Lunch Date: Museum of Arts and Design NYC

Here’s something to know about me: I love lunch dates.

Rainy Day in NYC--meeting Sarah Archer and David McFadden at MAD

Back in November, I drove all the way to New York City for a lunch date. I lunched with David McFadden, chief curator of the newly opened Museum for Art and Design (MAD), and Sarah Archer, the curator who has brought my forthcoming solo show to the Philadelphia Art Alliance (PAA). The show—Reverie—opens on February 7^th.

David is writing the catalogue essay/interview for Reverie!

When asked about the distinction between art and craft, and how one draws the line between art and craft, David’s answer is brief: don't bother.

This explains why the work I am doing for the PAA show might be compelling to him. For this show, I’ve taken inspiration from my family’s collection of 18^th and 19^th century plates, in order to create a series of “plate paintings” in which design elements from “source” plates are drastically scaled up and applied in a matrix on a grid of new plates (see image). In this way, I create a completely new way of experiencing a familiar pattern. Along with my enjoyment at reinterpreting collected heirlooms, I love the chance to make a utilitarian object like a plate into a painting--a work of art for the wall.

After Blue Willow: 2012, 25 Hand-painted plates with glaze and underglaze measures: 50" x 50"

Domestic history, craft, design, and art, these are the themes that constantly have me thinking—and rethinking.

New York City is a place of beauty that sometimes is hard to categorize. I love the shapes and the reflections, more interplay, between landscape and interior. And of course, there was lunch: the restaurant—Robert—is on a first-name basis with everyone and it’s also on top… 

of the MAD Building, ninth floor, Columbus Circle. It was hard not to seem distracted. 

Across from David McFadden dining at ROBERT atop MAD

My lunch companions that day happen to be two interesting and lively people, who care about the same things I do. But there was the terrific view in competition.

Final note: there is an incredible "Art of Scent" exhibit up at MAD through February 24,2013 Well worth the visit if you are in the city with time to spare...