Bea Pila

Inspired by ethnicity and distinctive cultures, Bea Pila designs residential and commercial spaces with a sense of hospitality and uniqueness. Because her styles are diverse and eclectic she has become well-known in the Miami area for her interior design.

In our interview, Bea Pila stated, “I love things from Africa mixed with modern elements, I love things from Asia and from all over the world…I love global influences.”

The Diaz Project by Bea Pila

Representing transitional contemporary styles, the interior designer finds herself incorporating fine art in almost all her projects. “I have been very blessed to have clients that have the capacity and understanding to collect fine art,” says Bea Pila.

Her projects include: The Levine Project – featuring a classic American art collection, The Kaz Project – highlighting glass art and Andy Warhol pieces, The Garcia Project – showcasing a Cuban art collection, The Diaz Project – incorporating antique pieces including 58 Tiffany lamps and the list goes on.

The Levine Project by Bea Pila

With the continuous success of her work, the designer challenges herself with new tasks! “My biggest challenge today is establishing my own brand in a store and expanding my new products and collections.” The store is located in Miami, and she is looking forward to opening one in New York.

The Levine Project by Bea Pila

Influenced by abstract urban art, Bea Pila mentioned nAscent artists, Todd Wright and Alexandra Pacula as inspiring. “I couldn’t tell if Alexandra’s work was photography that was manipulated or was it fine art, it was very intriguing to me. It was impressive to learn they are oil paintings.”

Todd Wright

Alexandra Pacula

We are looking forward to hearing about exciting new projects by Bea Pila and seeing her collection here in New York soon.

-Yekaterina Sahakyan

Artists need space to create. Want an inside peek at studios of famous fine art figures? Big to small, lofty, skylit, bold or beautiful…We’ve compiled 5 artist studios in the U.S. that are sure to impress!

Let’s start the tour!

1. Willem de Kooning’s studio – East Hampton, New York

Willem de Kooning’s studio – East Hampton, New York

Born in 1904 in the Netherlands, Willem de Kooning is referred to be the Abstract expressionist in the post-World War II era.

He says, “The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves.”

His studio exemplifies the order and chaos that he refers to as an artist. Moreover, it is known that the inspiration of some of his biomorphic shapes of abstract work were derived from objects found in his studio. In 1946, Kooning was faced with financial problems and he did not have the resources to buy artists’ pigments. As a solution to keep his career, he began working with only black and white pigments. Some of these works include: Light in August, Black Friday, Zurich, and Mailbox.

2. Roy Lichtenstein’s studio – Southampton, New York

Roy Lichtenstein’s studio – Southhampton, New York

An American pop artist, often associated with Andy Warhol and his style of art, Roy Lichtenstein has been a leading figure in the pop art movement during the 1960s. It was 30 years later that he met the photographer Laurie Lambrecht who helped him with the studio showcase at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as part of his artworks. Even his studio looks like a comic book.

3. Jackson Pollock’s studio – East Hampton, New York

Jackson Pollock’s studio – East Hampton, New York

Another Abstract expressionist, known for his drip paintings is Jackson Pollock. Born in 1912, Pullock who later on suffered from alcoholism finds the perfect space on the floor.

“On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting.”

And you won’t see chairs and tables in his studio, nothing but a large space to drip colors and dance around a large-scale canvas.

4. David Hockney’s studio – Bedford Corners, New York

David Hockney’s studio – Bedford Corners, New York

A studio doesn’t have to be indoors! David Hockney  transformed the woodsy landscape into a temporary atelier to paint and feel the surrounding of nature that has been the inspiration for the artist. With these outdoor digs there is no need to worry about rent, electricity, or street noise. You may just  have to be prepared for the weather!

5. Georgia O’Keefe’s studio – Abiquiu, New Mexico

Georgia O’Keefe’s studio – Abiquiu, New Mexico

O’Keeffe the originator of female iconography, came to the attention of the art world as the first woman with art training during the 19^th Century. One of her most famous paintings is Summer Days. She is also known for the series of Clouds paintings and as a whole O’Keefe represents a very nature oriented character that is transitioned into her studio design. Wooden floors and furniture, light walls and big windows is all the artist needs to transform a blank canvas.

