Heather Hilliard Design – Bath with a large-scale antique French painted & silver-gilt mirror from Garden Court Antiques
An antique mirror lends a classical touch to this clean, sophisticated bath designed by Heather Hilliard.
Overall the mood in this space is calm and open. Subtle grace is found in the beautiful herringbone-tiled flooring, the generous white tub & a fine large-scale antique painted & silver-gilt mirror. Ms. Hilliard found the mirror at Garden Court Antiques. Her deft touch using this antique piece in a contemporary setting unites the design with an established quality.
San Francisco Interior Designer, Heather Hilliard
Ms. Hilliard’s has a rich background in the fine arts, the natural sciences & business. She originally hails from the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. She began her career in Philadelphia working with non-profits eventually catching the attention of “the quintessential blue-blood President of the Philadelphia Museum of Art” (..whose family inspired the 1940 classic romantic comedy, “The Philadelphia Story”)
From there Ms. Hilliard’s path took her to San Francisco, finding her way to the storied Interior Designer, Paul Wiseman & The Wiseman Group. Eventually, she opened her own firm, Heather Hilliard Design ^jh
I’m always thinking about the proportions, the sightlines, the focal points – things that maybe some people don’t consider. Other folks might be thinking more about the decoration, but I’m trying to think of it as a whole..
Heather Hilliard Design
San Francisco
3654C Sacramento Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel. 415-673-1111 x113
Fax 415-366-2005
email: info@heatherhilliard.com
Los Angeles
10866 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 225
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel. 213-290-0029
In many respects it is predestined that artist, Elaine Coombs would live and thrive in San Francisco. This City’s urbane, innovative, yet intimate qualities are complemented by a surrounding wealth of verdant, lush wildnerness replete with trees, light, color, flora & fauna not found in many other cities. These are the qualities that initially drew Ms. Coombs, a native of Toronto, Canada, to San Francisco in 2000.
“San Francisco is a small yet cosmopolitan city – small enough to get to know people easily but big enough to not run into them all the time. And with the influence of the technological and creative wealth of the greater Bay Area, I think it is one of the most vibrant places in the world to call home”
A grateful time, acrylic on canvas over panel, 50x40in
Preferring the poetic, acrylic on canvas over panel, 50x40in
Nothing but bright, acrylic on canvas over panel, 40×50 in
Ms Coombs’ uses photography in her creative process to capture light & shadow as she draws on the outdoors for inspiration. Walks through the nearby Muir Woods Redwoods Forest (which John Muir called “the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world.”) is a favorite ‘muse’ of hers. San Francisco’s iconic Washington Square Park in North Beach is another & the subject of a few works on display at Garden Court Antiques. As Coombs returns to projects, sometimes months later, these photographs serve as inspiration for her work.
Lengthy experimentation, what Coombs calls “playing around” has culminated in an artistic process of expertly placed dots of color that shimmer with light & depth which convey the artist’s deep connection with the outdoors. Coombs does not use a brush. Her art is created with knives, palette knives of wood & steel that flex offering her the perfect painting response.
“I can’t imagine going back to using a brush again to create an image. I even prime my canvases with a knife.”
But, maybe, its best we let the artist speak for herself:
Artist’s Statement:
There is something about being in nature that makes me want to seek out these spaces time and again. Perhaps it is a memory conjured from my rural childhood; positive feelings of comfort, stability and happiness come to mind easily. It seems whenever I simply need to regroup, breathe and return to center, it is the forest that can do this for me every time.
In the studio, I refer to printed photographs I have taken on my nature walks, which inform my acrylic paintings. Intuitively, my eye separates the patterns of color that I see in the photo and translates these into a complex mosaic of dots on the canvas. Over time, the methodical application of the dot technique has become in itself a meditation of sorts. I am peacefully absorbed in the process of painting the work, which I hope is imparted to the viewer with a pleasurable feeling of well-being similar to what I feel actually being in the forest.
My unique way of interpreting a photograph owes some debt to the digital age and to the proliferation of pixelated imagery that I have grown up absorbing. As an artist I enjoy the process of separating an image into parts, breaking it down and then building it up again in a slightly altered fashion. My work has the dual aspect of seeming realist from afar and yet is quite abstract at near view. It is this dichotomy, achieved in the successful play of opposite modes of seeing that I feel is the most contemporary aspect of my work.
Featured works by Elaine Coombs can be viewed at Garden Court Antiques presented by Art Consultant, Laurie Ghielmetti Interiors + Art. Additionly, Ms Coombs creates commissioned works in conjunction with a designer, art consultant or gallery exploring a client’s personal connection to their outdoor environs.
Elaine’s paintings have been exhibited both nationally and internationally in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Toronto, London, and Singapore. Her work has been seen in a number of publications, notably: California Home + Design Magazine (2007); Art Calendar Magazine (2009); and a new book entitled Green Art: Trees, Leaves and Roots (2014). Several notable collections have acquired her paintings; the U.S. Department of State – Art Bank Program, and the Ritz Carlton Highlands Hotel in Lake Tahoe, California – as well as numerous corporate and private collectors worldwide.^jh
Combining contemporary art alongside antiques reflect the way Interior Designers innovate with their design projects today.
