ROBERT & GINA ERLICHMAN

S P I R I T   O F   T W O   S T U D I O S

Happy, gorgeous and very, very talented. An apt description for this vibrant couple who met and married six years ago and have created a lovely home with two sun-lit studios filled with their art and creative spirit.

I met them at a gallery opening of Gina's work on  Canyon Road and was  was immediately enchanted by Gina's sculptural mixed-media kimonos and intrigued to learn that Robert was a photographer and published beautifully, hand-crafted artist books. A studio visit followed and, of course, scores of photographs.

Color, texture and art fill every room in this wonderful house.

 

Gina's kimono & Robert's photographs share a wall.

T H E   S T U D I O S

ROBERT'S STUDIO is dominated by a behemoth printer that most photographers would kill for.  It is the kingpin of his publishing company - ART GUILD PRESS.  

He wears many hats - fine art photographer, master printer, graphic designer, publisher - and all these talents come together in his coffee-table books that showcase his images and emerge as limited-edition, hand-crafted art books - all printed in America.

His current project will showcase the work of famed American photographer GORDON PARKS, 1912 - 2006. Parks, says Robert, was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum at age 90 and in addition to his extraordinary career in photography, he was also an accomplished Hollywood film maker, musical composer and author of 15 books. 

Robert is archiving and re-creating Gordon Parks Signature Collection of 50 color photographs - IMAGES FROM THE SOUL - that will become a traveling museum exhibition, the original intent of Parks, who passed away before the project could be completed.

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GINA'S - TWO FEATHER STUDIO - is dominated by large work surfaces where she builds her lush kimonos that look like distressed metal but begin as wood panels transformed with unfired clay,  stencils, natural earth pigments, acid washes, and fused glass.

She describes them as both flawed and beautiful - very much as we are going through the aging process.

 Details...

A 6" x 6" work in progress for the Artist's Medical Relief fundraiser.

The kimono 'collars' are fashioned from burlap.

She does have a companion artist in her studio, her African Grey Parrot  MAGIC - who was discovered to be a paper shredding prodigy.

His lavish paper designs will be incorporated into a future art project, notes Gina, who will no doubt collaborate on the work.

And speaking of collaboration, Gina will be using Robert's Koi images in her next kimono design.

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A genuine happy couple.

2  F E A T H E R    S T U D I O

http://www.2featherstudio.com

A R T  G U I L D  P R E S S

http://www.artguildpress.com

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Q. If you could hang one piece of your work anywhere. Which piece & where?

Gina.  I would hang one of my large KIMONOS in the highest, most beautiful apartment in Manhattan. It would have a view of Central Park and hold court among Van Gogh, Picasso, Basquiat, and maybe a Warhol.

Q. What did you enjoy doing at age 10?

Robert.  I enjoyed a healthy mix of drawing, playing classical piano and playing all the street games popular in the Bronx, including SKULLY - a super game of strategy with a chalk-drawn 'board' and bottle caps filled with melted Crayola crayons.

Q. If you were given a plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Gina.  Florence, Italy. I lived there in my 20's. Spent my 40th birthday there alone and it was FANTASTIC. I'm ready to go back and experience Florence with Robert, the love of my life. 

Q. What work of art do you wish you owned?

Robert.  Van Gogh's self-portrait. I saw it at a wonderful exhibit in the Kimball Museum in Fort Worth, TX. I stood in front of that canvas for at least 20 minutes. The energy radiating from it was astounding.

This feature was originally published in CHASING SANTA FE in 2014