(Still) Taking Care of Business - International Women's Day 2018

Reflecting on the journey with this still-relevant 2016 post. Happy International Women's Day, everyone!

It is with great pride that I announce that Amy Parry Projects is now Certified as a Women Owned Business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).


The news last week brought literal tears to my eyes. I didn’t realize how much being certified meant to me until I got the official notification from WBENC that I had been validated. I felt like Sally Field receiving her 1984 Oscar - “You like me! You LIKE me!” But more so, the memories of all the crazy moments that added up to this point in my business flashed before my eyes: furiously quoting a job as I was in labor at the hospital…bringing six-week-old baby James to Hirsch Bedner & Associates to work a project deadline...schlepping him to the shipper to deliver a custom work of art for a hotel…vacations spent pushing back beach time until I had wrapped up an important email…It’s been a hectic few years. And rewarding. And fun!

I have the pleasure of working with my friends, who are amazing women with their own families and dynamic lives. We work together as a team. We support each other, respect each other and dream for each other. We work hard and into the night when things need to get done. And we feel good about our aesthetic choices and the fair way we make decisions to complete our tasks at hand.

I am so proud to be a professional woman; a mother, wife and friend. I do the job because it’s my passion but also because it supports not only my family, but artists I care about and all these other women that are working with me in the same busy, multi-tasking way. We are a powerful bunch and it is clear that women-owned businesses are creating a new normal in American society. I am thrilled to be part of this empowered generation of ladies who are taking care of business and making things happen from our brains and our souls.

Thanks to WBENC for the approval of our application and for the future opportunities we will discover because of it.

So sincerely,

Amy Parry

The Wonderful Work of Eileen Braun

A couple of weeks ago we had an amazing studio visit with mixed media sculptor Eileen Braun and were fascinated by her transition in materials - from ceramics to rattan - in the creation of her extraordinary, otherworldly vessels.

Eileen Braun, Smoke, 2017, rattan reed, wax, pigment and string



We are sharing here, her description of the work and a glimpse at what she has been working on.

"In 2016, I put my clay work on hold and sought a new media less demanding of material constraints. After a lot of experimentation, I found it in encaustic wax and rattan weed. As I make the work, the forms grow increasingly more complex. Their sizes range from 3 - 7 feet high and the deep shadows (not easily shown in images), provide a completely different personal experience. The work is deceivingly light, weighing in at a mere 2- 6 pounds.

My art mirrors natural forms with a biomorphic edge. Often the exact life cycle stage one is viewing is too complex to pin down.  Is it focused on seed, mature growth, or the desiccation of this system? I leave that up to the viewer.

Movement, texture and complexity of form are integral to the work as well.  My hope is that the viewer will be drawn in by the shape. While approaching, they will be intrigued by the ever-changing views because one can see both through and around the form simultaneously. The texture, shadow and line created by the materials add to the multidimensional cornucopia of delights.

Process: The sculptures are constructed from rattan reed, encaustic wax, cotton string, and glue. In some instances I have added dress-makers pattern tissue - influenced by my research of Japanese Akari lamps.  The rattan reed is left natural or occasionally pre-stained; soaked, manipulated and secured at all junctions with cotton string.  Additional elements to the sculpture are constructed or texturized with encaustic wax. The exoskeletons in many instances have been en-robed in wax, giving them the appearance of metalwork."

Enjoy the work and imagine the possibilities - tabletop installations, wall-hangings, ceiling installations...

Just exquisite!

 

First Look | Atlanta Hawk's Owners Club | Chris Maynard

Hawks, 2017, hand-carved feathers, 60.75 x 23 x 2 inches

Feast you eyes on this image of the first piece of artwork completed for the newly renovated Atlanta Hawk's Owner's Club at Philips Arena. Created by Olympia, WA artist Chris Maynard, the work is made by carving miniature hawks out of actual feathers with a very small scalpel. With a background in biology and a clear passion for this medium, the work is precise and visually arresting.

It is also three-dimensional; by setting them off the background with tiny pins, the pieces create shadows which is integral to the work. This piece, created for the Owner's Club which will open this month, is about flight and ascension, alluding to the drive of the team's athletes toward the goal.

