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in Arts+ Crafts, Interiors, Ispiration, People

The Giacometti Foundation

8 November 2019
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Giacometti is one of the first artists I fell in love with; he is one of the first members of my imaginary inspiration family.

When my sister and I started squabbling too much, my parents put a single bed in the studio and that became my bedroom. I grew up surrounded by floor to ceiling bookshelves. The bookshelves were full of so many different types of books: scientific texts, the best novels from all over the world, art catalogues, travel books, dictionaries and encyclopaedias. When bored, I would pick a book and flick through it. The books I devoured during those years are part of the person I am now. I will always be grateful to my parents for this, even if at the time I thought it was unfair not having a proper bedroom.

When I first found a book about Giacometti, it was love at first sight. I was moved by his essential, textural, fleshless, fragile human beings.

It is with great pleasure that I dedicate this post to the Giacometti Foundation, an institute centred on Giacometti‘s work and art. The Giacometti Foundation is composed of the Giacometti Institute, a place dedicated to exhibitions and research and the Giacometti Foundation a place closed to the public, dedicated to the protection, disclosure and promotion of Giacometti’s work. The Giacometti Institute is located in 5, Rue Victor Schoelcher in Paris the Montparnasse neighbourhood where the Swiss artist lived and worked throughout his career. The Institute covers an area of 350 square metres, in the former studio of artist and interior designer Paul Follot, an elegant Art Deco building with flowery decorations, wooden floors and a lot of light (see the images below). The Giacometti Institute hosts 3 or 4 temporary exhibitions a year and frequent educational activities. For instance, a few months ago the Institute hosted an exhibition putting together Giacometti and Peter Lindbergh! On a permanent basis, you can see a reconstruction of Alberto Giacometti‘s studio with his furniture, personal objects and walls painted by the artist. 

P.S: For some more about what I mean for my inspirational family, read this post.

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(Photos courtesy of the Fondation Giacometti)

in Arts+ Crafts, Interiors, Ispiration

About Anastasia Savinova’s collages and eating meat

27 August 2019
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anastasia savinova, plusdeco blog, +deco blog, +deco, collages, art anastasia, art anastasia savinova, collages houses, collages architecture, interior design blog, italian interior design blog

I am back to reality in Rome after two weeks touring England. I came back inspired and mentally energised ( I will tell you all about it in my next post) but in need of a diet. Even if in Britain the cooking ability and the awareness of quality of ingredients has increased, meat is still a widely common ingredient and most people eat meat at least once a day. I need to go back to my almost meat-free diet, which is -no doubt- better for the environment and better for my body.

Cutting your meat consumption should be the first answer as well for all the people who feel indignant about what is happening in the Amazon.

This is not the place to explain why, there are numerous scientific reports, documentaries, articles out there that prove why animal agricultural is the most polluting factor nowadays.

Going back to a more suitable subject for +deco, I want to finish the month with some original collages by Anastasia Savinova.

They represent the possibility of building something solid uniting different elements.

The collages are part of a series called Genius Loci. As explained on Anastasia Savinova‘s website, “each work is composed of numerous photographs of buildings and landscape forms that are true and authentic for a studied area. These works balance between documentary and fiction, factual and imaginary spaces, and become keepers of the memory and the spirit of the Place.”

in Color Inspiration, Furniture, Interiors, Ispiration

Contemporary elegance in Warsaw

1 July 2019
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studio colombe, Marta Chrapka, interior design, plusdeco blog, +deco, +deco blog, elena giavarini blog, wooden floors, elegant apartments, warsaw interiors, warsaw apartment, polish interior design

We have more than once spoken about the fact that I love old things, for their quality and the stories they have.

Very modern and bare apartments are not for me.

For me there is a contemporary elegance created by the charm of natural materials, inspiration from the past, furniture tailoring; this elegance never tires the eyes.

It is what I call the ‘well made with taste’ category.

This apartment in Warsaw, furnished by Marta Chapkra of Studio Colombe, is a perfect example of this elegance. To tell you the truth, all the work by Studio Colombe is an example of this.

The wooden herringbone floor and a sophisticated choice of colors form a background for some refined pieces. The choice of natural colors, all light, is vibrant. White is presented in different hues, it is never simply white. Textiles introduce color and structure.

