BELLAS ARTES

Estas casas, residencias, refugios y estudios de inspiradora diversidad de estilos le sorprenderán y asombrarán sin importar cuáles sean sus preferencias en cuanto a interiorismo, tanto si prefiere una casa de campo de estilo rústico, un moderno loft neoyorkino o un bungalow bohemio. Esta meticulosa aproximación al diseño de interiores contemporáneo reúne proyectos de todo el mundo, de Auckland (Nueva Zelanda) a Aviñón (Francia). Con cientos de imágenes tomadas por reconocidos fotógrafos de interiores, estos magníficos espacios le ofrecen ideas para la próxima renovación de su vivienda. Muchas de las casas seleccionadas pertenecen a creadores (diseñadores, cineastas y coleccionistas) cuyo talento para combinar a la perfección los diferentes elementos que componen un interior sólo puede definirse como extraordinario. Su forma de conjuntar papel pintado, muebles, tejidos y obras de arte, y de equilibrar cuidadosamente colores, texturas y formas, se convierte en una auténtica expresión artística. Eclécticos o minimalistas, antiguos o ultramodernos, estos proyectos reúnen lo mejor del interiorismo contemporáneo y muestran las incontables y asombrosas posibilidades del diseño de interiores.

From the 1940s to the 1980s, some of the best resi-dences in Northern California were decorated by a coterie of designers whose names were once recognized only by the cognoscenti of interior design. From Frances Elkins and Tony Hail, with their aristocratic aesthetics, to Michael Taylor and John Dickinson, with their bold fantasies, these designers created revolutionary settings that were idiomatic of their time and place—fresh, luxurious spaces complementing the various terrains and lifestyles of the northern part of the state. Fred Lyon (b. 1924) is perhaps the only photographer who knew and documented the work of this talented group. Akin to what Julius Shulman was doing in Southern California, Lyon worked closely with the designers and magazine editors to help shape the look for posterity. In the years following the work of these giants, most of the spaces they created are gone or vastly changed, replaced by different tastes and new styles. Now re-appreciated for their artistry, we can relive this exciting era through Lyon’s superb photography.

White canvas, boldly colored fabrics in solids, stripes, and jaunty prints, rattan and cane seating, whitewashed or colorfully painted English case furniture, canopied beds, straw matting—these are some of the signature ingredients of an Amanda Lindroth interior. Since she founded her Nassau-based firm in 2010, she has become the go-to designer of island dwellers from Lyford Cay to Antigua, Abaco to Belize, Harbour Island to Palm Beach, and as far north as Great Cranberry Island, Maine. Her airy, relaxed, indoor-outdoor aesthetic is apparent in every one of the twenty-five projects featured here. With photographs by Tria Giovan, herself an island native, and charming illustrations by Aldous Bertram, who decorated Lindroth’s pied-à-terre in Palm Beach with stunning trompe l’oeil renderings, Island Hopping: Amanda Lindroth Design is the visual equivalent of an island getaway.

Have you ever thought of citrus fruits as celestial bodies, angelically suspended in the sky? Perhaps not, but J. C. Volkamer (1644–1720) did―commissioning an extravagant and breathtaking series of large-sized copperplates representing citrons, lemons, and bitter oranges in surreal scenes of majesty and wonder. Ordering plants by post mostly from Italy, Germany, North Africa, and even the Cape of Good Hope, the Nuremberg merchant Volkamer was a devotee of the fragrant and exotic citrus at a time when such fruits were still largely unknown north of the Alps. His garden came to contain a wide variety of specimens, and he became so obsessed with the fruits that he commissioned a team of copperplate engravers to create 256 plates of 170 varieties of citrus fruits, many depicted life size, published in a two-volume work. The first volume appeared in 1708, with the impressively lengthy title The Nuremberg Hesperides, or: A detailed description of the noble fruits of the citron, lemon and bitter orange; how these may be correctly planted, cared for and propagated in that and neighboring regions.

In the mid-1950s, Yves Klein (1928–1962) declared that “a new world calls for a new man.” With his idiosyncratic style and huge charisma, this bold artist would go on to pursue a brief but bountiful career, producing more than 1,000 paintings over seven years in an oeuvre now considered a mainstay of postwar modernism.Klein made his name above all with his large monochrome canvases in his own patented hue of blue. International Klein Blue (IKB), composed of pure pigment and binding medium, is at once rich and luminous, evocative and decorative, and was conceived by Klein as a means of evoking the immateriality and infinitude of the world. The works of this “Blue Revolution” seem to draw us into another dimension, as if hypnotized by a perfect summer sky. Klein was also renowned for his deployment of “living brushes,” in which naked women, daubed in International Klein Blue, would make imprints of their bodies on large sheets of paper.

For over fifty years, Jacques Grange has been the decorator of choice for the homes of prominent collectors, artists, designers, and trendsetters. With a classical education from the École Boulle and École Camondo in Paris, combined with his passion for contemporary art, Grange has developed a unique vision and an inimitable approach to interior design. In this stunning new book, illustrated with previously unpublished photographs by Nicolas Mathéus, readers will discover thirty of Grange’s latest projects across Europe and the United States, showcasing his wide-ranging inspirations and his natural elegance. From luxurious private mansions in Paris, residences in London and New York, trendy hotels that feel like homes, and chic seaside retreats in New England and Comporta to sensitive restorations of important historical homes in Normandy and on the Riviera, each project bears Grange’s singular touch and unparalleled artistry. With insightful commentary by Pierre Passebon, the text delves into the foundations of Grange’s creative evolution, his extensive travels, and his inspirations, examining his eclectic, unique, and refined aesthetic. Despite his long and illustrious career, Jacques Grange remains as original, inspired, and open to the world as ever, continuing to influence younger generations of clients and designers with his boundless vision and passion for beauty.