The Owner's Club is designed by Smith Hanes Studio and will also feature work by Atlanta artists Larry Jens Anderson and David Landis. Stay tuned for more images. This is just the beginning of the transformation of the Philips Arena Art Collection.
 

 

To learn more about Chris Maynard and his incredible, beautiful practice, please visit his website:

www.featherfolio.com

APP Words with Friends - Galen Cheney

Galen Cheney is a Vermont-based artist that APP has felt a strong gravitation to lately. Cheney's work is so expressive and complex, yet seems to fit within a multitude of environments. We look forward to placing her work. In the meantime, a conversation...


APP: Galen, we just love your work and have to give a nod to the abstract expressionists that came before you. We are huge fans of Clyfford Still, Betty Parsons, Helen Frankenthaler and Cy Twombly. Want to tell us about some of your favs?

GC: Yes, the Abstract Expressionists are my painting heroes, generally.  Their art was their life and vice-versa.  My favorites among them are Joan Mitchell and DeKooning. They had a willingness — perhaps even a compulsion — to risk everything in a painting in order to create something meaningful, something new. I admire and aspire to that degree of artistic bravery.  Like you, I am also a big Twombly fan, as well as Guston and Diebenkorn.  And there are so many good painters working today: Mark Bradford is at the top of my list; I relate to the physicality of his work, his manipulation of non-traditional materials in the service of sublime beauty.  A few other contemporary favorites are Cecily Brown, Susan Rothenberg, Leonardo Drew, Julie Mehretu, Bill Jensen, and John Walker.  There are really too many to name.
 

APP: Agree completely. How do you see the changes in your life reflected in your work, particularly in where you have lived? I know you were born in LA and spent time in both MD and MA before settling in Vermont. In terms of street art, and referencing layered urban mark-making, where does this come from?

GC: I have spent a lot of time in Italy, and my first visits there when I was 14 and 15 had an enormous impact on me.  Yes, the art that I saw was part of it, particularly ancient frescoes in Pompeii and frescoes in Florence by Giotto and Masaccio, but just as affecting was the ancient history that suffused everything.  Witnessing noisy, contemporary life, including the day’s graffiti, within that ancient context affected me deeply. 

I am drawn to the enduring human need for visual self-expression.  Graffiti, ancient and contemporary, is a rich example of that.  These days I spend a lot of time in New York, and even its walls covered in layers of torn-off posters are a turn-on for me.  I often employ a similar kind of process in my own work — laying paint on, scraping it off; gluing paper or fabric on, pulling it off.  It’s not a planned technique in order to achieve a particular effect, rather it is just a process of working.  All those changes of direction in the making of a painting amount to rich and varied surfaces that are a record of the process.


APP: And in 2015 you were a fellow at the Da Wang Culture Highland in China. How lasting of an effect did the residency have on you? I know you took just a brush, ink and a marker, so it seems you were already open to the calligraphic and to using papers more common there. Can you give an example of something gleaned in Shenzhen that inspired a significant influence within your practice?

GC: My time in China continues to strongly inform my work. When I was there I began really focusing on collage as a method for making work.  I love scavenging, and I did that, gathering cast-off papers, hand-written notes, paper trash, basically.  I combined those with special Chinese papers and passages of ink brush paintings that I was working on.  I was energized by the process that I began there and I am continuing to work in that way today, though with painted textiles more often than paper. I love paper, but I am sensitive to the needs of framing paper pieces and wanted to explore more durable materials.
 


APP: Do you sew outside of using that technique as a manipulation in your work? Can you comment on any feminist concerns you have as an artist? What your work says or ignores? 

GC: No, I do not sew!  I didn’t grow up in a sewing household, though I recently inherited a friend’s old sewing machine and I am determined to learn the basics.  Hand-stitching is such a slow process, and though I like the look of it, the speed of it is at odds with my preferred way of working.  And then there’s the feminine association that seems to inevitably arise with stitching.  That said, more and more artists — both women and men — are working with thread in various ways and it feels like it is losing that strict association with the feminine or feminist. I am a feminist, though my work is not overtly about that.  I just try to make strong paintings.


