Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/184488
Gutfreund's library in the New York Kips Bay Show House (the hand-painted and handprinted jute hereafter titled Avian Kips Bay). The Decorative OEUVRE of SCREEN GEMS RUSTY ARENA Arena Design's Cartouche in Provence white on Belgium linen The reissued Caligraph in charcoal on Belgium linen T PHOTOGRAPHY ALEFIYA AKBARALLY Rusty Arena with his Untitled 1, 2012 exas' Rusty Arena — the wizard of wall covering, the maestro of fabric — is toasting 25 years at the helm of a brilliant design practice. Catherine D. Anspon has a sit-down (on a settee upholstered in Arena's Caligraph fabric, no less) with the famously low-key artist and artisan. At his Houston atelier, a 100-foot-long printing table bears the design Pená in the shade Sunset in Belgium linen ATELIER ARENA Arena creations are hand-screened in Texas, using special papers (he will not divulge) for the wall coverings and jute, linen or velvet for the textiles. At any time, an arsenal of screens are in production for either wallpapers or fabrics, and many designs will appear in both. All this takes place in his showroom, a 20,000-square-foot warehouse where Arena and four studio assistants are the keepers of the screens — a total of 279 are available, some of which are highlight screens used in combination with others to produce the atelier's prized output, to fulfill stocked patterns and custom orders. FROM HSPVA TO KIPS BAY From the pages of Veranda to Architectural Digest, Rusty Arena has metamorphosed from the kid most likely to succeed in the inaugural class of 1973 at Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts to the darling of the national design firmament. This is a talent whose extraordinary hand-printed wallpaper and textiles are both timeless and contemporary. If we were to compare Arena to a modern master, it might be Cy Twombly, an artist whom he admires. Like Twombly, Arena is adept at channeling the beauty and resonance from times past to today. Even the monikers of his wall coverings and textiles hint at sources and inspirations from lost civilizations, other worlds, the ancients and the antique — Santorini, Cartouche, Valmont. In the two and a half decades since Arena Design launched, its protagonist has segued from trompe l'oeil and faux finishes to his signature creations: hand-painted wallpapers and fabrics. He forays successfully into both, and his work draws gasps for the subtle way that light plays on the hand-blocked bolts of velvet. He's also earned accolades from Carolyne Roehm for the opulent wall covering he crafted for Susan Arena won't reveal his secrets, but he was approached by Fortuny to create a wallpaper collection. Because Arena Design's hand-screened processes are as proprietary as his inspirations, the project did not go forward. He did collaborate with Hermès to craft a collection of velvets for visual display in the fabled retailer's Paris storefronts, and he has a dream of "one day designing a scarf for Hermès." He's also worked on collaborations with the legendary textile company Jim Thompson, which is headquartered in Bangkok. WORKING ON … Tigré, in Sumatran gray velvet, a new offering The celestial Big Dot in Silverine velvet The luscious Pandelli in Godiva velvet, inspired by history and hand-crafted "I'm amidst a creation for a yacht that's exciting! The owner is a dream client." Arena Design fabrics and wallcoverings available to the trade at ID Collection, Dallas. "INSPIRATIONS — MY TRAVELS, WHICH BEGAN WHEN I WAS SUPER YOUNG AND TOTALLY CHANGED MY LIFE … COUNTLESS TRIPS TO TURKEY, BANGKOK, ANGKOR WAT, CASABLANCA, JAVA, EVERYWHERE IN EUROPE, PARIS, THE SOUTH OF FRANCE, MYKONOS AND ALL THROUGHOUT ASIA, ASIA MINOR, CAPPED BY THE NIGHT I LAY UNDER THE STARS ATOP A MAYAN PYRAMID IN CHICHEN ITZA." — RUSTY ARENA The Glamorous TYPE D Jan Showers JENNY ANTILL oyenne of decor Jan Showers serves up some serious eye candy via Glamorous Retreats (Abram Books, $30), the follow-up to her bestselling Glamorous Rooms. Out this month, the coffee-table essential features more than 200 never-before-seen photographs of the designer's work on vacation abodes across the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean — all reflecting her signature blend of Hollywood high style, mid-century modernism and classic 18th-century French. Have your copy signed by Showers Thursday, October 17, 5 to 7 pm, at Forty Five Ten; Tuesday, October 29, at Blue Print; and Wednesday, December 4, at Mecox Gardens. (Times were still TBD for the last two events at press time, so check with the store before you go.) Lauren Scheinin Deer Rajan & Jeffrey French ceramic goat sculpture ($3,700) in the under-construction expansion H ere we check in with Rajan Patel and Jeffrey Lee, the notoriously reticent owners of the notoriously fabulous Grange Hall, concerning the upcoming expansion. Sitting in for the boys is a vintage life-size French ceramic goat sculpture ($3,700, at Grange Hall). Holly Moore Expected completion date? Hopefully before the end of the year. New things we might see. Larger furniture objects, more found objects … some bespoke offerings. We are collaborating with our existing designers to create pieces that have a distinct Grange Hall look. Architect or designer involved. Joshua Metzger at Lee Design Group. Anything fabulous about the fixtures? Think "ruins" mixed with deconstructed "classicism." The skeleton will be … Exposed-brick walls, concrete floor. Timothy Corrigan Corrigan's chateau EVENING OF DESIGN AT ID COLLECTION with Timothy Corrigan & a Special PA ID Collection launches the fall season with an Evening of Design, featuring two illustrious headliners coming in for special PAs Tuesday, October 22. L.A.- and Paris-based Timothy Corrigan, an Architectural Digest AD 100 decorator, holds court at 4:30 pm with an informal design dialogue, followed by a champagne reception and signing of his first volume, the just-released An Invitation to Chateau du GrandLucé (Rizzoli, $65), a riveting and lavish tale of restoring his own 18th-century Loire Valley chateau. Books will be for sale at the event. Then, at 6 pm, the Texas-based international wizard of wall coverings and textiles, Rusty Arena, unveils his latest coveted wallpapers and fabrics. The public is invited and design professionals are encouraged to attend. RSVP events@altonladaymedia.com. Catherine D. Anspon