ELIZABETH HURLEY’S beautiful message
ANCIENT JOURNEY
Greek and Byzantine history
PETER ARGUIMBAU
A modern-day ‘old master’
celebrating the arts JUDGED
THE INCREDIBLE ECONOMOS HOME
An entire work of art, furnishings, too, hand-carved by creative and gifted owners
PAIGE BRADLEY’S
singular sculptures
BACK TO THE SCHOOLHOUSE with Bram Lewis
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CONTENTS
14 Guests of the conqueror 18 Byzantine connection 20 Byzantine with a twist 22 Nurturing the arts 24 An outsider’s inside view 28 Paint it black 30 Head of the class 32 Sculpture with soul 36 Art without boundaries 38 A new old master 42 The pained object of desire 44 With a stroke of the bow 46 Give ’em shelter 50 Glimmering Gilmor 52 Mortal man, immortal art 54 The language of art 58 In bold strokes 60 Art walk 68 Step into an art-filled home like no other 74 Nature’s art gallery 78 Remebering Fidel Castro in his prime 86 Café La Fondita inspired by a taste for travel
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COVER STORY
ELIZABETH HURLEY, MODEL CITIZEN
AUTUMN INSPIRATION Art, which we explore this month, is everywhere. It’s in the blazing colors of the changing leaves to the wild turkeys glimpsed in nearby woodlands to those elaborate table settings soon to be filled with seasonal specialties. And for all of this, we’re thankful. Photograph by Anthony Carboni.
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128 WIT What artistic talent would you most like to have?
ELIZABETH HURLEY’S beautiful message
ANCIENT JOURNEY
Greek and Byzantine history
PETER ARGUIMBAU
A modern-day ‘old master’
THE INCREDIBLE ECONOMOS HOME
An entire work of art, furnishings, too, hand-carved by creative and gifted owners
PAIGE BRADLEY’S
singular sculptures
BACK TO THE SCHOOLHOUSE with Bram Lewis
BEST MAGAZINE IN NEW YORK STATE WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE NOVEMBER 2016 | WAGMAG.COM
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96 WELL Fitness fun
SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
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88 WONDERFUL DINING Suburban sophistication
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COVER:
Elizabeth Hurley, wearing a Jassy playsuit in white, $285. See story on page 64. Photograph by Pascal Chevallier.
NOVEMBER 2016
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Visit Korea without leaving Connecticut Visitors will explore the lives of typical South Korean children in Seoul, such as an apartment, classroom and K-pop stage. These spaces embed traditional folktales and games to show how values like respect for parents and elders; loyalty to family and community; and hospitality are still an integral facet of 21st century Korean life. Exhibit open through December 2016. Heart and Seoul: Growing Up in Korea is created by The Children’s Museum of Houston as part of the Freeman Foundation Asian Culture Exhibit Series, funded by the Freeman Foundation and administered by Association of Children’s Museum. Additional major funding has been provided by Samsung.
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WAGGERS
THE TALENT BEHIND THIS ISSUE
ANTHONY CARBONI
DANIELLE BRODY
ALEESIA FORNI
BILL HELTZEL
GIOVANNI ROSELLI
BOB ROZYCKI
ROBIN COSTELLO
RYAN DEFFENBAUGH
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GUEST WAGGER JANET T. LANGSAM is the CEO of ArtsWestchester, an organization that financially and promotionally supports all of the arts in Westchester County. During her tenure, Langsam has helped grow ArtsWestchester, formerly known as the Westchester Arts Council, from a $1 million to a $3.6 million agency and has made the arts more visible, diverse and accessible for all. As CEO, Langsam advocates for funding, supports local artists and cultural organizations, champions the county’s arts community and reports on the positive impact the arts have on the local and regional economies. Among her many achievements, Langsam spearheaded the purchase and renovation of an abandoned nine-story historical building in the heart of downtown White Plains, ArtsWestchester’s current home.
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AUDREY TOPPING
JEREMY WAYNE
OOPS! WAG’s October cover story (Page 64) misstated when Andrea Mitchell was diagnosed with cancer as she was about to cover a presidential campaign. She was diagnosed in 2011, shortly before the 2012 campaign. In our story on orphaned African elephants, we used a photograph of a baby Asian elephant on Page 14. Our apologies to Dumbo.
EDITOR'S LETTER
SOME LOVE FROM OUR READERS Over the years, we’ve received warm responses from our subjects and other readers about our stories, photographs and design elements. Indeed, so many that we thought we’d begin sharing them with you. Want to be part of the conversation? Send your thoughts to me – subject line “Letters to the Editor” – at ggouveia@westfairinc.com. — Georgette Gouveia
“I JUST HAD A CHANCE TO READ THE ARTICLE (OCTOBER WAG’S COVER ON NBC CORRESPONDENTS AND BREAST CANCER ALLIANCE SUPPORTERS ANDREA MITCHELL AND ANNE THOMPSON). IT WAS SO WELL-DONE. I NEVER IMAGINED I WOULD APPEAR IN AN ARTICLE ALONGSIDE THESE TWO INCREDIBLE WOMEN.” – Yonni Wattenmaker, executive director, Breast Cancer Alliance
“JUST WANTED TO SAY I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED YOUR 'SAVING THEIR SPECIES' PIECE IN THE OCTOBER 2016 WAG. I AM A HUGE ADVOCATE FOR ELEPHANTS (AND OTHER ANIMALS, ENDANGERED, ETC.) AND I COMMEND YOU AND WAG FOR HIGHLIGHTING SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOPIC AND TRULY AMAZING EFFORT IN THE MAGAZINE. LOVE IT. THANK YOU FOR THE AMAZING ARTICLE. .” – Daniella DiMartino, account supervisor, Buzz Creators Inc.
“YOU ARE A ROCK STAR, GEORGETTE, ANOTHER GREAT ARTICLE ('GREENWICH MANOR REBORN,' OCTOBER WAG). THANK YOU MUCH AND THANK YOU GREATLY, MRS. DELBELLO. BOB (ROZYCKI), WONDERFUL SHOTS AS USUAL.” – Valerio Morano Sagliocco, director and principal designer, Morano Landscape Garden Design, and president/managing partner, Ridgeway Garden Center
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GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
When I saw The New York Times’ ad for Times Journeys’ “The Legacy of Alexander the Great,” I thought, How wonderful would it be to go on a trip combining so many of my loves, especially since I could write about it for WAG’s November “Celebrate the Arts” issue. Greece, after all, is the cradle of Western civilization and it didn’t disappoint. Despite socioeconomic challenges, it remains a nation proud of a heritage on exquisite display in mesmerizing ruins, superbly choreographed museums, stunning Byzantine churches and royal tombs that will shake you to the core. As with the terra-cotta army found in the burial mound of China’s first emperor — which Audrey captures here with great feeling — the Royal Tombs of Alexander the Great’s father and son at Vergina offered me a lesson in the fragility of power captured in incandescent gold-leaf crowns, magnificent weaponry, sensuous marbles and poignant reliefs. That’s what great art does. It gives our mortal coil an immortal frame. It is the only thing that ever has. We’ve ranged over the globe to bring you this art, some of it by Mother Nature herself in the form of the brilliantly colored Wooden Stakes Caves of Vietnam (Audrey again). Our glam globetrotter Debbi feasted on castles and opera as she made her way through Germany, the Czech Republic and France via Viking River Cruises. Closer to home, Jeremy took in perhaps the hottest art spot in America, Miami, as he anticipates another Miami Art Week. Ninety miles away, Americans have been discovering the vibrant cultural life of Cuba, now that the embargo has been lifted. We’ve reported on this scene in the past, so here former New York Times’ editor Seymour Topping recalls his encounter with the man who has loomed over that island nation for more than half a century, Fidel Castro, as a meeting with a Hemingway figure. WAG country has, of course, its share of fabulous artists and arts institutions. ArtsWestchester CEO Janet T. Langsam provides us with her insights into the arts council’s new exhibit “Remedy,”
about the healing power of art. Jane takes us to the Westchester home of Judith and Andrew Economos, which teems with sensual sculpture and painting (Judith’s) and sumptuous woodwork (Judith and Andrew’s). Jane also checks in with photographer Bernard Mindich, a guiding light of the stalwart Katonah Museum Artists’ Association. Mary takes us to two unusual galleries — New Rochelle’s Mahlstedt Gallery and Hastings-on-Hudson’s Square Peg Gallery. Bob sits down with Stamford’s Paige Bradley, who reveals the art of the nude. Indeed, contemporary art rules the day with the dazzling Gilmor Glassworks in Millerton; provocative works in all media by women artists in a show of local collectors at the Bruce Museum; and even Greenwich painter Peter Arguimbau’s use of Old Masters' techniques in service of thrilling maritime works. But we also have theater (Bram Lewis at The Schoolhouse in Croton Falls), music (Byzantine chant, violinist Daisy Jopling) and a salute to film noir (the Housatonic Museum of Art’s “Rendezvous in Black” exhibit). There is one art in which we can all excel — that of graceful living, as Danielle discovered when she interviewed model-actress Elizabeth Hurley before a Bloomingdale’s White Plains brunch for The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. Afterward, Hurley stopped to tell me how lovely Danielle is. That is grace. But even a goddess — be she a contemporary or ancient Greek one — has her challenges. “Why don’t you have your picture taken with Ms. Hurley,” I coaxed the 80-year-old attendee at my table. Said she: “I’d rather have my picture taken with Hugh Grant.” Georgette Gouveia is the author of “Water Music” (Greenleaf Book Group) and “The Penalty for Holding” (Less Than Three Press, 2017). They’re part of her series of novels, “The Games Men Play,” also the name of the sports/culture blog she writes at thegamesmenplay.com. Readers may find weekly installments of her novel “Seamless Sky” on wattpad.com.
Twelve years cancer-free
Today was another milestone for Patty and our team of cancer experts Twelve years cancer-free. Patty Ferris and Dr. Green, her oncologist, have been through a lot together. From Patty’s diagnosis of breast cancer to her mastectomy, chemo, and many, many follow-up visits. At the White Plains Hospital Center for Cancer Care, every patient’s battle with cancer is our battle, too. And our partnership with Montefiore Health System gives our patients access to breakthrough clinical trials right here in White Plains. It’s this commitment to delivering exceptional care every day that has kept Patty cancer-free for all these years. Watch her story at exceptionaleveryday.org/survivor
Advanced cancer care in a new, state-of-the-art center Multidisciplinary team of medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists on-site Leading-edge research and treatments, including the latest in immunotherapy Holistic, integrative care with complementary therapies Comprehensive robotic surgical program Breast cancer patients seen as soon as 24 hours after diagnosis
A M E M B E R O F T H E M O N T E F I O R E H E A LT H S Y S T E M
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Alexander the Great aboard his horse Bucephalus in Thessaloniki, Greece.
G
GUESTS OF THE CONQUEROR STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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Although he was short of money, Alexander did not want to leave his men without financial resources. He enquired very carefully into their circumstances, and if they were in need, he made them generous gifts…. Seeing his lavish generosity, one of (his counselors) cried out: “My lord…what do you think will be left to you?” “Hope,” was Alexander’s unhesitating reply…. He was taking very little baggage with him. His weapons, the trappings of his horses — Bucephalus, somewhat aged but still vigorous, was among them — and especially a small casket which… contained Homer’s ‘Iliad.” — from Pierre Grimal’s “Stories of Alexander the Great” Unlike Alexander — whose conquest of the Persian Empire in 331 B.C. ignited the spread of Greek culture and a tension between East and West that resonates today — I had a lot of baggage, not all of it actual. Commitments on the home and work fronts weighed heavily, as did my lingering fear of flying. Oh, the irony: Here was a man who traveled some 22,000 miles from the Balkans to India and I was reluctant to journey less than a fourth of that to immerse myself in his complex story, which has haunted me since childhood. Yet Alexander was nothing if not persistent. “My son, you are invincible,” the Oracle at Delphi legendarily proclaimed, exasperated when he dragged her from her chamber for a reading about his Persian prospects. And so I set out to chart “The Legacy of Alexander the Great” through Times Journeys with a sophisticated, completely collegial group of American professionals in the culturally rich, financially troubled land that hails him as hero and favorite son. Led by David Ratzan, the ebullient, erudite head librarian at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, and Eleni Zachariou, the passionate, expert Greek tour manager, we followed Alexander from Athens in the south to Macedonia, the northern Greek region that was his misty highland home. If that sounds less epic than his Persian quest, it was perhaps more timely as we continually weighed Greece’s
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The Acropolis topped by the Parthenon as seen from the Acropolis Museum, Athens.
glorious past as the cradle of Western civilization against its present socioeconomic challenges.
WEST, MEET EAST “We draw on our classical past in good times and in bad,” said one government official, who like other Greek professionals spoke to me but not for attribution, patronage being a key to employment there. At present those times are a mixed bag. The unemployment rate is at 25 percent, with youth unemployment 10 points higher. Some 400,000 millennials have departed for jobs in the rest of the European Union, creating a brain drain that may have far-reaching consequences. In steep, teeming Athens, for which Alexander partly waged a war of revenge on Persia, undocumented young men lined up outside an office on a Monday morning, looking for work. In Thessaloniki — Greece’s second largest city, named for one of Alexander’s younger half-sisters — striking bus drivers ceded the boulevards and squares lined with palms and terraced, cream-colored apartments to cars, motorbikes, tour buses and pedestrians. An architect spoke of having less
work and fewer assistants. The reasons for the economic inertia are as varied as its examples, some observers say. They include a lack of Alexandrian leadership — leadership from the front — by the Greek government and the European Union; the aforementioned patronage system and rigid unions, which tend to keep workers in place; and a general sense of malaise. A continuing influx of job and asylum seekers doesn’t help, said Greeks and tourists alike. (Among the colorful graffiti that thread Greek cities like Thessaloniki was “No borders, no nation,” although on the ramparts of the city we also saw “Refugees welcome.”) Zachariou, who brought both drive and warmth to her role as tour manager, said Greece’s challenges are compounded by its unique geography and history, which Alexander’s eastward quest underscored. “How can we be only European, because we have Eastern elements?” she wondered over breakfast on the balcony of St. George Lycabettus Boutique Hotel in Athens, with its mesmerizing view of the Acropolis and the crown jewel of its temple complex, the gleaming Parthenon. “What we can
do is appreciate the East and get the best of the East and the best of the West.” Greece’s liminal position between East and West has created an unparalleled culture that we saw exquisitely arrayed across sensuous Greco-Roman ruins in Athens and Philippi; lucent, jewel-toned Byzantine churches in Thessaloniki and Veria; and sleek, modern, ever-expanding museums throughout, each a gem no matter how small. The Archaeological Site of Aigai (modern-day Vergina) alone — containing the profoundly moving tombs of Queen Eurydice, Philip II and Alexander IV, Alexander’s paternal grandmother, father and son respectively — should be on anyone’s bucket list with its panoply of marble funerary reliefs, expressive wall paintings, glittering gold caskets and crowns of gold leaves and impressive weaponry, including a magnificent Achillean shield.
PRESENT, MEET PAST But bureaucracy can get in the way of marketing such treasures. The Archaeological Site and Museum at Pella — which succeeded Aigai as Macedonia’s capital and was Alexander’s birthplace — contains a poignant head of the conqueror as tender
youth, superb floor mosaics depicting a lion hunt and the sensual wine god Dionysus and a brilliant entrance of photographic reproductions illustrating Alexander’s influence on art history. Yet the small gift shop is located in the relative no man’s land of the archaeological site. Why not put at least a main retail shop in the museum? A docent shoots us a look that suggests we’re preaching to the Greek chorus. The minister of culture wants the gift shop at the archaeological site, she said. When you live this intimately with the past, it’s not easy to balance it with the present. At the intersection of Egnatia and Venizelou streets in Thessaloniki, we were treated to a sneak peek at a planned subway stop that’s part of a $1.1 billion, EU-funded, 13-station line similar to Honolulu’s driverless transit system. Our group joked that the stop was like Manhattan’s unending Second Avenue Subway: It has been under construction for 10 years. Part of the reason for this is a controversial plan to leave the Roman and early Byzantine artifacts unearthed there, including a marble Roman crossroads, and build the station underneath them. The station has created 1,000 jobs, many of them temporary. It has also shuttered a number of stores that may not reopen. Nevertheless, the subway stop remains one of the economic bright spots we observed. Back at Vergina, the complex of royal tombs is expanding to include a museum that will open in two years; a park; and the royal palace, which is being restored to the extent of its perimeters and red and white mosaic floors. In Veria, a Macedonian city rich in Jewish and Byzantine influences, the bright, modern public library — which has an aquarium, a meditation room and a well-developed children’s section — is using a $1 million Access Learning Award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand services. And, of course, Greece continues to export its culture, with the outstanding “The Greeks: From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great” drawing a large viewership in Washington, D.C., recently while a show of Byzantine masterpieces in St. Petersburg, Russia, was part of the “2016: Greece-Russia” collaboration.
THE POWER OF A PEOPLE Apart from its culture, Greece’s greatest asset is the indomitable spirit of its people. The Greeks wear their cares lightly — some would say too lightly in a land of siesta — with the sounds of laughter, motorbikes and plaintive accordions pealing through the night. For all their sluggish economy, the Greeks are an industrious, eager-too-please people, the waitresses standing by to ensure that they made your iced caffe latte properly — ice, and thus iced drinks, being something exotic in Europe.
The Greeks ease any of your concerns with shy smiles and phrases like “no worries” and “no problems.” Their generosity is memorable. When this reporter was left behind at the museum in Pella — that’s what I get for gabbing about gift shops — some villagers sprang into action. As two black-clad women tried frantically to wave down my departing tour bus, a man motioned for me to get in his car and took off after it. “Close the door,” he shouted as we careened around a corner. Moments later, my smiling saviors were waving farewell, having reunited me with my group, while I felt like Lysimachus — the old tutor that Alexander once rescued when he fell behind on a march. The ancient Greeks, particularly the Athenians, didn’t care for their Macedonian overlords — lusty, crafty Philip and his dreamy-eyed son. They saw the Macedonians as arrivistes, despite Euripides having written his last play, “The Bacchae,” in Pella and Aristotle tutoring Alexander in the serene Garden of Mieza, now a field with ruins. There tour expert Ratzan addressed us much as Aristotle might’ve done the teenage Alexander and his Companions. In nearby Naoussa, we visited the Aristotle’s School Cultural Center, a contemporary conference space, café and gift shop that lets nature in, including some spectacular, teardrop-shaped, blue juniper bushes. Thessaloniki, of course — Alexander land — celebrates the native son with magnets, statuettes and other tchotchkes in novelty stores that dot the cityscape and with an impressive memorial. There he strides his steed Bucephalus, keeping watch over the Thermaic Gulf and, in the distance, eternally snow-capped Mount Olympus, home of the gods. Even in Athens, Alexander has become one who in the end the people love. In the Acropolis Museum, he is represented by a marvelous classical head that sought to homogenize — and thus control — his striking, yearning features. The museum sits at the base of the Acropolis, the lofty citadel crowned by a temple complex that crystallizes the Golden Age of Greece. In 480 B.C., the Persian emperor Xerxes desecrated it, sealing Alexander’s fate. Almost 150 years later, he would send Athens 300 captive Persian shields. On a 95-degree day, we made our own assault, climbing the Acropolis’ slippery, stony southern slope, helping one another, exhorted by guide Zachariou, who led with her bright red umbrella. Finally, we reached the top and found ourselves surrounded by columns that were still yet dynamic in a fragile place that has nevertheless survived every invader from the Persians to the Nazis. It was a most Alexandrian moment.
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When we think of Greece, we think of Greco-Roman ruins. But the country also has a rich Byzantine tradition – courtesy of St. Paul and the Eastern Roman Empire. That story must begin with Paul, for without him Christianity, and its Byzantine interpretation, might have made slower progress in Greece. A Jewish tentmaker in Tarsus, Paul was an early persecutor of Christians until he had a vision of the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus, which led to his conversion and put him on the path to becoming a founding father — if not the founding father — of the Christian Church. Paul’s ministry was primarily to the Gentiles
Byzantine CONNECTION STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA at such Western sites as Philippi, considered the first Christian community in Europe. Philippi has, however, layers of historical and archaeological significance. Conquered and renamed by Philip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great’s father, Philippi would become the site of a decisive battle between the victorious successors of Julius Caesar, Octavian and Mark Antony, and Caesar’s assassins, Brutus and Cassius. At the Archaeological Site of Philippi, which we visited as part of Times Journeys’ “The Alexander the Great Legacy Tour,” you can see the remains of a Greek amphitheater, a Roman forum and a stone jail where Paul was reportedly imprisoned. Though Christian tradition says Paul was beheaded in Rome, his ministry and his almost literary epistles to such groups as the Philippians, the Corinthians, the Thessalonians and others had by then helped to plant the seeds of the faith in the Roman Empire. When Constantine the Great re-established the capital of the empire in Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in 330, Christianity became the official religion. As the West fell to Germanic tribes, the Eastern Empire flourished, developing a new kind of art that was stylized and symbolic, with large-eyed, static figures of jeweled mosaics amid gilded backdrops. It lasted until the empire was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. 18
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Byzantine churches and their art thread Greece, particularly in cities such as Veria, which also has a proud Jewish tradition. Paul preached in Veria in 49 to 50, 56 and 57, a modern marble bema decorated with mosaic scenes from his life now commemorating the site. Veria also contains the restored late 11th-early 12th century Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Now a museum, the structure is also noteworthy for its Roman columns. Farther north in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city after Athens, we visited three Byzantine churches that have played a crucial early role in the region. Roughly 400 feet from the elaborately carved Arch of Galerius stands another monument created by this 4th-century Roman emperor — The Rotunda, intended perhaps as his mausoleum but more likely as a temple. This distinctive structure is characterized by a flat brick dome, eight rectangular bays and, originally, a Pantheon-like oculus. Becoming a church in 326, The Rotunda was soon ornamented with mosaics of the saints, some of which can still be seen today. A minaret also still stands as sentinel to a time when the church was mosque (1590-1912). Today the restored Rotunda is a monument, though the Greek Orthodox Church has access to it for events — a good thing since, judging from our visit,
An icon of St. Demetrios, patron of Thessaloniki, in the city’s Hagios Demetrios.