The kitchen, custom made like a lot of the furniture, is original but simple.

The insertion of wooden circles, the division in panels, the two colors, the marble backsplashes are all endearing elements.

The art, small and discrete paintings, add interest without dominating the scene.

I would move into this apartment tomorrow, without changing anything.

Rarely do I feel like stating something like that but in this case the balance between the quality and the taste of the decoration has really impressed me. 
Studio Colombe‘s house looks comfortable to live in, really comfortable, full of wardrobes and easy to live in spaces.

If you want the see some more houses of this category, check the old converted church in Australia and the London former stable presented in a previous post.

studio colombe, Marta Chrapka, interior design, plusdeco blog, +deco, +deco blog, elena giavarini blog, wooden floors, elegant apartments, warsaw interiors, warsaw apartment, polish interior design
studio colombe, Marta Chrapka, interior design, plusdeco blog, +deco, +deco blog, elena giavarini blog, wooden floors, elegant apartments, warsaw interiors, warsaw apartment, polish interior design
studio colombe, Marta Chrapka, interior design, plusdeco blog, +deco, +deco blog, elena giavarini blog, wooden floors, elegant apartments, warsaw interiors, warsaw apartment, polish interior design
studio colombe, Marta Chrapka, interior design, plusdeco blog, +deco, +deco blog, elena giavarini blog, wooden floors, elegant apartments, warsaw interiors, warsaw apartment, polish interior design
studio colombe, Marta Chrapka, interior design, plusdeco blog, +deco, +deco blog, elena giavarini blog, wooden floors, elegant apartments, warsaw interiors, warsaw apartment, polish interior design

in Arts+ Crafts, Color Inspiration, Interiors, Ispiration, People

Leila Ataya, my latest obsession

21 December 2018
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Leila Ataya is my latest obsession. I love the sexiness of her dark age futuristic heroines. I love the detail in her paintings.

I know in my last post I ranted about what a waste of money and time Christmas presents can be sometimes but this is different.

So my dear friends and family (or I should say, my dear Father Christmas), could I please have a painting from Leila Ataya this year?

I have been a good girl, I promise….

 

in Arts+ Crafts, Interiors, Ispiration, People

I ♥ Fabio Viale (and you will too)

1 October 2018
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In Fabio Viale‘s hands marble becomes malleable and weightless but also urban and irreverent.

Fabio Viale makes sculptures as sophisticates as the classic ones but then he covers them with busy tattoos;  he creates paper planes made of marble, real boats, or lorry wheels.

In his hands marble becomes the most versatile material ever, it becomes paper, wood, flesh, plastic, rubber. Fabio Viale used marble as never before.

in Interiors, Ispiration, People

I ♥ Diederick Kraaijeveld

1 May 2018
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Diederick Kraaijeveld‘s art was one of the best things I saw in Milan this year at the Fuori Salone.

I was wandering around the Spazio Rossana Orlandi when my eyes were caught by two beautiful wooden sculptures on the wall representing New York water tanks. I discovered later, watching a cool video on Diederick Kraaijeveld‘s website that they were made by scrap wood from old water tanks.

The two pieces were hanging in one of my favourite corners of the Fuori Salone, as I mentioned before the Spazio Rossana Orlandi. I didn’t have the chance to meet the artist unfortunately so as soon as I sat down (a rare event during the Milan Design Week), I went online to discover more about him and his art.

Diederick Kraaijeveld, pictured in the piece below, travels all around the world to find the right pieces of scrap wood to make his realistic art.

He reproduces anything from people, to iconic objects, to cars in different sizes: some pieces are quite small, some bigger (the All Star for instance) but all equally detailed.

I fell in love with the two water tanks I saw in Milan, the light was laying elegantly on them enhancing the variety of shades and textures of the different wood (see my photo below).

You can see more of Diederick Kraaijeveld‘s pieces on Oudhout website.

in Arts+ Crafts, Interiors, Ispiration, People

I ♥ Marco Barina’s sculptures

10 April 2018
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I was born in the region of Emilia Romagna in the centre north of Italy, in the Bassa Parmense, a very flat area of this region famous for the production of Parma ham and Parmesan cheese, for its castles scattered all over the territory and for the extremely humid hot climate in the summer and thick creamy soup like fog in the winter.