APP: And you succeed. When did you make your series of "War Paintings?" Are you anticipating more work in this vein given the current turmoil in our world/our own country?

GC: The War Paintings were a response to the bombing of Beirut in 2006. Sadly, since then there have been and continue to be other wars that might have inspired that work.  My work is abstract, though I think it has everything to do with the world we are living in. It will never be a narrative of current events.  While it embodies the complexities of contemporary life, my work, if successful will rise above the noise.  This is the promise of art, to enrich us, engage us, to help us make sense of being human.


APP: You've really shown your work everywhere. Was there a particular place or group of people that you felt just "got" your work?

GC: Mostly it has been other painters that have most appreciated my work. Though now, after many years of tenacious and uncompromising painting, things are beginning to shift and my work is gaining broader recognition and appeal. I am always pushing myself to become a better painter with every painting I make. For me, that struggle, that process of discovery is the whole point.  And just maybe the stars are beginning to align.


APP: What is a typical winter day for you?

GC: Coffee first, followed by hauling wood for the wood stove and filling the bird-feeder.  If there is time, I’ll do a little reading (right now I am reading the Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead), painting, hiking in the back woods with my dog, Viggo, answering emails, looking online for artist opportunities. There are always chores to do, but I get into my studio (which is in my house) just about every day.  I often paint at night, which comes early during winter in Vermont.

 

To learn more about Galen, please visit her website.

Source: http://galencheney.com/

Past, Present + Future / We Love Boutique Hotels

One of the great points of pride for Amy Parry Projects is that we have worked in boutique hospitality since our inception. We understand the guest experience and the desires of our clients. We love that the consumer drives the developments in our business, and that hotel trends we admire and exemplify in our projects flourished in 2016 and will continue to do so in the coming year...

OLD BUILDINGS RENOVATED INTO NEW HOTELS

There is no greater way to offer a unique visual experience for a hotel guest than by welcoming them into a space with built-in history and character. Although chain hotels are some of the ones choosing old properties for their new concepts, each renovated hotel is able to convey an independent feel. Each hotel is set apart by the unique architectural elements which developers choose (or are forced) to keep during renovation. This trend “straddles history and hospitality,” allowing guests to stay in old offices, warehouses, hospitals, etc. The art and furnishings provide the throwback and often pay tribute to the buildings’ rich past. What we love most about this trend is that the older buildings are typically situated in urban epicenters. We are thrilled by the resurgence of downtown and their abundance of interest-generating landmarks. When you stay on a bustling Main Street or in an established, beautiful downtown neighborhood, you are immersed in the city’s culture. Your choice of hotel helps tremendously in that by providing you proximity and carrying the authenticity of a place throughout.

INTENTIONAL ART EXPERIENCES

Going along with intentionally putting hotels in context-filled old buildings, hotels continue to strive to offer spaces with a “lived-in” feeling. Larger hotel companies competing with the Airbnb experience are turning to the immediate resources to achieve this local flavor. Even West Elm, a furniture company, is entering the hospitality business, set to open a handful of boutique concepts in 2018. These companies are giving people more than just a place to sleep. Nowadays, when a guest stays at a great hotel, they can expect to be served local wine and coffee, hear local bands in the bar on weekend nights, take yoga in a studio also frequented by city residents, and play games with other guests in the lobbies. And at the top of our list, their guestoom might feature artwork by the city’s best artists and the first floor may boast a legit, museum-quality collection. As art consultants, it is so much more fun to pick art to complement a hotel’s character, rather than it’s couches (although we can do that too).

Amy Parry Projects is honored to provide art for boutique hotels.

The entire hospitality experience should be curated to make each stay memorable, comfortable and fun for the guest. Here’s to a great 2017 - we look forward to amplifying each project with awesome, intentional art (like the commissioned Jesus Perea seen below).

IMAGE 1: Jesus Perea, customized print for upcoming hotel (inserted local imagery)

IMAGE 2: AP on Site: "Cloud" being built in the ceiling of a historic boutique hotel designed to cover pipes required to stay through renovation.

APP Out of Town - The Jefferson DC + PUBLIC Chicago

A comparison of two hotel experiences...