The Rotunda has superb acoustics for liturgical and concert music. Thessaloniki’s 8th-century Hagia Sophia is based on the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and, like that more famous structure, was a church that became a mosque. While the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is a museum today, Thessaloniki’s Hagia Sophia remains a church, as dark and mysterious, when we visited it, as a tomb. Its gilded moodiness stands in stark contrast to the lucent, lively Hagios Demetrios — named for Thessaloniki's martyred patron saint. The basilica is well known for six mosaics depicting St. Demetrios with church restorers and children as well as a silver-covered hexagonal shrine called a ciborium that functioned as a symbolic tomb. Demetrios was a pious young man run through with Roman spears at the time of the Christian persecutions under the emperors Diocletian and Galerius. But because prayers to Demetrios are credited with saving Thessaloniki from its marauding Balkan neighbors, he is often depicted as a Roman soldier on a red horse, just as the Greek-born St. George is a Roman soldier on a white horse. Both were, not surprisingly, popular with Crusaders. Demetrios’ death took place in a Roman bath, remnants of which stand where the lower level of the church is today. In the world of Byzantine art, the sacred is never far removed from the profane.
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Byzantine with a
twist
BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER FIORE
Of music’s myriad styles, Byzantine is one of the lesser-known forms. But Angelos Sampousis is trying to change that. Sampousis is executive director of the Axion Estin Foundation, a New Rochelle-based organization designed to promote the appreciation of Byzantine music in the United States.
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The Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, Empire flourished from 330 — when emperor Constantine the Great relocated the capital to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople, now Istanbul), making Christianity the official religion — to 1453, when the empire was absorbed by the Ottoman Turks. As the West struggled to regain its footing after the fall of Rome, the Byzantine Empire developed its own culture, characterized by domed architecture, stylized mosaic icons and a unique kind of liturgical music. “One thing that appears to have a long-term tradition is the music,” Sampousis says. “While there have been some reforms, it is has been one continuous thing dating from the 10th century.”
Above: The Axion Estin Foundation's chanters performing in front of the only full-scale, authorized painted copy of the Deesis Mosaic from Hagia Sophia.
Byzantine religious music — which can be heard in the Eastern Orthodox Church — is music for the voice with no instrumental accompaniment. It is monophonic, with no harmony, though there is an ison, a continuous base note. It is also made up of microtones, small, subtle gradations between the whole and half steps of the Western scale. “We are conditioned to hear the equally tempered instruments like a piano,” Sampousis says.
“It’s harder to pick up the microtones.” (Though anyone who has ever heard the sinuous theme of “Pulp Fiction,” which uses the Byzantine song “Misirlou,” has experienced microtones.) Traditionally, the text is Greek, extolling God, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Holy Trinity. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, certain countries like Lebanon allowed Arabic to be used. You can experience this tradition for yourself when Axion Estin presents for the third year “The Byzantine Pop-Ups” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan — a series of halfhour concerts on Dec. 9 at 4 and 6 p.m. and Dec. 16 at 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Seven musicians will be in the gallery of the Medieval Sculpture Hall while others stroll around The Met’s Christmas tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche. Meanwhile on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m., the singers will perform Byzantine music before a concert of new music by Mohammed Fairouz. “Al-Quds: Jerusalem” is being held in conjunction with The Met’s new show “Jerusalem 1000-1400: Every People Under Heaven” (through Jan. 8). Axion Estin has also received a $30,000 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts to develop over the next three years “Panegyris” —
The Axion Estin Foundation's chanters before a Byzantine PopUp performance at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
a program of Byzantine folk music. (Unlike the religious music, the folk music uses instrumentation and deals with everyday themes.) Born and raised in Molaoi, a village in southern Greece, Sampousis was not an early fan of the Byzantine style, recalling how his father had to drag him to church. But he obtained two musical degrees from conservatories in Sparta and in Thessaloniki, a city in Greece’s Macedonian region that he says has “the highest concentration of Byzantine chanters and churches.” Thessaloniki made him “an educated consumer.” Sampousis also holds a degree in agriculture from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in geology and geophysics from The City University of New York where he lectures on environmental sciences. At Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in New Rochelle, Sampousis sings as part of the congregation. Asked what type of voice he has — baritone or tenor — he says with a laugh, “bad.” “The Byzantine Pop-Ups” are free with Metropolitan Museum of Art admission. “Al-Quds: Jerusalem” is a ticketed concert. For more, visit metmuseum.org. And for more on Byzantine music, visit axionestin.org.
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us to get going with some initial showings and programs.” As the Katonah Museum of Art — which began life in 1956 as the Katonah Gallery in the library — found a home of its own in a sleek, modern Edward Larrabee Barnes building that opened in 1990, the association, too, flourished, running along a parallel track with the museum that often intersected. “The Katonah Museum of Art has always been very supportive of us and we value that relationship tremendously.” So it’s not surprising that the association’s mission is “to develop and enhance the artistic community by providing exhibition opportunities, educational programs and venues for networking while supporting the activities of the Katonah Museum of Art.” Mindich says, “Our active artist members and large board of directors work together throughout the year to host three or more juried curated or open exhibitions for members at numerous community venues that have included ArtsWestchester; the Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden; the Ward Pound (Ridge Reservation) Gallery; the Katonah, Pound Ridge and White Plains libraries; Northern Westchester Hospital; the Schoolhouse Gallery; the Carriage Barn; the Stamford Art Gallery; the Sculpture Barn and the Putnam Arts Council, among others.” On an annual basis, the artists’ association presents a variety of programs and events for its members and the general community, including “Meet Me,” in which members and guests travel and tour art venues throughout the tristate area; “Show and Tell,” with members presenting and discussing their work; “Artists Visiting Artists,” which involves going to member artists’ studios; “Creative Minds,” branching out with other creative people, not necessarily visual artists, to discuss their work and careers; and “Art and Antipasti,” an art salon held at a restaurant. In recognition of the artists’ association’s work in fostering the arts, ArtsWestchester bestowed its 2016 Community Arts Award on the organization April 8. “Our awards are presented annually by ArtsWestchester to recognize individuals and organizations whose vision, commitment and leadership have enriched the cultural life of
NURTURING THE
arts BY JANE K. DOVE PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
Variety is the spice of Katonah – and the arts organizations that bear the northern Westchester village’s name. “We live in a very diverse artistic and social community and the Katonah Museum Artists’ Association (KMAA) reflects this,” says Bernard Mindich, president of the organization’s advisory board. “Our member artists, who currently number more than 300, work in every medium and vary from talented amateurs to very highly regarded professionals. It is a great group of people and we have activities spread over the year to exhibit our work and foster relationships among ourselves and the larger community.” The artists’ association “got going in 1990 as a grassroots effort of local artists who wanted to advance the visibility of arts of all kind in the community. KMAA wanted not only to exhibit, but to hold events and do networking and mentoring to open up cultural experiences. The library helped
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Westchester County,” ArtsWestchester CEO Janet T. Langsam said. The artists’ association was cited for its “juried, curated and open exhibition opportunities at community venues like the Northern Westchester Hospital. At the hospital, KMAA’s annual exhibitions enhance the healing environment and delight hundreds of patients, doctors, nurses and staff with original artwork.” Mindich says the association is always thinking of new ways to bring the arts to the community. “I am particularly excited to mention a new and vital collaboration with the Katonah Museum. For a considerable time in the past, the KMAA has had a featured artist program in cooperation with the museum where a single work or two of a selected KMAA artist member was exhibited on a dedicated wall in conjunction with each new museum exhibit. “This year the museum has committed to expand this featured-artist program to present the works of a single KMAA artist in a mini solo exhibition in the museum room now called The Spot simultaneously with each new general exhibition.” The first of these mini solo exhibits featured the work of artists Marty Kremer and Roxanne Savage and opened with “Matisse Drawings Curated by Ellsworth Kelly From The Pierre and Tania Matisse Foundation Collection” (through Jan. 29). There’s no doubt that Mindich will be among those drinking in the Henri Matisse drawings. A former attorney, he decided many years ago to follow his true passion. “I began with painting and sculpture and now focus primarily on photography, using a thematic approach, and have published several books,” says the artist, who’s been on the association’s advisory board for 10 years. “I am happy to say I have been successful in my careers as an artist and my work is exhibited extensively and appears in private collections.” A resident of Goldens Bridge, Mindich is married to violinist Ani Kavafian, a soloist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Her distinguished résumé includes serving as concertmaster for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and as a professor at the Yale University School of Music. “Ani travels around the world and I often go with her,” he says. “This is great because I see places and things I might not ordinarily see. I first saw her at the opening of Alice Tully Hall where she was concertmaster and was struck by her beauty, energy and vivacity. Thankfully, she remains the same. We have a truly symbiotic relationship with our love of the arts as its foundation.” For more, email Bernard Mindich at BMind5@aol.com or call 914-232-2433.
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An outsider’s inside view
BY DANIELLE RENDA PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY PHILIP HOLT PHOTOGRAPHY
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Philip Holt sees what others don’t see. But that’s because the South Salem photographer has an unusual way of looking at the world, particularly people at leisure. Why visit landmarks only to take selfies instead of experiencing the moment? Why watch others overindulge in food for prizes? Why fight your way onto an overcrowded beach? These kinds of questions are the backbone of his human-interest photography. “People have to relax and poke fun at themselves,” he says. “They can’t take everything so seriously.” The activities that he has photographed include a pizza-eating contest, a fitness competition, a peace rally, an amusement park trip, a college alumni party and the Mermaid Parade in Brooklyn’s Coney Island. And, of course, a beach trip, which inspired his first project 10 years ago. “Cannes Beach” was prompted by Holt’s simple curiosity about people selecting an overcrowded French beach, versus the serene, spacious — and shaded — city that surrounds it. “I found it so amusing that the whole town was empty. But then, if you go to the beach, it’s so crowded. There isn’t an inch to walk by,” he says. Holt approaches every project, which he describes as “tongue-in-cheek,” by assuming an outsider’s perspective. “The way I look at it is that of coming from another world, or being an extraterrestrial and observing human beings and the things we do,” he says. But in addition to activities, he also enjoys photographing people who make up the fabric of everyday life. “I’m interested in people we don’t normally see,” he says. Some of Holt’s subjects have included female boxers, construction workers in Dubai and, one of his personal favorites, New York City taxi drivers. To capture them, he set up a camera adjacent to a location where taxi drivers were clocking into their shifts. Though Holt has been working with people for many years, his career began with still life photography, which is still a significant part of his business today. “I started off with still life because of shapes and everyday objects that you don’t really notice but were
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very important — visually important,” he says. “I think we don’t notice these objects, because they’re just a part of our daily lives, but they’re really beautiful.” They include vegetables, a beer can, a paper bag and paint can lids, the subject of an ongoing project. In his still life photography, Holt incorporates bold color, whether via the subject itself or its background — a characteristic for which he has become known. Regardless of the style, he was always drawn to the lesser-known details — a view that may stem from a lifetime spent adapting to new cultures. “I didn’t belong anywhere, but I belonged everywhere,” says Holt, who was born in Lisbon to a French mother and a British father. He spent his childhood in Milan, attended college in Boston, and later lived in London, Paris and, for the past 20 years, New York, pursuing his work. He is fluent in English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, and can easily adapt to any given situation, which is apparent in his photography. “I feel comfortable in pretty much any environment,” he says. For more, visit madshotsphotography.com and philipholtphotography.com. Look for Philip Holt’s upcoming blog capturing people on the move in WAG country, accessible through wagmag.com.
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PAINT IT
BlACK BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH
The Housatonic Museum of Art in Bridgeport invites you to a “Rendezvous in Black.” The two solo black-and-white shows (Nov. 10-Dec. 16) by Cindy Sherman and Ann Chernow examine film noir and the opportunities the characteristically gritty features opened up for women in the 1940s and '50s. “It was a great genre for expanding the roles available to women in classic Hollywood,” says Richard L. Edwards, a professor of film at Ball State University in Indiana, who will talk about women in film noir at the opening. “One of the great contributions is the creation of the femme fatale, the Spiderwoman, the dangerous woman. And at the Housatonic show, you have two artists who will play with these expanded roles.” Sherman’s series, “Untitled Film Stills” (1977-88), uses 8 X 10-inch film stills that resemble promotional pictures from movie sets while Chernow, a Westport resident whose late husband Burt founded the Housatonic Museum of Art, has contributed stone lithographs from her “Noir” series. Robbin Zella, the executive director of the Housatonic Museum of Art, says the works from Chernow and Sherman “draw expertly from the film noir style to create pieces that are contemporary yet offer moments that could have been seen on the movie sets themselves. “These images are fictional takes on noir, not necessarily one-to-one relationships to film itself. These are artworks that use that genre as a launching pad into their own explorations.” The museum will also screen classic film noir
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Above: Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled film still #35.” Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures. Next page, top; Ann Chernow’s “Rendezvous In Black,” a lithograph printed on Canson paper and below, “Ann Chernow’s “MONA LISA,” a lithograph printed on Canson paper.
movies throughout the exhibit, including “The Maltese Falcon,” starring Humphrey Bogart, and “Night of the Hunter,” starring Bridgeport native Robert Mitchum. “By showing the films and then the artwork that comes out of those films, it brings it full circle,” Zella says. “So students get a little bit of an education on film history and they get to learn about different techniques, in this case photography and lithography, and they are able to understand how to read a film and read artwork at the same time.” The film noir genre was launched in part as a reaction to the postwar era, Edward says. “These films in the ’40s and ’50s were really going against the classic Hollywood myths and the happy ending,” Edwards adds. “These were bitter little pills of films and they really channeled the anxieties the United States was facing after World War II, when the world seemed to be a much less safe place.” Zella says the exhibit’s theme was driven in part by a resurgence in the film noir genre, which Edwards adds can be attributed to a growing angst in the country today. “You start to see more examples of it in both the film world and the art world in times when society is
anxious,” Edwards says. While there were few film noir releases in the 1980s, the genre saw a resurgence with Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” in the '90s and post-9/11 as the country came to grips with the threat of terror at home and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Edwards cites the genre’s influence on films such as Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy and even on television with Netflix’s “Jessica Jones” and AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” which he calls the best noir-inspired show in television history. With an election that has reached unprecedented levels of hostility and polls showing that some Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, film noir can offer both a mirror to society and an escape. “These types of anxieties are not new to American society,” Edwards says. “We have to understand what the flipside of the American Dream looks like, and noir is the master class. So when we study the films of the ’40s and ’50s and how they influence the works of contemporary artists such as Cindy Sherman or Ann Chernow, we can use these types of artists and artworks to open up the conversation.” For more, visit hcc.commnet.edu/artmuseum/
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HEAD OF THE
ClAss BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
Bram Lewis. Photograph by Bob Rozycki.
In the film “My Dinner With Andre,” two men of the theater — Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn — have a conversation about the theater that is really about two different ways of looking at life.
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Having lunch with Bram Lewis, artistic director of The Schoolhouse Theater in Croton Falls, is a bit of a “Dinner With Andre” experience. Joined at Hudson Grille in White Plains by retired Texaco executive Joan S. Gilbert, a longtime arts advocate, Lewis riffs on Alexander the Great, the nature of leadership, Greek tragedy, the Caesars, Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” and the presidential elections before he homes in on his own story. It’s a protean, quicksilver mind that shaped his tenure as founding director of The Phoenix Theatre in Purchase (1987-97). Among the company’s memorable productions were a Caribbean-fla-
vored “Twelfth Night” and a poignant interpretation of Tennessee Williams’ “The Night of the Iguana” that set a new standard for this tale of grappling with demons before you can move on, even if it must be alone. “The productions were breathtaking, original and inventive,” says Gilbert, an Ossining resident. “Bram is a gifted producer and director and whatever he brings to his audiences is extraordinarily thoughtful and creative, not to be missed. It was my privilege and joy to serve on the board of The Phoenix during its 10-year run at Purchase College, and I’m happy to continue in that role at The Schoolhouse Theater.” The Schoolhouse is, Lewis says, the oldest nonprofit theater company in Westchester County, founded in 1985 by northern Westchester gallery owner Leandra “Lee” Pope, who turned the space — a onetime public elementary school (1922-75) — into a visual arts center as well as a theater. “If they asked me, I could write a book. Lee deserves one,” Lewis says. “The Schoolhouse Theater exists because of the persistent, kind, vigilant, generous vision of its founder.” The two have known each other for more than 20 years, with Lewis directing a number of Schoolhouse productions — plays from “Tantalus” by John Barton, “Death and the Maiden” by Ariel Dorfman, “Three Hotels” by Jon Robin Bates, “Housewives on Prozac” by Joy Rose and “The Speed of Darkness” by Steve Tesich. But it took a minor fender-bender between Pope and a Lewis fan in the parking lot of Staples in Mount Kisco last year to make the relationship more permanent. As Amina Durani — “ a friend who makes the best curry this side of the Punjab,” Lewis says — was exchanging car insurance information with Pope, she recognized her connection with The Schoolhouse and suggested Pope get in touch with Lewis. Which she did — asking if he’d like to run The Schoolhouse. Last season, his first as artistic director, Lewis wrote and directed a new version of “The Gift of The Magi,” based on the holiday classic by that master ironist, O. Henry, then produced “Cambodian Lullaby” — Sokeo Ros’ autobiographical journey from the Killing Fields of his native land to the mean streets of Providence, R.I. — before directing the world premiere of Janice Maffei’s “How to Bury a Saint.” “This season we will revive our production of ‘The Gift of the Magi’ (Dec. 15-Jan. 1),” Lewis says. “In place of an intermission, we bring on cookies and carols and Christmas songs and we sing to-
gether. I never miss a single show and will lead the singing personally.” Then in April, it’s Stuart Warmflash’s “The Mask of the Jaguar.” “Set in a Mayan temple ruin in the rainforests of Guatemala, it is part-ghost story, part-Latin romance with music and choreography,” Lewis says. “I'm very excited about it.” But theater is just one of The Schoolhouse offerings that include exhibits; poetry slams; concerts by saxophonist Houston Person (Jan. 16) and singer Laurel Masse (Feb. 14); “Stand-up Nights” curated by Adam Oliensis; Richard Lederer’s oneman show, “A Play on Words” (Nov. 20); and readings from classic and recent books by Alan Sklar (Nov. 19, Dec. 10 and Jan. 7). All this with a full-time staff of just six and an operating budget of $300,000. Lewis is fundraising and looking to expand The Schoolhouse’s board. “But still, this is a year full of challenge,” he says. “Just this year the New York State Council of the Arts has unfunded 40 percent of their affiliates. We were one of them. This magnificent agency is the only state agency to be cut relentlessly over the past two decades, beginning with (Gov.) Mario Cuomo. Next, The New York Times has de-
cided to withdraw all regional reporting.” On the bright side, ArtsWestchester in White Plain has quadrupled its grants to The Schoolhouse to $8,000. Nevertheless, the NYSCA cuts and The Times’ withdrawal of coverage is a bitter blow to the arts, particularly the theater, for which a review here, a few dollars there can make all the difference. If there’s ever an artist for these difficult times, it’s Lewis. Though he spent the first years of his life on a 300-acre farm in southwestern Ohio, he and his mother, Emily, were soon off to New York City, where he attended the independent Buckley School on the Upper East Side. For a hyperactive farm boy, it was “a weird transition.” But his mother and the theater got him through it. When he saw Richard Burton in John Gielgud’s landmark 1964 production of “Hamlet” — for which Lewis sat still for three hours — he had found his calling. At 17, he began his professional theater career at Manhattan's Circle in the Square Theatre, working for Ted Mann as his assistant. He then worked for Hugh Southern at the Theater Development Fund. At The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, he trained for the stage. Back on this side of the pond, he appeared in more
than 40 commercials and the soap operas “One Life to Live” and “Ryan's Hope” as well as several regional theaters — Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alaska Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Hartford Stage Co. among them. At The Phoenix, he worked with such actors and playwrights as Alan Arkin, John Barton, Ellen Burstyn, Billy Crudup, Ruby Dee, Horton Foote, Julie Harris, Ellis Rabb, Jason Robards, Frances Sternhagen and Elaine Stritch. After The Phoenix disbanded, Lewis worked in real estate finance for some 10 years with the now defunct Wall Street Equity Brokers. But Lewis, who recently shot two independent shorts for “The New York Sonnet Project” and makes his home in Manhattan with his mother and daughter Kaili, never tired of “the roar of the greasepaint — the smell of the crowd,” to borrow a show title. Now he’s back where he belongs. “It's a time of renewal, a period of growth — reaching back to alumni and friends and forging ahead with new ideas,” says the man who’s always percolating. “It’s exciting.” For more, visit schoolhousetheater.org and bramlewis.com.
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Sculpture
with soul
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
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33 NOVEMBER 2016 Paige Bradley
Paige Bradley is in her element, her studio, her world. As a first-time guest, I try to take it all in. My eyes dart from statues — seated, hanging and mounted — to paintings to drawings to a scattering of heads, arms and hands. A new one, “Phoenix,” is in the midst of taking shape in foam. Instead of ashes, she’s rising literally from brushes and tools at her feet. The other statues are sumptuous, lithe, stretching, mid-flight, alive. The movement of the unmoving. Your breath catches. “Wow” comes aloud and involuntarily. Paige had been watching. She smiles and says, “Thank you.”
