The Best Gift Isn’t Under the Tree…It’s on the Wall
Too many times I’ve heard people say, “I don’t really know anything about art,” as if they required degrees and credentials to have an opinion on a piece. Not true! It really is much simpler than scholars and critics and historians would have you believe. Of course we could talk all day about influences and technique and meaning, but really, all it boils down to is this: do you like it?
OK, maybe that’s oversimplifying it a bit. Saying you like a piece of art often begs the question why do you like it…and here’s where people get stuck and start to feel intimidated. The answer, invariably, is hard to articulate because it’s often the feeling the work gives us that we like. Through color or medium, whether abstract or figurative, it can calm us…or energize us…or just plain make us happy.
Regardless, the beauty of art is that it makes us notice; it makes us feel and it makes us think. Art gives us a moment, an experience, that is ours and ours alone. The very presence of art in a space reminds us to take those moments, to stop, and to enjoy them.
So in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and as we get set to start a new year full of goals and obligations, what better gift could there be than art?
Hanging in our little gallery at the Ivy Lane Holiday House at 116 King, we have curated a collection of truly special pieces, ready to make their home in yours.
A new artist for us is Washington, D.C., based Jodi Ferrier. We love the intensity of the color and strokes, yet marvel that such boldness still conveys an overall stillness and calm. From Jodi:
My paintings start with a sense of urgency, a untamed desire to capture this fleeting beauty. I work quickly, boldly, attacking the surface with energetic and lively brush strokes. Sometimes the painting unfolds rather quickly, and I am able to capture the moment of simple beauty. Other times the painting evolves through layers of seeking and meandering, getting lost and reacting to what the painting now tells me. It is through this spontaneous conversation, the painting moves beyond the resemblance of the initial objects to one that embodies the optimism, the hope, the beauty I set out to discover and capture from that initial spark.
Branches
26″ x 40″ | $1,350
Spring Peonies
25″ x 38″ | $1,350
Spring
24″ x 24″ | $850
Autumn Air
24″ x 36″ | $1,200
We have new pieces from some Ivy Lane favorites Liz Nichols, Lanie Mann, Nicole Seifert, and Bonnie Fuchs, too, plus another new artist, Laurie Breen (more on her soon):
Uplifting
Liz Nichols | 48″x 36″ | $2,200
Nude 1
Lanie Mann | 30″ x 40″ | $2,200
Nude 2
Lanie Mann | 30″ x 40″ | $2,200
Neverland
Nicole Seifert | 36” x 48” | $2,400
Above, several works by Bonnie Fuchs
immediately above, top: I Saw the Writing on the Wall | 36″ x 36″ | $1,600
bottom : I Draw the Line Somewhere | 36″ x 36″ | $1,600
Bursting Berries
Laurie Breen | 48″ x 24″ | $2,100
Visit us at the Ivy Lane Holiday House at 116 King to see these and many other lovely works!
- About the studio
Alex Deringer and Courtney Cox combine their formal training in design and fashion with their renowned sense of style in Ivy Lane, a full-service interior design firm that curates casually elegant family dwellings that are elevated by a unique spark. Whether an entire house renovation or a one-room makeover, Alex and Courtney’s extensive experience and collaborative dynamic inform a successful design philosophy: thoroughly understand the client’s lifestyle, bring a thoughtful spatial perspective, and enliven the space with the freshest aesthetic interest.
309C Cameron Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
studio@ivylaneliving.com
703.566.6582