I have a background in art history, and in curating shows for non-profits and pop-up exhibitions. As a hospitality art consultant, selecting art for hotels is similar to creating a show. While curating for a museum or gallery, you are largely relaying a message, movement or concept that is punctuated by being within white walls. Art consulting for hotels is about creating an emotional, immersive time and place situation for the visitor. Many impressions are made because of the quantity of guests and the lengthier “shelf-life” of the design.

As a child, I remember going to see the Barnes Collection in Philadelphia. I was completely blown away. It was the first time I saw the luxurious experience of living with art. The beautiful home was filled with art, hung salon style, and co-existing with the elements of home: furniture, rugs and books. Traveling after that in Europe exposed me to more of the same. Places like Versailles are like Disney World to me. I don’t want to live there – that’s not MY luxurious life. It’s not realistic, and completely overwhelming for the senses. But I love being there, experiencing the time-period these places capture and the feeling of luxury they convey.

Great hotel stays should envelop the guest with a cohesive look and feel. Every hotel has a mission statement and the selected art is a large part of conveying that message. My work is in the luxury hotel tier and this is where I stay when I travel. While they really are apples and oranges, I want to offer a comparison of two hotels I stayed in this year: The Jefferson in Washington DC and Public Chicago.



THE JEFFERSON HOTEL, Washington DC (photos courtesy of the hotel)

I visited the Jefferson in February because I was working on a historical hotel project in the city. While I was already in the mindset working on a package that honors the aesthetic choices of a past era, I was deeply impressed with the authenticity of the entire hotel. All the furnishings and art were Jeffersonian; the photographs and portraits in the public spaces and the maps used in the downstairs bar offered a complete picture and feel. The frames were gilded but not themey at all. The hotel aura was classic and classy down to the last detail. And that’s what this job is about – the DETAILS. The fresh snacks I noticed along with the turn-down service, were apples. I was transported back in time and my stay was comfortable and comforting, exactly what I needed after two busy and cold days. This hotel exemplifies what we try to offer with our boutique approach. We try to develop the character of the space, enhancing the design with unique, perfectly paired pieces of art.

 


PUBLIC Chicago Hotel (Photos courtesy of the hotel)

On the other hand, my July stay at PUBLIC in Chicago did not have the same cohesion or comfort. Where the Jefferson had a specific tenor that it offered seamlessly, Public had a shtick, and the delivery was pretty jarring. Firstly, the lighting throughout the entire hotel was very dim. The dramatic mood did not provide a feeling of ease, and the layout of the lobby was not intuitive, giving more confusion than warmth at reception. Similarly, in my guestroom, the back lit headboard was an interesting “feature” but I really didn’t like having to work to create my own ambiance. The light was the hotel’s design element but I was in charge of it adjusting it.

The extremely neutral color palette, lack of art in the corridors and very minimal and oddly chosen art in the guestroom did not mesh with the elegant, traditional art that could be found in the public spaces downstairs. The overall impression the Public gave me was that there were multiple designers on the job. And that brings up another important point: When I am staying in a (nice) hotel, I should not be thinking about the designers’ decisions, even if I am in the industry. The Public hotel was not successful at encompassing me or delivering their mission. I spent my two nights and had a wonderful time in the city, but honestly in regards to many elements in the hotel, I just didn’t get it.

Again, these are two totally different hotels. But in my opinion, every hotel should offer what the Jefferson did so well – a luxury, relaxing stay in an environment where all the details work so well together you don’t notice the process. 

 

- Amy Parry

 

A Conversation with Thomas Bucci

We are excited to share with you a little dialogue we just had with architectural watercolorist Thomas Bucci. APP is working with Thomas to produce several pieces for a luxury hotel project in Washington DC, where he lives and paints in the plein air method. His paintings offer a beautiful reflection of this unique and important American city.

We thank Thomas for his work and his words and encourage you to learn more at www.thomasbucci.com.

____________________________________________________________________________________

APP: Where were you born and what is your earliest memory of making art?

TB: I was born in a small industrial town in western NJ. The architecture of the old factories and mills still swirls around in my consciousness and affects the way I see buildings, cities and towns.