That one word said it all, she says. Her spacious, awe-inspiring studio is on Progress Drive in a quiet section of Stamford. It’s where she creates while her children are at school and her husband at his work. It’s also where she speaks philosophically about the world and artists — Michelangelo, Rodin and Georgia O’Keeffe — as well as family. “I owe my mom the world. She always pushed me.” At the age of 10, Paige was drawing nude models (after her mom had signed a piece of paper at the prompting of a hesitant teacher). She studied, she drew constantly. At 13, the young tomboy was welding in a junkyard. One memorable Christmas present was a drill, “a Makita,” she recalls. “I opened it like some girls opened a Barbie box.” A call to dinner on a family vacation brought Paige’s reply, “I can’t, my friend’s only got one eye,” referring to the drawing she needed to complete and bring to life before she could sit down and eat. “Michelangelo had to draw out the spirits from marble. I have to make these people whole,” she says of her artwork. “It has to be whole emotionally. It doesn’t have to be the whole body, whole in the sense of completing the piece.” Paige grew up on a mountain in Carmel, Calif., — just old people and dogs and no TV signal. But while the area was lacking in playmates, it had a history rich in the arts in which Paige immersed herself. Just as the East Coast had the Hudson River School of 19th-century landscape painters and a later school of American Impressionists, the West Coast had its Impressionists, too, artists such as Granville Redmond and Guy Rose, who painted the Pacific Coast with its rocky cliffs and windgnarled trees. She grew familiar with their works and those in the galleries. In one Carmel gallery, she saw a bronze sculpture, a lyrical form of a female. “I
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knew I could do that.” A few years later at the age of 17, Paige won a sculpture contest and cast her first bronze. (She uses that same foundry — Monterey Sculpture Center — to this day.) From there she was on to Pepperdine University, then The Florence Academy of Art in Italy and then the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She was an assistant sculptor on a monument for the Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta. At the age of 27, she was voted into the National Sculpture Society. In 2004, she moved her studio from California to New York City. And three years later, she set up shop in London. She and her young family moved to Connecticut in 2015. On a subsequent visit to her studio, Paige is sitting in a chair with a piece of sculpture nestled in her arms as she adds plaster to refine the woman’s face. With an attentive, loving look, Paige becomes an earth mother to her creation. She delicately dabs on the plaster to the sculpture’s face and wipes away the excess. Paige tries to use models who are not professionals. She refers to Lucian Freud, a British painter, who thought that professional models brought artificiality into the studio. “You can’t capture the humanity behind the eyes” of a professional, Paige says. “My work isn’t just capturing the outside,” she says. “It’s what’s inside.” “I’m shining light on something that’s been in the dark.” In her artist statement, Paige writes: “I keep moving my work forward by questioning, observing, looking for truth and searching for clarity. My goal is to have the courage to create what feels real, not necessarily beautiful, in order to create lasting, fine art.” But for Paige, creating sculpture is “painful.” “To make a bronze you have to destroy to create. Clay is the life. Then it is destroyed to make
the mold, which is the death. And then it is reincarnated in bronze, aluminum and resin … to live for eternity.” And with that said, Paige goes over to the warming box to check on her clay, clay that she has used for more than 20 years and, as she points out, not just oil-based but containing the sweat and history of previous projects. She is about to create what will eventually become an 18-foot-tall bronze sculpture of the Indian goddess Uma for a client who wants to place it on an island in the Bahamas. She looks at a photo of Uma and twists the armature to her liking. She then rolls over a tall, adjustable table with two pieces of wood clamped together to serve as the pedestal. Paige scoops up a couple of handfuls of clay and creates a thick base for the aluminum wire to sit on. With the wire in place, Paige begins. It’s like the beginning of Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero,” starting out slow with the light tapping of drumsticks and then adding the notes of the flute, then more woodwinds and the brass before the strings and the entire orchestra drive the sinuous pair of themes home. Paige Bradley begins her “Bolero” slowly. She works the clay in her hands and places it on the thick wire. She builds the torso first. Small gobs of clay fall on the floor. Her eyes intent, she adds more and more. She circles the table. The dance begins. More clay for the body. She shapes it. She glances at the photo of Uma on her workbench. She turns the table. Her eyes going up and down, studying. Paige smiles. The head takes shape. Then the legs. Paige continues to move around what is slowly becoming Uma. She turns, she dips, reminiscent of the iconic dancing cranes in Japanese textile art. Watching Paige move, you understand how she infuses movement into her sculptures. She takes a wooden spatula-like tool and shapes and smoothes Uma’s body. Paige’s eyes rarely leave Uma. Paige wrinkles her nose. She smiles. She adds a crown, then hoop earrings. Paige ends her dance after 45 minutes. The back of her hand touches the perspiration building on her brow. The once bare armature is now Uma. As Paige said earlier, “Clay is the life.” For more, visit paigebradley.com.
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Art WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
It’s been quite the artistic journey for Ben Diep and Mairead Daly-Diep, the husband-and-wife founders and directors of Square Peg Gallery. The Hastings-on-Hudson arts destination marked its first anniversary in October and can look back on some year.
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Mairead Daly-Diep and Ben Diep of Square Peg Gallery in Hastings-on-Hudson.
Square Peg — which boasts sweeping views of the Hudson River, the Palisades in the distance — presented artists from as nearby as the Rivertowns and as far away as China. Work has touched on photography and oils, wire sculpture and mixed media, pastel and charcoal, film, installation and sound. The gallery also hosted artist talks, lectures, poetry, music and soundscape performances and fundraising events for local nonprofits, along with participating in the annual RiverArts studio and music tours. In announcing the celebration, the invitation noted that, “We have been bowled over by the number of remarkable people who have come through our doors and supported our efforts to stimulate and enable conversation about and around art, to make fine art more accessible to the public and to support and promote artists — both emerging and established.” These are words that do seem to sum up what goes on at Square Peg, if a recent opening reception — when a full house was on hand to launch Jerzy Kubina’s solo show, “Between Light and Shadow,” — was any indication. The Polish-born artist now living in Dobbs Ferry was pleased with the exhibition — and his experience with the Dieps (He met Mairead, he said, during a studio tour and she invited him to exhibit). “They have a really nice attitude,” said Kubina, who has exhibited around the world.
at Harrods in London, which she joined after earlier retail experience in her native Ireland. At Harrods, everything seemed possible. “We would often (have) something that just seems, ‘Oh my God. It’s crazy.’ But it would take off.”
A WORLD OF INSPIRATION
A GALLERY OF POSSIBILITY
Mairead, long a lover of the arts, met Ben in Paris, when both were in Europe for work-related travel. Ben, who had come to America from Vietnam, had left art school to start a photography business with his father. In time, he would go on to open his own print shop in the city’s photo district (a company he has since transferred to Hastings, also headquartered in the gallery’s custom-renovated, mixed-use building). Ben said he had “three days in Paris, and I met Mairead,” and she picked up the story with, “And we went to all the galleries together.” In time, they would end up in New York City, where Ben was solidifying his reputation as a master printer, before settling in Scarsdale. Ben and Mairead, parents of two teenagers, purchased the Hastings building some six years ago. With Ben’s business fully in place, the gallery was the next step for the couple. On a subsequent visit, Ben showed WAG how both printing and museum-quality framing make all the difference to a work of art. Today, he routinely creates prints for leading photographers and museums around the world. “This is what we do,” he said. “We try to take photography to a level where you appreciate it like a painting.”
Bedford-based artist Creighton Michael, also on hand that evening, has been following the gallery since its start. “The space is different, and I mean that in a very positive way,” he said, noting the gallery rooms seem to adapt deftly to each show’s sensibility. And, he added, the outdoor space — which fills with patrons during openings and special events — is unique. “You’re competing with an amazing view outside.” But Michael is up for the competition — this month, his collaborative work with Ben Diep will debut at Square Peg, with “rgbDRAWING: Pigment on Paper” opening Nov. 5. James Dean Conklin, who will be doing what he calls an upcoming “sensory exhibit” at Square Peg, said he’s been inspired by what the gallery does — and the possibilities it represents. “The gallery is not just a picture on the wall,” he said. Mairead noted that was a valid perception, and she was more than open to Conklin’s pitch. “He said to us, ‘Think we could pull it off?’” and her reaction was, she said, a simple “Why not?” It all goes back to her experience working in special events
With any work of art, Ben said, “It’s not just about presentation, something that looks elegant and pretty. Art is much deeper.” The conversation, he continued, is everything — and encouraged at Square Peg. “We’re here to say, ‘It’s just a human language. You can understand this. Just open up.’” A gallery, he adds, is a place where “you develop and nurture a trusting relationship with your audience.” Mairead added with a laugh that though “last year, we were kind of winging it,” the gallery is now proceeding with confidence in its vision. “For me, art is not just your basic stuff anymore,” she concluded, but rather all part of a bigger picture. “We really want to be able to use the space and the artwork — and explore.” And we can’t wait to see what they find. For more, visit squarepeggallery.com.
ALL IN THE DETAILS
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A NEW OLD MASTER BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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“A lot of people say I should’ve lived in the 17th century,” Peter Layne Arguimbau says. And indeed the Greenwich painter lives very well with the past, residing with his family and yellow Labrador Retriever on a twoacre lakeside site that contains an expanded caretaker’s cottage and five chestnut barns that date from the 1850s. (His home is a subdivision of a former farm and grist mill that dates from the 1790s.) There Arguimbau (AR gim bo) paints pictures that evoke 18th-century seascapes and the 19th century’s Hudson River School of landscape painting. But the reason people think Arguimbau should’ve lived in the 17th century is his devotion to Old Masters painting techniques. Arguimbau grinds up to 10 powder pigments, mixing each with an oily resinous medium that creates “very fluid, very transparent” paints that dry quickly. (Modern tube paints, which lack resin, don’t dry as quickly, producing a matte finish, he adds.) With his own palette, Arguimbau begins the underpainting, building up layer after layer of earth colors, developing a form of light and shade. These colors, he says, “are not very bright but rather have an organic feel and a very calm quality.” He then layers on a glaze of heightened prismatic colors, working for days at a time on one canvas. “I like to work intensely, but sometimes the paintings don’t resolve themselves for a while.” When they do, the results are richly textured and luminous. The son of a portrait painter, Vincent, Arguimbau grew up on both sides of the Atlantic, in Darien’s Scotts Cove and Seville, Spain. He began grinding paints for his father at age 8, producing a “fresher color than tube paints. You’re also able to control the quality and thickness of the paints — what’s lost in painting today.” After graduating from Loomis Chaffee, a prep school in Windsor, Conn., Arguimbau attended Vassar College but went on to study for 14 years with Frank Mason at The Art Students League of New York in Manhattan. Mason in turn had been a student of Jacques Maroger, a painter who was technical director of the Musée du Louvre’s laboratory and author of “The Secret Formulas and Techniques of the Old Masters.” (Arguimbau first met Mason — a colleague of his father — as a child.) Ultimately, Maroger’s Old Masters techniques proved faulty, with paintings in his style darkening over time. This sent Arguimbau on an odyssey to refine his technique, including a decade experimenting with restorer Pierro Mannoni on the techniques used in medieval manuscripts. Arguimbau also studied Hellenistic (post-clas-
Flying Cloud by Peter Arguimbau. Photo courtesy of the artist.
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sical) art in Athens, Olympia and Delphi and the Baroque in Florence, Rome and Naples. He copied works in museums throughout Europe and the United States — all in service of an art that evokes the past, particularly in his maritime paintings. “I seem to paint everything with water,” Arguimbau says. “I do a lot of animal paintings and people see the same quality in them.” In Greenwich Harbor, he maintains a 1935 antique wood catboat, MollyRose, whose 10-by-12foot cockpit becomes his studio in the summer. There he works to capture the wind and the water before he adds the sailboats. The effects are thrilling and nostalgic. A billowing schooner leans into the wind on a white-capped sea. A sailboat prepares to dip beneath a misty, moonlit Brooklyn Bridge. The sun sets in a sherbet sky, reflecting a pillar of fire on the waves lapping the shore. Recently, Arguimbau opened Mariner Gallery in Newport, R.I., with his son, Andre. His seascapes reflect the advice that teacher Mason gave him — “Paint life. Paint everything around you. Don’t be a flower painter and hate it.” Peter Layne Arguimbau’s Greenwich gallery is open by appointment. For more, call 203-274-6176 or visit arguimbau.net.
Peter Arguimbau in his studio. Photo by ChiChi Ubiña.
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THAT PAINED OBJECT OF
desire BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
“Why have there been no great women artists?” It’s a question that feminist art historian Linda Nochlin posed in a seminal 1971 essay and answered in the illuminating 1976-77 exhibit “Women Artists: 1550-1950,” which she curated with Ann Sutherland Harris. (The answer, it turns out, was that there have been great women artists. They just lacked the opportunities for education and public advancement.) The good news is that we needn’t pose that question any longer. ArtsWestchester’s exhibit “SHE: Deconstructing Female Identity” is among the most recent to demonstrate brilliantly that women artists do not lack an audience, even if they still lag behind men in terms of New York gallery shows, solo museum exhibits, directorships of the big museums and entries in tomes like H.W. Janson’s “History of Art,” according to the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ website. The bad news isn’t just that women still have the proverbial long way to go; it’s that so much of their art continues to be focused on a painful relationship with the female body. Given the body-shaming issues that have riled the presidential campaign and debates, it’s no surprise. And it’s part of what make “Her Crowd: New Art by Women From Our Neighbors’ Private Collections,” at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich through Dec. 31, so provocatively topical. The Bruce did not set out to make a show solely about women artists. It’s just that in selecting the works from private area collections, adjunct cura-
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E.V. Day’s “Triangulated, Twisted 3” (2015). Resin, pure pigment, polymer and twine. Courtesy of the artist and Carolina Nitsch Contemporary Art.
tor Kenneth E. Silver and Mia Laufer, the Bruce’s Zvi Grunberg resident fellow, were most drawn to works that happened to be by women, a museum spokeswoman said. How heartening is that? It’s in keeping what’s happening in other professions. The heads of the United Kingdom, Scotland, Germany, the International Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve are all women. And Hillary Clinton, the first American female presidential candidate from a major party, may soon join them. Women dominate colleges and graduate schools. They are increasingly the primary breadwinners in the United States — a trend that may continue now that we moved from a manufacturing to an informa-
tion-based, service-oriented economy that plays to women’s wheelhouse. The current century and millennium, then, are shaping up to be the century and millennium of women. So why do they still feel so bad about their bodies? It’s telling that the exhibit opens with a work about a controversial female leader, Eva Perón, who was betrayed by her body in a most female way. (She died of cervical cancer in 1952.) Argentine artist Nicola Costantino’s 2013 photo/object “Eva: Los Sueños (The Dreams)” imagines Costantino as five Evitas arrayed on a sofa in a Cindy Sherman-ish triptych, complete with handmade gilded frame.
In the center is glam Evita in severe blond chignon, choker and strapless white ball gown. She’s flanked by two businesslike Evitas in Chanel-type suits. On the far left, is hungry, on-the-make Evita, the poor villager-turned-Buenos Aires opportunist. But on the far right is sick Evita in a white gown, her hair undone, her inward gaze signaling a woman lost in thought — lost to the world. “Females carry the marks, language and nuances of their culture more than (males),” Kenya’s Wangechi Mutu has said. “Anything that is desired or despised is always placed on the female body.” Her contribution is “Untitled (from ‘Tumors’ series), a 2004 work made of ink, acrylic, photo collage and contact paper on Mylar that depicts a cluster of pearlescent tumors from which chorus-girl legs in high heels sprout. It’s like a deliberately grotesque Busby Burkeley musical. E.V. Day’s “Satellite of Modern Love” (2016) follows that train of thought with a spidery sculpture made of Barbie-like arms and legs of resin, pure pigment and polymer on a steel stand. The cobalt color is patented International Klein Blue, which French artist Yves Klein once used in a performance art piece that involved naked woman lying down in the paint and pressing their bodies to a blank canvas. Another inspiration
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was an Uma Thurman poster in which her limbs appear distorted by elongation. “Day,” the accompanying “Her Crowd” catalog notes, “combines these different instances — from canonized modern artists to contemporary entertainment — where female bodies are pushed to the breaking point.” Pushing them further — race and ethnicity. In Betye Saar’s “The Weight of Color” (2007), an effective mixed media assemblage, a smiling Mammy figurine sits atop a bird cage in which a too-large black bird is cruelly contained, one foot outside an open door that is not big enough to let the bird escape. Add “Black Lives Matter” to a layer of overtones that include Jim Crow, Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” and Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” In “Les Femmes du Maroc #16” (2005) by Morocco’s Lalia Essaydi, the cage is the henna calligraphy that covers the face, hands, feet and clothing of a figure that reclines sensuously like a 19th-century odalisque. Even sainted motherhood offers no solace. In “The Mothers” (2011), an oil and charcoal on canvas, the United Kingdom’s Jenny Saville does a modern riff on the Renaissance Madonna as an exhausted mother struggles to contain two squirming infants.
Nor does abstraction — and the trend away from figurative art — suggest respite. New York native Tara Donovan’s “Untitled (Pins)” (2004) is a Minimalist cube made of tons of straight pins, symbol of feminine domesticity. It looks painful. Perhaps one of the reasons the female body is so fraught, so laden by our culture is that women remain its primary sex symbol. Hilary Harkness’ “Blue Nude” (2012-14), a lesbian empowerment painting, continues the objectification by featuring in the backdrop “Blue Nude” and “Two Tahitian Women” by Henri Matisse and Paul Gauguin, respectively, who, according to the catalog, “reduced women to primitive icons of sexual fantasy.” Perhaps the answer to female body issues is to reconsider the male as the not-so-obscure object of desire. The most amusing work in the show is Malia Jensen’s bronze sculpture “Young Bucks” (2010), in which two male deer mate. Think “Animal Kingdom” meets “Brokeback Mountain.” By concentrating more on men as sex symbols we might one day have a world with fewer comments like the one about a “disgusting” overweight beauty queen made by a male candidate who is — let’s face it — no Apollo Belvedere. For more, visit brucemuseum.org.
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WITH A STROKE OF THE
bOw BY DANIELLE RENDA
44 WAGMAG.COM NOVEMBER 2016 Daisy Jopling. Photograph courtesy of Daisy Jopling.
Some loose string and an empty tissue box. That’s all it took to ignite Daisy Jopling’s career as an internationally acclaimed classical rock violinist. As a young child, the London-born, Peekskill-based musician received her first makeshift “violin” — assembled from the aforementioned materials — from her aunt, who was a professional violinist herself. By the age of 14, Jopling performed her first solo concerto at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and years later, she played for an audience of 30,000 at the opening of The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) in Austria. In the meantime, she has performed with world-renowned musicians such as guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, singer-dancer Omara Portuondo, singer Boris Grebenshchikov and singer-musician Shubha Mudgal, at major venues, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, the Wiener Musikverein and Salzburger Festspiele in Austria and the Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. When not traveling, she can be seen performing at Peekskill’s Paramount Hudson Valley Theater with The Daisy Jopling Band. Since 2010, the four-member group has drawn audiences with its eclectic sound that blends classical, pop, reggae, Irish folk and gypsy violin and rock styles. But Jopling isn’t only a musician. She’s also a performer. As her enthusiastic, bubbly personality takes center stage at her concerts, her passion for song is apparent.
With violin in hand, she moves audiences by offering a harmonious escape from the everyday world, she says. This not only provides a soulful experience for audience members, but a feeling of freedom for Jopling, who cleanses her mind before every show by dismissing all distractions. With a love so strong, she is compelled to share the beauty of music with others and as a lifelong performer, she’s always believed that music could profoundly impact a child’s life. After moving to New York, Jopling longed to provide musical opportunities to children living in the Hudson Valley. This vision became reality with The Daisy Jopling Foundation, a nonprofit that provides children living in the region with the chance to study, play and perform music. One of her foundation’s initiatives is the Ovation! Music Project, which offers tuition-free classes and local music programs to help foster creativity, critical thinking and self-expression. She also includes children from area high schools and organizations in many of her shows. Her past performances at the Paramount featured members of the Westchester Youth Choirs, the Hendrick Hudson High School all girls choral group, the Treble Makers, and Dance Expression of Westchester, in addition to young soloists. It's evident the musician-philanthropist finds inspiration in the ability to impact others through sound and song. For more visit daisyjopling.com.
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G
GIVE ’EM SHELTER BY BOB ROZYCKI
Art comes in different shapes, sizes and media. Kent Lapp learned the art of building from his dad, Sanford, but actually, more from his mom, Barbara.
Photographs courtesy of Kent Lapp and the Lapp family.
Sanford grew up as a Mennonite on a farm in Lancaster, Pa. Barbara grew up in the Amish community. According to family history, the young couple wanted to make a go of it on their own and in 1982 headed to Dundee, N.Y., between Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region. Using skills picked up from his dad, who was a master carpenter, Sanford started building sheds. The young couple and their growing family lived in an apartment at the end of a metal structure that had the workshop at the other end. The mission statement for the business, which was known as Woodtex, was simple: Sell directly to customers without middlemen. As the business grew, so did Sanford’s standing in the community, to which he gave back whenever he could. At the age of 29, he developed cancer but never slowed down, dying in 1994, at 36. While helping his dad make deliveries in his Ford Ranger pickup in the days after the diagnosis, Kent writes in a brief history of the company’s founding, his dad asked his thoughts on the possibility of selling the business. “I was 9 years old, but even then, I couldn’t fathom it. The business was life. It gave people shelter. It gave people space. It gave people opportunity,” Kent wrote. It was Barbara who assumed running the business two days after saying goodbye to her husband. For the next decade, Barbara grew the business while raising a family of four. Working with his mom on Saturdays and summers, Kent said there were no long days. “She was always home on time” for her family, just as Sanford was always home in the evening to be with them. After graduating from high school in 2002, Kent went full bore into the business, transitioning to when he would take over the company in 2004. Along the way, operations would relocate north of Dundee to the town of Himrod. Today, brother Ben Lapp runs those operations. Kent is now CEO and principal of the company, living in Tennessee with his wife and family. While the business has expanded — more than 130 employees and 50 retail partners and a factory that opened in 2009 in South Carolina — the one thing that has remained the same, Kent said,
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is the craftsmanship and the integrity ingrained in the family by his father. As for the next 10 years, Kent said the company intends to focus intently on maintaining a “remarkable experience for customers,” which will “likely lead to more demand.” “We care deeply about doing right by the customer and building a truly respectable brand in the marketplace,” he said. While the designs of the sheds, garages and cabins have remained consistent over the years, the sales pitch has changed. In July of this year, Woodtex introduced a new app for customers called the Design Your Own Storage Shed tool that allows a client to see the finished product on his computer. But the more things change, the more they remain the same. What is the company’s No. 1 selling building? “‘The Original,’’’ Kent said. “We call it ‘the Original,’ because it was in the lineup from day one and is still our best seller. It’s just a basic, timeless, classy A-frame building.” And so a tip of the hat goes to Sanford and Barbara Lapp and their spirit of adventure and entrepreneurism.
