The Artful Life: 6 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week

1. A Fascinating Display Celebrating Artist Jewelry by Alexander Calder, Yayoi Kusama, Salvador Dalí, and More Goes on View at the Norton 

Through history, a plethora of artists celebrated for their paintings and sculptures have also turned their creative energies towards the art of jewelry, leaving behind a legacy of wearable masterpieces that continues to captivate. “Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection,” a new exhibition now on view at the Norton Museum through October 5, sheds light on this fascinating subject matter by presenting more than 150 pieces of artist-designed jewelry by the likes of Alexander Calder, Yayoi Kusama, Salvador Dalí, Rashid Johnson, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Niki de Saint Phalle, Kiki Smith, and many others. Hailing from the personal collection of Diane Venet, many of the pieces were gifts from close friends and collaborators, artists she personally challenged to work in a new medium, such as Frank Stella, whom she persuaded to create a unique piece of jewelry just for her, or Robert Rauschenberg, who gave her an eye-catching, avant-garde brooch. It marks the first occasion that pieces from Venet’s collection will be exhibited alongside companion artworks by many of the same artists.

For additional context, there are sixty works from the Norton’s permanent collection by many of the same artists, displayed to reflect the way an artist’s hand moves, revealing their technical artistry and varying sources of inspiration. Visitors are also encouraged try on pieces from the show, adding an exciting immersive experience. “Diane Venet’s collection is second to none,” says Ghislain d’Humières, Kenneth C. Griffin Director and CEO. “The necklaces, rings, brooches, earrings, headpieces, and more that she has collected feature incredible details rendered in interesting materials by some of the most famous artists of our time. The exhibition is an unmissable opportunity to broaden museumgoers’ understanding of their favorite artists’ oeuvres through these miniature works of art.” —Lucy Rees

2. Assouline Introduces Elegantly Designed Objects and Home Fragrances

Whether vividly illustrating how to live with John Chamberlain sculptures, illuminating the design legacy of Technogym, or demystifying the world’s most blissful travel destinations, Assouline volumes are created with the highest level of craftsmanship and exceptional attention to detail. Ditto for the publisher’s debut collection of objects and home fragrances, which are designed to elevate your personal library and complement your favorite titles with dashes of old-world sophistication. For the debut line of the Library Collection, Assouline joined forces with French designer Pierre Favresse to create “The Essentials”: bookends, bookstands, trinket boxes, a tray, a frame, a backgammon set, an hourglass, and a magnifying glass influenced by the Assouline family’s most cherished items. Among the highlights are the sculptural Collector Bookstand, an angular conversation piece fashioned from walnut and covered in pebbled leather; and the Library Bookends, which mimic a stack of rare books, also in walnut with brushed brass pages. Completing the lineup is a series of library-inspired candles and diffusers in amber glass vessels. —Ryan Waddoups

3. New Jersey’s Historic Stockton Inn Receives Charming Refresh Courtesy of a Roman & Williams Alum

Nestled upon the main road of New Jersey’s small town of Stockton, the 300-year-old Stockton Inn has received a modern revamp courtesy of designer Christiane Duncan. Staying true to the property’s charming and tranquil atmosphere, Duncan brought in contemporary touches to the inn’s nine rooms (spread across the main building and two carriage houses), two restaurants, and shared spaces. In the lounge, Pierre Frey wallpaper provides a moody and elegant welcome to guests where the rooms contrast with a light and airy color palette equipped with special details such as handmade pillows by Rose Tarlow and Jennifer Shorto. The carriage rooms hold a more rustic feel, where design elements including Allied Maker wall sconces, built in day beds, and restored fireplaces spotlight the charm and history of the town. The revamp also features two new dining options led by executive chef Bob Truitt. For those seeking dinner with a view, the property’s terrace restaurant Finch brings seasonal fare to new heights featuring dishes such as celery root ravioli with taleggio and blistered grapes and seared wagyu zabuton with smoked beet purée and spiced jus. For a more casual, but still delicious, meal, Dog & Deer Tavern boasts a menu that embodies classic Americana where dishes including a D&D Patty Melt, Iceberg Wedge, house-made pastas and pizzas will leave you satisfied.— Shelby Black

