A BRIGHT PAINTING BY THE ARTIST FEDERICO HERRERO HAS SERVED AS GARY’S ZOOM BACKGROUND SINCE LAST SPRING. DISPLAYED ON THE CUSTOM SIDEBOARD, FROM LEFT: LYNDA BOX BY HAAS BROTHERS; GIOLIGHT LAMP BY JOHANNA GRAWUNDER. ON THE RIGHT WALL, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: JAKE TROYLI, BEVERLY FISHMAN AND WENDY WHITE.
VIBRANT ART ENLIVENS A HOME
COLLECTORS GARY METZNER + SCOTT JOHNSON By GINNY VAN ALYEA Visiting the home of an art collector has, for me, always been a very personal as well as in-person endeavor. Requesting that someone let me invade their privacy and ask that they divulge what they buy, from where, and why, is an intimate thing – one I feel better about doing face-to-face, in order to find out what collecting art is like for Chicagoans, as well as to show how it is never the same thing for anyone. This past year has taught me to rethink how I do a lot of things, and collector interviews have not been spared the increased distance that so many of us have experienced. But clearing hurdles has meant meeting opportunities. Despite the apparent challenges, connecting with collectors Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson was a pandemic delight. Already Zoom experts, having attended dozens of art events virtually for a year, Gary and Scott and I met from our respective homes and offices, sharing screenshots and Instagram stories to keep the interview going in a way 28 | CGN | Summer 2021
that would not have happened previously. It also allowed me to sit with and study Gary and Scott’s collection for a couple of weeks, enjoying it fully and for repeat visits. While this interview format may not be needed forever, I was surprisingly grateful for it this spring. * Gary and Scott’s fondness for color is apparent in their home and their art collection. An abundance of saturated, modern hues – which touch most surfaces in their three bedroom River North condo they’ve inhabited for 15 years – dominates a variety of objects, from the orchids, to the linens, to the art. In particular they both love orange. Bold pigment serves as bait, luring the couple to the thing they first admire and then get hooked on, while unifying their taste and lending a vibrancy and sense of fun to the space. Amidst all the first-impression giving colors, I notice a range of artwork and mediums on display in each room, from mid-career contemporary artists who are Chicagobased, to those with international profiles: constructions by
