The Artful Life: 8 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week

1. A New Title Explores the World’s Greatest Outdoor Artworks

From sprawling hills to raging rapids, the seasoned traveler can find artistic inspiration anywhere, but across the globe hides some soaring art pieces tucked away in the most unexpected of places. In The Art Travel Book: 40 Iconic Outdoor Artworks (Lannoo Publishers), this tome provides a guide for travel and art enthusiasts alike by detailing the history and locations of some of the most impressive sculptures across the world.

From Jeff Koons’s seaside golden sun masterpiece to Ugo Rondinone’s fluorescent stacked sculpture set against the desert, other artists featured in the book include Louise Bourgeois, Maya Lin, Ai WeiWei, Fujiko Nakaya, Grayson Perry, and more. — Shelby Black

2. Little Greene Debuts a Rich Assortment of Colors

Just like fashion, colors drift into and out of vogue, and over the last few seasons, the experts at British paint brand Little Greene have recognized a shift in palette ranging from blues to greens, then into yellows, followed by more earthy browns and regal reds. “The popularity of colors changes over time; it’s an evolution rather than a revolution, with a movement towards different colors feeling like a natural transition,” says Ruth Mottershead, Creative and Marketing Director at Little Greene.

This week, the brand unveiled Colours of England and Colour Scales, 27 new hues and graduated shades, giving people not just a richer assortment of paints to choose from, but also more color combinations to help emphasize a room’s depth and architectural features, or create a visual symphony of tonal splendor. Among the introductions are paints that evenly balance coolness and warmth, like Ashes of Marigold, a terra cotta with hints of black, and Boxington, a refreshing lime with a touch of red oxide. Also in the mix are uplifting sherbet shades like Floss and Celestial Blue and quiet neutrals like Hammock and Parlour. “These families of color allow customers to easily create harmonious schemes,” adds Mottershead. “We can’t wait to see how our customers will use these beautiful and deeply characterful new colors to create sophisticated nuanced color schemes in their homes.”—Jill Sieracki

3. Jessica McCormack Launches the Bows Collection 

Everything Jessica McCormack touches seems to acquire an instant cult status, and her irreverent reimagining of the classic bow is no exception. The Mayfair jeweler’s newly unveiled Bows collection—a 21-piece lineup of earrings, rings, and necklaces—eschews overt sweetness in favor of something more sculptural and bold in her own unique design language. McCormack melds her signature Georgian and Victorian techniques with a distinctly modern sensibility. 

The collection features three unique interpretations of the motif: from fluid, articulated ribbons designed to move with the wearer to bold horizontal silhouettes that rest against the skin. Classic pairings of diamonds and pearls are counterbalanced by soft, whispers of pink and blue, striking the sweet spot between delicate and bold.  

True to the brand’s Day Diamonds philosophy, the jewels are designed to be stacked, layered, and worn without preciousness. The Bows collection is available from September 10 at Jessica McCormack 7 Carlos Place Townhouse and other retail boutiques. —Lucy Rees 

4. “Objects: USA” in San Francisco Reunites Landmark 1969 Smithsonian Craft Exposition

The Museum of Craft and Design’s freshly opened “Objects: USA” looks back to an instrumental moment in the birth of American studio craft as we know it. In the year of Woodstock and Apollo 11, the Smithsonian launched a forward-thinking traveling show that featured works by over 70 artists and craftspeople in media from clay to fiber to glass, metal, wood, and more. “Objects: USA arrives at a moment when competing expressions of power and taste are shaping the nation’s self-image in especially visible ways,” said Masha Berek, continuing, “Humans make objects, and objects make us human. They open a way into our relationships with beauty, tools, labor, and the body. The objects we choose to value reveal what kind of culture we are building.”

