I first learned about Peggy Guggenheim’s palace in Venice on an airplane, watching the movie “Peggy Guggenheim:  Art Addict.”  On an intellectual level I understood that she was alternately the patron or the muse of some serious modern art heavyweights during a very influential period of the New York art scene.  She was married to Max Ernst, and while that didn’t last their collector / collectee relationship seemed to, and she ended up with a wide variety of his pieces.  My impression after seeing the film was that Peggy Guggenheim, aside from being an eccentric member of a bizarre family, spotted and promoted a Who’s Who of 20th century American art, and her estate in Venice was a necessary box check for anyone interested in modern art.

What I didn’t fully realize was that Peggy Guggenheim’s own home curation stood the test of time.  Neither did I fully appreciate the completeness of her artistic vision until I saw it with my own eyes.  This woman was not collecting baseball cards, she was collaging the tableau of her home.  The curation is outstanding.  I’m not going to list off examples of now shining stars that grace her walls, since they blinded my own impressions until I got there.  What I will say is:  LAYERS.​

The pieces speak to one another - there is a Bridget Riley next to an Agnes Martin.  Lines, lines, so many lines!  And there are glass sculptures of Picasso figures lining a window facing the Grand Canal.  And there are layers and layers and layers and layers and layers.  When you visit Venice you must go here on your first day, because afterwards you will see inspiration everywhere.  With Peggy as my muse, here are some of the photos I took:

Queuing line after line through the Hirshhorn’s Yayoi Kusama:  Infinity Mirrors exhibit, when you take the time to read about the boundary-breaking Japanese artist’s work you are overcome with a very relatable sense of fear.  First fear of sex, then fear of death, then a resolution of both as death and existence lovingly become metamorphosis.  Out of fear comes immortality, just like Kusama’s artwork and her reputation over decades of an evolutionary career.

My photography attempts to capture the same ethos of a place as my painting, but I approach photography from a fine art rather than technical perspective.  I enjoy a good challenge, so I shoot on manual and manipulate the lenses and settings to capture a specific feeling with each shot.  No photoshop for me.  For the same reason I most often print directly on acrylic or brushed aluminum - my goal before hitting the trigger is always to envision the contrast or ethereality of the final product.  

I've been enjoying playing with some of my photos to create unique textile designs, lately.  Click over to SHOP:  OBJET to see what I've done with cherry blossoms and architecture.