4. Eric Schmitt’s Stunning Works in Glass Come Up for Auction in Paris

Designer Eric Schmitt is acclaimed for the sculptural furnishings he conjures in playful shapes, their exuberant forms—crafted using bronze, ceramic, or stone and rendered in black, cream, or earthy neutrals—enlivening exhibitions at Ralph Pucci and Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Lesser known is the artist’s dynamic output in glass, a medium he’s been utilizing since 1990, when he conceived the Possi collection for Daum. On Wednesday, May 14, a groundbreaking auction at Paris house Piasa will feature a lamp and table from Schmitt’s Possi designs as well as an assortment of other works in glass, many the result of his 20-year collaboration with the Czech Republic studio responsible for his fantastical Bohême vases. Currently on view at Piasa’s rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré gallery, “Working with Glass” showcases the breadth of Schmitt’s vision, offering for the first time a selection of his vessels alongside furniture that combines glass with wood, bronze, or aluminum. Highlights include a 2017 model of Schmitt’s ethereal Floating table, presumed to achieve between 30,000€ and 40,000€, as well as a striking Jaillissement light fixture of glass orbs suspended on brass rods through futuristic rings of lacquered aluminum that carries a 15,000€ to 20,000€ presale estimate.—Jill Sieracki

5. Invisible Collection Presents Transformative Exhibition Featuring Courtney Applebaum’s Debut New York Showcase 

Los Angeles-based interior designer Courtney Applebaum’s iconic touches—seeded cast glass tables, Terracotta lighting—are on display in a transformative exhibition for Invisible Collection titled “La Maison du Collectionneur.” On view at the gallery’s Upper East Side location, each floor has been transformed into an expression of beauty and craftsmanship by Applebaum, alongside Lesage Intérieurs, which crafted a bedroom scenography that pays homage to New York City. Additionally, the exhibition features curated selections from L’Œil de KO, offering historic touches through handcrafted objects. “Through La Maison du Collectionneur, we aim to revive a tradition started a century ago when the most celebrated decorators and ensembliers of their time were invited to present their work at the seminal Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris,”says Invisible Collection Co-Founder Isabelle Dubern-Mallevays. “Even then, the goal was not only to showcase the exceptional savoir-faire of French artisans but also to illustrate what the ideal home of a collector could look like. One hundred years later, we’re picking up where masters, such as Ruhlmann and Frank left off, showing what the ideal home of a collector could look like today.” The exhibition will remain on view through the end of summer. —Alexandria Sillo

6. Simone Bodmer-Turner Reopens Her Ceramics Shop with Sinuous New Vessels

Simone Bodmer-Turner made a name for herself as a sculptor of graceful ceramic vessels whose sinuous forms mimic the organic interiors of Valentine Schlegel and Savin Couelle. When the self-taught artist relocated from Brooklyn to a farmhouse in rural Massachusetts without a kiln, she introduced new materials into her practice like bronze, wood, lacquer, and silk, the fruits of which culminated in a solo exhibition at Emma Scully Gallery this past year. Now, Bodmer-Turner’s ceramic workshop is up and running again and recently reopened with The Spade Vessels, a new family of vases that reveals how her curvaceous forms have evolved in the five years since she updated The Permanent Collection, her signature line of vessels. Her studio’s bucolic setting informed the collection’s wider mouths. “The original Permanent Collection was developed when living in New York, where flowers were expensive and rare, so the vase shapes were intended to really be sculptures that would elevate a very few stems,” Bodmer-Turner says. “The Spade family was developed in Massachusetts, and in response to our new environs, where we’re surrounded by fields of wildflowers and grasses. Their wide mouths are intended for larger, messier arrangements spilling over with informal abundance.” To celebrate the launch, Bodmer-Turner’s studio is also reviving production on select vessels from her previous collections, which are available for purchase on her website. —R.W.