Even if I have lived most of my life in Rome, I feel emiliana. I recognize it as my homeland and it is the place of my family.

In fact it is the place where one day (no hurry) I will be buried.

In this area, genial and eccentric personalities have been born. Perhaps the extreme weather forges the passions of the people living in this flat part of the world.

One of my father’s cousins is, for instance, an incredible collector of posters, postcards and antiques. His collection is exquisite, professionally archived and is constantly utilized by local media outlets.

One of my cousins is a successful reportage photographer who spends months covering the struggles in place like the Democratic Republic of Congo, wins prizes but keeps away from the limelight.

During my most recent trip back I also met a very interesting and sweet interior designer who used to own a very cool design shop in Salsomaggiore and has decorated some wonderful properties in the area. She happens to be +deco reader as well, which makes me happy.

At Easter, I went to visit the Masone’s Labyrinth as well and discovered an incredible artist called Marco Barina.

Marco Barina makes ancestral anthropomorphic figures with things he finds in flee markets.

His figures that incredibly look primitive and futuristic at the same time, stare at you with different eyes!

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in Arts+ Crafts, Interiors, People

Unskilled Worker’s art (Gucci already knows)

5 March 2018
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Everybody speaks about Gucci and Alessandro Michele and rightly so.

I have been following Lallo –as he called himself on Instagram- since he became creative director of Gucci in 2015.

I have always sustained that creativity needs to be fed by culture; the most creative people in the world are curious, they  read book, observe, travel, watch movies, learn from other artists.

Alessandro Michele is an incredible example of this concept. A photographer I work with showed me a few weeks ago some photos of his studio and the first thing that came to my attention was a long table covered with art books and different memorabilia.

His fashion is influenced by paintings, cinema, the world.

Alessandro Michele is also very good at discovering or using new talents, like  Jayde Fish , who he “met” in Instagram and whose illustration were used in SS17 collection but also before then.

Today it is the turn of Helen Downie aka Unskilled Worker , a British painter, discovered by photographer Nick Knight but soon made part of Alessandro Michele’s stuble.

P.S: And speaking about culture, her charcters’ eyes remind me of The Portrait of  Wally by Egon Schiele…

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in Arts+ Crafts, Furniture, Interiors

A new version of Sketch by artist David Shingley

8 February 2018
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Since India Mahadavi did Sketch  in London, it has been copied and copied and copied again. To be honest India Mahadavi herself has proposed a similar formula in some of the shops of the luxury fashion brand Valentino.

After Sketch, pink velvet, rounded seats, Fifties table lights, restaurant sofas and polychrome marble became mainstream.

A good part of the success of this looks comes from David Shrigley‘s drawings that have given this sensual space an edge.

The British artist has recently selected 91 sketches to give Sketch a new feeling; this new collection of art is more of an impact and more colourful.I could show you some of the single pieces but for me it’s about the together.

It is an art to read and not just to watch; like a nice library in a house, it is food for conversation.

I have been to Sketch for a champagne tea and I can assure it is an embracing place where spend a few hours.

If you want to have a better look at David Shrigley‘s drawings or know more about his work, check his cool website.

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in Arts+ Crafts, Color Inspiration, Furniture, Interiors

Kiki Slaughter’s studio in Atlanta

31 January 2018
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I love studios: most of the times they tell a story of passion, not just work.

Kiki Slaughter’s studio in Atlanta is a dream-come-true with big windows, an industrial feeling and the harmonious colors of her paintings all around.

Kiki Slaughter’s latest creation is Oh La La in Verdigris wallpaper for FEATHR, part of   Oh La La wallpaper collection.

This wallpaper with a palette of “soft mint, seafoam and viridian with brick brown and terracotta”, as perfectly described on FEATHR’s website, represents the experimental, spontenous painting approach of this American artist.

Check out the Italian sculptur Davide Dormino’s studio or the fashion designers Antonio Marras’s or Stella Jeans’s  studios and tell me which one is closer to your style on +Deco.

To see some pretty water-colored cushions, check this post.

Photographs by Jimmy Johnston

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