Next time you visit the showroom at 151 Vermont you’ll notice ‘temporary’ exhibitions of contemporary works of art.
Let us know what you think.
Currently in the Showroom we are featuring photographic works from Napa Artist, Lewis deSoto in conjunction with Laurie Ghielmetti Interiors. These ephemeral images were staged in response to the ‘destructive process’ of Land Art, a defining element of Postwar American art.
Lewis deSoto ARTIST STATEMENT Site Projects 1980-1986
The Site Projects were the step between my purely photographic work of the late 70’s and early 80’s and the sculpture that was to take precedent by 1989. The work was a philosophical response to “earthworks” sculptors like Smithson, Heizer and DeMaria. What issue was taken, was the destructive process (I mean this in digital terms, where the original is destroyed as a piece of data is constructed); bulldozers marked and moved the earth to serve their metaphorical purpose.
The Site Projects used the site as a stage that left a dwindling trace of my work there. I added a temporal element that was echoed in many works that took place during long camera exposures at night. These works dealt with notions of power and scale; like Chinese landscapes, these works compared the scale of the human against the overarching embrace
of the world, the stars and the galaxies.
Most projects began with drawings, some formalized instructions that could be reengaged at a later date or by myself or other artists. This was, in part, a response to the ephemeral nature of color print photography at the time. Now these works can be translated digitally and placed on paper with pigments for permanent display. The desired print size of the work has also grown over the years, starting at 18” x 18” and ending at 30” x 30” sometime in the early 1990’s. I have engaged larger sizes now that these are translated to digital media.
We like to imagine how our designers could make creative use of antique, reclaimed lanterns: either electrified as a primary lighting source for a bedroom, study or hall or perhaps converted into gas lighting.
The marvel of these lanterns is their flexibility, they can look at home in a modern setting as well as the most traditional of homes.
Pair of Venetian Red and Gilt Tole Lanterns, Italy circa 1780 Very Large Scale Copper and Iron Lantern, circa 1870Green painted industrial hanging lantern, English circa 1900
At the Garden Court Vermont Street Showroom, we continue to feature select contemporary works that allow you to visualize how design works in the ‘real world’ intermingling styles and periods, fine Continental antiques and decorative pieces alongside more modern works. We’ve been fortunate to work with the informed Bay area interior designer and fine arts professional, Laurie Ghielmetti in hosting this exhibit.
California’s San Francisco Bay area was a major center for the emergent Abstract Expressionist school of art in the years following World War II. The work was characterized by ‘non-objective imagery that appeared emotionally charged with personal meaning’; an exuberant ‘free-spirited wave of creative energy’.
The Abstract Expressionist Movement in San Francisco derived inspiration from a broad collective of artists: San Francisco’s Beat poets, Dixieland jazz musicians, and the area’s stunning vistas were essential parts of Abstract Expressionism, as were artistic and spiritual contacts with Asia.
Today, we showcase a personal favorite, a large-scale work by the California Bay area artist, Jerry Carniglia.
UT-2151 2014 oil on canvas 81 x 63 inches
Jerry Carniglia ARTIST STATEMENT
As much as every instant of the painter’s process requires his in-the-moment decision-making, the resulting works are multi-layered compilations of action over time— gestures and counter-gestures that amplify or obscure one another.
In his large-scale paintings on canvas, monumental non-representational forms hover in pictorial space and imply a potent energy force such as a tidal wave, avalanche, or cosmic flash. The dynamic forms and rich palettes of burnt umber, gold and maroon create an epic quality, like that in works by Titian, one of Carniglia’s influences, but without reference to specific mythic or religious subjects. Although rooted in Abstract Expressionism, Carniglia’s work could be described as contemporary Baroque, with its exaggerated sense of motion, grandeur and implied drama. In what he describes as our post-existential era, Carniglia’s act of painting is a search for meaning, not through religion, myth or history, and not as a personal rationalization in a meaningless world, but meaning that may be found in the unseen and otherwise unarticulated structures that underlie all of existence.
Jerry Carniglia was born in San Francisco in 1946. He received an MFA from UC Berkeley in 1993. He is the recipient of the Eisner and Phelan Prizes, a Gerbode Foundation Award and a MacDowell Colony Fellowship. His works are in the collections of The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Berkeley Art Museum.
** excerpted from Chandra Cerrito Contemporary Gallery, Oakland, CA
The blending of traditional, antique and contemporary makes a space interesting, exciting and a bit unexpected. To be sure, interiors design with a focus on all traditional or entirely contemporary stylings are splendid. But, often, when a designer takes the risk to blend styles; mix contemporary with antique, the results can be range from the stunning to dramatic.
A blend of styles reflects the way we live today; a mashup, if you will, that makes a larger statement than strict adherence to an normative or aesthetic.
Today, we celebrate an artist whose work we are showcasing in our Vermont Street Showroom, Dianne Romaine. Her Chroma paintings speak to her fascination with light and its magical properties. Select pieces are now on view.
