pomp apartment

“His color counts by its clarity and its energy;
it is not there neutrally, to be carried by the design and drawing; it does the carrying itself.”
- speaking of Kenneth Noland, artist, read more here....

"We create a narrative when we arrange our rooms - and the story being told here is sophisticated, assured and inviting. This house makes me want to know it's occupants - what do they think; what do they read; where do they go in their spare time - that's an alluring notion ... and an accomplishment."
- about Arthur Smith, interior decorator, via here...

above: Incredibly seductive black lamp, with Kenneth Noland painting.
interior design by Arthur Smith, from Architectural Digest, New York Interiors 1979

Arthur Smith: "He was known for his shy, quiet manner, and the rooms he decorated reflected his personality. They combined his sense of style with understatement.

In 1990, in an interview in Architectural Digest, Mr. Smith was asked if there was a minimum-size project he would accept. ''No,'' he replied. ''I will decorate anything from a lampshade to a villa, the size of the project means very little.'' (via here)

Kenneth Noland: "It’s a simple fact, when you move from one color space to another color space, that if there’s a value contrast you get a strong optical illusion. Strong value contrast can be expressive and dramatic. Like the difference between high or low volume ot the low key and the high keys on the piano… …Actually, if you’re moving from one flat color to another flat color, if there’s a difference of color – if one is matte and the other is shiny – that contrast of tactility can keep them visually in the same dimension. It keeps them adjacent – side by side. Another reason is that a matte color and a shiny, transparent color are emotionally different. If something is warm and fuzzy and dense we have a kind of emotional response to that. If something is clear and you can see through it, like yellow or green or red can be, we have a different emotional sensation from that. So there’s an expressive difference you can get that gives you more expressive range.

watch a video with Kenneth Noland here... 1977
talking about Black Mountain, etc...

read more about Arthur Smith on 2thewalls.

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