Georges Pelletier

My love affair began in a store in Aspen.  I saw beautiful ceramic lamps from across the room casting the coolest shadow.  I regretted not purchasing one of the lovely Georges Pelletier table lamps when the selection was so vast.  It is the lamp that got away.  I look for them now when I am out and about.

Out and about in LA last week, there they were, the look is undeniable but these were more contemporary then the ones I had seen.  I needed to learn more.

Georges Pelletier celebrates his 80th birthday this month, so I guess it is fitting that I am highlighting him!  Georges was born in Brussels in 1938.  He studied art in Paris and seems to have found his passion in ceramics.  The year I was born, he opened a studio in Paris and began creating his unique pieces.  The primitive appearance, the cutouts that light escapes through, the totems, sconces, sculptures, mirrors and objects d'art are easily idenifiable once you are aware of Pelletier's pieces.  In the 1970's Georges moved his studio to Cannes where he still works to this day.

 With one eye in the past and one eye towards the future, Pelletier is remaking the beloved pieces from the days gone by, specifically the 60's and 70's, which must have been the lamps I saw in Aspen, as well as keeping one eye towards the future, hence the more sculptural lighting, which was obviously what I saw in LA.

 Passion, purpose and the desire to continue to be creative keeps Georges as relevant today as he was more than 50 years ago.  You're on my radar Mr. Pelletier,  now maybe he's on yours too!  There is a nice selection of his fabulous pieces on 1st Dibs.

All in the Family

This post is dedicated to my future daughter-in-law.  My son proposed in a very romantic, unexpected way at the Versace Mansion in Miami to his best friend ~ Kira Calder.

Can you take a guess where this post is going?


As an art and design lover, I was beyond excited to learn that Kira IS a descendant of Alexander Calder.  Alexander Calder's grandfather, Alexander Mile Calder, and his family made their way to Philadelphia from Scotland in 1868 and called Philadelphia home.  Fun fact ~ One of the most famous landmarks in our little city of brotherly love is City Hall.  Billy Penn sits atop it like a sentinel watching over the city.  Mile Calder created that statue, which coincidentally my son has tattooed on his back (don't ask).  Sculpting obviously ran in the family.  Grandson Alexander Calder is considered the most famous sculptor of the 20th century, and as we know, the creator of the modern mobile.

Richard Hallberg

As a young man, Calder moved to Paris to study and work.  He discovered wire and his fascination of the linear line and movement was the precursor to the mobile.  A visit to Mondrian's studio changed the trajectory of Calder's career.  Seeing those large blocks of color made him think, "How interesting it would be if they oscillated?"  Marcel Duchamp supposedly coined the term "mobile" when he saw what Alexander was working on.  Calder soon moved his art from geometric shapes to more organic, conceptual imagery.

SheldonMindel

Among all the commissions he did, the most unusual and absolutely the largest was a series of airplanes for Braniff airlines.  Dubbed "The Flying Colors of the United States." Another fun fact, the plane was destroyed in an explosion during the filming of Will Smith's movie Bad Boys while it was grounded in a hangar in Opa-locka.

More than 40 years later, Calder's work still fetches staggering prices at auction.  Calder had retrospectives at all the major museums here and abroad and is included in almost every important collection, public or private.  The priceless Calder pieces look amazing anywhere.  They are poetry in motion, kinetic wonders that fascinate and titillate.

 D'Apostrophe Design

Fortunately, if you are as fascinated as I am with these moveable, magical marvels, you can find them at many different price points by artists who were obviously inspired by Alexander, just as he was inspired by others.

Kay Douglass

"Calder's body of work represents an ever evolving demonstration of risk taking, creativity, ingenuity, and extremely impressive technical achievement."

 I hope my grandchildren inherit those traits!    : )

I am feeling a whole art theme, but as I am reminded, "it's not about me."  Luckily,  Paperless Post has the happy couple covered no matter which direction they go when the time comes to announce the details.







*This is a semi- sponsored post but all sentiments are my own  <3

Bradley Cooper's Next Move

Is there anything this man cannot do?  He sings, he dances, he directs and writes, he speaks French, he is down to earth and beyond handsome!  I know he loves his hometown Philly roots because he lets it be known.  I happened to have lived up the street from him.  Sometimes when he comes back to the neighborhood there is a palpable energy in the air.  Sightings are mentioned on social media from all over town.  He has a few special haunts that he likes to go back to.  I once saw him in Whole Foods after coming out of the gym.  This was after the Hangover series, but before Silver Linings Playbook.  He was not yet mega famous, but you couldn't miss him.  We looked at each other in one of the aisles.  Those baby blues were mesmerizing!  Okay, I am fan girling and not ashamed to say it!  It looks like we will have to share him though, as he takes up residency in the Big Apple, when he's not in LA or Paris, that is.

It  was just disclosed that Bradley purchased this stunning 13.5 million dollar townhouse in New York's West Village.  It was bought through a trust last May, "The Cool Trust."  This 5,100 sq. ft. pre war, 6 bedroom, 4.5 bath, 5 floor stunner is private and discreet on 10th Street.

With its grand entrance, 12 foot ceiling height, temperature controlled 1,000 bottle wine cellar, fireplaces, outdoor kitchen, gym, private yard and every other amenity one would expect a celebrity would crave are all there.

Maybe Bradley will try his hand at interior design next. Everything he touches seems to turn to gold.

photos via Scott Parks Reality