Building a partnership with Suzanne Grossman
How many times a day have you actually taken those few, precious moments to, “stop and smell the roses'’. So many of us live life moving from one activity to another, from work, to family and everything in between. Susan Grossman's art is the literal definition of doing just that.
Back at the Skyframe offices there are days when you walk into either the showroom and or the warehouse and in full display are pieces that are reflecting a moment where someone stopped and used their creative expression to show a moment in time, they are all in the queue and getting prepped to be framed. From the static guard that is use to assure that every piece of medium is in its proper place, to the over 10,000 frame moulding choices. Wood, Metal/Welded, and Plexi Frames! In addition to machine finished mouldings, Skyframe mills over 200 custom frame profiles from raw woods. If you ever visit our showroom in NYC, you will literally see a majority of these options at the same time you are able to see a few pieces that are about to head over to a local gallery, or a six foot print that someone commissioned for their personal collection.
We recently had the very talented Susan Grossman stop by the warehouse to accomplish just that. With a selected solo exhibition at the Kim Eagles-Smith Gallery, in Mill Valley, San Francisco Susan brought the pieces that were in need of framing. Grossman's process starts with taking photographs and then developing them into charcoal drawings. Skyframe customizes frames for her art pieces and delivers them to galleries. It was more than just being able to see her final product, but rather watch an artist in their element, away from the studios that bring out their creativity. Using a minimal palette of black, white , and gray, punctuated by the occasional primary color, Grossman’s drawings recall classic film noir. She finds compelling subjects and locations by crisscrossing the city and taking numerous photographs. Once in the studio, Grossman, like William Kentridge, begins to draw and then obsessively shifts her narrative world away from her sources. She re-positions buildings and vehicles while adding and subtracting characters to achieve the final cut. The physicality of her process is crucial to achieve the “just happened” feel of her work.
]]>Justin W. Cox is an abstract artist fueled by surfing, music, art and fashion. He works in acrylics, smearing and scraping vibrant colors with unpredictable outcomes. His work is bold and positive, influenced by the energy and beauty of the sea.
]]>A native of St. Petersburg, Florida and longtime New Yorker, Charles Caesar creates imagery at the intersections of magical realism, timelessness, and the elevated-everyday. Beauty and elegance exist all around us and with his camera, Charles documents his subjects with reverence and esteem.
The celebration of Black, Queer, Trans, Non-Binary, and Intersex identities is always at the forefront of Charles’ practice as well as the broader exploration of individual stories beyond labels and traditional signifiers.
]]>“An old friend gave me a Polaroid camera. I started shooting my model friends and taking portraits during my travels as a model. One of the images ended up in an Upper East Side gallery. I continued showing in galleries and started selling my art to private collectors. What started as snapping Polaroids of friends quickly evolved into a second career shooting portraits for magazines and taking me to the far reaches of the world such as Morocco and Peru to shoot medical missions for children.”
Specialties: Portraits, Humanitarian and Fine Art Photography. Originally from San Antonio, Texas. Currently lives and works as a photographer in New York City. Private commissions available upon request.
]]>Creating a gallery wall is no small accomplishment. Trying to incorporate all of your favorite items can often seem overwhelming for some individuals. Our team is here to help you create a dynamic space that is still live-able. See our tips and tricks to building the perfect collection for your wall below!
]]>Skyframe will plant one tree for every order placed in an effort to reverse our carbon footprint and replace trees used in our production process.
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"Lissa Rivera is a photographer and curator based in New York, NY. Rivera received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, where she became fascinated with the social history of photography and the evolution of identity, sexuality and gender in relationship to material culture. Beautiful Boy, Rivera’s latest project, takes her interest in photography’s connection with identity to a personal level, focusing on her domestic partner as muse."
There seems to be a correlation spanning your portfolio that speaks to time and space, including Absence Portraits and Places of Education. It is also happens to be timely with the isolation that the current pandemic has brought upon schools and offices. Is this indicative of a broader theme in your body of work?
As much as possible, I attempt to time travel. I hope to connect to energies and histories that linger and soak into places and things.
What role, in your opinion, does the artist have in society?
The artist’s role can play out in many ways. I particularly love art’s potential to reimagine society, to suggest alternative visions of past, present, and future.
Reading the NYT article in which you talked about the growth of your relationship with your partner after your first portrait session together was fascinating in terms of human relations. What does the series Beautiful Boy mean to you on a personal level?