One of the surprises is how fresh everything looks. Even items that are clearly of their time could pass as retro. And highly covetable in 2026. “Objects: USA” is as much a reimagining as it a reunion. Contemporary artists including Roberto Lugo, the Haas Brothers, and Jolie Ngo sit alongside works from the original exhibit. The show is on view until January 17, 2027. — Rena Gross

5. This Sultry SoHo Lounge Channels the Glamour of Italian Nightlife

Andrés Diaz knows how to orchestrate a night out. At Her Name Was Carmen, his former SoHo haunt, dinner upstairs gave way to dancing below amid a seductive vision of midcentury Latin America. Now the Colombia-born restaurateur has recast the address as Bar Leone, a two-story ode to Italian nightlife conceived with local studio Bond. Upstairs, a martini lounge channels midcentury glamour through lustrous sapele wood, corduroy velvet, and slabs of crimson-veined travertine, accompanied by Neapolitan jazz and Balearic sounds. Descend a floor and the mood grows decidedly more louche: red velvet wallpaper envelops glossy vinyl banquettes, while a lacquer-and-chrome bar gleams beneath lighting by Map Studio. Here, resident DJs spin Italo disco into the early hours as cocktails give way to dancing. —Ryan Waddoups

6. Isamu Noguchi’s Unrealized Masterpiece Takes Over Lever House

In 1951, as architect Gordon Bunshaft was finalizing Lever House—Manhattan’s pioneering glass-and-steel building—he invited Isamu Noguchi to reimagine its public plaza. Noguchi devised two daring proposals drawn from Kyoto’s serene sand gardens, making art and architecture inseparable. Though the commission was ultimately shelved, their creative dialogue established a new paradigm for midcentury modernism. Now, marking the 75th anniversary of both Lever House and Noguchi’s iconic Akari light sculptures, that long-delayed vision finally gets realized. Organized with The Noguchi Museum and White Cube, “Isamu Noguchi at Lever House” transforms the courtyard, plaza, and lobby through summer of 2027. Original 1952 plaster models sit alongside realized cut-metal sculptures and interactive play forms, while a glowing constellation of paper-and-bamboo Akari lanterns casts a warm glow onto Park Avenue in a striking, poetic contrast to the building’s stark industrial grid.— L.R.

7. Thomas Lavin and Corragio Unveil the Brand’s First-Ever Design Collaboration

The Los Angeles gallery of Thomas Lavin is a heady swirl of furniture, lighting, wallpaper, and fabrics from a cornucopia of creative makers, but starting September 14, there was a new name on the roster—Lavin himself, who introduced a collection with textile atelier Corragio, marking the brand’s first designer collaboration. “We wanted to be bold but thoughtful, and once Thomas began working with the development team, his curated approach to a sophisticated lifestyle became clear and quite essential,” says Rick Kilmer, CEO of Thibaut. “It’s a Los Angeles love story.” 

Included in the offering of 60 pieces are fabrics that evoke the glamour of Hollywood in the 1930s and 40s, his upbringing in the Pacific Palisades, and the cinematic light over the California coast. Among the selections are richly textured styles like Amalfi Drive, geometric patterns like Borgos Place, and sumptuous, tactile fabrics such as Chautauqua. Offerings come in silk, raffia tape, bouclé, wool, and velvet with options fitting for drapery, sheers, and upholstery. “For me, this collection is about creating atmosphere,” says Lavin. “I am honored to be Coraggio’s first-ever design partner; together, we’ve created something that reflects both my design philosophy and the brand’s unwavering commitment to beauty, craftsmanship, and enduring style.”—J.S.

8. R & Company Is Opening Its Vast Brooklyn Archive to the Public

Next week, R & Company will open the doors to Building 86, a 16,000-square-foot warehouse reimagined as visible storage at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Long used to house the gallery’s design holdings and its founders’ collections, the sprawling space now invites visitors into aisles dense with nearly three decades of collecting, with works arranged in ever-changing vignettes that span a multitude of eras and makers. “Building 86 gives us the freedom to create ever-changing vignettes that let works from different periods, places, and makers speak to one another,” says co-founder Zesty Meyers. Opening by appointment starting September 23, the facility will offer access to pieces from Meyers and cofounder Evan Snyderman’s personal collections, many available for acquisition. Bespoke viewing rooms will sit alongside a photography studio and workshop, while spaces devoted to documentation and conservation will reveal the machinery behind R & Company’s influential program. —R.W.