Modern Sculpture Parks

Here’s a list of sculpture parks around the country that we find inspiring. Click on the images to get more info and check out wikipedias List of Sculpture Parks.

STORM KING

Storm King Art Center is a museum that celebrates the relationship between sculpture and nature. Five hundred acres of landscaped lawns, fields and woodlands provide the site for postwar sculptures by internationally renowned artists. At Storm King, the exhibition space is defined by sky and land. Unencumbered by walls, the subtly created flow of space is punctuated by modern sculpture. The grounds are surrounded by the undulating profiles of the Hudson Highlands, a dramatic panorama integral to the viewing experience. The sculptures are affected by changes in light and weather, so no two visits are the same.

MINNEAPOLIS SCULPTURE GARDEN

Formally established in 1927, the Walker Art Center began as the first public art gallery in the Upper Midwest. The museum’s focus on modern art began in the 1940s, when a gift from Mrs. Gilbert Walker made possible the acquisition of works by important artists of the day, including sculptures by Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, and others. During the 1960s, the Walker organized increasingly ambitious exhibitions that circulated to museums in the United States and abroad.

OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK SEATTLE

Weiss/Manfredi Architects designed a continuous and constructed landscape for art. Their vision was to transport art outside the museum walls and bring the park into a landscape of the city. This new topography offers environmentally diverse settings for viewing art, the city of Seattle and Puget Sound.Their design for the park grew out of a desire to embrace the city’s energy and create collaboration between art, landscape, architecture and infrastructure. Weiss/Manfredi transformed three separate sites, creating an unfolding landform sculpted to rise over existing road and train lines.

The Soul of a House

The work of Alexander Girard within the walls of the Eero Saarinen designed Irwin Miller home is a pure expression of the lives of its inhabitants. Girard wove into the tapestry of their lives an immense oeuvre of singularly beautiful forms and textures.             Saarinen’s cool Finnish austerity plays as a canvas against which Girard’s folk inspired modernism finds flight.                                          The Miller’s were not afraid to experiment with color and shape. Girard continued to revisit the house throughout the life of its inhabitants to update, rearrange, create and collaborate.

One can tour the house and marvel at the stories embroided into the rugs and fabrics that Girard executed. Saarinen individualized many of the furnishings and Dan Kiley’s landscapes spill into a home that opens on all sides to the outdoors. The spirit of mid-century is front and center in the lines of this home, however it is the willingness to be adventurous in design choices that is inspiring. The soul of this house is just as important as the architecture.

Although confined by the perimeters of our frames we strive to have the spirit of our canvases spill over the edges to compliment the character of whatever space they are placed in. Great interiors are only great if they elevate ones mood- the home is where the heart is they say. Check out the work of Emily Summers, a contemporary designer who really strikes a chord for us and whose interiors pay respect to the role of art in our homes.

Landscapes of the soul

As we contemplate our gardens at this time of year it can be inspiring to visit the the landscapes created by masters such as Frank Loyd Wright. The sheer majesty of his Fallingwater home is inspired by the landscape in which it was built. Bear Run, within the laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania provided Wright with the landscape to create what is probably the singular most iconic home America. His belief in “organic” architecture  that blends with its surroundings  guided much of his residential design. Two other homes in the same region, Kentuck Knob and the Duncan House form a trio of forms that celebrate this philosohy.

Our “Vision” painting is an acknowledgement of the ascendancy of landscape in our collective psyche. This classic image with its flavor of dusk eases us out of our worldly worries. It is a feast for our eyes and a landscape of our imagination. Just as the shapes that Wright conjured out of the natural world sprang from his imagination the design team at m-dc canvas are always finding inspiration in the landscape.

Here in The Hamptons we are blessed with incredible beauty. The rural and the maritime, blend in a unique way that has been the inspiration for generations of artists such as Jackson Pollock, Larry Rivers and Julian Schnabel.In coming posts we’ll introduce you to more of what makes us celebrate this area and inspires us.

MODERN MODULAR

  In the last  decade, modular housing- factory built homes- has received a revolutionary makeover. The essential efficiencies of this system- faster construction time, low material waste and greater control over the building and estimating cost- have remained the same. The shift however has been driven by visionary architects such as Living Homes and Method Homes . Bundling good design into these preconceived elements (the  realization that the fundamental utilitarian nature of these units are not averse to stylistic interpretation) has established prefab firmly in the field of a modernist vision of mass-market housing. The simplicity of these designs can blend form seamlessly into function and transform the dowdy double-wide into a template for stylish designer living at affordable prices.