I started by drawing cartoon characters and people I saw on TV when I was around 9 or 10. I sketched all the players in the Watergate hearings as they were televised live in the early 70s. I was encouraged when people recognized my renditions and complimented me. In some ways you could say Richard Nixon got me started as an artist.


APP: As a trained architect, what are some of your favorite building finishings? Which are your favorite to paint?

TB: I don't love the idea of painting specific buildings per se. I am attracted by the architecture of cities and urban landscapes. The way the buildings collage together to make the fabric of a city or town appeals to me and I try to tell that story in my paintings. 


APP: What brand of paper and paints do you enjoy the most?

TB: This is a constantly evolving thing. Paper is probably the single most important element. Poor quality paper will almost certainly limit the chances of success with a painting. I have recently switched my allegiance from Arches watercolor paper, a venerable French company that has been making paper since the 15th century, to a British made paper, Saunders Waterford, an extremely well made paper.

My favorite paints are from the Daniel Smith Company in Washington state. I also like Kremer Pigments from Germany and Winsor Newton from London.

My favorite brushes are made by Escoda from Spain. I go to great lengths to get their brushes, which have limited availability in the U.S.  Especially the prized Kolinsky sable brushes, which are in the process of being banned for import into the U.S. by the Fish and Wildlife service.

APP: Painting with watercolor allows you to paint anywhere the environment strikes your mood. What are some of your other favorite aspects of the medium and do you fluctuate between tighter and looser techniques?

TB: Watercolor suits certain personality traits. If you want absolute control over your work, watercolor is not for you. It's possible to have total control with watercolor, but that involves very slow and painstaking care. I choose watercolor for its quick gestural quality and spontaneity. You have to be willing to take risks to fully enjoy the potential of watercolor.

My painting approach varies according to my mood and weather conditions. I think I have more control as the years have gone by, as a result of experience and knowledge. For me progress is my about getting the paint to do what I envision. All success in painting has to be the result of envisioning the result first and then making that happen. All else is just luck. So I will still do both tighter and looser paintings, as long as I can produce what I imagine.


APP: Photographers swear by the "golden hour" and timing their process to align with the best natural light. Is this as important in plein air painting? How quickly do you have to work? Do you keep your colors true to life?

TB: One big difference between photography and painting is this; a photographer takes a picture and a painter makes a picture. So because of this I am not bound by light conditions or colors. I like to work on location but what is in front of me is only a suggestion and can become whatever I want it to be. I often move elements around and eliminate or add things to make a composition. I change the weather or time of day to suit me. In one recent painting I moved the Washington Monument about 500 feet to the right to accommodate my composition. So being a painter is almost like having superpowers!


APP: How do you interact with people who pass by while you are working?

TB: Great question! I meet countless numbers of people as I work. I'm often in very public places. I also have downtime while I wait for parts of a painting to dry and this is an opportunity to chat. People often photograph me for blogs, etc. I was even included in a film that was happening where I was set up. The cinematographer asked if they could film me. Mostly I meet curious onlookers, other artists, lots of children. I like to think maybe I might inspire one of those youngsters to someday become a painter! I've heard friends complain that interruptions annoy them when working outdoors. But my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. Of course there are episodes that are less pleasant but these are rare.


APP: In which collection are you proudest to be included?

TB: I sell my work mostly at art fairs and at a popular weekly public market in Washington DC. In the 20 years that I have been selling there, I have made over 20,000 sales. Most those are prints, but my work has gotten into lots of people's hands, and this makes me proud. Many people who buy my work do not consider themselves art collectors. I like to think of myself as an artist for everyman. You don't need a degree in art appreciation or a lengthy explanation to appreciate what I'm doing. Having said that, my paintings have found their way into some private art collections and several foreign embassies here in DC as well as U.S. embassies abroad.


APP: If you wrote a love note to Washington DC, what would it say?

TB: Interesting question. I have chosen to live here in DC after living in NYC for a few years and also a stint living in London. In many ways, DC offers what I liked most about London and NYC with few of the drawbacks. I am attracted by DC being a human-scaled city, with an international and highly educated populace. It is a green city with lots of parks and low building heights. You can see the sky! I like sky in my paintings!