Indigo-dyed textiles by Yael Harnik.
Photo: Taniya Aris
Lisa Perry’s Onna House Presents a Trove of Blue-Inspired Artworks
The polymath designer uncovered a medley of under-the-radar women artists experimenting with the color in exciting and different ways
Lisa Perry. Photo: Taniya Aris
Over the summer, blue was on Lisa Perry’s mind. A color fixation shouldn’t come as a surprise to followers of the famed designer, whose lengthy career has seen her infuse fanciful interiors with vibrant artwork and women’s ready-to-wear with bold chromatic bursts. But she “kept seeing things in blue,” she tells Galerie, from the crystal-clear horizon over her home in West Palm Beach to the “blue wave” she noticed after Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee. When she was researching new artists for Onna House, the East Hampton gallery and residence for female artists she opened in 2022, she noticed they were all working with the color blue in exciting and different ways. “I thought, ‘there’s something funny here,’” she says. “It was a very odd coincidence.”
That serendipity culminated in “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” an exhibition that Perry curated for Onna House’s pop-up gallery at the Royal Poinciana Plaza in Palm Beach. The show features a dynamic assortment of women artists—Kate Lawless, Shino Takeda, Erica-Lynn Huberty, and nearly 20 more—that incorporate blue into their creative process. Spanning glossy ceramics to polyester and wool textile weavings, the show seeks to shed light on under-the-radar creative talents bridging the ever-shrinking gap between craft and art while showcasing historic artistry across disciplines.
Vegetable-dyed textile works by Kayla Powers. Photo: Taniya Aris
Among them is Yael Harnik, an up-and-coming Israeli artist fascinated by Japanese textile techniques like katazome, or the method of dyeing fabrics using resist paste applied through a stencil. “She’s indigo dyeing silk fabric and then deconstructing each thread,” Perry says. Harnik’s textile work may resemble weaving from afar, but the space in between emerges when viewed up close. There’s also the environmentalist artist Kayla Powers, who offered up a grid of 35 individual vegetable-dyed textiles. “Each one is its own little jewel,” Perry says. “Some of them have beading, some have ceramics, some are quilted, and some look tie-dyed.”
The vast majority of artists participating in “Blue Is the Warmest Color” lack gallery representation and are new to Onna House’s program. “Our mission is to give visibility and support women artists exclusively,” Perry says. “These women are so passionate, but they don’t know who’s going to see their work and when.” She plans to continue collaborating with the roster at Onna House’s historic property in East Hampton, which has amplified work by hundreds of women since Perry launched the enterprise two years ago.
A ceramic vessel by Shino Takeda. Photo: Taniya Aris
“Blue Is the Warmest Color” will remain on view at Onna House’s Palm Beach gallery until April 15, but Perry plans to periodically rotate the show because so many works were submitted and there simply wasn’t enough room to show the full assortment at once. Works that are sold will be delivered to clients, making room for a rehang and for works currently in storage to see the light. “It’s a goal for us to be able to show as many artists as possible,” Perry says. It’s safe to say blue will be on her mind for far longer, too: “This turned out to be more beautiful than I ever imagined, and there’s more to come.”
Cover: Indigo-dyed textiles by Yael Harnik.
Photo: Taniya Aris
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