Six Recent Paintings by Joseph Holtzman, Parker Gallery pop-up exhibition in New York
Scenic Wallpaper was contacted by the artist Joseph Holtzman to help create the space for a pop-up gallery of his work in New York.
Holtzman, the founder, creative director, and publisher of Nest: A Quarterly of Interiors magazine, closed down the publication in 2004 after a 7-year run to focus full-time on his painting. Holtzman, who is largely self-taught, had previously painted in his 20s and had taken a nearly 25-year hiatus from the craft.
After the success of Nest, which featured idiosyncratic interiors and won awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2000 and 2001, Holtzman returned to painting.
John Nalewaja has known Holtzman for decades, and they’ve collaborated on multiple projects during this time.
Holtzman’s gallerist, Sam Parker (of the Parker Gallery in Los Angeles), gave Holtzman the idea for the pop-up exibition, which the artist decided to hold at his apartment on the Upper East Side, the former home of the Nest offices and current artist workspace/guest room, down the hall from the apartment where he lives.
We installed felt to cover the walls and ceiling, creating panels of light green and purple felt, separated with yellow vertical felt stripes and dark green felt along the top beam. We covered the three dimensional baseboard in dark blue felt.
The ceiling installation consisted of red-orange felt squares separated by Gracie hammered silver tea leaf panels made in China, and beams covered in yellow felt.
Vintage wallpaper was interspersed around the windows, and we installed Holtzman’s own marijuana-leaf fabric design on the walls and ceiling in the entry vestibule.
The runner and floor covering in the studio are all vintage linoleum. The lighting is vintage as well, some made for dentist’s offices, as early as late 19th century. An English wardrobe covered in Japanese panels is used as a room divider.
The paintings in this exhibition were created with Holtzman's signature technique of applying thin layers and making marks or scratches on highly polished slate or marble surfaces. The subject matter, while abstract, contains loosely figurative elements, and was inspired by a trip to Greece and the Aegean landscape - landscapes and nocturnes.
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