Beautiful Boy was a vessel for my partner BJ and I to create a world from scratch, in which we could explore our fantasies, fears and desires. It is a record of our evolving relationship to this process as well as our evolution as a couple and as artists.
What type of research or preparation goes into making your imagery? How do you choose locations?
I start with creating a lot of mood boards, reading history and watching films. After much research, I hone in on the main themes and begin looking for costumes and locations. This takes time, because I am always seeking more hidden places. The textiles and color in my work are integral to the symbolism of the pictures. I spend days searching for the accessories and garments in person at flea markets and on Ebay.
What memorable responses have you had to your work?
When people share that it helped them to accept themselves more, it is truly moving. It meant a lot to have BJ’s father at our first reception, and that he told BJ he was very proud of him. A friend once told me that it helped her to explain a more expansive view of gender to her conservative parents.
What are you up to currently?
We were scheduled to have a solo exhibition this past July at ClampArt, New York, which was postponed due to Covid-19. This was to be a compilation of never-before exhibited work from the past few years, including a video installation. It will be exciting to finally present all that we have been working on. I would love to use this time to create a book that includes BJ’s writing with the photographs.Recently, I took a break as a curator to explore filmmaking professionally. It is a bit like a dream come true and I am working hard to realize this new endeavor with the same passion I had for museum work.
My biggest inspiration has been Leonor Fini, especially for her lifestyle. Cinema is incredibly important. Kenneth Anger’s ‘Puce Moment’ and Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ are two of my go-tos. My biggest inspiration photographically comes from vernacular photography. Vernacular collectors inspire me beyond any contemporary art.
Tips and tricks to elevate your Halloween decor using art, picture frames, custom mirrors, chalk boards, and more.
]]>Picture Framing: switch out your framed art to classically creepy images of things that are sure to spook guests and ghouls alike. Get a free quote on your own Halloween Gallery Wall here.
Mirrors: If mirrors are portals, then Skyframe is taking you on a design destination. With our selection of antique and standard styles, you can now shop popular sizes direct from our website by clicking here. For custom shapes and sizes please e-mail info@skyframe.com.
Chalk Boards: Make your own magic with our pre-fabricated chalk boards. Ships free in 3-5 business days and ready to hang! Don't see what you are looking for here? E-mail info@skyframe.com for custom chalk boards, marker boards, pin boards and more in thousands of molding options!
Custom Face Masks: Hosting a spooky social distanced soiree? Make sure your guests are covered with custom face masks made from any design and file type! These also make great assets with costumes for trick or treaters.
The Art Headboard is a creative way to to bring form and function to custom framing, like these examples from Better Homes and Gardens (L) and Nomadic Decorator (R).
Framing fabric can make for a luxurious backdrop for a shockingly accessible price point. Contact us here for a free quote on similar to these images from Gathered Living and Estudio Maria Santos.
]]>Design your own living space with custom chalkboards or create more depth and light within a space using custom mirrors. Schedule a free virtual or in-person consultation here with our experts designers to help make your headboard dreams a reality. Images via The Spruce (L) and Gathered Living (R).
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Grisoro Designs (above), featured in AD Spain, makes a case for repurposing the book shelf into a unique display featuring treasured objects and pictures frames by Skyframe. Utilizing the Rule of Threes, this setup makes for a harmonious, yet functional, design. Shop the look here.
Want a gallery-style look without all of the hassle? Take cues from My Scandinavian Home & Lark and Linen with their picture frame ledge designs that make it easier than ever to swap art and photos as frequently as you wish. Make every square inch count and even utilize the floor!
]]>No man (or frame) is left behind with these make-everything-fit designs. Use picture frames and sentimental objects as multifunctional bookends and decor, while tying the room together with a pretty little bow. Design from Lark and Linen and Bates Smart.
Something really special about Love Shack Fancy is the fact that being inside the space feels very much like walking into the most fabulous private wardrobe in Los Angeles. Skyframe is proud to have assisted with various facets of branding for their new Melrose Place store, including floor length dressing room mirrors, custom antique gold frames, mood boards made of cork, and more!
The gallery wall below was custom designed just for this space, using an antique gold molding by Skyframe.
We quickly got to work on these custom floor length dressing room mirrors, chosen for their perfect fit with Love Shack Fancy's very specific and unique branding guide.
]]>We appreciate all of the small details that can be found covering every square inch of the space which come together to form a transformative shopping experience. One of these details is the mood board on the left which Skyframe manufactured with our in-house cork board.
