PaperCity Magazine

May 2019- Houston

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86 Dakota apartment in New York she shared with John Lennon. Weinle also designed the room's built-in chinoiserie cabinets, which now hold wine bottles, barware, and china. The couple loved the room's playfulness and kept it intact — including the dome ceiling covered in clouds. Another stunning holdover is the library with its air of a Tony Duquette stage set. The red-lacquered paneling and pagoda-like window coverings are edged in gold gilt, and the shelves are stocked with history books and art tomes. Tucked among the shelves are small artworks, including a prized maquette by Donald Moffett, who gifted it to them when their large sculpture by him went on loan to a museum. "That was a special thing he did, and it has a lot of meaning for us," the wife says. The dining room's imposing red- lacquered chandelier was designed by Weinle, who also lacquered the antique Chippendale dining chairs mint green. The chandelier and chairs were kept. Added to the mix were grasscloth wallcovering, red leopard upholstery from Schumacher, and ceramic sculptures by Anthony Sonnenberg. The couple invited Sonnenberg to the house to envision a work for them, and he has since become a close friend. "When we can, we get to know the artists," the wife says. "That's important. We make studio visits and travel to galleries, fairs, museums, and private homes with collections. That's the fun part of collecting, and it's been such a gift for us to do that." The couple owns a large collection of works on paper by talents such as Dario Robleto, Latin American artist Liliana Porter, and Heather and Eric ChanSchatz, artists who merged their last names when they married. Works on paper — drawings in particular — appeal to the homeowners because they often refl ect the artist's initial thought process before becoming a sculpture, video, or painting. "It's the origination of their ideas, like a doodle," she says. "It's less forgiving and more of a commitment; you can't manipulate it like paint." The medium also has appealing tactile qualities. "I love the quality of paper, the edges, the way it's made. You can see the artist's hand on it." They gravitate to art that's layered in history and deep in content. "We collect what we enjoy," the wife says. "But I would also say it's art that's obsessive- compulsive, very intelligent or highly thought through and processed." Case in point: A meticulously detailed custom wallpaper installation by Jason Salavon encompasses an entire room on the third fl oor. Salavon, a computer geek, was an artist in residence at Microsoft Research in Seattle. His installation The Master Index was created using self-authored software that transformed a data set of the fi ve million most popular Wikipedia articles into a visually arresting art installation. "It's a time capsule of what people were most interested in at that particular moment. Our friends will go up there and become immersed reading it and laughing. It brings up lots of historical memories," she says. The couple also own one of Guillermo Kuitca's painted maps- on-mattresses. One of Latin America's most prominent artists, Kuitca is inspired by the worlds of architecture, theater, and cartography. He makes and dyes each mattress by hand, placing buttons to mark signifi cant cities in the fi ctional countries he's mapped. Sentiment is woven into every piece of art the couple own, and the rooms them- selves have compelling stories to tell. "The house is a little jewel box of surprise," the wife says. "People enjoy walking in and investigating. We want them to become engaged with art — it's not like walking into a sterile white cube. It feels like people live in this house with their art, and that there are artists behind everything in it." The leaded-glass doors and window are original to the house. Luis Jiménez art from Moody Gallery. Sculpture Maria Bang Espersen, an MFAH Glassell School of Art Core Fellow. (continued)

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