The Woodtex crew at work.
Kent and Ben Lapp
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GLIMMERING
Gilmor BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
If you’re a fan of antiquing, galleries, independent bookstores, coffeehouses and gift and tea shops, than you would enjoy a day in Millerton in Dutchess County.
On the village’s Main Street, you’ll find Charlotte Taylor, with home accessories, gifts and items for the nursery; Gilded Moon Framing & Gallery; Harney & Sons Tea Shop and Tasting Room; Irving Farm Coffee Roasters; and Oblong Books & Music, just to name a few. “It’s atypical for a small village in New York,” Jan Gilmor says. “There are a number of second homeowners here and the level of sophistication makes for an interesting mix.” Jan ought to know. She and her husband John are the creative owners of Gilmor Glassworks,
John Gilmor at the bench. Photo by Paul Johnson.
which anchors Main Street across the street from Harney & Sons. It’s a metaphoric anchor as well, offering arts lovers a wealth of handblown glass — tumblers, stemware, bowls and ornaments that straddle the traditional and the contemporary in such jewel colors as blush, cobalt, emerald, ice blue, lavender, quince (yellow-green) and red — along with jewelry and fashion. (Both Annie Walwyn-Jones and Jane Wilson-Marquis, whose clothing designs appeared in September WAG, have been featured in Gilmor Glassworks.) It’s not just a place to shop but one where the
public can watch glass being made on production days (although there’s no set viewing schedule for the public.) Jan is the designer and John the glass blower, assisted by part-time gaffers Anthony Bianco and Joe Webster. “There’s a lot to running a business that has nothing to do with making the product you’re selling,” she says. “John’s on the phone troubleshooting with vendors or caring for the equipment. We rely on Anthony and Joe to get production done.” Glassblowing is no easy art. The Gilmors make not only clear, but colored glass — in contrast to those glassmakers who make only clear and then rely on buying colored glass. The Gilmors also use 23-karat gold on clear glass and quince and tortoise shell on quince. But from now until the end of the year, they are working only with clear, evergreen, lavender, quince and red for the holidays. The colors are made by mixing sand, fluxes and oxides, which are charged in a furnace at 2300 degrees. The colors cook overnight, with the temperature turned down at the end of the melting period. But not much. Using a blowpipe, John shapes the
glass at 2000 degrees. “People don’t realize what goes into making glass,” Jan says. At first, she didn’t either, even though she grew up in an artistic household in New Jersey, with a mother who was a fashion illustrator and a father who was a commercial illustrator. Jan’s art was dance, which she studied at Purchase College. Its conservatory is the equivalent of a professional company with many of its graduates going on to modern dance companies in Manhattan, as in the case of Terese Capucilli, who became one of the finest interpreters of Martha Graham’s choreography. But family issues intervened and Jan became disenchanted with dance. It was while she was living and working in retail in New York City that her father and stepmother began renovating a house in a Pine Plains crafts community that is now Mashomack Fish & Game Preserve Club. John — who was teaching clay in Ohio on a National Endowment for the Arts grant — was brought in as a glass person and was renovating a studio there. (He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in clay and sculpture from Denison University and
a Master of Fine Arts degree in clay and glass from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.) John became friends with Jan’s father and on Father’s Day 1977, the future couple met in Pine Plains. They married that year, opening their studio there a year later. “I was very fascinated with what he did,” Jan says of John’s glassblowing, “and I had enough chutzpah and confidence in my eye to say let’s do this or let’s try that. I was also very good with color.” Soon they were creating a piece that was selected for the touring “New Glass” retrospective sponsored by the Corning Museum of Glass and wowing well-established crafts fairs in Rhinebeck and Baltimore. They’ve been in Millerton almost 20 years. While the Gilmors make ornaments with glass loops, decorative pitchers and vases and sandblasted works that are “very labor-intensive and very expensive,” much of what they do is designed for the everyday. “A lot of glassmakers don’t make works intended to be used,” Jan says. “We make art intended to be used.” For more, call 518-789-8000.
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MORTAL MAN, IMMORTAL
Art STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY AUDREY RONNING TOPPING
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“Art for art’s sake” is the theme that motivates most contemporary artists. Yet paradoxically, much of history’s most striking classical artwork has been created for “heaven’s sake,” to celebrate the divine or to accompany deceased royalty into the hereafter. Among the most remarkable examples from the 20st century were those excavated from the tombs of the pharaohs of Egypt and the emperors of China, most recently the treasures of Tutankhamun and the realistic life-size terra-cotta soldiers and horses buried with China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in 208 B.C. Twenty-two centuries after the emperor joined his ancestors, I became an eyewitness to his virtual reincarnation. His spectral army was found in 1974 when well-diggers stumbled onto a huge subterranean vault, a part of the grave complex. Archaeologists soon discovered a life-size, battle-ready, terra-cotta army that had been buried with Emperor Qin to guard his tomb. When the 13-year-old prince of the Warring State of Qin inherited the throne and became king, he ordered 700,000 conscripts to begin building his tomb, which took 36 years to create. During that time, according to Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian, Qin’s armies fought for 25 years and conquered the six other warring states “like silk worms devouring a mulberry tree.” In 221 B.C., King Qin anointed himself Qin Shi Huang, China’s first divine emperor. Qin ruled by the authoritarian “Legalist’’ philosophy. He united China, quashed the opposition, burned the classic books and buried 460 Confucian scholars alive. He built the Great Wall, standardized the gauges of chariot wheels so he could travel across the nation on a network of new roads and standardized laws, script, coinage, weights, measures and the languages. Yet for all his power, he lived in fear of his life, moving secretly among the 260 luxurious palaces he had copied from royal residents in conquered states. Although the emperor sent his wisest Taoist priests to seek the fountain of youth, he met his demise in 210 BC at age 49. The scurrilous act happened one hot day
Emperor Qin’s terracotta army, from here to eternity.
during a royal inspection tour. A conniving eunuch in cahoots with the emperor’s ambitious son poisoned him by slipping quicksilver and powdered jade into his food. To keep his death secret, they hitched a wagon of rancid fish behind the emperor’s golden chariot to disguise the stench of his putrefying corpse. He was finally entombed in a dazzling sepulcher guarded by 7,500 pottery soldiers. Centuries later, some were exhibited in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and other museums worldwide. I was assigned by the National Geographic and The New York Times to report on the discovery. This occurred when the United States had not yet established diplomatic relations with China and Americans couldn’t get visas. Nonetheless, my father, Chester Ronning, a retired Canadian diplomat, and I with daughter Lesley, sister Meme and nephew Richard were invited because Chester was an old friend of Premier Zhou Enlai. When we reached the ancient capital of Xian, it was raining heavily. Escorted by an entourage of Chinese officials, we drove 40 miles east to the site. Locals waved at the foreign devils traveling in a caravan of black limousines along the same stretch of the Silk Road where centuries ago their ancestors had witnessed camel caravans loaded with silks and other luxury goods en route to the Roman Empire. We parked near the emperor’s tumulus on the edge of a millet field. The rich, red soil of the Yellow River Valley had been freshly slashed open and rolled back like a Chinese scroll, revealing a dramatic tableau resembling an ancient battlefield. The sight of the broken and battered terra-cotta warriors, horses, charioteers and kneeling archers still arrayed in battle formation was breathtaking. Standing in the rain, viewing these primeval combatants reaching out from the wet earth, we were moved almost to tears as one is in the presence of great art in service of death. Here and there a life-like hand and a booted foot jutted out. Proud heads, fallen from broken bodies, looked up from their ancient grave with haunting eyes brought glisteningly alive by the rain. Some of the figures were upright, intact and poised as if waiting for a command to attack. Others lay smashed and scattered. Sima Qian described the “desecration” of the underground army three years after the emperor’s death when the Han Dynasty defeated the Qin Dynasty and usurped “The Mandate of Heaven.” Weapons were confiscated and wooden chariots
burned. It was like something out of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias.” So much for power and greatness. When we visited the site in 1975, only 591 soldiers, two life-size terra-cotta horses with curled forelocks and knotted tails and four chariots horses — four abreast, hitched with leather harnesses and brass fittings, drawing wooden chariots — were being excavated. Some were incredibly intact, while others sagged sadly against one another with broken backs and necks, though their magnificence remained undiminished. Five hundred life-size terra-cotta horses were later excavated — 100 cavalry horses and 350 chariot horses. The striking features and the spirited expressions of the horses have led scholars to reappraise the beginnings of realism in Chinese art, hitherto attributed to the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-208). Did the sculptors of Emperor Qin’s army invent this style, or will some equally vivid works be found in an even earlier tomb? A thousand years later their clean, curved jawline became the mark of the famous Tang dynasty horses (618-907). Perhaps the greatest “art for heaven’s sake” is yet to come. The emperor’s tomb, a cosmic designed three-layered tumulus called Mount Li is still to be excavated. His dragon-shaped sarcophagus may still float on a river of mercury inside the 15-story tumulus. Sima Qian described the legendary splendor of a microcosm of China: “They dug through three subterranean streams and poured molten copper for the outer coffin. The tomb was filled with models of palaces, pavilions and offices. Crossbows were fixed to shoot grave robbers. The Yellow River and the Yangtze were reproduced in quicksilver and made to flow into a miniature ocean where the dragon sarcophagus floated. The heavenly constellations above were depicted in precious stones and the regions of the earth below.” Although Qin prophesized that his dynasty (221208 B.C.) would last 2,000 years, it was the shortest in Imperial China. When I visited the museum complex containing the excavated sites in 1998, President Bill Clinton and wife Hillary were among the millions of tourists viewing the army exhibited in a three-acre vault. The soldiers were lined up in “Sword Formation,” with the frontline archers representing the tip of the sword, the chariots and columns of foot soldiers forming the blade, and the rear guard the handle — like a spectacle designed for review by Emperor Qin in his heaven.
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THE LANGUAGE OF ART
BY DANIELLE RENDA
Jill Moser in her studio. Photograph by Lauren Pascarella. Photograph courtesy Jill Moser.
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Jill Moser’s art creates cohesion through contradiction. The New York-based artist — who was recently featured at Heather Gaudio Fine Art in New Canaan — uses abstraction to capture movement in stillness. “It’s about how the works suggest ideas,” she says. By juxtaposing thick brushstrokes with fine curves, using explosions of color and playing with negative space, Moser has been suggesting ideas about time, space and motion in art for some 30 years. For the past 10 years or so, though, prints have been her medium of choice. But art has always been within Moser’s framework. “Becoming an artist was bred in the bone,” she says. “I spent my childhood in my mother’s studio, the attic of our house. She is a painter and arts educator who taught art education at New York University while I was growing up.” Moser was so comfortable with art that when a college project challenged her to express language without using words, she turned creative. Little did she know that this project would mark the direction of her career.
“I was a student of cultural anthropology and linguistics and very interested in systems of language analysis,” she says. “This led me to want to work with a visual language of my own, which was evocative while apart from narrative and direct meaning.” For the assignment, Moser used drawings. But when the project ended, the artwork didn’t. For the next 10 years, she continued drawing. “There’s a sort of bareness to drawing that allows you to see what you’re thinking immediately,” she says. “It’s a way of putting things down, finding things and taking you somewhere else.” Drawing eventually progressed to painting and, after receiving a painting fellowship through the New York Foundation for the Arts, she left a fulltime job and immersed herself in art for the next 15 years, with painting eventually giving way to printmaking. “What happens in printmaking is that you take the ideas from all of your other work and you have to deconstruct them. You have to break them down in order to rebuild them. And, in doing that, you can really see the way things are made, like the weight of the body that makes the mark,” she says. As a studio-based artist, Moser produces much of her work independently, so printmaking also
gives her the opportunity to collaborate with other artists and professionals, like architects or writers. “It’s another way that my work is informed,” she says. In April, Moser’s prints took up residence at The Glass House in New Canaan, a 49-acre National Trust for Historic Preservation complex and exhibit space. In collaboration with the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk and Heather Gaudio Fine Art, Moser created “The Hours,” representing the four seasons as experienced from within The Glass House’s transparent walls. “'The Hours’ (the prints) fictionalize the light and color of different times of the year as experienced from within The Glass House," she says. "In Greek mythology, the 'hours' were the goddesses of the seasons." The result is a group of five abstract prints, which incorporate highly saturated backgrounds to suggest the changes in light and color associated with the changing seasons. “It was a very wonderful collaborative experience,” she says. Moser's upcoming show is being held in April at the Lennon Weinberg in New York. For more, visit jillmoser.net, heathergaudiofineart.com or lennonweinberg.com.
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Hi. I think I like #1 and #3 the best. Basically, they are the same thing except #1 has a white background and #3 is transparent. I think we probably need both is my guess. One thing with #1. We need to make sure the big & is outlined in black because the end of it is missing. I get that the letter is white but we probably need to outline the letters in black.
I think I like #1 and #3 best because they are more simple. The ones with the outside black circle don't look bad but I feel like there is too much going on and competing for the eye. Not sure what you think and if you agree / disagree.
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Oshi Rabin, executive director of the Mahlstedt Gallery in New Rochelle. Photograph by Bob Rozycki. 58
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IN
BY MARY SHUSTACK
Oshi Rabin is devoted to art, in all its forms. Visitors to Mahlstedt Gallery in New Rochelle on a recent morning can come to no other conclusion after meeting with its founder and executive director. Rabin’s enthusiasm is catching as she leads us on an informal tour that touches on everything from the beauty of the columns on the historic building’s façade to the intricate period mantel anchoring the gallery space to the artwork that not only fills that space but also every office, conference room, hallway, lounge and stairwell we encounter. Rabin is taking us through what she calls, “the new art destination of Westchester.” “We’re proud to be here,” she says, looking back over quite a journey. “It has a history.” Indeed, the stately, Neoclassical Revival building on Huguenot Street went through a major renovation that paid homage to its 1920 creation as the home of the J.A. Mahlstedt Lumber and Coal Co. “It was nothing like what you see now,” Rabin says of the building that the gallery and its e-commerce arm today share with Parchem — Fine
STROKES
& Specialty Chemicals, the company headed by Rabin’s husband, Ephraim. Such respect for history — from the gallery name to the restoration that earned a 2010 Heritage Award from the city of New Rochelle — lives alongside a keen eye trained on the contemporary art world. That eye has led to a virtual explosion of oil paintings and acrylics, bronzes and digital works that leaves no space unadorned. “We have a 10,000-square-foot curated art facility here,” Oshi Rabin says, with the ground floor filled by the formal, 2,000-square-foot gallery and event space. It is there that Rabin almost reluctantly admits that the striking Surreal and steampunk-influenced sculptures on display are by her own hand, worked on at studios in White Plains or her New Rochelle home with casting done in New Canaan. But she’ll stress that her first gallery venture, officially launched in 2013, came not as an outgrowth of her work. “We’ve been collecting for years,” she says. “I’m coming from this world as a buyer, as a collector.” Born and raised in Israel — her husband grew up in New Rochelle — Rabin says they were world travelers who settled in Westchester but continue to cross the globe in pursuit of art. Through it all, Rabin says she has come to understand the true nature of art. “Art doesn’t have to be expensive to be valuable. It’s all about the narrative, what it means to you.” Rabin savors sharing stories of the work on display here, one moment pointing to pieces by Con-
necticut artist Maurice Sapiro, whom Rabin says “specializes in realism, tonalism, influenced by Turner.” Then, it’s on to MALO (Nico Amortegui), whose oversize work echoes Basquiat. Along the way, Regev Markowitz, director of marketing, will pull up examples of Surrealist works by England’s Philip McKay on the computer to demonstrate the gallery’s online presence. Rabin says the gallery sells original works from $200 to $50,000, while limited-edition prints generally fall under $300. “The art world is completely, completely changed now,” she says. “It’s not conservative, elite… I always say art should be accessible to everyone.” And it’s no longer based on location, as Markowitz adds. “Someone in Spain can browse our pieces on our website.” Most of Mahlstedt’s artists are exclusive, with many more hoping to join the worldwide roster of some 70-strong. But Rabin says, “For every two or three hundred, we might pick one.” It’s not based on taste, she adds. “It’s also personality, what they’re all about, the style, how can I represent them perfectly, introduce them to collectors.” Among Mahlstedt’s clients are avid collectors, young homeowners, interior designers, hotels and corporate headquarters with art advisory services starting with consultations and including everything from curation to installation. The gallery also collaborates on public-art initiatives in New Rochelle and with numerous nonprofit causes. No matter the project, Mahlstedt will use archival materials and offer limited-edition work, reflections of its commitment to service. “There’s a lot of e-commerce now, and anyone can offer an online gallery. The difference is we actually select each image, each painting, each work of art,” Rabin says. “It’s all curated, pre-selected, the best of the best of what the artist has to offer.” With a slate of gallery shows plus the company set to begin showcasing home-décor goods from Italy in coming weeks, the commitment to the power of art, of all styles and from all lands, remains integral to Mahlstedt’s mission. As Rabin says, “The best way to learn about the people is through the art.” For more, visit jam415.com.
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Art walk
BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SUSAN STILLMAN
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Susan Stillman is causing a bit of a stir at Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester. Actually, it’s the White Plains artist’s work that’s been getting all the attention. As Rabbi Howard J. Goldsmith says when WAG stops by on a recent afternoon, “I have to tell you, every single person who walks through this hallway stops and looks.” Goldsmith is referring to “The Quotidian Landscape,” the inviting collection of Stillman paintings filling The Gallery at the Harrison temple through Nov. 28. It’s even had an effect on his work — he tells us with a playful laugh that more than once he’s heard, “‘Rabbi, I’m sorry I’m late. I had to look at the paintings.’”
Left, artist Susan Stillman. Photograph by Eve Prime, Poppy Studio. Above, from top, “Studio View” and “Over the Fence,” by Susan Stillman, are featured in “The Quotidian Landscape,” an exhibition that continues through Nov. 28 at The Gallery at Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester in Harrison.
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And we certainly can’t find fault in that. We’re here to walk the show — and catch up — with Stillman, profiled on these pages back in December of 2014. It was then that we spotlighted her 25-plus years of creating commissioned work through Home Portraits by Susan Stillman, a business devoted to heirloom-quality paintings that commemorate a family home in a most personal way. And while that segment of her work continues to thrive, this exhibition turns the spotlight on the fine-art efforts of Stillman, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine art and spent 15 years as an illustrator. The collection, it’s soon clear, takes us along on a virtual walk through her home turf. “It’s totally my neighborhood,” she says. And yes, her neighbors may see some familiar views. “Every once in a while, someone will come out of the home that I’ve painted, and I’ll say, ‘I want to show you something,’” and she’ll pull out her phone to share a photo showing how she’s translated that person’s home into a work of art. Each painting — the bulk of this show features acrylic on wood panels — is filled with views culled
from countless evening walks and glimpses from her attic-studio window. They are, she notes, observations made over time, “every time of day, all the different weather.” Subjects are realistic and deceptively simple. She keys in on how the light plays on a rooftop, how a home is seemingly nestled within a collection of trees or how pink buds add a vivid touch to a front yard. These images fill paintings called “Rooftops,” “Nestled” and “Pink.” Clearly, giving works elaborate titles imbued with layers of meaning isn’t Stillman’s way. “I’m very bad at that,” she says with a laugh. Perhaps it’s because Stillman is busy focusing on the work itself. “I like color. I like color a lot,” she says, also adding, “I like light.” Light is integral to what she captures. “It’s the moment. It’s a little flicker.” Architectural elements, she adds, give her “the building blocks” for her compositions, and she relishes “contrasting the shapes with the foliage.” For Stillman, seeing the work in a gallery setting is rewarding. “It’s so nice to see something out of the stu-
dio,” she says. “When you do a series, you do the one. You put it in the corner. You do one. You put it in the corner…” Here, Stillman is able to look back over works completed in the last few years, created in time carved out of a busy schedule that, since 1983, has included teaching at Parsons The New School for Design. She is, though, looking forward to a breather of sorts. “I’m going on sabbatical next semester, so I’m going to be doing this…” she says, extending her arm to the paintings. She’s also set to show work at the Anderson Chase Gallery at the Katonah Art Center in February. Stillman says she’s looking forward to tackling some large-scale works or “big paintings.” Her enthusiasm is palpable, confirmed as she pauses to take a sweeping view of the exhibition. “I don’t know,” she says. “I don’t get tired of it.” Lucky for us. “The Quotidian Landscape” continues through Nov. 28 in The Gallery at Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester in Harrison. For more, visit susanstillmanfineart.com or susanstillman.com.
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NOVEMBER 2016
Model Citizen
Elizabeth Hurley charms, never more so than when she’s fighting breast cancer BY DANIELLE RENDA PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN RIZZO
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Elizabeth Hurley is nothing short of a sensation. For both who she is and for what she does. Who could forget when the British model-actress wore the Versace “safety-pin dress” that caused a shift in women’s fashion? Or when she broke through in the movies as Vanessa Kensington, the alluring female robot and Mike Meyers’ lover, in the "Austin Powers" series?
Elizabeth Hurley at Bloomingdale's White Plains.
At a recent brunch for select shoppers at Bloomingdale’s White Plains, however, the current star of E!’s television drama “The Royals” focused not on film or fashion but on philanthropy. For the past 22 years, Hurley has been the face of The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, which helped launch a movement and the iconic pink ribbon. The BCA works to raise awareness and funds for research, education and medical services, with Hurley spreading the word through talks and festive events that encourage men and women to take action. And she does it all while wearing pink.
PROUD (AND PRETTY) IN PINK When Hurley became involved with the campaign in 1995, there was some talk of breast cancer, thanks to first ladies Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan’s public battles with the disease. But that awareness was certainly not the phenomenon it is now with even NFL players sporting touches of pink in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Then, the pink ribbon was nonexistent. Hurley was all-too familiar with the disease, having watched breast cancer claim her grandmother, who was diagnosed in the late ’80s. Hurley wasted no time capturing the audience’s attention about a disease that doesn’t discriminate. “One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime,” she said to the more than 60 attendees. “Just looking at these tables today, we know how important it is to all of us.”