Featured in Architectural Digest this month is the Hamptons home of Skyframe clients Reinaldo Leandro and Patrick McGrath. We have loved following their journey of renovation and restoration of their weekend home, spotted for sale one day in the quaint hamlet of the Springs. Given their shared line of work, how could the Manhattan couple resist a shared project of their own?
"Leandro took the lead on the structural design and McGrath drove the decor, artfully repurposing much of their existing furniture. The living room’s sofa, for instance, was slipcovered in white linen with crisp box-pleat trim, while the bedroom rugs were collected on trips to Turkey and Mexico over the years."
“Everything has a story,” says Leandro, indicating the bedcovers (purchases from Paris) and earthenware pineapples (souvenirs from San Miguel de Allende). Art ranges from rare prints to pre-Columbian icons. A native of Venezuela, he concedes that McGrath’s New England roots set him at ease when it came to decorating in a cottage style—though they didn’t always see eye to eye. “At a certain point I did say, ‘If another urn comes into this house, I’m going to have a meltdown.’”
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Design by @paulbatesarchitects and @rosewoodhotels
Design by @paddingtonway and @jennasuedesign
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Whether for your portfolio, or for your Instagram, Skyframe is now offering professional imagery shot in-house upon order completion. Simply request this service at the time of placing your order for an additional $25 fee.
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As a New York City institution for almost 40 years, we know your
neighborhood in and out. That's why Skyframe is excited to announce
that we are extending free art transportation to Manhattan & Brooklyn.*
Learn more here and book your slot today.*Exclusions apply.
In 2004 I was in Mondulkiri, a remote eastern province, bordering Vietnam. It was about 18 hours by truck to the capital Phnom Penh. When I say by truck I mean, holding on to the back of a cargo truck; for dear life. I went there to spend time with elephant herders. The only way to really travel was by motorbike so I took the leap. Mondulkiri’s roads are all dust and red earth. After an insanely long day following a local friend through crazy up and down terrains at way too fast a speed, I took a bad tumble about 5 minutes from my guest house. The skin from my hands came off and were raw and I had stones embedded in the palm of my hand. Needless to say, I wasn’t getting out of there any time soon and I could not even hold my camera up. In that time I spent healing I made friends with the locals and got a new “aunty”, the owner of the guest house. I was treated like family and got to spend more time with the elephant herders and learn Kmer language. I let go of the anxiety of what I was missing and relaxed in the gift that was the every day life in one of the most unspoiled places on earth. I went from being a foreigner to being a “local” and that experience changed my view of what travel can provide.
India and Papua New Guinea are without a doubt my favorite places to photograph. The colors and subjects are endless. So many diverse ethnic groups and cultures. It’s a feast for the eyes and a dream location for a travel photographer, provided you are adapt to handle all of the situations you are bound to encounter.
For all my field work, no matter where I am, the most important aspect is the human connection and the trust between the group or individual and I. In the case of photographing the collection for “Skin”, it took living with them to gain the trust or the community and the elders both male and female. I had to complete several physical tasks that only men do in those parts, as well as convince the majority of the council of men and the chief that I was the right woman to be the keeper or their secrets.
My process is very much research oriented at the start. I have to learn as much as possible about the region, people, culture, customs and I always learn the language of the place either months before or as soon as I land. It’s the most important tool I have as a travel ethnographic photographer. It’s my connection and my salvation. While on site I make sure to ingratiate myself with the local community and learn from them what’s important about their culture and start putting together the items and locations that best exemplify that.
For my printing process I go image by image and figure out by intuition or experimentation what process might best create the photograph inside the image. When making an exhibition it’s a bit difficult because you have to make sure all the images have the same look and feel, so it’s about the spirit of the collection and not the individual image at that point. I often offer both color and black and white work in my exhibitions. I find color is more experiential and provides a realistic and faithful feel of the image, location and people, but I can distill the spirit of the subject much better in black and white.
A key element in my work is the intimacy that the subjects express through their eyes. I am what and who the are looking at. The eyes are the most important component for me, as that is exactly where both worlds meet. In that gaze we share the connection and our humanity. In that gaze that’s encased in the photograph we get to live forever. My subjects, whether it’s a 5 second encounter or someone whose become family, they are all heroes to me. I always try to make them feel that way. They carry in them the culture and represent for the viewers that iconic image of their people.
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