I am obsessed. Years ago, I saw an image of this wall of wonder in a magazine and promptly tore it out and put it front and center on my wall of inspiration:
El Anatsui
Gray Gallery
Hey peeps! Today I am going to turn you on to, hands down, the chicest shop in Los Angeles. It is called the Gray Gallery, and when I first saw it, I was stunned into silence. For those of you faithful readers of Mollyloot, you know what a rare moment that is. The gallery captivates and entices you in from the moment you approach the front window:
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden
On my last visit to New York, I was able to carve out an hour or so to sneak over to MOMA to see the jaw dropping Cindy Sherman show (more on that to come). When I was finished and needed to digest the range and intensity of what I had just seen, I slipped out to the sculpture garden. When I lived in New York, I spent many, many hours in the garden’s previous incarnation so was curious if the new version would stand up. I am thrilled to say that even on a brisk day with the trees denuded of their foliage, the garden was thrilling. Every element is considered from the placement of the magnificent sculptures, to the selection of the trees, to the architectural details. I forgot how much sculture, especially twentieth century sculpture, moves me. I love how evocative each piece is and that you can touch and feel the work. I dare you to remain unmoved:
The Met (Part One)
I went full tourist this last visit to New York City and it was great. I decided to throw off my shame and just take hundreds of pictures and look up and gape nakedly at the marvelous buildings. For once, I wasn’t in a desperate rush to get from point A to point B and I really was able to savor how majestic the city can be. And nowhere in NYC is more majestic than the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
I mean, really. I went to see the Alexander McQueen show, “Savage Beauty” which was extremely cool despite the throngs of people shoving into the small space. My tips to you would be to get the headphones (both to block out all of the chatter and to get the inside skinny on “Lee” from his pals like Philip Treacy). Even better, I just found out they are opening the exhibit on Mondays for a premium of $50 a ticket. I know that is steep but it would be well worth it to get to see the exhibition unmolested. To check out this option, go to the Met’s website.
One of the coolest parts of the show were the videos of his runway shows, which were really each pieces of conceptual art. My favorite was definitely this one with Shalom Harlow. She tells a very cool story about her experience on the audio tour.
I left the show with my head buzzing and as I was wandering back down and towards the exit, I found myself in the Hellenistic gallery. Maybe it was the sunlight pouring into the recently redone atrium or maybe it was all the nudes or maybe it was just some damn good sculpture. Whatever the case, I was entranced:
Vasa
A while back, I did a post on multicolored lucite. After reading it, Rebecca (from The Reluctant Floridian) suggested I check out the work of Vasa Mihich and I am SO glad she did! He has been making candy-colored goodies since the late sixties and I can’t wait to get my hands on one. See if you agree:
Bustamante, baby!
Busta-who? That’s Sergio Bustamante to you, the fabulous (if a bit inconsistent) Mexican sculptor/artist/furniture/jewelry designer. Less refined than the Lalannes but equally surreal, his work is cropping up all over the place and I dig it. The recent stuff is a bit too mystical for me but his work from the 70s really hits my sweet spot. I recently stumbled across this bad boy at one of my secret spots in Palm Springs and knew I had to have him.
Hey people. I’m Molly Luetkemeyer (loot-kah-my-er, just so we can get that out of the way). I have been a practicing interior designer at my firm, M. Design Interiors for the past 10 years (for the full back story, check out my about page). My ongoing mission is to guide clients to create personal, comfortable, chic homes that reflect their needs and particular tastes. No one should live in a showroom or someone else's house. Period. I am inspired by a range of sources from modern and contemporary art to nature, fashion and vintage design books to stuff I see on the street. It’s always coming at me and I want to share a little of it with you.
So take a look and as always, let me know what you think at molly at mdesignla dot com!