“Dianne Romaine’s use of saturated pigment in her Chroma series composes a dramatic, almost photographically rendered void flooded with light. This captured moment references the photographic, giving the viewer a frozen glimpse of a transient glow.” – Oakland Art Museum http://oaklandartmurmur.org/
These “Chroma” painting reflect a fascination with light that has been with me always- how it spills into a room, the edges, the slow, subtle changes as time advances, its magical presence. The light in these paintings come from layers of color, progressing to darks, allowing an internal illumination.
A Monday conversation on design to start the week: Jim Gallagher, manager of Garden Court Antiques remarks on a question & dialogue posed to him over the weekend regarding modernism & contemporary interior design elements.
The Vermont Street Showroom is featuring some contemporary works in the coming months to show the exciting partnership to be had when mixing styles
As the weather changes and the light changes, we are reminded that the only constant in life is in fact change.
On that front, Garden Court Antiques will also be changing its location. We are excited to announce that in the New Year, we will be moving over to the Vermont CenterGoogle Maps Link. We have been so fortunate to have been a part of the community in the Showplace Building for the past 8 years, but it is time to move on.
Please come by and help us to lighten the load of what we will need to move to our new location! We are having our first ever sale. We have marked down several items from 30 to 50% off. We are happy to negotiate with you if you find something that you love.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Cathedra Petri (or Chair of St. Peter), gilded bronze, gold, wood, stained glass, 1647-53 (apse of Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Rome)
The Baroque style or Baroque movement began in about 1600. It was started in Spain and Italy and eventually spread north. This incorporated architecture, music, art, literature and furniture throughout Western Europe for more than 100 years. The huge impact that this style had on culture and architecture during this period was largely due the encouragement that it received from the Catholic Church. The Church was losing huge numbers to the Protestant Reformation that had begun 70 years before Henry Calvin, Martin Luther and others in Northern Europe.
Session of the Council of Trent in Matthias Burglechner, “Tyrolischer Adler,” vol.IX
Following the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church began to encourage the Baroque style. The idea behind the change in direction was to have the art, the music and the architecture to achieve two primary goals, reach out to the masses and show them who is the most powerful.
The first goal of the Baroque style was to have images and architecture that would be more accessible to a less educated population. The images and the music should be bold, simple and dramatic. The architecture should be strong, opulent and intimidating. It was about getting the attention of the people that might be swayed by the ideas of the Protestant Reformation. The goat hoof carved feet and images of epic biblical battles were relatable to the masses.
The second goal of the triumphant music, iconic imagery, bold carving and opulent finishes was to send a message of power and intimidation. There was a public relations battle of huge proportions happening in Europe and the Baroque movement was the Catholic Church’s answer to the austere trends of their Protestant counterparts. The message from the Catholics was
“we are the largest and most powerful entity in the western world and if you want to be on the winning team, stick with us”.
This battle to win the hearts and minds of the people of Europe had huge political and financial ramifications and the Baroque movement was the Catholic Church’s best chance and winning that battle.
A few examples of Baroque Period Pieces you’ll find at Garden Court Antiques:
Spanish Baroque Trestle Table, single plank of walnut top, harp shaped trestle base and wrough iron stretcher, circa 1700Pair of Baroque Carved Gilded Architectural Elements, Italian circa 1760, mounted on later iron basesBaroque Carved Walnut Bonnetiere, French circa 1680Dutch Baroque Period Walnut and Ebonized Mirror Frame 17th century
Georgian Furniture refers to furniture made in England during the time of King George, right? Well, yes and no. You see, there have been six King Georges so far. There reigns span from 1714 to 1952. So, in the world of antiques when we talk about Georgian furniture we need to be more specific about which George or Georges we are referring to.
George IGeorge IIGeorge III
Period Georgian furniture refers to furniture made during the time of George I, George II and George III. This would be from 1714 to 1820. There are many pieces of furniture that are made in the style of Georgian furniture at some later date, but this would not be called period furniture because obviously it was not made during that period.
Given that this period of furniture spanned a century, you can imagine that there were a number of furniture designers and cabinet makers that left their mark on the look and materials used in making Georgian furniture. Some the more memorable designers were Thomas Chippendale, George Hepplewhite and Robert Adam. While all of these styles of English furniture can be identified by these names, they are all considered forms of Georgian furniture.
Georgian Walnut Chest of Drawers circa 1720
Some of the defining elements of Georgian furniture would be the use of walnut and mahogany veneers. The neoclassical elements that Adams brought into his furniture design was influenced by his study of ancient architecture in Italy. Adams visited the ruins of Pompeii after the extensive uncovering of the ancient city in 1748. He was inspired by the fluted columns and dental mouldings that he saw there and incorporated them into his furniture. His work in interiors and furniture making inspired the Neoclassical movement in English furniture making.
The furniture made in England during the Georgian period had a huge impact furniture and architecture in the furniture made in Virginia and New England during that period. It’s influences can still be seen in contemporary furniture, architecture and interior design throughout the world today.
Georgian Mahogany Game Table, English Circa 1780Georgian Mahogany Armchair with drop seatGeorgian Fruitwood Corner Chair with drop seat
