ARTmonday: That Elusive Woman—Sourcing Statement Photos For Troy Boston

At the end of January I posted color inspiration—a blush & charcoal color palette—for a model apartment that I’ll be decorating. The apartment is in a new building that’s still under construction called Troy Boston in Boston’s SoWa neighborhood, right by the the other new building with Boston apartments, Ink Block, and the giant new Whole Foods. (My husband got lost in there recently; says it’s fantastic.)

Troy Boston is one of a number of new buildings with Boston apartments (there are also a couple in the Fenway) slated to have a LEED Gold rating; that mean’s it will be officially “green.” I’ve been to the construction site twice now (complete with hard hat). These Boston apartments are small but beautiful, with a loft-like feel. There are floor-to-ceiling windows, pale oak flooring, and cerused oak and lacquer cabinetry.

The model apartment I’m decorating is a 469-square-foot studio on the 14th floor. It’s got lots of sun, a sleek grey bathroom, and grey kitchen, which runs along one side of the room. I’ve been putting together collage-y room layout mockups (as a non-designer I have no idea how to use interior design software), and measured last week. Fingers crossed I did so accurately.

No surprise, my favorite aspect of decorating is curating the artwork for the walls. I have a definite idea of what I want, and am excited to include works by artist friends Lee Essex Doyle, Tess Atkinson, and Grace Hopkins. Linda Cordner is another local Boston artist whose work I hope to hang, as she generously offered up a large encaustic in my blush and grey color palette.

Above the sofa in the main living space I will hang a collection of photography and paintings. I want to include a statement artwork of a partially obscured woman; a moody portrait/fashion-y lifestyle photograph, preferably with a hint of copper or mustard, which will be the accent for the pink and grey scheme color scheme. I fell hard for the first photo below by Nhu Xuan Hua and contacted her agency, but the cost would eat up half my total budget.

I’ve concluded that will likely be the case for many of the images I’ve discovered, as most seem to have been shot professionally for au courant magazines. Given my limited budget, I need to find artists who would like to loan their artwork in exchange for exposure and publicity (of which there should be plenty). Given the other work I will be using hails from New England, I have decided that all the artwork I use will be created by local women artists.

I think I’ve identified the replacement for that initial inspiration piece. In the meantime, here are the photographs I’ve found that I’d most like to use in the model apartment. Some are internationally known talents, others are New England artists in varying stages of their careers. I love every single one of them, and am hoping to secure at least one or two for the Troy Boston project, which I also hope will be a well-curated showcase featuring New England artists who all happen to be women.