These are principles that inform us here at m-dc design. We are always striving to showcase the forms and inspirations of the wider world. We believe that this dialogue ultimately welds the spirit of our canvases into the fabric of our everyday lives. I’ve thrown some of our modern images up so you can get a feel for this dance between our work and our environment. Check these and other fabulous images out in our gallery.

DESERT MODERNISM

The mid-century movement in architecture flourished in the desert oasis town of Palm Springs: Where American exceptionalism played out  against the backdrop of natures rugged grandeur. Luminaries such as Richard Neutra embraced new post war technologies; allowing new forms to be supported by innovations and improvements in building materials. Glass, steel, concrete and stone were put to imaginative use that would take advantage of the “Springs” awesome environment. Open plans would spill into outdoor spaces in more organic fashion.

The most exuberant expression of this liberating aesthetic is the Kaufmann house designed by Richard Neutra above. As with all our work here at the m-dc design studio we try to imagine the context into which our canvases will be placed and use inspirational spaces such as the Kaufmann house to contemplate their meaning.

The majestic beauty of the south west is the canvas on which these great artists realized their vision in creating a modernist style . We hope our four most recent paintings will give you a sense of the environment in which this style flourished and still resonates today in the way it informs our lifestyle choices. Click on the canvases above to visit our website and view them in different room settings.

INDUSTRIAL CHIC

Reclaimed industrial pieces- gears, vintage signs, antique flooring and beams, metal racks, old clocks and atomic age office furniture… Are being repurposed to add a more modern edgy look to interiors: Just as old manufacturing neighborhoods of yore such as Soho and Williamsburg were propelled by pioneering artists recycling industrial spaces into the templates of the “Loft Style”. Manufacturers are incorporating industrial-style metal lines and worn woods into their lines . This “Industrial Chic” look is beginning to inform other styles of design…”Noveau Shabby” any one? The look of industrial chic makes sense in our post-industrial world: A world more focused on green design and making use of what already exists and finding new and practical uses for it. In the spirit of the ready-made art movement we can step out of the parameters of accepted notions and imbue our home environment with a sense of mischief  captured in the
juxtaposition of” leather and lace” without abandoning our aesthetic .From the subtle steam valve bookends above to the more audacious movement of dropping an old shipping container into your living space industrial references come in all shapes and sizes.

This month brings the start of a new series of images here at md-canvas that have their roots firmly in this aesthetic. Our “optik” canvas draws from industry graphics with a sly nod to the dadaists and our “14 and below” canvases bold graphics spell like a beat poem that winds us through a archetypal landscape. Check out others in this series by clicking on the images.

RANDOM SENSE OF PLACE

One of our newest long sized canvases “Tavern” is an exciting interpretation of a familiar global landmark that inspires reflections of place and time.

 The iconic image of New York that transcends the perpetually shifting streetscapes of the metropolis is that of Times Square. Its name a reflection of our desire for it to capture the essence of the moment.

 The bold faced neon exuberance of mid century America.

The 1945 V-J day photo of the nurse being kissed by the sailor on the cover of Life magazine

  The urban malaise showcased in its tawdry bars and strip clubs of the seventies and eighties.

The undisputed capital of popular culture. With its manifestation of global marketing.

Our m-dc canvas “Tavern” brings us full circle; as the city, propelled by its enthusiasm for itself refuses to let our senses rest. Just as the photo realists steered us from the self indulgence of abstract expressionism this picture begs us to go deeper into the landscape of New York and notice the details. The gradation of dark and light create the sensual undertones so that our eyes drift easily through the random poetry that is Times square. We make our own sense of this collage. Each time we come back to it we are reminded of James Traub’s words: “The last word on Times square will never be written.”

Sleep

One of the most precious components of the creative process is sleep. We love the idea of this cool “Sleepbox” by the Arch Group from Moscow. Designed for large public places, like airports and train stations. We like this kind of futuristic pod like design, reminds us of our “Majortom”  our uber-cool canvas.

Watch this video about the “sleepbox” below

Local House

Our design studio and production facility is located out in the Hamptons , Bridgehampton to be exact. This is a unique area , less than 2 hrs from midtown Manhattan, yet blessed with beautiful beaches and water views. We also have some very fantastic modern homes. See one below located about 20 minutes from us done by Stelle Architects, whose offices are just across the street from us . While many of these oceanfront properties ask unbelievable prices we can still dream.

cool japanese home

In America and Canada we have generous amounts of space for our living quarters. Yet that abundance does not always translate into great design concepts. We are always compelled by the way Japanese designers and architects use small spaces to great ingenuity and function. Here is a recent one we love , by the architect Keiichi Hayashi for a home in Kyoto called the light well house. Follow the link to learn more.