I’ve decided that I’m opening an art gallery, but that art gallery is mostly hypothetical and exists as a newsletter on the Internet. Welcome, and thanks for coming.
My favorite Internet treat this week was this home tour (NYT gift link) designed by Frances Merrill of Reath Design. Merrill’s inspiration for this home was loosely mid-century Disney, specifically the film Fantasia. I could not stop thinking about it and the entire curatorial team here at Gallery Blerf (aka me) thought we should do our next exhibit at the intersection of real objects and fantasy.
We’ll call this week’s exhibit REAL LIFE FANTASY.
Our first piece is this tulip vase made by Tiffany and Co in 1906. I think I could observe this vase for an hour or two, perhaps circling it a few times with my hands behind my back, leaning in close like I am your aging father.
Can you imagine this sitting on your dining room table holding even more flowers?
Here’s another Tiffany and Co creation from 1900. These candlesticks are maybe the exact opposite of a utilitarian object meant to hold candles. Let’s all gaze upon them for a minute.
Our next piece is this incredible stiletto from Stella McCartney’s current collection.
I don’t buy designer clothes generally, but I think high fashion makes for excellent artistic inspiration. I regularly click around Stella McCartney’s site with my artist eyes on, viewing her pieces as if they are sculpture. If that sounds overly theatrical to you, just try it. It will be fun.
Disregarding whether or not we would wear these in real life —what a fascinating object! Stella McCartney cites hooves as inspiration for these. They are incredibly simple if you think about it—but they are just the right formula of texture+color+shape = fairy tale.
Speaking of simple elements combining to create something incredible: our last piece is a collage by Antonio Carrau. Antonio’s work is just paper, glue, and scissors but (for me at least), he’s created another dimension. Prints of his work can be found here and here. He also did a scarf for Hermes recently.
Ok wait, bonus piece. My oldest son just walked in to hand me this Witch’s Brew Kit Kat, which is perfect for our REAL LIFE FANTASY exhibit. Have you had one of these? The green color! The purple package! Eat your heart out, Willy Wonka!
If you need a fun prompt this week: look for some fantastical objects in your every day life. Stare at them with awe. Take a couple of deep breaths and soak in the magic. Comment below if you’d like! I’d love to hear from you.
Gallery Bookstore
Forgotten Flowers: a collection of vintage flower photos from the 1950s-1990s. This book is from the folks at Broccoli, who always create such well-designed and artfully produced things.
Items: Is Fashion Modern?: a delightful book at the intersection of fashion and art. It’s organized by iconic and important pieces of clothing, so you can take a deep dive on things like WonderBras and Tevas.
The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales (a very pretty edition): the original Grimm’s fairy tales are kind of spooky and weird. They make for great inspiration for creative projects—think of all of the movies/books based on these stories!
Le Pen Pastel Set: the prettiest little marker/pen with the finest of tips. Princess Aurora probably has some sitting on her desk, perhaps in a Tiffany and Co. tulip vase.
Unrelated
If you happen to be in Austin, TX, this solo show by Montrel Beverly looks excellent. Montrel’s medium is pipe cleaners!
Thanks so much for visiting us here at Gallery Blerf. Wishing you a warm beverage, or perhaps a sandwich made by someone else.
TTFN,
Rachel
This issue really timely because I just listened to American Hysteria's podcast episode on Disneyfication. My object is this mouse/clown/? cookie jar that my Baba (Ukr grandmother) got at her wedding shower. It is extremely ugly and I love it. I've only seen a similar one online once, thanks to an image search because it's unlabelled.