Artists Magazine November 2018

For many, artful surroundings play an important role in fostering a suitable environment for artmaking, so this month, Artists Magazine explores the many connections between art and the home. We meet several artists who have fashioned studios that are small and perhaps unconventional but well-suited to their needs (page 18). We then turn and face the wall—so as to consider the history of fine wallpaper and the changes it has undergone in the era of digital printing (page 54). We tiptoe through the hushed, inconspicuous interiors of the oil painter Nicolas Martin (page 60) and revisit one of America’s most iconic houses (page 68). We also take a tour through the venerable halls of several art clubs, which serve as a second home for many members (page 82), and we…

ROBERT K. CARSTEN LESSON: “COLOR AND LIGHT” Award-winning artist Robert K. Carsten, PSA, studied at the Art Students League of New York, the Rhode Island School of Design and the Accademia di Belle Arti (Italy). He has instructed art workshops and classes for over four decades, juried national and regional exhibitions and written numerous articles on artists and their work. “The creative process is my great passion,” says Carsten, who works in pastel, oil, acrylic and mixed media. For more information, visit robertcarsten.com. RHÉNI TAUCHID LESSON: “CREATING SURFACE TEXTURES” Rhéni Tauchid is a writer, painter and educator based in Kingston, Ontario. She is the materials consultant for the acrylic paint manufacturer Tri-Art Mfg., a member of the company’s product development team and the founder of the Tri-Art Acrylic Education Program…

William Morris (1834–96) was a creative dynamo—a prolific designer, craftsman, painter and writer. He was instrumental in shaping the design aesthetics of the late 19th century in Britain and America, and even today, nearly two centuries after his birth, his impact on the culture of artisans and makers of all sorts is pronounced. Morris was born to a prosperous family in the East of England and educated at Oxford. He considered joining the clergy, but after being inspired by the writings of art critic John Ruskin, he decided to devote himself to art and architecture. He worked for a time in an architect’s office while also writing poetry and practicing other creative pursuits. He became involved with the Pre-Raphaelite circle of painters and was a close friend to Burne-Jones and…

In a sense, the name “forest green” is a misnomer, because as artists well know, leaves and mosses are never a single color, much less a single value. Nevertheless, forest green does evoke the overall impression of foliage—the sort of thick canopy that can block midday sun during a summer hike through the woods. When the color finds its way into domestic spaces, it can lend a degree of earthiness and calm. This connection with nature is apparent in Still Life With Teapot, Cup and Fruit by Émile Bernard (1868–1941), in which the colors of the man-made objects seem to take their cue from the color of the fruit. But in other hands, this shade of green can be a luxurious color, suitable for objects far less humble than Bernard’s…

“James Turrell’s Roden Crater, near Flagstaff, Arizona, which has been under construction for over 30 years and is still closed to the public. The site actually incorporates numerous individual works by Turrell, but these are all subsumed into a single, unified experience. Or so I’ve heard.” KJELL M. WANGENSTEEN ASSISTANT CURATOR OF EUROPEAN ART, INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART “LE CORBUSIER’S NOTRE DAME DU HAUT , IN RONCHAMP, FRANCE, AND THE ROTHKO CHAPEL, IN HOUSTON.” CHERYL K. SNAY CURATOR OF EUROPEAN ART, SNITE MUSEUM OF ART, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME “Michael Heizer’s City, in Nevada.” XAVIER F. SALOMON PETER JAY SHARPE CHIEF CURATOR, THE FRICK COLLECTION “HUBERT AND JAN VAN EYCK’S GHENT ALTARPIECE , IN THE SAINT BAVO CATHEDRAL, IN BELGIUM.” COSTA VAVAGIAKIS ARTIST “I’ve…

“The Rosary Chapel, in Vence, France. Matisse decorated the entire thing with paintings and stained-glass windows.” —EMMA BELCHER “Guernica, hands down.” —JON APPLE “The city of Samarkand, in Uzbekistan.” —ALEJANDRINA MICHEL “I think Rothko’s work is impossible to appreciate without experiencing in person, and I hope someday to visit the Rothko Chapel, in Houston.” —GINA PESCARINO HARTWIG “The Sistine Chapel. I’m fascinated by the way the figures are painted on the curved ceiling, making them look in proper proportion—yet, if laid flat, they’d appear grotesque.” —MARIANNE BERZINSKAS…