03 Sep From the Editor: Where Art Dictates Space

Welcome to the Fall issue. As art exhibitions and auctions heat up across the country, we’re keeping an eye on trends, artists, and sales. Like the incredible news from this past summer: The big three auction houses — Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips — beat total auction sales from last year by June. And then there’s Heritage Auctions in Dallas. Known for sales of collectibles — baseball cards, coins, and watches — they have recently set records for things like a Super Mario Bros. sealed video game ($3 million) and Hulk Hogan’s boots from WrestleMania I ($1 million).

Behind the headlines, auction houses are reporting more and younger bidders, which bodes well for the art market. Check out Laura Zuckerman’s Auction Block reporting for the latest important sales.

In this issue, we talked to several artists who switched careers: David Jonason left illustration, Faye Crowe started in architecture, and Nayla Shami traded legal briefs for a jeweler’s bench. Ceramicist Caroline Douglas didn’t change careers; but her career in art did bring her back from a major injury. We’ve also turned a spotlight on the breadth of Hispanic experience as exemplified in the art of Tony Ortega and Eric Romero. And we got a peek into the vivid, spiritual world of Hunt Slonem, who opened his studio to us for this story.

Speaking of beautiful spaces, we talked to some terrific architects — the Wiseman Group, Gary Orr, and Ward|Blake — who have designed thoughtful spaces for art collectors. We even got some terrific insights from Benner Reibel Landscape Architects on creating artful outdoor living spaces.

As always, thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Rose Fredrick, editor-in-chief
rose@westernartandarchitecture.com