Gulfshore Life At Home Comes Alive at Naples' Gallery du Soleil

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Gulfshore Life At Home Comes Alive at Naples' Gallery du Soleil

The premier issue of the Gulfshore Life At Home supplement issue is hot off the press, paired with Gulfshore Life Magazine's January issue. The 132 page supplement focuses on design, architecture and inspiration. Yes, even though it's not about food, I can't put it down! It's gutsy to come out with a new restaurant, magazine, or even a new 132 page supplement these days. Savor the articles, and get to appreciate this enriching addition to the Gulfcoast scene. Readers are already asking Publisher Christopher Schulz and Associate Publisher Diane Loveless, "So when's the next issue coming out?"

I like the pages' matte finish. The articles are well written, accompanied by stunning photography. The photos of the Bali inspired "Island Retreat" home are seductive -you could move right in, and savor the evening breezes on the porch. The Easy Being Green article is educational and inspiring, with its ecofriendly home’s use of stone and woods inside, and outside xeriscaping. I enjoy reading/seeing Elizabeth Kellar and Ed Chappell's views on Harry Weese's landmark Zaiser home, that quite a few people have seen by boat. It's even more stunning inside, with its nautical teak and brass accents.

The At Home launch party was held at Naples' Gallery du Soleil on Broad, just a few doors east of Third Street. The gallery was filled with artists, collectors and quite a cross section of SW Florida’s arts community.

Gallery du Soleil

I met architect Andrea Clark Brown and painter, sculptor and artist John Carroll Long. The couple enjoys SCUBA (Yes!) and shares many eclectic interests. Afterwards, I read Kelly Merritt's article on their home’s artistic collaboration, highlighted by Nancy DeNike's natural light photography. I found myself smiling at the full page photo of Long’s string wrapped stone heart, in the Break Out panel. It seems like a sentient animal’s head as it stands out, totem-like, from it’s colorful crazy quilt-like background.

John Carroll Long and Andrea Clark Brown

Photographer Nancy DeNike

Gallery du Soleil's beautiful galleries and art is a fitting setting for the artistic collaboration that is Gulfshorel Life At Home. Ave Maria’s sculptor Márton Váró hs almost a dozen home-sized white marble sculptures in one room. His Ave Maria Annunciation sculpture will be finished next year. It’s easy for me to pick out which gallery artists' work that's right for me. Here, my favorite artist is Tang Wei Min, for his wistfully beautiful paintings of traditionally garbed Tibetan women.