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The majority of attendees were women, but the BCA also recognizes the 1 percent of breast cancer cases in the country that involve men — represented by the single blue stone added to Estée Lauder’s Jeweled Pink Ribbon Pin in 2011. It was fitting that the brunch took place at Bloomingdale’s, which began supporting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, created by Evelyn Lauder, with a single item 11 years ago and has since raised $11 million with its own Pink Campaign. Since then the retailer has joined forces with the Marisa Acocella Marchetto Foundation and The Carey Foundation’s Tutu Project, which seek to eliminate the daily challenges associated with treatment and recovery. These foundations were represented at each table by Marchetto’s “Cancer Vixen: A True Story,” a graphic-style memoir about her fight against breast cancer; Tutu Project postcards, featuring activist Bob Carey in a pink tutu set against one of Bloomingdale’s black-and-white stores; and goody-bag information describing the BCA’s “Take Action Together to Defeat Breast Cancer” theme. “We started a campaign that says there are very simple lifestyle changes you can make for yourself, and there are different ways you can help, but we’re asking everybody to think of something they can do,” Hurley said. “It can be taking better care of themselves. It can be doing some exercise. It can be helping a friend who’s going through treatment. There are many, many, many things you can do to take action.” Hurley added that she was moved to involvement by one woman — the late Evelyn Lauder, Estée Lauder’s daughter-in-law, onetime senior corporate vice president of The Estée Lauder Companies and the founder of the BCRF in 1993. “She said, ‘Well, Elizabeth, women all over the world are dying of breast cancer and nobody is talking about it. And I want to change that.’” In 1992, Lauder co-created the pink ribbon with Alexandra Penney, then editor-in-chief of Self magazine. A year later, then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton signed a proclamation declaring Oct. 19 National Mammography Day, and Estée Lauder, along with cosmetic brands Clinique, Prescriptives and Origins, raised nearly $300,000 for the BCA by offering a pink enamel pin for a minimum $10 donation. To date, the Estée Lauder Companies’ BCA campaign has raised more than $65 million, and the BCRF, more than half a billion. “The pink ribbon is now a sign all over the world that people are talking about breast cancer, people care about people who have breast cancer,
Since 2010, the themed evening — an April celebration for which hundreds of guests don pink — has included The Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan as a site. “It’s pretty amazing when we do special events and everybody makes an effort to wear pink,” Hurley said. “It looks fantastic.” Since 2010, the campaign has also illuminated international landmarks in pink, many of which were personally switched on by Hurley or Lauder, who died in 2011 of nongenetic ovarian cancer. The impressive landmarks list includes the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the Peninsula in Hong Kong, the Tower of Pisa in Pisa and the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. “We also hold the Guinness World Record for the most illuminations for a cause that Elizabeth and Evelyn received in 2010 at the Empire State Building, for lighting 38 landmarks in 24 hours,” said Bari Seiden-Young, vice president, global corporate communications for The Estée Lauder Companies. “And wearing pink for all of them,” Hurley chimed in.
MAKING TIME TO UNWIND
and people are passionate about finding a cure for cancer and helping people who are suffering from this appalling disease,” Hurley said. And the organization is growing with each milestone. Beginning this year, the BCRF plans to grant $57 million annually to more than 250 scientists from international universities and medical institutions, in addition to its newly established Evelyn H. Lauder Founder’s Fund, an international privately-funded project exclusively focused on metastasis research, with upwards of $30 million already committed. “More women are now being detected with breast cancer, but less women who are detected are dying because treatments have improved,” Hurley added. “Every small action, we really believe, collectively helps everybody.” But the BCA campaign and BCRF’s efforts are not all work and no play. Every year, the BCRF hosts a Hot Pink Party, a benefit held at a number of venues nationwide.
EVERY SMALL ACTION, WE REALLY BELIEVE, COLLECTIVELY HELPS EVERYBODY. — Elizabeth Hurley
Besides traveling the globe, wearing upwards of 25 designer pink dresses every year (including a favorite Indian-style creation by John Galliano) and affecting the lives of breast cancer supporters, survivors, fighters and their families, Hurley makes time to practice what she preaches and spiritually unwind. Her ultimate pastime is to escape to her country house, about two hours west of London, with her son, Damian, and connect with nature, cook and, most important, relax. “I garden. I pick fruit. I make jam and preserves. I do really, really homey things there. I lie on the sofa and read a book and go for long walks with my dog. And that, for me, is a vital part of my life, because I feel it’s where I recharge. I’m quite healthy there,” she said. Completely in the pink. The Estée Lauder Cos. contributes a percentage of the sales from 15 of its products to the BCRF, including Estée Lauder’s Pink Perfection Color Collection ($35), an eye, lip and face palette that donates 100 percent of its sales. For more about the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, visit bcacampaign.com. For more about the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, visit bcrfcure.org. For more about the Hot Pink Party at The Waldorf Astoria, visit hotpinkparty.com.
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s STEP INTO AN ART-FILLED HOME LIKE NO OTHER
BY JANE K. DOVE PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY JUDITH AND ANDREW ECONOMOS
“Totally renovating our home has been a true labor of love,” said Andrew Economos as he reflected on his collaboration with artist-wife Judith. The result is a home like no other, replete with amazing hand-carved wood detail and furniture throughout. “The whole project took about three years to complete — we finished in 2010 — and was well worth it.”
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FATEFUL FIRE The couple was not initially in the market to buy another Westchester home. “We lived nearby (on) Edgemont Road, when one night a house down the hill from us… caught fire and partially burned,” Judith said. “The owners had insurance problems and, after the fire, stayed on for a couple of years with blue tarps covering the damage. Things were very difficult for them.” The Economos’ also owned the house right next door to the partially burned one and Andrew decided he could solve the owners’ problems — and the unattractive view — by buying their home and restoring it. But as work got underway, it became apparent that the house, a modest Dutch colonial, had many structural flaws and would require a complete overhaul. “I didn’t buy the house to live in, really,” Andrew said. “I wanted to help out the couple living there, renovate and sell it. But as I got into it, I saw the possibilities.”
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“Before the house burned, it was clear to us that it was functionally back to front,” Judith said. “Where you entered the house was small and ungenerous but the back was larger and more welcoming. So when we decided to rebuild, we ‘turned it around’ functionally.”
WORK GETS UNDERWAY Once the rebuilding process began, the couple pledged to use their artistic talents to make it a special place. Andrew is a skilled and imaginative carpenter and Judith, a talented painter and sculptor. “We decided to put our abilities to work in a fully collaborative effort,” Andrew said. Andrew, previous head of a highly successful software company, has been working in wood since he was a child. “I built my first piece of furniture when I was 12 and haven’t stopped since,” he said. “As the years went by my skills increased and I am basically self-taught.” The house sits on approximately two acres and the couple decided to enlarge the basement, which
was built on granite. On an old survey map, they discovered that an underground stream named Troublesome Brook passed under the house. “Uncovering it was a major job as was turning it into a picturesque stream,” Judith said. “The slope of our property allowed us to create a 12-foot waterfall and demanded that we use large quantities of granite stones to form the down-rushing stream.” Digging the basement out not only enlarged it but allowed for an art gallery, wine cellar and an artist studio to be added with an enormous stone deck above, running the entire rear length of the house. “We also discovered in the dig an abandoned well that we were able to circle in stone in the studio and bring it up to the back patio,” Judith said.
DESIGNS IN WOOD “Once the structural elements were completely in place, Judith and I were able to turn to designing the dozens of wood elements that are now in the house,” Andrew said. Judith is also a skilled woodcarver and this was a truly joint effort. We did
hands-on work as a team on many of the elements. For example, the hand-carved table and chairs in the dining room were done with us working together from start to finish.” The couple is highly adept at creating elaborate coffered ceilings and the home’s main rooms are all graced with this beautiful design element. Other hand-carved wood accents abound. The living room entrance has two columns with playful gargoyles holding up a carved linear beam. The ceiling is all mahogany, carved with five tiers of coffering. The wood floors throughout most of the home are made of tiger wood, while the hallways are generally porcelain and marble. The kitchen is a 30-by-25-foot room with a 9-foot wood-burning fireplace that can also be used for cooking. “All cabinetry was built in our dedicated 4,000-foot workshop, which is in another location,” Andrew said. The original 1800s fireplace in the adjacent dining room has been preserved and accented with a newly carved mantel. That ceiling is coffered with a mixture of mahogany beams and oak basket-weave decorations. A beautiful library has carvings on the ceiling and cabinetry. Upstairs, there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Three of the bedrooms have glass doors opening onto balconies with tree-level views. The master boasts a magnificent hand-carved canopy bed. Marble stairs featuring a carved black walnut horse for a handrail lead to the lower level, which looks out onto the garden and the Troublesome Brook water feature through sliding glass doors that provide access to the outdoors. There the couple has created an intimate paradise with a pleasure garden, privacy hedge, two stone-paved seating areas and a recirculating water feature with two small ponds suitable for water lilies, irises, lotuses and fish. The Troublesome Brook recirculating stream that cascades down a channel of boulders and stones under a little bridge has its own troll. A shade garden with towering native trees completes the effect. Andrew takes great pride in the home’s personal qualities. “All doors, windows and cabinetry were made in our workshop and the leaded windows were hand-crafted by a friend in Africa. It’s very nice to be able to come home, sit down, have a drink and look around at the results of our joint efforts,” said Andrew. “It’s a beautiful place and we really enjoy it.”
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Krissy Blake presents
LINDSAY DRIVE | $6,750,000 | WEB ID: 0068274 Spectacular Parklike Gated Estate on a quiet mid country cul-de-sac. Totally Renovated in 2016, exquisitely designed, brick colonial set on 2 private acres with a gorgeous 3-bedroom guest cottage, saltwater pool, spa, waterfall and outdoor kitchen. Public Rooms open on to a captivating setting, 3 expansive terraces create an inviting indoor/outdoor entertaining area. Beautifully appointed throughout with stylish selections of light fixtures and decor, double height entry,dining room, large living room with fireplace, large windows and french doors, stunning eat in gourmet kitchen, family room, with fireplace. Master suite with balcony, his/her walk-in closets, luxurious bath, 4 additional family bedrooms all en suite.State of the art walk-in wine cellar, playroom. Krissy Blake | 203.536.2743 GREENWICH BROKERAGE | 203.869.4343 One Pickwick Plaza | Greenwich, CT 06830
5lindsay.com sothebyshomes.com/0068274
Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.
ROUND HILL MANOR | $49,895,000 | WEB ID: 0068133 One of the great estates in Greenwich sitting on the crest of a magnificent plateau overlooking more than 40 open acres with panoramic views of Long Island Sound. Bill Andruss | 203.912.8990
MID-COUNTRY NEW CONSTRUCTION | $11,995,000 | WEB ID: 0068106 Exceptional glamour. Mid-Country Transitional Style. 7 bedrooms, 8 full & 4 half baths. On 3+ acres with pool and approved court site. A truly one-of-a-kind home. Steve Archino | 203.618.3144
STUNNING IN-TOWN CONDOMINIUM | $3,900,000 | WEB ID: 0068162 Pristine 5-bedroom, 4.5 bath unit. Private, gated association. Visit milbankavenue.com for a video, photos and more information. Susie Quinn | 203.618.3193
RIVERSIDE PERFECTION | $3,195,000 | WEB ID: 0068115 Custom-built 6 bedroom, 5.2 bath Colonial on .35 acres close to schools. Smart home system, fabulous covered-deck & private yard. Visit 34hendrieavenue.com. Barbara Hindman | 203.964.7670
MOORELAND ROAD | $3,195,000 | WEB ID: 0068227 6,189 square foot house with 4.28 acres. 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 4 fireplaces and a 3-car garage on a cul-de-sac of luxury homes. Mary-Stuart Freydberg | 203.618.3162
HALSEY DRIVE | $1,285,000 | WEB ID: 0068117 Four bedroom, three bath expanded cape. Beautiful landscaping for utmost privacy, surrounds the terrace & heated pool. Old Greenwich neighborhood. Karen Coxe | 203.561.2754
GREENWICH BROKERAGE | 203.869.4343 One Pickwick Plaza | Greenwich, CT 06830
sothebyshomes.com/greenwich
Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Nature’s
ArT
Gallery
BY AUDREY TOPPING
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Thien Cung Grotto in Halong Bay, Vietnam. Photograph by Erik A. Drabløs.
“It is a wonder that one cannot impart to others.” – Ho Chi Minh “To form this wonder, nature only uses stone and water to write, draw, sculpt, to create everything.” – Writer Nguyen Ngoc Ngan Deep in the interior of a monolith cone-shaped karst ascending from the salty waters of Halong (Descending Dragon) Bay in Vietnam is Wooden Stakes Cave, embracing the oldest geological museum on our planet. This amazing “art gallery” has been naturally evolving and forming for some 500 million years. Karst topography is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks of limestone, dolomite and gypsum, once mountains under the sea that have risen from the depths due to tectonic activity for millions of years. This Unesco World Heritage site consists of 1,600 limestone karsts in various shapes and sizes topped by jungle vegetation that is home to rare monkeys and lizards. The interiors are characterized by sinkholes and
enormous grottoes filled with weirdly shaped stalactites and stalagmites formed by steady erosion that has created abstract artwork. Local legend relates the gods sent a family of dragons to protect the peaceful bay. The dragons spit out rubies, pearls and jade to form a wall of rock mountains called “fenglin towers,” which caused the invaders’ ships to crash and sink. Some of the dragons, similar to the Loch Ness Monster, have occasionally been sighted. A headline in the Hai Phong News recently reported “Dragon Appears in Halong Bay.” I have seen this dragon in the rocks myself so I know it is true. Perhaps you can see it, too. The entrance and center of Wooden Stakes Cave is flooded with light, but the walls remained gray and dark until my camera flashed. Then for a magical moment they exploded with color. It wasn’t until I put the shots in my computer and enhanced the natural colors that I realized I had photographed some startling abstract artwork created by nature.
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WEAR
Where philanthropy’s always in
fAsHiON BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
“You don’t know how many times I’ve covered this face with kisses,” Avril Graham said teasingly as WAG recently presented her with a copy of our August “Celebrate and Exhale” issue, starring polo’s Nacho Figueras, a fave of Avril’s (and ours). The executive fashion and beauty editor at Harper’s Bazaar — who’s still complimenting us on our profile of her in September 2015 WAG — is a fixture at Greenwich Polo Club and Bridgehampton Polo Club; indeed, anywhere glamorous, be it the red carpet or runway shows. (On the day we met recently she was preparing to jet off to Florence for the world premiere of “Inferno” with Tom Hanks after a pit-stop in Paris. It’s a tough gig but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.) With the gracious Avril, however, glam is always in service of a larger purpose. On this day, she was at the podium as Harper’s Bazaar once again teamed with Simon, its mall The Westchester and Pediatric Cancer Foundation to thank foundation donors and supporters with the annual “Fashion Meets Philanthropy” event, featuring trending looks from Runway, Nordstrom, L.K. Bennett, Neiman Marcus, Brooks Brothers, Rebecca Taylor and Anne Fontaine. Though the show offered ensembles for fall and winter, Avril’s mind was still swimming with ideas from the spring fashion shows. Whatever the season, the theme is anything goes. “The wonderful thing ladies should know is that there is something for them, for everyone,” Avril told WAG before the show. “We’re not saying everything should be tight and short, as in Saint Laurent, or mid-length as in Prada or fulllength as in Valentino. Rather there’s something that suits every taste and shape.” It’s fascinating that in this the season of po-
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Avril Graham, above, speaking at "Fashion Meets Philanthropy." An ensemble, left, by L.K. Bennett, The Westchester. Photographs by Nicole Taylor.
litical body shaming, fashion — long famous for its strictures — is embracing the spectrum of the human body. Avril pointed to the inclusive Christian Siriano, the “Project Runway” breakout who championed Leslie Jones when no designer came forward for her “Ghostbusters” premiere and designed the blue cap-sleeved dress for Michelle Obama’s equally admired Democratic National Convention speech. Avril also saw the full-figured model Ashley Graham on prominent display during Fashion Week. Perhaps the reason for fashion’s broadening horizon is that Seventh Avenue no longer dictates to Main Street. Now the street is the inspiration for the runway, as designers look to what the hoi polloi are wearing. So, Avril said, don’t be afraid to sport that brocade at the office. If you can pull off the classic tailored black suit, go for it. Are sequins your thing? But of course. And don’t forget the footwear, be it the low block heel, the big fat block heel or Marc Jacobs’ massive Gaga platform. Be adventurous in your makeup with a colored liner. Try some plastic floral earrings as you continue your love affair with floral dresses. Slick your hair for spring. Be adventurous, Avril said, in everything.
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Remembering Fidel Castro in his
PriMe BY SEYMOUR TOPPING
When Fidel Castro recently celebrated his 90th birthday, the frail Cuban leader sat in what seemed to be a specially equipped wheelchair at a televised gala listening to a musical tribute by children and viewing film depicting his revolutionary rise and exercise of power. It was his first public appearance since April when he spoke at a Communist Party congress cautioning it to adhere to socialist ideals even as the nation was engaging in a process of normalization of relations with the capitalist United States that has been foreshadowed by cultural tourism and exchanges. On his historic visit to Cuba in March, President Barack Obama was not received by Fidel Castro. He met with his younger brother, Raul, to whom Fidel yielded the presidency in 2006 after he suffered gastrointestinal bleeding. I have always considered myself fortunate in having had the opportunity to interview Fidel Castro at a time when he was fit physically and not shy of being informal with an American journalist. In November 1983, when I was managing editor of The New York Times, I traveled through South America interviewing leaders and hoping that Castro would respond to my repeated requests for what would be a rare interview. I had been based in Moscow during the Cuban missile crisis and was eager to get Castro’s thoughts about the outcome of his engagement with President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. I was in a hotel bar in Managua, Nicaragua, when I got a call from the Cuban ambassador. The next morning, Times colleague Bill Kovach and I were aboard a Cuban airliner. In Havana we waited two days before I received a phone call in my hotel room at 9:30 p.m.: “We will pick you up in
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a moment. The president is ready to receive you.” After surrendering our cameras and tape recorders at the Council of State building, we were ushered into Castro’s spacious office, a wood-paneled room lined with bookcases. Castro greeted us as we entered. He was a tall figure, dressed in his familiar uniform — green combat fatigues, a short combat jacket with a leather belt and black zipper boots. His beard was quite long and rather straggly, but his hair with its silver gray streaks was well groomed. He waved us to beige leather couches arranged around a coffee table. His manner warm and friendly, Castro asked me to sit beside him, saying he would like to be able to look into my face. He apologized for inviting us to his office at such a late hour and added with a smile that possibly we would have preferred to go to the Tropicana, a splashy nightclub. When he invited questions, I asked about his relations with Moscow. He replied that they were on a mutual basis. He was grateful for Moscow’s large-scale economic assistance. He did not complain about his treatment in the resolution of the missile crisis. Indeed, he had made known his resentment that Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev, in negotiating the crisis settlement, had not insisted the U.S. terminate its embargo on trade with Cuba. But, gesturing with hands raised, Castro recalled that when he first took power, he was isolated and under pressure from the United States and didn’t know which way to turn. He said it was the Soviet Union that came forward with the assistance he needed to build and preserve the Cuban nation, and the Cubans could not overlook that fact. He stressed that Cuba retained its independence and that Soviet military advisors were in Cuba solely to train his army.
Above left: Fidel Castro in 1978. Photograph by Marcelo Montecino. Inset: Fidel Castro and Seymour Topping. Photograph by a Cuban government photographer.
In replying to my questions, Castro stared intently into my eyes and often raised his hands in expressive gestures. His Cuban interpreter translated simultaneously and mimicked Castro’s inflections and expressions. Castro’s remarks revealed a broad knowledge of foreign affairs and history, including that of the United States. He frequently cited names of relevant personalities, dates and statistics. When he spoke tenderly of the work of thousands of Cuban teachers in allied Nicaragua, I thought, what a contrast. This is the same man whose communist regime had so brutally repressed political opponents. At midnight, after the conversation had continued for more than two hours, I was thanking Castro, when he interrupted to say smiling: “Well, it's not too late to go to the Tropicana.” A tray of mojitos and daiquiris was brought in. For himself, Castro poured two drinks of Chivas Regal, saying he preferred Scotch to rum. During our meeting, Castro smoked only one small cigar. He told us he had read everything that Ernest Hemingway wrote. In particular, he admired “The Old Man and the Sea,” about a Cuban fisherman, because Hemingway had written a novel “simply about a man and his thoughts.”
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WANDERS
PRAGUE TO PARIS, ON THE
wATer BY DEBBI K. KICKHAM
Notre Dame de Paris at night. Photographs courtesy Viking River Cruises.
How can three generations of relatives make the most of a European vacation? A Viking River Cruise. As its ads on PBS’ “Masterpiece” explain, a Viking river cruise is a smart, fun way for families to explore the world — particularly local culture and the arts — in comfort. We recently sailed from Prague to Paris on a 13-day “Cities of Light” adventure. Come aboard and prepare to be delighted.
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First stop — Warsaw, Poland on our land tour that we conducted for ourselves. We highly recommend Warsaw, especially the tour we did of Wilanov — the former castle of King Jan III Sobieski. The palace hosts cultural events and concerts and is one of Poland’s official national historic monuments. For hotels, we like the Warsaw Hilton, as it is near the Old Town (and Chopin concerts) and within one block from the Uprising Museum (where you could spend an entire day). For a city tour and escorted tour of Wilanov, speak to the Hilton concierge and book Czarek. He is not only a well-informed guide, he is a charming person who will make the trip terrific. Insider Tip: The American dollar is very strong in Poland, and everything — from hotel rooms to leather coats to Botox injections — is incredibly reasonable, making Poland a great value for the money right now. (Yes, Botox injections for crow’s feet were just $80 at the medical office I visited.) We sped through Warsaw, took a flight to Krakow to see family and then boarded Rail Europe in Krakow in order to reach our pre-cruise hotel in Prague. Try it. Rail Europe offers rail passes,
train tickets and reservations for more than 50 European train companies. You can also use Rail Europe to book sightseeing tours, city passes and museum passes. We stayed in a sleeper car for the overnight trip, and though the room was quite small for the three of us, we much preferred this to all of the hassles of an airplane trip. The cost was about $100 per ticket, and it made the trip quick and easy. (raileurope.com, 1-888-438-RAIL.) We stayed at Hilton Prague (although there is another Hilton in the Old Town), and it was excellent. What made it great? First, Viking River Cruises operates a desk there. Book an Executive Room as we did. You’ll have all of the delights of the Executive Lounge, including breakfast, snacks and light dinner served every day. (Make sure to enjoy the found-in-Europe-only black currant juice.) We stayed in two adjoining rooms, which added to our comfort and enjoyment. Another plus: Hilton’s private car service offers convenient transportation — and even lets you charge the fare to your room. My sister Chris and Mom used it with great success to visit a nearby theater where they saw an incredible performance of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” that included a reconstruction of the original staging from the opera’s premiere there in 1787, conducted by Mozart himself. Another Prague highlight — the tour of Lobkowicz Palace and its weekly classical music concert. Though I’m a seasoned ocean cruiser, my 98-year-old mother (who is in excellent health)
Nuremberg in northern Bavaria, on the way to the port of Bamberg, is distinguished by medieval architecture with fortifications and stone towers in its Old Town.
Sailing with Viking River Cruises.
and my sister had never cruised before. We sailed on the Viking Odin, named for the wandering chief god in Norse mythology. Service by the Viking staff was unparalleled — friendly, courteous and professional. It was the best I’ve encountered on any cruise, and that’s saying a lot, since I’ve sailed on the world’s best luxury ocean liners. Mom and Chris were also thunderstruck by how friendly and caring the staff was. Viking prides itself on cultural immersion, and this it does with aplomb. Every day involved numerous tours (and subsequent motor coach rides) to lovely ports of call. In Würzburg, Germany, our guide, Florian (who was as entertaining as he was knowledgeable and funny) provided excellent commentary on the entire area, including the Würzburg Residence, a palace that is even more ornate than Versailles. In Cochem, Germany, our guide Maryann was just as funny, as she took us on an exceptional tour of the medieval Reichsburg Castle that was fascinating. (She even changed into a dirndl skirt for the occasion). We loved lots of things about this cruise. The heated bathroom floors. The three types of cookies offered daily at the coffee station. The second restaurant, Aquavit Terrace, were you could enjoy a casual meal as an alternative to the main dining room. Though we found some of the food to be too heavy in summer (beef stew and cheese soup for lunch), I have to say that the chef and staff were more than accommodating to my special dietary requests, which they would fulfill for anyone. It’s all I can do to stay a size 4, and the chef was incredibly flexible in offering me delicious low-fat muesli with skim milk, grilled shrimp and ratatouille and butter-free salmon, in lieu of more fattening dishes such as pump-
kin ravioli with lamb loin or polenta sandwiches. There is also a vegetarian menu every day. One Indian family aboard also made lots of special requests, selecting vegetarian, Mexican and Indian food, which they all rated as delicious. If you are a seasoned ocean traveler like me, you will miss having access to a gym on a river cruise, (although you can visit some in various ports, for a fee, of course), a salon, a spa and nighttime entertainment/production shows. There is just dancing and music at 9 p.m. in the lounge, or you can watch TV and movies in your room. However, our cruise also featured a breathtaking musical ensemble that really belonged at The Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Darmstadter Staatstheater trio was exceptional, consisting of a French horn player, pianist and soprano Elisabeth Fischbach. It was the highlight of the entire cruise. If you do love ocean cruises, you may wish to consider Viking’s new ocean cruises — on the Star and the Sea — which unseated Crystal Cruises as the Number One Ocean Cruise Line in Travel + Leisure’s 2016 World’s Best Awards. But for riparian pleasures, Viking River Cruises is a first-class way to unpack once, see gorgeous sights and take in the world — one beautiful port at a time. And if you need the perfect souvenir, take home Viking’s adorable plush dog Fuddlewuddle, who is the favorite toy of the ship’s Labrador mascot, Finse. (There are also four children’s travel books called “The World of Finse” — must-buys for your children and grandchildren.) For family and intergenerational travel, Viking is a luxurious way to explore the world of art and culture in an impeccable manner. Bon Voyage. For more, visit vikingrivercruises.com. And for more on Debbi K. Kickham, visit GorgeousGlobetrotter.com and MarketingAuthor.com.
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WANDERS
Miami Nice BY JEREMY WAYNE
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Faena Hotel Pool. Photograph by Todd Eberle.
May I come clean? I love Miami. There are many reasons for this, some more shallow than others, but what really pasos my doble in the city people call the capital of Latin America is its art scene. After New York – and in some instances, dare I say, even before it – it’s arguably the hottest, most vibrant in the country.
The kingpin of course is Miami Art Week, which this year runs from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4. With vast exhibit spaces, including tents the size of airplane hangars, and a backdrop of the turquoise-blue Biscayne Bay fringed with tropical palms, Miami does art like nowhere else. Topping it all is Art Basel Miami Beach — held at the Miami Beach Convention Center — the largest fair of the week, with 250 galleries around the world participating. The brilliant “Design Miami” show, held in the Convention Center’s parking lot, is not far behind in scope. But there are myriad other shows and events, too, of course, to entice and delight you, including the Satellite Art Show, Aqua Art Miami, the Miami Project, New Art Dealers Alliance Inc. (NADA), PULSE Miami Beach, Fridge Art Fair, X Contemporary and INK Miami Art Fair — to name but a few. Out of breath? You will be. You’ll shed a few pounds, too, over the course of seven days, because despite the shuttle buses that run from
venue to venue, Art Week is an endurance test, a fitness program like no other, with shoe leather and rubber soles wearing out quicker than you can say Julian Schnabel. Another area in which Miami often seems to lead the field is hotels. Over the last 25 years, the city has enjoyed a great track record of sympathetic historical renovation, while new-build hotels have taken sophistication to new heights, often literally. Like great art, imagination in hotel design and management runs free. Indeed, the two seem to run in tandem. Perhaps that’s why they call hospitality an “art.” In the new Faena district, which takes up six blocks of prime Miami Beach oceanfront, a new bilevel arts center is due to open in time for this year’s Miami Art Week. Developed by the visionary Alan Faena, who made his name as a developer in Buenos Aires, the jewel of the new district is the Faena Hotel, formerly the Saxony, whose soar-
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ing cathedral entrance, devoid of check-in desks and concierges is, to quote the man himself, “a place of reflection.” You can reflect, too, under the hotel’s Alberto Garutti chandeliers, whose light output is linked by computer to echo the weather patterns of the Argentine pampas; or in the sumptuous oceanfront suites, accented in Faena’s signature red; or around “Gone But Not Forgotten,” the hotel’s focal Damien Hirst sculpture, a gilded mammoth in a vast steel and glass vitrine, positioned dead-center in the sight line between the hotel entrance and the ocean. Another powerful sculpture, Hirst’s “Golden Myth” horse and rider, takes center stage in the hotel’s modern Asian restaurant, Pao by Paul Qui. The performing arts are not forgotten, either. The Faena has its own 150-seat theater, in which the sexy, in-house review, “C’est Rouge,” plays five nights a week in season. And when your soul needs soothing, it’s to the Faena’s Tierra Santa Healing House you go, where treatments are performed using Faena’s own range of blended oils, healing stones and flower poultices, along with Himalayan singing bowls, selected by the resident shaman, to help balance your chakras. “Healing comes from the inside out,” the attendants say here, wisely. A few blocks south of Faena is the Nautilus South Beach, another newly-opened, renovated oldie, also with a heavy emphasis on art. Originally
designed by architect Morris Lapidus in the 1950s, Nautilus’ collection includes colorful works by Jean-Michel Basquiat in the lobby as well as custom artwork from American photographer Sante d’Orazio. Lapidus’ wonderfully restored, almost surreal “Staircase to Nowhere” is also a show-stealer. You won’t go hungry or thirsty here either: Guest-room minibars, housed in retro cabin trunks, should be renamed maxi-bars, because they’re huge. And at the hotel’s 200-seat Driftwood Room Mediterranean restaurant — the former supper club where
Entrance Lobby at East, Miami. Courtesy East, Miami.
bandleader Ralph Font popularized the cha-cha 60 years ago — they’re now marrying “the cuisine of Southern France with a Miami palate” and, in my view, cooking up some of the most exciting dishes in South Florida. Try the chicken diavolo for one. Well, the devil is in the detail, don’t they say? Last but not least, on top of the Brickell City Centre and bordering both the Design District and artsy Wynwood, is the brand new East, Miami. This is the first hotel in the Americas from the Hong Kong-based Swire group, and it has arrived with a loud drumroll and serious razzmatazz. With the ingenious use of sliding panels, its ground floor coffee shop, Domain, turns into a sultry, sexy bar after dark, and the line to ascend the coveted elevator for access to East’s rooftop bar, Sugar, snakes around the block on weekends. There are four pool “experiences” as well as a branch — the only branch, exclusive to East — of the famous Uruguayan beach restaurant, Quinto La Huella, where half the trees from the South American rainforests seem to have been chopped into logs to fuel the gigantic wood-fired grill. As for the art, it’s not so much on the walls here as all around you. Perma-tanned playboys and millennials with movie-star looks, moving in packs: It’s quite a scene. Yes, I know it’s rude to stare, but isn’t that what great art encourages you to do? For more, visit miamiandbeaches.com.
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Café La Fondita inspired by a taste for
TrAvel BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA • PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
“Fondita” means “hole in the wall,” and that’s what the building on the corner of Center Avenue and Fenimore Road in Mamaroneck was — a takeout place named Hole in the Wall. Now restauranteur/landscaper Val Morano Sagliocco (Lago restaurant, Morano Landscape Garden Design, Ridgeway Garden Center) is adding some spice to that concept. He’s taken over the 400-square-foot space and transformed it into a new takeout eatery, Café La Fondita, set to open later this month. It will feature not just tacos and enchiladas but the best of Latin American cuisine. “As he traveled, he fell in love with the cultures of Mexico and Central and South America and wanted the opportunity to bring them here,” a spokeswoman says. The approach is three-pronged. Inside opposite the gleaming white marble and stainless steel counters is a deep-yellow wall for Sagliocco’s travel photographs. But besides the food and photos, the outside explodes with color as muralist Suzanne Bellehumeur paints a scene of old Mexico, conjuring Spanish colonial architecture and cactuses, siestas and sombreros, a horse at a trough and a hissing black-and-white cat — all with a Frida Kahlo palette of high-grade exterior artist’s paints topped by a marine glaze to protect them from the elements. The door features a full-length image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico. “I started out in Manhattan painting furniture, and worked for a time for (designer) Iris Apfel,” says Bellehumeur, a Stamford resident whose business is the appropriately named Bling Walls. But a commission to do a mural in a Greenwich home proved a turning point. “Once I did that, I never looked back,” adds Bellehumeur, who’s been painting murals for 28 years.
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Mural painting is among the oldest forms of art with antecedents in the cave paintings of the Paleolithic period in what is now Southern France. In modern times, mural painting is often associated with a group of Mexican artists that included Diego Rivera, Kahlo’s husband, but many artists have put their brilliant hands to it, from Leonardo to Banksy. What they have no doubt discovered is that it offers unique challenges compared to painting on canvas. The latter is “your own painting, your own concepts,” Bellehumeur says. “(Mural painting) is very much a service industry.” Another difference lies in scale: Murals are often painted on walls and ceilings. They are not meant to be read closely like a work on canvas but across a crowded room or with your head tilted upward. Or, in the case of Café La Fondita, as you drive by and take in the colorful site with its gravel parking area, intimate landscaping and outdoor seating and an old telephone booth for selfies. “When you drive by,” Bellehumeur says, “you can’t help but notice it.” For more, visit cafelafondita.com and BlingWalls.com
Suzanne Bellehumeur at work on her murals.
Café La Fondita in Mamaroneck.
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WONDERFUL DINING
SUBURBAN
SOPHISTICATION STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEESIA FORNI
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1 1. Baked clams are topped with breadcrumbs and parsley on one of Jordan Hall’s small plates. 2. A bowl of risotto is mixed with duck confit and butternut squash. 3. Generous portions of greens and French fries bookend a Kobe beef burger.
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A sweet red sauce and parmesan cover an appetizer of meatballs.
Jordan Hall 10803, one of Pelham’s newest eateries, is likely to catch your eye as you walk down the village’s Fifth Avenue, with greenery wrapping the trellis in front of the restaurant’s entrance and potted plants dotting the outdoor seating area. Walk inside and your attention will immediately be drawn to the grand piano in the elegant entryway, one that is often complete with a musician seated at its bench, filling the restaurant with soothing melodies and lending it an upscale yet comfortable feel. Adding to the ambience are a redesigned bar, painted portraits along the walls and crystal tiered light fixtures hanging from the ceiling.
Taking up residence in what was formerly a popular French café, Bistro Rollin, the new Italian steakhouse at 142 Fifth Ave. changed hands in May. Borrowing the latter part of its name from Pelham’s ZIP code, Jordan Hall 10803 opened soon after in July. Though the menu and decor have seen a shift, one thing that has remained at the spot is executive chef Eric Mauro, who, along with his kitchen staff, stayed on to run the back of the house at Jordan Hall following the restaurant’s sale. As we take our seats, we’re presented with a basket of warm, freshly baked bread, served with a side of butter and a small plate of olives, assorted slices of cheese and two peperoncini. I start with a selection from Jordan Hall’s cocktail list, The Pelham Sidecar, a sweet glass of rum with orange liqueur and freshly squeezed lemon. My guest chooses instead to take the spicy route and opts for the Jalapeño Margarita, a glass of tequila with orange, lime and chopped jalapeños. After sipping our drink selections and mulling over the menu, we select a plate of baked clams oreganata, topped with crisp breadcrumbs and chopped parsley. A second appe-
tizer, Jordan Hall Meatballs, introduces us to one of the tastiest marinara sauces I’ve ever encountered, a slightly sweet and creamy red sauce topped with Parmesan cheese and basil. Soon after, a member of the highly attentive (at times, overly so) waitstaff delivers my entrée, a bowl of creamy risotto with delectable duck confit and chunks of butternut squash. The slices of duck are pleasantly tender and paired well with the slightly chewy risotto. Another entrée, chef Mauro’s signature Kobe beef burger, showcases an expertly cooked and juicy burger in a thick and flaky bun topped with pancetta, red onion and aged Parmesan. The entrée is served with a heaping helping of French fries, which turn out to be the unexpected star of the dish, perfectly crisp with a light, fluffy interior. A carnivore’s delight, the menu also boasts an impressive list of steaks, from petit filet mignon to a prime aged porterhouse for two. Before moving on to dessert, owner Florio Rugova, who has routinely checked on us, encourages us to partake in an after-dinner glass on the house. Though the flute of limoncello is not quite sweet enough for my taste, a glass of Port wine proves the perfect segue between the savory entrée and dessert. To end our meal at Jordan Hall, we choose old-fashioned comfort food, splitting a small bowl of warm, flaky spiced apple crisp topped with creamy homemade vanilla ice cream. The warm and gooey apples make for a satisfying union with the frosty scoop of ice cream. With its friendly staff, upscale décor and spoton food, Jordan Hall perfectly couples big-city chic with suburban sophistication. For more, visit jordanhall10803.com.
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WINE & DINE
art
THE
OF CHAMPAGNE STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUG PAULDING
With the holidays just around the corner, wineries that produce sparkling wines are getting busy. Decades ago the Champagne region did an amazing job linking its wines to celebrations. New Year’s Eve, weddings, anniversaries, business triumphs and political successes are applauded and sealed with a Champagne “pop” and pour. Indeed, almost a quarter of Champagne’s massive annual bubbly production is sold in December. I recently attended a dinner and a tasting of Bruno Paillard Champagnes in Manhattan. Alice Paillard, a daughter of winery founder Bruno, was just settling in after a transatlantic flight. I arrived at the restaurant about a half-hour early and immediately recognized her from the promo pictures, grabbing a small bite near the bar. She invited me to sit and talk about her wines, one-on-one. “We are the youngsters on the block,” Alice said. It’s very rare for a new Champagne house to originate. Usually smaller family-owned houses are bought up by the mega producers so there is a diminishing autonomy in the Champagne region. Bruno Paillard had worked in his family’s multigenerational brokerage house in Reims, hooking up growers of Champagne grapes with producers of Champagne. At age 27 in 1981, Bruno decided he wanted to make Champagne but only a premium and pure Champagne. So he sold his one possession of value, a vintage Jaguar, bought some grapes from a grand cru vineyard — grand cru, or “great growth,” indicating a favorable rating — rented a cellar with some winemaking equipment and got busy. From the beginning the goal was to buy grapes from top tier grand cru plots where the grapes have accented flavors of fruity acids and flowery elements with a backbone of a steely, mineral quality, picked 90
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Alice Paillard, co-manager of Bruno Paillard Champagnes, shared some thoughts and tastes with WAG’s Doug Paulding recently.
up from the limestone and chalky soils. Bruno used only the premium juice of the first pressing of the grapes from the best plots he could find. In 1994 he bought his first vineyard, a seven-and-a-half acre grand cru plot, which gave him more control from vine to bottle. He employed sustainable and organic principles before that was popular and now uses no herbicides or pesticides in the vineyard. He and his staff plant flowers liberally, which is, of course, aesthetic, although their function is more important. Roses, in particular, are more sensitive to certain fungi than grapes. If there is evidence of a fungal attack on the roses, the vines will be next. This “canary in a coal mine” approach helps minimize intervention. The flowers also attract pollinating birds, bees and butterflies, helping to breathe life into the vineyard. By 1990 Bruno began building his own high-tech winery. Today he owns 79 acres of vines in 100 distinctly different plots in Reims, with 30 of those acres labeled grand cru. In 2007, Alice joined the business and today is co-manager of the brand, jumping in to all aspects of the house, including vineyard management, winemaking, media relations and sales and exports. Bruno Paillard was the first in Champagne to print the disgorgement date on the label. Disgorgement is the process unique to sparkling wines in which the sediment is coaxed into the upper neck of the bottle by tipping it in a special rack over a few weeks until it’s practically upside down. Finally, the bottle necks are frozen and the cork pulled so the ice plug of sediment is expelled and the bottle is topped off with a touch of wine.
“Champagne is not just a celebratory drink,” Alice said. “It’s a wine. It pairs wonderfully with many meals and cuisines.” Champagne can be made with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. Each type of grape and each grape plot is vinified separately into a still wine and then carefully blended to complement the others’ flavor profiles. Each individual still wine changes at its own pace, meaning the blended wine is changing in the bottle. Post disgorgement, Bruno will let the wine sit and the flavors merge considerably past the required time. The wine will not get released until a taste test proves to have an attractive and smooth blend. At dinner we tasted a wonderful selection of Bruno Paillard Champagnes. The Multi Vintage (MV) wine is their most affordable. The vintner blends wines from the cellar, some of them more than 25 years old. The Extra Brut Première Cuvèe (SRP $50) was pure, with a lovely citrus flavor and a refreshing saltiness in the finish. The Extra Brut Rosé Première Cuvèe (SRP $70) was dry with a beautiful acidity and a clean finish. Other words I would use to describe these wines are “elegant, dry, beautiful, fresh, creamy, crisp” and “balanced.” “These wines are lively and exciting and dance on the tongue and in the mouth,” Alice said. They pair wonderfully with a broad selection of food on the table. Obviously, these wines would be perfect for your next event or celebration. Pick some up for your next nonevent. Dinner at home. A movie. Turn the mundane into a celebration. Write me at doug@dougpaulding.com.
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WHETTING THE APPETITE
A RECIPE WITH A LOT OF BY JACQUELINE RUBY PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
PUMPKIN SPICE POPOVERS INGREDIENTS:
• 3 large eggs • 1 cup milk • 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter • 1 cup flour • 1 ¼ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice • ½ teaspoon salt • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon sugar
DIRECTIONS:
• Combine eggs, milk, butter and flour. Mix well. • Add pumpkin spice, cinnamon, sugar, salt and blend until smooth. • Generously grease a popover pan (holds 6 popovers). • Pour mixture into popover pan and fill each cup half way. • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. • Bake 45-50 minutes. • Serve hot immediately.
OPTIONAL: Dust with confectioner’s sugar when done.
For more, contact the Saucy Realtor at jacquelineruby@hotmail.com. Tableware courtesy Casafina.
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POp
Now that fall has arrived, what better way to warm up on a chilly day than with pumpkin spice popovers? While few restaurants make them anymore, I can remember going to Patsy’s in New York City as a child and ordering them with chicken soup. You can serve them for breakfast, lunch or as a side to dinner. There’s nothing better.
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WELL Some people believe that healing is an art. Others assert it is a science. I prefer to think of healing as both an art and a science. Intellectually, I take for granted the science part. Yet perceptually, I continue to be fascinated by the effect of the arts on wellness. One can look at leading hospitals such as Westchester Medical Center for confirmation that the medical profession has embraced the restorative power of the arts. They are bringing artwork into treatment centers, hiring art therapists to work with patients and turning those green hospital walls into more attractive canvases.
HealinG AN ART AND A SCIENCE BY JANET T. LANGSAM
The merging of art and science is a familiar theme for ArtsWestchester just as the merging of mind and body is critical to health care. Thus ArtsWestchester turns a surgical lens on the arts and medicine in its fall exhibition, “Remedy” (through Jan. 14), curated by gallery director Kathleen Reckling. The exhibit is meant to open up a dialogue on the many ways in which the arts can promote healing in both personal and collective settings. Working across media, the contributing artists engage with the tools, institutions and methods of healing, as well as the roles artists and art can play in the process of personal and collective healing. Laura Splan’s “Prozac, Thorazine, Zoloft” creations blend humor and craft with modern medicine as she raises questions about what can provide comfort in times of physical or mental distress. Splan’s soft sculptures, made through the tedious and time-consuming process of latch hooking, transform these commonly prescribed antipsychotics and antidepressants into cozy, domestic objects. The oversized pill-ows provide a different kind of comfort than their prescription counterparts. “Asylum” is a captivating body of work by New York photographer Christopher Payne, who documented some 70 abandoned mental institutions in 30 states.
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Payne’s photographs are both lyrical and ghostly portraits of a forgotten age of mental health care. Today, these institutions of healing, controversial even in their day, are in need of healing themselves, condemned and replaced by outpatient facilities. Arizona-based artist Annie Lopez melds old photographic techniques with her Latina heritage to confront her father’s battle with Alzheimer’s and its effect on her family. Using photocopies of medical books as well as written memories from family members as visual source material, Lopez prints these images onto tamale wrappers via the cyanotype process and stitches the wrappers together as dresses. “The idea of wearing my burdens has always been intriguing to me,” Lopez says in a statement. “If my issues (or accomplishments) are on my clothes, I no longer have to think about them. They would be everyone else’s to consider or ignore.” Irvington-based photographer Carol Pfeffer is inspired by current neuroscience research. Her “Brain State” series interprets sensory events in the brain’s cortexes and explores neurological issues such as synesthesia, a phenomenon in which the stimulation of one sense involuntarily induces perception of another sense. The works are created through chemical and light exposures in a
“Straightjacket from Logansport State Hospital, Longansport, IN” by Christopher Payne. Photograph courtesy of ArtsWestchester.
darkroom without the use of an actual camera. Some of the most interesting pieces are by Dianne Aronian of Yorktown Heights, an artist whose work reflects her former career as an opthamologist. Photographer Richard Falco of North Salem throws a light on the role of art and music in therapy programs, including music for autistic children and wheelchair dance. The work of Samantha Yergo of Mamaroneck presents an internal, visceral and entangled visual whereas sculptor Jacqueline Lorieo of Yonkers leans on her medical background in her forms and themes while Guyanese-American performance artist Damalia Abrams is interested in the ways traditional remedies can both heal the self and nonmedical ailments plaguing our society. Taken as a whole, “Remedy” reminds us that art is a remedy in and of itself, Reckling says: "It can give us a voice when words have felt insufficient or can provide communities with safe havens in times of collective suffering. The work in ‘Remedy’ is provocative, it is humorous and it is also poignant.” Janet T. Langsam is CEO of ArtsWestchester. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays at 31 Mamaroneck Ave. in White Plains. For more, visit artswestchester.org.
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WELL
With the continued rise of high intensity exercise, fitness has become an activity in which the phrase “the harder, the better” is the norm. As someone who takes his workouts seriously, I will be the first to say that I want to challenge myself in the gym. However, as the workouts get harder and the intensity continues to go up, we have been losing touch with one simple facet of exercise — fun.
fitness fun
ADD A LITTLE DANCE TO YOUR WORKOUT
BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI
One man who believes we can put some fun back in fitness is Joseph Corella, owner of 5-6-7-SWEAT!. Joseph is a colleague of mine in Los Angeles and someone who makes it a priority to have every member of his classes leave with a good sweat and an even bigger smile. “There is something about dance that is magical. It’s hard to explain but when you are dancing, you feel it. It frees you in ways that can change your life,” Corella says. Life-changing is a strong statement. However, Corella mentioned that there are scientific studies that have shown dancing to fight many different diseases, heal the body, free the mind and increase your overall body strength, stability and mobility. Plus, students from Corella’s classes have said that dancing has helped them through difficult times in their lives. If you’ve read my past articles, I’ve told you many times about the importance of strength training, flexibility and rest. Having some fun and moving around should simply be another piece to our overall wellness puzzle. “Dance represents so many things to me,” Corella says. “Dance is there for me through the good 96
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Photograph of Joseph Corella by Kaitlin Kelly Photography.
and the bad. It speaks for me when I can’t. Dance has saved my life in many different ways. Again, there is something magical about dancing when you allow yourself to be present with it.” What I’d also like to point out is that dancing is just one example of movement, happiness and fun. What is it that you enjoy doing physically? What is it that you enjoy doing so much that you feel like it’s not even exercise? Could it be gardening? (If you’ve read my past articles, I’ve touched on this.). Could it be serving as a head coach or assistant
coach for your children’s team? (Check out my past articles for that discussion as well.). How would you define art? How can you be artistic? What is out there that makes you reflect and makes you passionate about life in the way Corella is about dance? Find that. And go out and do it. Have a little fun every once in a while. You don’t have to necessarily “live to exercise.” But it is good to exercise to live. Reach Giovanni on twitter @GiovanniRoselli and his website, GiovanniRoselli.com.
Brook Farm, Ridgefield, CT Approached via a circular drive, stands the stately colonial home originally owned by playwright Eugene O'Neill. Thoughtfully renovated, this 7 bedroom, 3.4 bath home was the inspiration for O'Neills play "Desire under the Elms". Historic highlights include 9 foot ceilings, seven fireplaces, maple floors, a grand entry with double staircase, French doors, and large windows framing the property's bucolic setting. The recently added addition includes a mudroom, laundry room, and a bonus room over the two car attached garage. Sited on 16.35 acres park like acres of rolling lawns, open meadows, a fresh water pond, & specimen plantings. Close proximity to the North Salem Bridle trails is an equestrian enthusiasts dream. The barn has two stalls, 4 bay garage , and a 1,348 sq.ft. office. Completing the outdoor amenities include a salt water pool, large flagstone Terrace, and a covered side porch offering a variety of venues for the active family!! Subdivision possibilities! MLS 4642150 Price: $4,200,000
Katonah, NY
North Salem, NY
Sun-filled stone and shingle colonial with contemporary flair located at the end of a private cul-de sac. A welcoming front porch, a two story foyer with vaulted wood ceilings, and floor to ceiling stone fireplaces highlight this gracious home which is perfect for entertaining and casual family living. The gourmet eat-in kitchen with stainless steel appliances adjoins the family room with a stone fireplace showcasing the outdoors with large custom windows. The second floor has an en-suite master bedroom and three family bedrooms. There is a computer work station room. an office, and a loft with a third stone fireplace. The large backyard is private and has protected land buffering it. This home is walking distance from Fox Valley Park, where there are tennis courts, baseball fields, and open space. Two miles from schools. shopping, and Metro North. MLS#4642653 Price: $885,000
Elegant Colonial on charming back dirt road. 2007 & 2012- renovations with incredible attention to detail including a paneled hallway, DR w/double height floor to ceiling windows. LR w/fireplace & beamed ceiling has French doors that open to deck. Cozy library. The new kitchen, that includes a new Mud Room, has dining nook and opens to the recently added DR. TheMB has built-ins plus ensuite bathroom & dressing room. 2 fam. BR's has one now being used as office w/two built-in desks.Hall bath completes the 2nd floor. Easily maintained property features old Stone Walls, mature trees & complimenting perennials plus a seasonal stream & pond. The original home site appears on a No. Salem 1846 Map. Directly across the road is 1000 acre Mountain Lakes Park w/beautifully marked hiking trails. 5 min. to Ridgefield, CT shopping & restaurants. 10 min. to Purdys Train & I684. MLS#4644349 Price: $995,000
North Salem, NY The D. D. Smith House. C.1760 colonial completely restored w/updated systems. Well set back from road, across from the Titicus Reservoir, on 6+ ac. Long winding driveway. Living, Dining & Parlor rooms w/2 fireplaces. Eat-In cook’s kit. w/ adjoining sunporch overlooking brick terrace & pool. Wide floor boards, old wavy glass, original posts & beams. Large office. Attic space w/stair suitable for studio.3 Bedrooms & 3 Baths PLUS Legal attached 1 Bedroom, 1 bath, living room & Kit. rental cottage. Period barn & corn crib. Directly behind home are 10 acres.of conservation land w/walking paths. A brook plus beautiful ageold stone walls, trees & laneways traverse this special property. Carport for 2 cars. Minutes drive to Purdys Metro North & I684. MLS#4637480 Price: 1,425,000
Cross River, NY This 3,079 sq.ft. contemporary deck house evokes the Prairie Style with knotty cedar vaulted ceilings, substantial douglas fir beams, and floor to ceiling walls of glass. The living room opens to the Dining Room and kitchen with a brick fireplace separating / defining the spaces. Sliding glass doors open from the living room and breakfast nook to a deck overlooking the pool area. A rec room with wet bar views the rear yard. The main floor master suite includes a bath and dressing area with closets. The lower level has a family room with fireplace opening to a stone patio, two bedrooms, two dens/bedrooms & full bath. Sited on 2+ acres at the end of a cul-de-sac. MLS# 4545376 Price: $699,999
ON THE GREEN • BEDFORD • NEW YORK • 914.234.3642 • VINWHIT.COM
WEAR
Sculpting a new
lOOk BY BRIAN TOOHEY PHOTOGRAPH BY ROB ROZYCKI
Ellyse Davis wears an elaborate braid.
As I have maintained, your hair can be your best accessory and also a natural material for artistic expression. We don’t always think of it in that way, and yet, it does have a life and character all its own. By its nature, it offers a unique opportunity for creativity. We can mold and shape it in limitless ways. There is also an emotional component attached to our hair as well. It can produce a calming effect as you gently run your fingers through it, or if someone else does it for you. Conversely, think of all the expressions often used under stress — “I was ready to pull my hair out” or “That was a hair-raising experience.” So it does appear that our emotions can be directly tied to those soft, lovely fibers (that just keep growing) to produce an opportunity for both change and expression. And the loss of those fibers — through age and/ or illness — can color the emotions, too. As an artist, I have appreciation for this material that has a life of its own — and that has been such an important part of my professional life. I take great care when I am sculpting a shape.
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When cutting hair, I use a specific technique. I push each section into the last area, cut and lift a bit and cut again until the shape is formed. The style grows in beautifully from week to week. There is a difference between this method and simple layering, where the style grows out instead of in. With all the technological enhancements in hair care, your hair, color and condition can be far better than ever before. For fall, have some fun. Multiple tones can add dimension to your color. As the season unfolds, be sure to condition. Indoor heat can dry your hair. Kérastase by L’Oréal now has a unique conditioner that can be formulated for your specific hair type, right in the salon. It is all the rage in the color department at Warren Tricomi. For styling, I still use Fluidissime by Kérastase on all my clients’ hair for a smooth shine and light feel. You, too, can be an artist with your hair. Remember: Treat your hair with love and it will never leave you. Visit Brian at Warren Tricomi Salon, 1 E. Putnam Ave., Greenwich. To book an appointment with him, call 212-262-8899.
wisH lisT GIFTS AND NEW PRODUCTS IDEAL FOR ANY OCCASION COMPILED BY MARY SHUSTACK
1
PRESENTS MOST PLAYFUL The creations of designer Jonathan Adler have graced WAG’s pages before. And his stylishly whimsical selections, available at namesake boutiques in Greenwich, Westport and around the world, continue to charm. We had trouble narrowing down the options from what caught our eye in the Holiday 2016 collection, but among the leading choices are the quirky Zoology Ostrich Pillow (1) ($275), available as a left- or right-facing design; the glam Muse Butterfly Pillow (2) ($325); and the unexpectedly dramatic Nixon Cake Stand (3) ($228). Gifts like these won’t soon be forgotten. For more, visit jonathanadler.com. Photographs courtesy Jonathan Adler.
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IN STEP WITH THE HOLIDAYS Fashionable footwear from Stuart Weitzman, the Greenwich-based designer profiled as our cover story in October 2013, continues to dazzle. And what better time than the holiday season to invest in a few new designs? We suggest two bootie options in Scarlet Stretch Velvet – the all-out glamorous Clinger (4) ($725) and the funkier Calare (5) ($575). Shop for both online, with the Clinger also available at the Stuart Weitzman White Plains boutique (914-682-1923). For more, visit stuartweitzman.com. Photographs courtesy Stuart Weitzman.
4 A SPARKLING STATEMENT Make a splash at those holiday parties and other seasonal gatherings with the Flower Cocktail Ring (6) ($12,900), one of the sparkling choices found at Noya Fine Jewelry & Accessories in Westport. This one-ofa-kind 18K rose gold, Natural Fancy Color diamond ring is layered with sliced diamonds, round brilliant trim and rough diamond beads, surrounded by black rhodium (7.53 total carat weight). For more, visit Facebook.com/noya.natalie. Photograph courtesy Noya Fine Jewelry & Accessories.
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W H AT I F T H E H O L I D AY S WERE ALL TIED UP WITH A BOW? Manolo Blahnik • Shoe Salon
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THE WESTCHESTER AT WHITE PLAINS 914.428.2000
DON’T FRET OVER GIFT IDEAS THIS YEAR
WAG’s got you covered with a selection of beauty, style and relaxation products and services that aim to please.
WAG 2016 TOP PICKS GIFT GUIDE WAGMAG.COM
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JAZZ UP YOUR WARDROBE
WAG 2016 TOP PICKS
Because new clothes and accessories are always appropriate.
GIFT GUIDE
AGABHUMI 22 Magee Ave., Stamford, Conn. 06902 888-242-2254 • agabhumi.com ANGELA’S 24 Purchase St., Rye, N.Y. 10580 914-481-5894 • angelasinrye.com CLAUDETTE 177 Sound Beach Ave. Old Greenwich, Conn. 06870 203-990-0600 • claudettestyle.com FRED 236 Sound Beach Ave. Old Greenwich, Conn. 06870 203-344-9533 • ogfred.com
HELLER’S SHOES 92 S. Moger Ave., Mount Kisco, N.Y. 10549 4 Pleasantville Road, Pleasantville, N.Y. 10570 914-243-1144 • 914-769-9767 hellersshoes.com HOBBS AT THE WESTCHESTER 125 Westchester Ave., White Plains, N.Y. 10601 914-920-4837 • hobbs.com KARA MAC SHOE CANDY Mount Kisco, N.Y. 10549 855-748-4475 • karamac.com LILY SHOES AND ACCESSORIES 250 Sound Beach Ave. Old Greenwich, Conn. 06870 203-990-0951 • lilyoldgreenwich.com
Little Rags and Riches offers the latest in kid’s fashion. Photograph courtesy Little Rags and Riches.
Rick Owens Lilies • Zero+Maria Cornejo • Lauren Manoogian • Giada Forte Faliero Sarti • Numero 10 • Officine Creative • Lola Hats
1887 PALMER AVE. • LARCHMONT, NY • 914-349-9100 • MDRATTELL.COM
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1903 Palmer Ave. | Larchmont, NY | 914.833.7333 | www.peridotfinejewerly.com
F E AT U R I N G
CATHY WATERMAN
22 KARAT GOLD AND PLATINUM STACKING RINGS
VISIT OUR CURATED SELECTION OF RINGS FROM CELEBRATED FINE JEWELRY DESIGNERS BOTH IN STORE & ONLINE.
WAG 2016 TOP PICKS GIFT GUIDE
LITTLE RAGS AND RICHES (Formerly LOL Kids Armonk) 384A Main St., Armonk, N.Y. 10504 914-219-5232 • lolkidsarmonk.com m.DRATTELL 1887 Palmer Ave., Larchmont, N.Y. 10538 914-349-9100 • mdrattell.com NEIMAN MARCUS WHITE PLAINS 2 E. Maple Ave., White Plains, N.Y. 10601 914-428-2000 • neimanmarcus.com PENNY PINCHER BOUTIQUE 184 Harris Road, Bedford Hills, N.Y. 10507 914-241-2134 • pennypincherboutique.com
A selection of footwear from Lily Shoes and Accessories. Photograph by Karissa Van Tassel, courtesy Lily Shoes and Accessories.
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE GREENWICH 205 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich, Conn. 06830 203-862-5300 • saksfifthavenue.com/ greenwich
TWISH (Formerly Twinkle Toes and Wish) 88 Purchase St., Rye, N.Y. 10580 914-921-4860 • Instagram: @twishrye
WORLD CLASS PARKING PROUDLY SERVING WESTCHESTER, ROCKLAND, AND FAIRFIELD COUNTIES FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
wcparking.com dcheitel@aol.com 914-683-1992 106
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“PRIVATE HOME PARTY SPECIALISTS” Call us for your next home event. We provide valet parking services to Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, memorial services, private home parties and more. “We make your parking issues a non-issue.”
SAY IT WITH A GIFT
Because nothing says, “I love you,” like a personalized present.
D’ERRICO JEWELERS 509 Central Park Ave., Scarsdale, N.Y. 10583 159 Main St., Mount Kisco, N.Y. 10549 914-722-1940 • 914-864-2688 westchesterjewelers.com
VAL’S PUTNAM WINES & LIQUORS 125 W. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, Conn. 06830 203-869-2299 • valsputnamwines.com
EKLECTICO CAFÉ Instagram: eklectico_cafe eklecticocafe.com PERIDOT FINE JEWELRY 1903 Palmer Ave., Larchmont, N.Y. 10538 914-833-7333 • peridotfinejewelry.com
A variety of customizable gifts for all occasions are available at Twish. Photograph courtesy Twish.
R & M WOODROW JEWELERS 21 Purchase St., Rye, N.Y. 10580 914-967-0464 • woodrowjewelers.com
At D’Errico Jewelers, clients can fully customize their jewelry, from concept to completion. Photograph courtesy D’Errico.
177 SOUND BEACH AVE. OLD GREENWICH, CT 06870 Customer parking in rear of store
203-990-0600 claudettestyle.com Potis and Verso exclusively at CLAUDETTE
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la bottega salon
WAG 2016 TOP PICKS GIFT GUIDE
IT’S MORE THAN A HAIRSTYLE, IT’S A LIFE STYLE
RENEW, REFRESH AND REJUVENATE Because who doesn’t need a little R&R?
To our valued clients, we give our heartfelt thanks and wishes for a wonderful holiday season and for 2017 to bring you only the best of everything! 263 S. Ridge Street Rye Brook, New York
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520 Mamaroneck Ave. White Plains, New York
914-948-7227
CASTLE HOTEL & SPA 400 Benedict Ave. Tarrytown, N.Y. 10591 914-631-1980 castlehotelandspa.com
OASIS DAY SPA 50 Livingston Ave. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522 914-409-1900 oasisdayspanyc.com
CHRISTOPHER NOLAND SALON & BEAUTY SPA 124 Greenwich Ave. Greenwich, Conn. 06830 203-622-4247 christophernoland.com
SALON LA BOTTEGA 520 Mamaroneck Ave. White Plains, N.Y. 10605 263 S. Ridge St., Rye Brook, N.Y. 10573 914-948-7227 • 914-937-5333 salonlabottega.com
THE GREENWICH MEDICAL SKINCARE AND LASER SPA 1285 E. Putnam Ave. Riverside, Conn. 06878 203-637-0662 greenwichmedicalspa.com
SKIN CENTER ADVANCED MEDICAL AESTHETICS 220 S. Central Ave. Hartsdale, N.Y. 10530 914-949-6200 bestskincenter.com
HYATT REGENCY GREENWICH 1800 E. Putnam Ave. Old Greenwich, Conn. 06870 203-637-1234 greenwich.regency.hyatt.com
SPAVIA DAY SPA WHITE PLAINS 250 Main St. White Plains, N.Y. 10601 914-368-2525 spaviadayspa.com
MASSAGE MAVENS OF GREENWICH 59 Le Grande Ave. Greenwich, Conn. 06830 203-340-2518 massagemavens.com
And for the holidays and every occasion, get the expert assistance of World Class Parking, a provider of valet parking services to Westchester, Rockland and Fairfield counties, specializing in private home parties. For details, call 914-683-1992 or visit wcparking.com.
HER
CROWD New Art by Women from Our Neighbors’ Private Collections
Nancy Dwyer (b. 1954) Food, 2012 Reconfigured galvanized metal trash cans 30 x105 x 21 in. Edition of 2 Collection of Emily Fisher Landau, AMART LLC, FL 1290 Image courtesy the artist and Sandra Gering Inc.
Now open!
Karin Davie (b. 1965) Interior Ghosts #12, 2001 Oil on linen 72 x 60 in. Collection of Ann and Argyris Vassiliou
Supported by
Ellen Gallagher (b. 1965) Glister, 2010 Oil, pencil and paper on canvas 24 × 24 in. Private Collection, Greenwich, CT Photo by Tom Powel Imaging Alessandra Expósito (b. 1970) Trixie, 2006 Mixed media on chicken skull 3 x 1 x 2 1/4 in. Collection of David and Sandra Joys Photo by PaulMutino
BRUCE MUSEUM
| Greenwich, CT | www.brucemuseum.org WAGMAG.COM
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PET OF THE MONTH
CAsPer the friendly canine PHOTOGRAPH BY ROB ROZYCKI
Casper the friendly canine is a 3-year-old Cattle dog mix who always has a smile on his face. Although he is shy with new people, he warms up quickly once he knows you and is a complete sweetheart. He’s a smart dog and already knows a number of commands.
Casper’s a little selective with his pooch pals but could probably live with a more mellow dog. Most of all, he enjoys going on long walks and loves to romp around, so an active family with a big yard would be ideal. To meet Casper, visit the SPCA of Westchester at 590 N. State Road in Briarcliff Manor. Founded in 1883, the SPCA is a nokill shelter and is not affiliated with the ASPCA. The SPCA is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. To learn more, call 914- 941-2896 or visit spca914.org.
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THE NEW
Surf Club On The Sound
Now accepting membership for the Beach Club with different packages for every budget. Enjoy the view of Long Island Sound while swimming in the spacious pool or come into the shade of your private cabana. Experience weekly exciting events along with brunch, family barbecues and dinner with sparkling sunset views. Open Memorial Day through Labor Day. We invite you to take a tour of the club.
Spend Your Summer Reminiscing With NY Yankee Great and Future Hall of Famer, Mariano Rivera, a Proud Member of
THE NEW
Surf Club On The Sound
MARIANO R IVERA
NEW OWNERS! NEW MANAGEMENT! NEW RESPECT FOR YOU! 280 Davenport Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10805 • 914.633.8221 • thesurfclubonthesound.com
Member Sponsored
WHEN & WHERE
THROUGH NOV. 10 “Hot Pots,” an exhibit featuring 50 artists who make everything from sculptural vessels to functional pottery. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays and by appointment, Clay Art Center, 40 Beech St., Port Chester; 914-937-2047, clayartcenter.org
THROUGH NOV.19 “Layer Up!” offers Cathy Choi + Ruth Avra/Dana Kleinman selections from the GE Art Collection. 11
VERTIGO 20 NOV. 4, QUICK CENTER FOR THE ARTS, FAIRFIELD
a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, Amy Simon Fine Art Gallery, 1869 Post Road E., Westport; 203- 259-1500, amysimonfineart.com
THROUGH DEC. 10
benefit Fairfield County’s Inner-City Foundation for
NOV. 4 THROUGH 20
Charity & Education and the neediest residents of Fair-
“Sleuth,” the Tony Award-winning whodunit twists
field County. 6 p.m., Greenwich Hyatt Regency, 1800
and turns with Scott Bryce (Showtime’s “Homeland”)
E. Putnam Ave.; 203-416-1363, innercityfoundation.org
and John Little (HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”). 8 p.m.
“Mirari,” a large-scale, site-specific psychotropic glass
Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m., Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays,
sculpture by husband-and-wife team Lauren and Dylan Cotton. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fri-
NOV. 2
days and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, Pelham Art Cen-
Dominican Sisters Family Health Care Service pres-
ter, 155 Fifth Ave.; 914-738-2525, pelhamartcenter.org
ents the Hope Gala. This year’s gala honors West-
THROUGH DEC. 31
Music Theatre of Connecticut, 509 Westport Ave., Norwalk; 203-454-3883, musictheatreofct.org
chester County Executive Robert P. Astorino and will
NOV. 5
raise funds to assist the agency in its mission to pro-
Mandala Workshop with teaching artist Ann Ladd
vide professional services to the sick. 6 p.m., Abigail
will demonstrate how to make sacred circles, using
“Her Crowd: New Art by Women from Our Neigh-
Kirsch at Tappan Hill Mansion, 200 Gunpowder Lane,
cut paper, that evoke healing, personal development
bors’ Private Collections,” featuring work in vari-
Tarrytown; 914-941-1710, dsfhs.org
and calm. 1 p.m., ArtsWestchester Gallery, 31 Mama-
ous media from Fairfield and Westchester homes.
vvv
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, Bruce
Indigo Girls — The Grammy Award-winning folk-
Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich; 203-869-
rock duo takes the stage to perform its greatest hits.
vvv
0376, brucemuseum.org
8 p.m., The Capitol Theatre, 149 Westchester Ave.,
The Friends of White Plains Hospital presents its an-
Port Chester; 914-937-4126, thecapitoltheater.org
nual gala Black and White Ball to benefit the hos-
THROUGH JAN. 29
roneck Ave., White Plains; 914-428-4220, artswestchester.org
pital. The event will celebrate the hospital’s physical transformation over the past five years and recognize
“Small Scales: Lands of Enchantment” explores the
NOV. 2 THROUGH 29
works of contemporary fine artists in minute scale with
“Color Celebration” — Landscape and still-life pas-
possible. 6:30 p.m., Brae Burn Country Club, 39 Brae
a focus on the natural world. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays
tels, prints and oil paintings by Janet Lippman. 10
Burn Drive, Purchase; 914-681-2264, wphospital.org
through Sundays, Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive,
a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and
vvv
Greenwich; 203-869-0376, brucemuseum.org
Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesdays and Thurs-
Cyrille Aimée, a French vocalist who, inspired by
days, The Martucci Gallery, Irvington Public Library,
improvisational music, performs rhythmic music
12 S. Astor St.; 914-591-7840, irvingtonlibrary.org
with roots in jazz and gypsy styles. 8 p.m., Caramoor
NOV. 1
the partners and supporters who helped make it all
Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road,
“Dia de los Muertos, a Mexican Dance” — Using
Katonah; 914-232-1252, caramoor.org
folk, classical music and dance, the Calpulli Mexican
NOV. 4
Dance Company will join students to tell a love story
Vertigo 20 moves from real to surreal, from intimate
that spans the living and the departed. 6:30 to 7:15
to theatrical, from impalpable to tangible. The body
NOV. 5 AND 6
p.m., New Rochelle Public Library, One Library Plaza;
language of this dance company delivers an unusual
The 41st annual Westport Young Woman’s League’s
914-632-7878, nrpl.org
staging of rituals. 8 p.m., Quick Center for the Arts, 1073
CraftWestport brings together more than 175 fine
N. Benson Road, Fairfield; 203-254-4010, quickcenter.
contemporary artists and craftsmen from around
fairfield.edu
the country to exhibit at Connecticut’s largest indoor
vvv Enjoy a rare, intimate concert by Harry Connick Jr. to
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THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE
Don’t Miss These Great Shows!
for movies and the performing arts
80 East Ridge • Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877
Non-profit 501 (c) (3)
valentine’s day gala A multimedia concert experience and nostalgic trip through the legacy of the Bee Gees.
January 23 @ 8PM
Travis Tritt
Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ‘66
An intimate, solo acoustic performance – playing his songs like you’ve never heard before!
Celebrating 50 years of Brasil ’66! A night of Brazilian jazz with the king of Bossa Nova.
Bob Marley’s
Dweezil Zappa
January 14 @ 8PM
Three Little Birds
January 16 @ 2PM & 4:30PM A New Reggae Children’s Musical based on the story by Cedella Marley.
The Who’s Tommy January 22 @ 8PM
In Concert
February 14 @ 6PM
Where Rock and Roll and Broadway Collide, starring some of Broadway’s hottest stars.
Dave’s Faves℠ Comedy Show
January 29 @ 8PM
Some of Letterman’s favorites comedians who appeared multiple times on America’s iconic late-night TV show!
The Cowsills
January 31 @ 8PM
The band that inspired The Partridge Family! A fun night of oldies like “Hair,” “The Rain, The Park & Other Things,” “Indian Lake” & more!
February 3 @ 8PM
& the Zappa Plays Zappa Band February 4 @ 8PM
After years of ‘Zappa Plays Zappa’ shows, Dweezil Zappa has released his first new solo album, Via Zammata!
ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and the BFG’s
February 5 @ 8PM
Perfectamundo Tour
This Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s new album with an afro-Cuban flavor.
Bebel Gilberto
February 11 @ 8PM
The multi Grammy-nominated Brazilian music star, and daughter of Goao Gilberto and singer Miucha, with her cool and ethereal music.
The Fab Four
February 18 @ 8PM
If you want to experience the best Beatles tribute ever, you won’t want to miss The Fab Four-The Ultimate Tribute.
Tickets on sale now! (203) 438-5795 • ridgefieldplayhouse.org
NOV. 12
Bookstore Festival Story Concert, featuring music
“Hatched” — This play for younger audiences tells
by Chappaqua composer Brad Ross. Broadway star
the story of a newborn chick that emerges from its
Timothy Warmen will sing Ogden Nash’s “Custard the
shell to a strange world. Using movement, hand-
Dragon” and Paul Shaffer, who led “The Late Show
crafted puppets and interactive dialogue, the per-
with David Letterman” band, will narrate “A Family
formance brings newborn farm animals to life. 11 a.m.
for Baby Grand.” 4 to 5 p.m., Wallace Auditorium,
and 1:30 p.m., Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Lane, Ma-
480 Bedford Road, Chappaqua; 845-842-0010,
maroneck; 914-698-0098, emelin.org
chappaquaorchestra.org
vvv
vvv
Enjoy an evening of “Quinntessential” comedy with
ArtsWestchester Gala 2016 and Live Auction cel-
Colin Quinn to support Homes with Hope, a West-
ebrates five “Wonder Women” honorees that have
port-based organization dedicated to ending home-
shown support for the arts in Westchester. Proceeds
lessness in Fairfield County. 6:30 p.m., Westport
from the gala support ArtsWestchester programs
Country Playhouse, 5 Powers Court. 203-226-3426,
to ensure the availability, accessibility and diversi-
hwhct.org
ty of the arts in Westchester County. 6:30 p.m. to midnight, The Ritz-Carlton New York, Westchester,
NOV.12 AND 13 CRAFTWESTPORT NOV. 5 & 6, STAPLES HIGH SCHOOL, WESTPORT
3 Renaissance Square, White Plains; 914-428-4220, artswestchester.org
The Stamford Symphony presents “Scottish Fanta-
vvv
sy,” a performance designed to bring the audience to
Ballets with a Twist’s “Cocktail Hour” — A dance
the misty, windy shores of Scotland. The Scotch Malt
performance that combines old Hollywood glam-
Whisky Society will host a pre-concert Scotch Tast-
our with 21st century pop in a series of cock-
ing at the Palace Theatre. The evening includes music
tail-themed vignettes. 8 to 10 p.m., Westchester
fine crafts festival, raising money for local charities.
by Davies, Bruch and Mendelssohn. 8 p.m. Saturday
Community College Academic Arts Theatre, 75
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun-
and 3 p.m. Sunday, The Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St.,
Grasslands Road, Valhalla; 914-606-6262, sunyw-
day, Staples High School, 70 North Ave., Westport;
Stamford; 203-325-1407, stamfordsymphony.org
cc.edu/smartarts
vvv
845-331-7900, craftwestport.com
NOV. 15
Frederic Chiu, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition sensation, will perform at the fourth
NOV. 5 THROUGH DEC. 18
Abbott House, the New York-based nonprofit serv-
annual Wendy Tisch Memorial Concert, 7:30 p.m.,
The “rgbDRAWING: Pigment on Paper” exhibit fea-
ing children, families and the developmentally dis-
Greenwich Library’s Cole Auditorium, 101 West Put-
tures collaborative work by Creighton Michael and
abled, will honor the Gamma Xi Zeta Chapter of Zeta
nam Ave.; 203-622-7900, greenwichlibrary.org
Ben Diep. There’s an artists’ talk at 4 p.m. Nov. 20
Phi Beta Sorority and Eliot and Doris Minsker at its
and a closing reception at 2 p.m. Dec. 18. Square Peg
gala, “The Loving Arms Award Dinner.” Master of
Gallery, 385 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson;
ceremonies for the evening will be Meredith Vieira.
NOV. 28
squarepeggallery.com
6:30 p.m., Tappan Hill Mansion, 200 Gunpowder
The Hudson Valley Music Club will present a concert
Lane, Tarrytown; 914-591-7300, abbotthouse.net
by Les Amis d’Ariège Piano Quartet, featuring Mihai
NOV. 6
Marica, cello, Alex Fortes, violin, Andrius Žlabys, piano, and Nathan Schram, violist. Music performed
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will host
NOV. 16
its annual Victorian Tea, featuring a talk by textiles,
Los Lobos, which draws on rock, country, folk, blues
p.m., Dobbs Ferry Woman’s Club, 54 Clinton Ave.;
fashion merchandising and design expert Susan J.
and traditional Spanish music, will be performing at 8
914-232-5916.
Jerome, “From Downton Abbey to Camelot.” 2 p.m.,
p.m., The Warehouse at the Fairfield Theatre Compa-
Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, 295 West
ny, 70 Sanford St.; 203-256-1036, fairfieldtheatre.org
Ave., Norwalk; 203-838-9799, lockwoodmathewsmansion.com
NOV.17
will include piano quartets by Sharlat and Fauré. 1
NOV. 30 “Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,” a theatrical performance that follows
Select films from the 2016 Tribeca Film festival are
Sherlock Holmes (Tal Aviezer) and Dr. Watson (Joe
being screened at the Norwalk Garden Cinema by
Laureiro), who go on a trip to the sinister Copper
Cerebral Palsy of Westchester hosts “A Taste of West-
the Play With Your Food Theater Company, followed
Beeches (Lyndhurst Mansion). There, a desperate
chester,” a food-and-wine tasting event. More than 25
by a discussion with one of the filmmakers. 7 p.m.,
young governess finds herself at the center of a baf-
of the area’s restaurants, as well as dessert and beverage
Garden Cinemas, 26 Isaac St., Norwalk; 203-293-
fling mystery. 7 p.m., Lyndhurst, 635 S. Broadway,
establishments, will come together to support CPW’s
8729, jibproductions.org
Tarrytown; 914-962-3431, lyndhurst.org
NOV. 7
mission. There will also be cooking demonstrations along with a silent auction and raffle. 6:15 p.m., Renaissance Westchester Hotel, 80 W. Red Oak Lane, Harrison; 914937-3800, cpwestchester.org
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NOV. 19 The Chappaqua Orchestra presents the Chappaqua
Presented by ArtsWestchester and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County.
NOV 13 BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH IN FRANKENSTEIN
EXPERIENCE. SOMETHING. REAL. NOVEMBER 5
Doug Varone and Dancers World premiere of Into the Shelter of the Fold
13 National Theatre Live: Frankenstein Starring Benedict Cumberbatch
NOV 19 CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
19 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Reflections 19 L.A. Theatre Works Courtroom drama Judgment at Nuremberg
DECEMBER 4
NOV 19 L.A. THEATRE WORKS JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra With pianist Fazil Say
15 The Hip Hop Nutcracker Holiday mash-up for the whole family 16 &17 The Rob Mathes Holiday Concert Annual celebration of the season
DEC 4 FAZIL SAY SOLOIST ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
DEC 15 THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER
DEC 16 & 17 ROB MATHES
THANK YOU
NOV 5 DOUG VARONE AND DANCERS
For event details and tickets call 914-251-6200 or visit THE HANNAH & WALTER SHMERLER ENDOWED FUND
PAC_WAG_Nov2016.indd 1
WWW.ARTSCENTER.ORG 10/14/2016 1:45:40 PM
JUMPING TO GOLD WATCH
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Equestrian fans, including actor Brendan Fraser, were on hand as the 2016 American Gold Cup came to a thrilling conclusion at Old Salem Farm in North Salem on Sept. 18. In the $216,000 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping New York event, Olympic silver medalist Kent Farrington, aboard Gazelle, took first place with Charlie Jacobs, riding Cassinja S., in second, and Lauren Tisbo finishing third aboard Coriandolo Di Ribano. The event was the culmination of a week of world-class show jumping that included two major wins by area resident Georgina Bloomberg. Celebrating its fifth anniversary at the farm, the Gold Cup has become a favorite among WAG readers with special activities and entertainment for the whole family. Photographs by The Book LLC and Robin Costello. 1. Georgina Bloomberg hands her blue ribbon to her son, Jasper, held by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg 2. Kent Farrington and Gazelle 3. Dawn Longworth and Tommy Murphy 4. Madison Bietsch 5. Brendan Fraser and Leanne Longworth 6. Charlie Jacobs and Cassinja S.
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INVESTING IN A BETTER WESTCHESTER
Let us be your philanthropic guide.
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To learn more, please contact Jennifer Hu Corriggio: 914-948-5166 x4 jcorriggio@wcf-ny.org www.wcf-ny.org
55 LEWIS STREET, GREENWICH, CT. 06830 | 203.629.2500 www.Michaelslimo.com / info@michaelslimo.com
REAL GRATITUDE
WATCH
Supporters of Pediatric Cancer Foundation got a big thank you from the foundation, Simon and its mall The Westchester and Harper’s Bazaar in the form of the annual “Fashion Meets Philanthropy” event. Harper’s Bazaar Executive Fashion and Beauty Editor Avril Graham was on hand to help attendees spring ahead and fall back — from a style standpoint — with trend tips and looks from Runway, Nordstrom, L.K. Bennett, Neiman Marcus, Brooks Brothers, Rebecca Taylor and Anne Fontaine. Guests were treated to fab creative bites and small plates, a year of free parking at The Westchester and an ingenious giveaway that allowed them to choose their own goodie bag from among several brands. Photographs by Nicole Taylor. 1. Avril Graham, Bonnie Shyer, Paula Kelliher and Coco Lefkowitz 2. Ayesha Khan and Eric Aho 3. Lorena Lombardi and Irene Wallace 4. Alana Sweeny
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HONORING AL
On an autumnal morning, a crowd of friends, family and Westchester County officials gathered in Somers for the renaming of Muscoot Farm in Somers as Alfred B. DelBello Muscoot Farm Park. The 777-acre farm was acquired by the county in 1968, but it was DelBello — husband of WAG publisher Dee DelBello and, at that time, County Executive — who pushed to rehabilitate and preserve it as a county park with a strong agricultural and educational component. DelBello opened the park to the public in 1975 and dedicated it in 1976. Photographs by Bob Rozycki. 5. Michael Kaplowitz 6. Kathleen O’Connor 7. Dee DelBello and Rob Astorino unveil the stone 8. Rob Astorino and Damon and Dee DelBello (Photograph by Robin Costello)
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SAILING FOR A CURE
The Connecticut/Westchester/Hudson Valley Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society presented its first Leukemia Cup Regatta at the American Yacht Club. This annual event for sailors of all ages combines the joy of yachting with the task of raising money to fight blood cancers. The regatta — which raised more than $145,000 — concluded with a celebratory post-race party that included a silent and live auction, music by Bad Dogs and The Chad Hollister Band, food and Gosling’s Rum products. Photographs by Cheryl Woods. 1. Molly, Hope and Judy Wilson, Dennis Chillemi and Luisa Cardona 2. Fall Series Race (Photograph by Todd Gianguzzi) 3. Andy Coccari and Barbara Cirella 4. Molly Mahoney and Saunders Ketcham 5. Laura Buckley and Derek Mahoney 6. Team Wired (Photograph by Todd Gianguzzi)
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A BEAUTIFUL EVENING
It was spring in October once again as devotees of the White Plains Beautification Foundation gathered for its annual Fall Gala. Roland Barnes, Thomas P. Devine III and Guy Terhune were honored for their work in making White Plains truly “a city in the park” — the theme of the event. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, a cold and hot buffet, a raffle, a silent auction — and, most of all, one another’s company. Photographs by Georgette Gouveia. 7. Roland Barnes and Barbara Vrooman 8. Ruth Goldberg and Rena Kaplow 9. Richard G. Hope, Wayne Bass and John M. Martin
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THE FIRST DOCTOR SAID DEPRESSION. THE SECOND SAID STROKE. THE THIRD SAID ALZHEIMER’S. NO ONE SAID FTD. Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is the most common cause of dementia for people under 60, affecting more than 50,000 in the U.S. alone. Onset strikes earlier in life—when few anticipate dementia—and accurate diagnosis can take years. Families lose active parents and breadwinners without knowing what’s stealing away the person they love. And when a diagnosis is made, there are no effective treatments. Help to change that reality today. www.theAFTD.org/learnmore
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DOCTORS IN THE HOUSE
New York Medical College (NYMC) recently held its annual Founder’s Dinner at the DoubleTree Hilton in Tarrytown, recognizing four distinguished guests for their commitment to NYMC and the larger medical community. The honorees were Ronald F. Poe, David E. Asprinio, Mario A. Inchiosa Jr. and Kathryn E. McGoldrick. Asprinio received the newly renamed Alfred DelBello Distinguished Service Award, bestowed on individuals who have helped advance NYMC’s mission of education and research through service, commitment and expert ability. 1. Paulette and Martin Katzenstein 2. Top row: Alan Kadish, Jay P. Goldsmith, Robert W. Amler, Mark Hasten, D. Douglas Miller, Edward C. Halperin Bottom row: Ronald F. Poe; Mario A. Inchiosa Jr., Kathryn E. McGoldrick and David E. Asprinio 3. Judy and Michael Gewitz 4. Top row: Ellen and Mitchell S. Cairo, Donna and Allen Dozer, Robin L. Altman and Gary Prish Bottom row: Kallie and Edmund LaGamma and Leif and Kay O’Meara Lovig 5. Top row: Sean F. X. Dugan, Lianne Hales Dugan andJohn Savino, Bottom row: Jo-Anne and John Andrew Cooley and Gae Savino 6. Arun and Shikha Goyal, Esther and William H. Frishman
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John Rizzo Photography | 405 Tarrytown Rd. Suite 1302, White Plains, NY 10607 | (646) 221-6186 worldwide mobile | www.johnrizzophoto.com
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MONTE CARLO ON THE SOUND
The Hudson Gateway REALTOR Foundation, the charitable arm of the Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS, held a “Monte Carlo Night” at Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle. The foundation raised more than $30,000 to help support local charities and nonprofit organizations throughout the lower Hudson Valley. Photographs by John Vecchiolla. 1. Nancy Kennedy, Gail Fattizzi and Richard Haggerty 2. Ann Garti 3. Leah Caro, Mike Graessle, Gloria Welcome and Robert Shandley 4. Mary Prenon and Eileen Taus 5. Bonnie Koff, Stephanie Liggio, Maryann Tercasio and Drew Kessler
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A BEACON TO OTHERS
The American Cancer Society honored Mark Gordon with the 2016 Beacon of Hope Award. Gordon was recognized for his unyielding commitment to the fight against cancer for more than 25 years. The event — held at LIFE, the Place to be in Ardsley — raised more than $143,000 for the American Cancer Society. 6. Una Hopkins and Mark Gordon 7. Kris Kim, Debbie Colgan and Marcie Manfredonia Siciliano 8. Betsy Gordon and Paul and Barbara Khoury
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THEY’RE WITH ‘HER’
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The Bruce Museum in Greenwich celebrated the opening of its newest exhibit, “Her Crowd: New Art by Women from Our Neighbors’ Private Collections.” The works, in various media, were culled from a number of collections in Fairfield and Westchester counties. 1. RJ Vassiliou, Lucy Glasebrook and Ann Vassiliou 2. Georgia Kramer, Nathaniel Kramer, Janet Biggs and William Petroni 3. Kathy Reichenbach, Jan Rogers Kniffen, Kathleen Metinko and Gervais Hearn 4. Eviva and Samara Laufer and Joe McGinnis 5. Tamara Holliday, Sophia Corona and Mandy DiMazo
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ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
The Food Bank for Westchester joined partner agencies, government officials and staff to launch its third annual “Go Orange to End Hunger” campaign. During a press conference, the Food Bank announced a calendar of activities aimed around hunger awareness. In addition, government officials and community leaders announced ways they would promote awareness by rallying volunteers and raising funds. 6. Joseph Ricca, Amanda KyleShaw, Greg Werlinich, Rob Astorino, Persephone Zill, Richard Thomas, Don Brown and Toby Pidgeon
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