Auction: Chairs

For this benefit, 45 artists re-created chairs donated by supporters of Garrison Art Center in the Hudson River Valley of New York. Each chair is a one-of-a-kind art piece. And all of the artists—from those of national acclaim with works in museum collections internationally to local and regional practicing artists—generously donated 100% their time and talent to benefit the Art Center.


THE CHAIR

When I was invited to come and pick a chair to re-create for this project, I had no preconceived idea of what I wanted to do. I selected three Italian-made chairs so that I could create a continuous landscape across the neighboring surfaces, incorporating a local image familiar to Garrison Art Center visitors and to Garrison Landing.

Many different influences and ideas came into play with this decision, some consciously, some from imagery planted years ago. Here is a list of influences that I recognized in the process of re-creating these three chairs:

The “triptych” has been of interest since my early study of art. I also enjoy exploring upholstery and drapery fabrics in a variety of textures, designs and weights. My chair triptych is heavily influenced by “Hudson River Sunset,” a multiple woodblock print I made with a view from the lawn behind the Art Center—shown above chair triptych in photo here (but not for sale).

Other inspirations were Gail Strout, an artist working with curvilinear fabric piecing; Friedensreich Hundertwasser paintings using multiple fluid, linear elements; Itchiku Kubota’s “Landscape Kimonos,” a landscape featuring more than 40 full-sized overlapping kimonos; and Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” sky, which is suggested by the swirling fabric on the chair backs—see detail.

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