New Expansion

 The Crocker Art Museum has been a Sacramento treasure since the original building, once the home of the Crocker family, was given to the City of Sacramento and the California Museum Association in 1885. The historic buildings heve been married to an expansion project that has tripled the Museum's size. This new expansion designed by the World Class architecture firm, Gwathmey Siegal and Associates Architects, opens this Sunday to great fanfare. It is where I will be spending my Sunday! (And I will be taking pictures!)

The Original Crocker

The Grand Opening Celebration runs from 10AM to 10PM and will include performance by the Sacramento Youth Symphony, Choir and Jazz Band, Salsa, Indian, Mexican, African and Irish Dance and music, Art Car Fest 2010 (the largest gathering of art cars on the West Coast) and at 9:30 a Laser Light Show.

For all of the details, click on over HERE.

Neo Crocker 2010

Next Saturday, October 16th, The Crocker will be hosting Neo Crocker 2010, a Modern Culture Party featuring the talents of Rjd2 with fashion show, fire dancing, films and more. It looks like another fabulous night at the new Crocker!

For more information about the illustrious history of the Crocker and how far it has come, please take a look HERE.

Also, great articles all about the young Crocker Curator in Inside the City, page 18, and the Contractor for the new expansion on page 36 HERE!

I hope to see you there!

The Fantastic Work of Jeremiah Goodman

One of my dreams is to meet artist Jeremiah Goodman and watch him work.  Since that hasn't happened in person yet, I'm glad I can see photos of him sketching and painting.  Usually his work is on the smaller scale but the Swedish retailer Acne commissioned him to create three large canvas murals for their London boutique.  I don't usually like to mention age but Mr. Goodman is 88 and his fantastic work is clearly keeping him young!

Photos by Dean Rhys Morgan

The Big Bambú

The best part about the roof garden at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is that it's open to the sky. So imagine my surprise when I stepped off the elevator and was faced with a 100 foot long bamboo structure that blocked the sun! It looked like a cross between Kon-Tiki and a hippie Swiss Family Robinson habitat. My visit was at the end of May when I was at the Met to see the Picasso exhibit so I hadn't read yet anything about the summer installation which officially entitled Big Bambú: You Can't, You Don't, and You Won't Stop. At first, I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not but once I had a chance to walk through it and read more about it, I definitely came to appreciate this amazing art exhibition.

Twin brothers Doug and Mike Starn and a team of rock climbers will be constructing Big Bambú until October and you can watch them build it before your eyes. I witnessed one worker strip the bamboo poles of leaves and cut them for the other members tied them together with nylon rope. You can see in my photos that the team climb very high off the ground and dotted throughout the installation. If you are also dressed properly, meaning sneakers and shorts or pants, you can schedule a guided tour that takes you along the footpaths and bridges that weave through the structure. I, of course, was wearing sandals and a dress so I didn't not take advantage of this opportunity which quite frankly looked scary! I am sure it would be very exciting for children though. It will interesting to check in periodically throughout the summer and see how Big Bambú has evolved and even more so to see how it ends. And more importantly, I wonder how many months it will take them to clean up!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic