The Artful Life: 8 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week

1. A Sonoma Designer’s Private Garden Becomes a Lush Open-Air Gallery

As creative director of The Bureau, a Bay Area design firm, Sarah Giesenhagen often enlists a close network of creative peers to realize her interiors. This summer, she brought their work into her own garden in Sonoma, California, for “Verdant Phenomena,” an outdoor exhibition on view by appointment through September 19. Giesenhagen invited over a dozen California-based artists and designers to respond to the lush setting, an oasis dense with coneflower, sunflowers, hellebores, pea tendrils, grasses, herbs, redwoods, and fruit trees bearing peaches, cherries, and plums. Among the works are Rafi Ajl’s grove of hand-sculpted green glass vessels, Kate Greenberg’s sinuous cypress bench wrapped around a tree trunk, Gigi Allen’s painted accordion screen patterned with botanical motifs, Amelia Tru Czaczyk’s amorphous bench wrapped in moss-green and robin’s-egg glass tile, and Hanneke Lourens’ redwood and stainless steel side tables inspired by the security grids of her native South Africa. —Ryan Waddoups  

2. Cartier Debuts Clash de Cartier Tote 

The absolute poster child for minimal discretion, the new Clash de Cartier tote brings the precision of jewelry design to this stunning accessory. Without question, the overall silhouette and handle length are absolute perfection, but what sets this bag apart is the hardware detail on the clasps on each side. Reflective of the maison’s wildly popular Clash de Cartier collection, which launched in 2019, this small but powerful gesture adds just the right amount of personality to this timeless launch.—Jacqueline Terrebonne

3. Antiques Dealer Antoine Billore Takes Over De Gournay’s Paris Showroom for a Design Week Mise en Scène

On their own, De Gournay’s imaginative wallpapers can readily transport viewers into a lush garden, tropical jungle, or exotic cityscape. But for Paris Design Week, kicking off on September 10, the brand’s showroom on Rue des Saints-Pères will become a theatrical cabinet of curiosities with a decorative showcase organized in collaboration with antiques dealer and scenographer Antoine Billore. For the installation, a selection of De Gournay’s handpainted wall coverings and porcelain pieces will be paired with pieces imagined by Billore, including a pair of plinths with cutouts specifically designed to accommodate some of the brand’s sculptural vases. Adding to the event’s cinematic fervor will be bespoke screen with rotating windows that give alternate views of examples from the wallpaper collection. The combined effect promises to be a scene to remember.—Jill Sieracki

4. The Dangerous Talent of Women Photographers Is Spotlighted in New Tome

Since French artist and scientist Louis Daguerre introduced the first-ever camera to the world in 1838, photography became a medium where creatives can express and capture the most meaningful moments in both the public and private eye. Constantly evolving as an art form, women have often been at the forefront of this practice be it through journalism, fine art, experimentation, or otherwise. Officially released on September 15, Women Photographers are Dangerous (ACC Art Books) spotlights these female talents both in front of and behind the camera. Alongside words by journalist Laure Adler and art historian Clara Bouveresse, over 100 striking photographic works taken by 60 women photographers spotlight the true power of female creativity. To show the full breadth of these talented women, a a range of photographic mediums are in full focus such as Eve Arnold’s famous portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Dorothea Lange’s candid Migrant Mother (1936) taken in rural Nipomo, California, as well as works by Vivian Maier found after her death. Other notable names included in the title include Sophie Calle, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Lee Miller, Anne Atkins, and many others. —Shelby Black

5. In Atlanta, a Brasserie-Bookstore Channels John Singer Sargent 

Atlanta entrepreneurs Kate Barringer and Jordan Smelt named their first venture, Lucian Books & Wine, after British painter Lucian Freud. Their second, Sargent, looks to John Singer Sargent, whose fluid brushwork and lush treatment of flowers inspired the 6,000-square-foot brasserie overlooking the BeltLine in Old Fourth Ward. Local studio Digs channels that painterly sensibility through mottled plaster walls by Super Delicious Walls and custom murals by Tommy Taylor, while floor-to-ceiling windows frame the BeltLine’s leafy canopy. Chef Jason Paolini brings the transatlantic reference onto the plate with American classics filtered through French techniques, from a poached-chicken club sandwich with bacon and lemon aioli to roast chicken and crab cakes. Books remain integral: Barringer curated shelves of food, wine, art, music, and cultural titles alongside international magazines and gift-worthy volumes. —R.W.

6. SCAD Takes a Design-Forward Approach to Giving Back

Students of SCAD’s innovation design studio, SCADpro, have introduced a limited-edition stainless steel lamp that takes a design-forward approach to giving back. In partnership with SOUP, the group has presented the Half Pipe Lamp, crafted from repurposed materials and local resources, and limited to just 50 editions. The lamp’s angled profile sends light upward in a soft ambient glow and balanced form. Each purchase of a lamp will support SOUP’s ongoing work to expand access to homeownership, rentals, and supportive housing in the Bay Area. Lamps can be purchased here.—Alexandria Sillo

7. Artist Daniel Arsham and Whiskey Maker The Balvenie Join Forces for Landmark Collaboration

Artist Daniel Arsham is no stranger to brand collaborations, having lent his creative talents to Kohler, Calico, and more on top of the otherworldly works he produces as part of his own boundary-breaking oeuvre. Now, Arsham has teamed up with Scottish Highlands distillery The Balvenie for an unprecedented collection of spirits which will be introduced with an immersive art experience unveiled in partnership with Frieze Seoul. “Learning of The Balvenie’s time-honored skills and its dedication to the most traditional methods of making whisky is inspiring,” says Arsham. “Our collaboration is rooted in a shared respect for both process and time.” As part of the collaboration, Balvenie will introduce a unique potable alongside two limited-edition expressions, each incorporating The Balvenie’s long-standing ingredients, known as the Five Rare Crafts, and each artistically interpreted by Arsham. Additionally, the artist will debut Dawn of Our Spirit, a sensorial installation at Frieze Seoul. “We are excited to debut this remarkable collection, rooted in artistry and human endeavor,” says The Balvenie’s Malt Master, Kelsey McKechnie. “Daniel Arsham’s artistic storytelling will bring the treasured and fundamental aspect of The Balvenie’s Home Malting Floor to a world stage, in what will be a true celebration of master craftsmanship and the creative power of time.” Following its Seoul premiere, the collection will travel to New York, Shanghai, and Taipei. –J.S.

8. Jacques Marie Mage Introduces a Special Collection of Buffalo Horn Eyewear

Steven Klein photographed the cinematic new campaign for Jacques Marie Mage’s Héritage II line of frames, which feature real, ethically sourced Asian water buffalo horn in a range of shades from honey blonde to black. The sunglasses themselves likewise draw inspiration from the Easy Riders, Raging Bulls golden age of auteur filmmaking that gave the world movies like The French Connection and The Godfather. Classic Southern California love is everywhere in the details here. Styles available in the buffalo horn—which are carved from 16mm blocks—include the Zephrin, Leclair, Yves, Kellerman, and the Duende aviator, which was originally developed in collaboration with the actor Jeremy Strong, as well as the new Woodland, which would be well at home in a meeting with Bob Evans in 1971. —Rena Gross