Which studio did you like the most?

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “An artist’s studio should be a small space because small rooms discipline the mind and large ones distract it.”

Do you agree with da Vinci or would you prefer endless space like Hockney?

-Yekaterina Sahakyan

Breaking news! The Sotheby’s recorded their biggest auction in their 268-year history. After selling 69 works, recording total of $375 million and achieving 95.6% sales value on Tuesday, Sotheby boosted to all art collectors around the world.

Yesterday, a Mark Rothko painting sold for $75 million and a Jackson Pollock painting for $40 million. Dealers feel this Rothko piece achieved such a high price because of the big size and tropical hues, which are considered desirable aspects by collectors. The Rothko was expected to sell for only $50 million, but five bidders chased after the painting, until a Sotheby’s specialist Charlie Moffett made the last call with $75 million.

Mark Rothko No 1Untitled Royal Red and Blue

Other works included were Andy Warhol’s Suicide piece which fetched $15.2 million and Franz Kline’s Shenandoah which sold for $9.3 million. Sotheby’s specialist Anthony Grant noted that the majority of the buyers were from United States, Malaysia, France, Switzerland and South America.

Andy Warhol, Suicide

While many attended the auction, most of the bids were made anonymously over the phone. Other top telephone bids recorded were Willem de Koonin’s Abstraction painting for $19.6 million, the Francis Bacon’s portrait Untitled (Pope) for $29.7 million and Gerhard Richter Abstract Painting for $17.4 million.

Francis Bacon, Untitled (Pope)

With the economy in mind, the Sotheby’s auction took an unexpected turn for many dealers and auctioneers, but the auction art market has always been an adrenaline driven experience. “If you want to talk about the market being happy, healthy and well, well, here it is. That’s probably about as good as it gets.” said Tobias Meyer, auctioneer and worldwide head of contemporary art (Sotheby’s).

-Yekaterina Sahakyan

For her diamond jubilee celebration, the year-long celebration of her 60 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II bought her self a gift, actually 4 gifts. Paintings by famed pop artist Andy Warhol became part of the Royal Collection for a cost that will not be shared with the public.

The paintings are a colorful contemporary glance at a younger Queen Elizabeth executed in classic Andy Warhol fashion.

Royal Collection staff standing with four Andy Warhol portraits of Queen Elizabeth II

The Warhol paintings are first modern art to enter the palace doors. Created with screen-printing in 1985, the paintings are part of Warhol’s body of work called Reigning Queens.

Andy Warhol, who died in 1987 gained fame in part due his celebrity paintings of not only Queen Elizabeth but other icons like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.

The portraits are scheduled to be displayed at Windsor Castle for “The Queen: Portraits of a Monarch at Windsor Castle” exhibit starting in November and running through June 2013.

-Yekaterina Sahakyan

A traditional Chinese tale about a monkey king that can transform himself in 72 different ways to achieve enlightenment while overcoming obstacles serves as the inspiration for a new Chinese art competition, 72 Transformations.

The contest, aiming to discover the “next big” contemporary Chinese artist runs through October 15^th and is sponsored by Absolut Vodka.

Hand-made design by Shanghai emerging artist

Contest winners will see their artwork on Absolut Vodka bottles in China. You may have already witnessed similar U.S. campaigns, where artists were challenged to design a new look for the well-known vodka brand, but now the spotlight is on China!

In 2003, Florida based artist Romero Britto designed 850,000 bottles for Absolut vodka 25^th Anniversary which quickly became an iconic product that changed the marketing philosophy of many global brands. Britto is not the first artist to have worked with Absolut vodka, other famous artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring also had a hand in transforming the blank bottle design.

Absolut Heart by Romero Britto

Absolut decided to completely change the old, simply designed bottle because, “Our customers are all unique – so we wanted to give them each a one-of-a-kind bottle as individual as they are,” explains Jonas Tahlin, Vice President Global Marketing at The Absolut Company.

With this type of campaign, art has broken the mold and made it’s way from the wall to the bottle in order to reach a broader audience. This gives more opportunities to artists and also inspires art fans.

Shanghai artist Lu Xinjian drawing on Absolut bottle using black markers

-Yekaterina Sahakyan