Deco delights

These images are of the beautiful Daimaru department store in Osaka, from Goto N.

The store was designed by the American architect W R Vories.

One of those days

Not unusually for a Monday, I suppose, it's turned out to be one of those days. You address a problem, however mundane, so that you have all your ducks lined up in a row, but then things don't going according to plan, and it's two steps forward, and one step back.  These two pictures both from Boris Wilnitsky Fine Arts, Vienna, seem strangely relevant to the day's proceedings.

Top: Hotel, by Fritzi Loew, (1892-1975), charcoal and white gouache on paper 

Bottom: Philosopher, After Rembrandt, 1824, black and grey wash on cardboard.

Don't lose sight...

...of lucite, aka acrylic or perspex. This lucite and glass table which is showcased in this London flat is French 1930s. The base is mirrored in the glass chandelier. I am very keen to work with perspex, particularly when paired with other materials, such as lacquer. It also makes a very elegant device for presentation of objet d'arts.

It's also interesting to note how the fabric on the fauteuils is different on the back panels, although both clearly with love in mind.

Images from House & Garden. Photographs: Paul Massey.

Memory lane

This postcard of Queen's Road in Hong Kong (c. 1951) pre-dates my childhood life there, which began in 1966-7, at the time of the Cultural Revolution in China. But they are reminiscent of areas of the colony that were familiar to me, but which began to change rapidly in the 1970s, and has never really stopped, making it a first world and international city of extraordinary energy and wealth.

The British artist Edward Seago painted many scenes of Hong Kong, including this of Queen's Road (West), and a number of panoramic scenes of the famed Hong Kong harbour, which are held in a private collection in Hong Kong, and are truly breathtaking, and evocative of the time. The postcard below (of Queen's Road Central, c. 1955), is extraordinary because of the lack of people, in a city now bursting at the seams, but it was pre Cultural Revolution and therefore prior to the major influx of refugees from the Mainland.

Seago was a friend of Queen Elizabeth, and painted this below, (a canal in Chioggia), as a gift for her. As a result of this royal provenance, these pictures are extremely expensive.

This below, although not in the Royal Collection, is of Windsor Castle c.1955.

The emperor has no clothes

Pink and Orange Painting by Joseph Marioni, Oil on Canvas, Joseph Marioni (American, b. 1943), ca 1970s, signed on verso bottom stretcher frame; 68.5 x 47.75 in. Painting is divided into vertical geometric shapes stretching from top to bottom in bands of slightly variegated color ranging from orange to pink.

Estimate $15,000 - $20,000. Starting Bid $15000.

Red Painting by Joseph Marioni, Oil on Canvas, Joseph Marioni (American, b. 1943), ca 1970s, unsigned; 85.25 x 37.25 in. A Cincinnati native, Joseph Marioni has been a force in monochromatic paintings since the 1970s. Purchased directly from the artist, this painting is a fine example of typical Marioni work with the raised vertical drips and visible texture of the paint. The single hue color of the painting belies the intricate process employed; it is actually made up of many slight tonal variations in order to create a more vibrant and true color.Estimate $10,000 - $15,000.

Starting Bid $10000.

Yellow Painting by Joseph Marioni, Oil on Canvas, Joseph Marioni (American, b. 1943), ca 1970s, signed on verso of stretcher frame; 54.5 x 84.5 in. This collection of Marioni paintings are examples of early monochromatic works with this specific painting featuring two slightly different variations of yellow.

Estimate $10,000 - $15,000. Starting Bid $10000.

I know where I'd rather spend USD20,000.