Getting the Groove Back
POP ART AND BOLD COLORS COME TOGETHER TO CREATE A VIBRANT SPACE IN THIS 850-SQUARE-FOOT MID-MOD CONDO REDESIGN.
Written by Charles Winkler
THE FINISHED LIVING ROOM SHOWS LISA WOLFE'S DESIGN AS A BRIGHT, COLORFUL MIX OF OLD AND NEW. THE "BUBBLE" SOFA IS A NEW PIECE. FOR A PLEASING CONTRAST OF PAST AND PRESENT, THE LUCITE-AND-BRASS COFFEE TABLE IS AUTHENTIC VINTAGE, AS IS THE CURVED, BLACK-AND-WHITE GLOBE FLOOR LAMP. LISA SAYS HER CLIENTS WERE PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS, WHICH SHE DESCRIBES AS "MID CENTURY MODERN ON STEROIDS."
Photographed by Michael Alan Kaskel
Designed by Lisa Wolfe
MARINA TOWERS FEATURES EXTE-RIOR BALCONIES. IN THIS CONDO, SEPARATE DOORS FROM THE BEDROOM AND LIVING ROOM OPEN ONTO TWO WIDE, PRIVATE BALCONIES. LISA SAYS SHE WAS ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE “INCREDIBLY DEEP” BALCONY SPACE TO PUT IN BIG, NEW, “FUNKY-COLORED,” CHAIRS AND COFFEE TABLES RATHER THAN “BABY-SCALE FURNI-TURE” FOR THE NARROW, TIGHT BALCONIES SEEN IN MANY OTHER BUILDINGS. SHE CAREFULLY SELECTED THE FURNITURE FOR A CLASSIC 1960S LOOK.
WHAT IS POP ART?
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, pop art was born in the 1950s and flourished through the ‘60s. It’s defined as “a diverse response to the postwar era’s commodity-driven values, often using commonplace objects (such as comic strips, soup cans, road signs and hamburgers) as subject matter or as part of the work.” Think Andy Warhol’s colorized Marilyn Monroe faces, Roy Lichtenstein’s comic book panels or Peter Max’s “Cosmic Runner.”
You can find pop art examples online, at art shops or in your handy stack of Atomic Ranch back issues. But pop art doesn’t have to be formal art. It can include common objects, images and even textures.
In 1968, Andy Warhol created his “Campbell’s Soup Can” screen print series; Roy Lichtenstein drew Bobby Kennedy as a superhero on “Time’s” cover; and architect Bertrand Goldberg saw his Marina Towers masterpiece completed in Chicago. A half-century later, designer Lisa Wolfe channeled all that together for an inspired Mid Century Modern condo renovation.