One of the benefits of representing more than 30 artists in your gallery is having a large array of artwork to choose from when it comes to decorating your home, or homes, as is the case with Kathryn Markel. A 40-year veteran of the art world, Markel operates her gallery, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, in Manhattan’s Chelsea district and has a second, seasonal gallery in Bridgehampton, New York. When not at work, she enjoys relaxing with her husband, Huibert Soutendijk, in their circa 1936 antique stucco home in historic Bronxville (and their summer home in Sagaponack, New York). The couple’s Westchester abode is adorned with captivating works by the young, avant-garde artists Markel exhibits, along with fine art, crafts, and furnishings garnered from local and New York City galleries and shops, art fairs around the country, and savvy online shopping.
Glass Past
Markel’s had a passion for antique Venini glass designed by Vittorio Zecchin ever since she bought her first vase from the dealers at Manhattan-based Glass Past at the Bridgehampton Antiques and Design Fair eight years ago.
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SOFA, So Good
“I fell in love with this piece the second I saw it,” says Markel of the ceramic sculpture by Denmark native Merete Rasmussen, which was on display at last year’s Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair (SOFA) in New York City.
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How Sweet It Is
“This sweetgrass basket has such a beautiful, sculptural form,” says Markel. The intricately coiled basket was created by coastal South Carolina fiber artist and MacArthur fellow Mary Jackson, whose mother and grandmother taught her at the age of four the craft—in the tradition of their West African ancestors.
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Light of My Life
Markel bought this lamp by California-based Zia-Priven lighting design at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair more than a decade ago. Still in production, the lamp is available with a variety of glass finials, but Markel chose this one because it reminded her of “a feather in your cap.”
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Grand Dame
This glass coffee table, with its curvaceously ornamental wooden legs, was designed by 104-year-old Hungarian-born industrial designer Eva Zeisel and was ordered online from Design Within Reach. While Markel likes the way the table looks in her living room, she admits, “It’s a bit impractical because you can’t put your feet up on it.”
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Use Your Imagination
On display in Markel’s front foyer, this piece of
outsider art was created by “Mr. Imagination,” a homeless person in Chicago, and sculpted out of sandstone found at a construction site.
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Muy Bueno
Markel loves the “sensuality and subtlety of color” in this piece, by Buenos Aires artist Ivana Brenner, which is made from folded pieces of thick, acrylic paint.
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All in the Family
Brightening up the kitchen, this colorful ceramic pitcher and set of mugs were made by Markel’s “crafty” niece and nephew as a Christmas present back in 2002. “It just goes to show that if you pick good colors, you get a great end product,” says Markel of this cherished and frequently used gift.
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