An Arranged Marriage

Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2014 - Lourie-Light - 640x731
   Porter Teleo Wallpaper on the ceiling paired with a Charles Spada Rock Crystal Chandelier

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“Ceilings must always be considered. They are the most neglected surface in a room”.  -Albert Hadley

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A few years ago, when I was in the beginning stages of a design for a townhouse in Greenwich Village, the sales rep from Savel Inc. NYC showed us an outrageous rock crystal and bronze chandelier, made by Charles Spada; not necessarily thinking that we would purchase one, but just to share something really special. We flipped over it and soon thereafter our clients agreed to purchase it…

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Maison Gerard – Improving With Age

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 Dressing Table – Leleu 

Maison Gerard has been a go-to resource for fine French Art Deco in Greenwich Village for forever…and as it turns out, in this case ‘forever‘ is 40 remarkable years!

Gerard Widdershoven opened Maison Gerard in 1974 at a time when there was only one other gallery in New York City that specialized in French Art Deco furniture, lighting and objects. Widdershoven played a pivotal role introducing this period of decorative arts to the New York market; featuring pieces by Andre Sornay, Emile Jacques Ruhlmann, Maxime Old, Jean Dunand, Edgar Brandt, Dominique, Andre Groualt, Maison Leleu and many others.

I went to the party celebrating this impressive milestone and discovered how the evolution of Maison Gerard continues…

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Magic Happens in the Camera

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I love photography.

And I love working with photographers to shoot images (can we still call them ‘pictures’ in the digital age?) of my design projects.

I have had a long and fruitful collaborative working relationship with Steve Gross and Sue Daley, known as Gross & Daley, documenting completed, and more recently ‘in-process’ projects.

A couple of weeks ago Steve, Sue, me and Senior Designer Craig Strulovitz spent two days shooting photographs of a two bedroom apartment on Gramercy Park North….

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Reinvention at the RISD Museum

Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2014 - RISD Museum - Hudner Buddha Gallery

…an old friend at the RISD Museum received a facelift…

I had the good fortune to study architecture and fine arts at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD – pronounced ‘riz-dee’) – a small, very old school located in the smallest state in America.

It was in 1877 that RISD, and the RISD Museum were created by a group of visionary Providence, Rhode Island women. The school is extremely well-known however the MUCH lesser known museum remains a ‘secret’ – but not for long!

The 137 year old museum’s collection now has over 91,000 objects and is housed in more than 72,000 square feet in three historic and two contemporary buildings at the heart of the RISD campus; with a curatorial staff numbering 10 as well as an additional 75 members of the Museum team, including the director John W. Smith.  It is the 3rd largest college museum in the world (behind Harvard and Yale).

In seeking a way to give back to the school and museum that has given me so much, five years ago I joined the Board of the museum: it has been one of the most rewarding and satisfying things that I have done in my life.

Last week I attended the unveiling of the newly renovated floor of the Radeke Building at the RISD Museum…

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