Posts Tagged ‘Sotheby’s’
For some time now, the Victor, Idaho showroom of partners Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer’s company, WRJ Design Associates and WRJ Home, has quietly turned heads.
Quietly around here, that is. In the most sophisticated arts, furnishings and estate auction circles, WRJ’s dynamic work is not only well-known, it’s in demand. This spring, Jenkins and Baer will open a flagship store in Jackson. Their 2,800 sq. ft. showroom at 30 King Street is across from the Snake River Grill. Plans are to open May 2012.
WRJ, (featured in the latest issue of Homestead Magazine) provides interior design, estate curatorial, exhibition and event design services; and are in the midst of designing a Hollywood Memorabilia Auction exhibition in Beverly Hills. Working with Los Angeles’ celebrity auction house Julien’s, they will produce an “auction of epic Hollywood proportions,” offering up remarkable items for sale—items like Charlie Chaplin’s cane and suit, Clark Gable’s “Gone with the Wind” riding jacket, Marilyn Monroe’s “pantaloons,” worn in the film “River of No Return,” and a vintage Christian Dior gown
worn by Princess Diana.
WRJ has confirmed it will design the exhibit around the sale of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.” Pictured above left, in its original frame, it is among art history’s most significant works. “The Scream” is being sold at Sotheby’s New York in May. One of only four privately owned images of Munch’s work, it is expected to sell for at least $80,000,000.
“We are thrilled to have the pleasure of working with Sotheby’s,” says Jenkins. “It is a great honor to be involved with such an historic auction.”
Jenkins and I recently toured WRJ’s new space. “We’re working on five exhibits for Sotheby’s so far this year,” he said. “One is for Brooke Astor’s collection. Another is the Saperstein house, L.A.’s second largest home; the contents of which are being sold by Sotheby’s in April, among several other exciting collections this Spring and Fall. “We are also happy to already be working on several local interior design projects,” he reports.
Jenkins, an Idaho native, and Baer, from Georgia, are putting down roots in Jackson. Their new interior design showroom is about lifestyle. A series of partitioned rooms will evoke being in a real home, with spaces designed as dining, living and bedrooms. WRJ wants to provide visitors memorable experiences, and will carry a selection of fine furnishings and fabrics, including Ralph Lauren and Loro Piana. The store will be accentuated with a variety of objects from around the world.
Art and furnishings made by locals, that tie into the look WRJ wants to achieve, will be featured. The showroom’s atmosphere will be achieved through combining a careful a mix of Contemporary Western elements with Classic flair, with a nod to Rustic ambience.
“We love the concept of layers; it makes what we do interesting,” says Jenkins. “If you have a mix of things from contemporary to traditional, and it’s done in a vetted, beautiful way, it can be successful. We want to do that with our lighting, our furnishings, our objects and rugs. We’re trying to find the best that’s out there, and that doesn’t mean the most expensive; it just means really great design.”
Jenkins and Baer believe in the importance of community.
“The Victor store has been a great success; we were pleasantly surprised that a lot of people from Jackson came over and asked us, ‘When are you opening in Jackson? We can’t wait to
see it!’ We are excited to keep our Victor store next to Sun Dog Café, but Jackson will be our WRJ Flagship store, as well as our WRJ design office headquarters,” Jenkins emphasizes. ” We plan to bring in highlights from some of the auctions and exhibitions we have designed, as well as host events throughout the year, with book signings, lectures on art, design and interiors.”
Most importantly, Jenkins and Baer want their new showroom to beckon visitors. As Jenkins describes it, “The space is meant to feel like someone’s residence…as if you are walking through a private home. As you pass through the store, you move from room to room, and will see a beautiful collection of antiques, art and decorative objects. We want you to feel like you want to live there…amongst luxurious wonderful things!”
Visit WRJ’s website, www.wrjassociates.com for a look at some of their projects; the new www.wrjhome.com website is scheduled to launch this spring; or phone 307.200.4881. Email: info@wrjassociates.com.
Eighty-six artists make up Heather James Gallery’s Post-War and Contemporary roster alone; the gallery specializes in six other art categories: American, Design, Impressionist & Modern, Latin American, Old Masters and Photography.
In Jackson Hole, that’s some mighty glittery gallery fireworks. The Heather James Gallery’s mix of past and present art periods is unique in this art market. The gallery’s presence on re-shuffled, re-designed Center Street buttons up what feels like a newly defined “arts capsule” in Jackson. Center Street’s “Gallery Row” is creating new identity for the Town of Jackson; the block establishes a dynamic focal point, positioned as it is across from a large tourist staging and parking area.
Center Street is its own “draw,” a block mixing regional and international art.
Heather James owners Jim Carona and Heather Sacre plan an opening celebration in June; a grand opening takes place later this summer, on August 21, with the blockbuster show Wyeth, featuring the works of N.C., Andrew and Jamie
Wyeth.
Gallery director Lyndsay Rowan McCandless is at the fore. This is also a good thing. She’s joined by long-time local Molly Hawks. The gallery’s collection is curated by Los Angeles based curator Chip Tom, and renowned architect Dianna Wong designed the space.
Notes McCandless, “Heather James Fine Art has been created to complement their current two galleries located in Palm Desert, CA and to honor and support their love for Jackson, WY. We are looking forward to the merging of our creative ideas and visions in order to bring you the most vibrant and diverse art experience that you can imagine in the Tetons.”
Jackson photographer David Swift opines that Tom’s curatorial skills are original and vital. None of that “undisciplined angst-splatter…that most people think of when they think modern art.”
Swift already has a favorite Heather James artist, Carlos Mérida. “I’ve never heard of him. Turns out he was one of the cool guys hanging with the Cubists from the 20′s, on. He’s as good as his old pals, and there is a piece hanging in the gallery I want really, really, really bad.”
Swift and others familiar with Jackson’s arts agree that having McCandless back at the fore of a contemporary gallery is beyond happy. She’s the valley’s “art angel,” says the photographer, and understands the “art-swoon gland kicks into overdrive once when we get around works created at the dawn of the 20th Century, on.”
How to find and reach Heather James Gallery:
P.O. Box 3580, 172 Center Street – Suite 101, Jackson, WY 83001 Phone: 307.200.6090
Item #2:
Sotheby’s May 19, 2010 American Paintings, Drawings and Sculptures Auction brought these results: 
Thomas Moran’s “Coconino Pines and Cliff, Arizona” : $746,500 with Buyer’s Premium
Winslow Homer’s “Return of the Gleaner,” : $2,210,000 with Buyer’s Premium (estimate was $400-$600,000)
Frederic Remington’s “The Mountain Man”: $1,082,500 with Buyer’s Premium (estimate was $700-$900,000)
Childe Hassam’s “Harney Desert”: $446,500 with Buyer’s Premium (estimate was $200-$300,000)
Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Inside Clam Shell”: $3,442,500 with Buyer’s Premium
Marsden Hartley’s “Berlin Series, No. 1″: $1,762,500.
For full auction results, click here.
