Art is Life

Sezane cardigan
Mango trousers
Chanel flats
Vintage necklace (similar)
Modu Atelier ring (c/o) (similar)
Modu Atelier earrings (c/o) (similar)
Location: Osborne Village – Winnipeg, Manitoba

I love a beautiful hotel, but really, if I could move in anywhere, it would be a museum. There’s nothing I love more than being surrounded by art and books. As I type this, I’m istting in my living room. If I do a quick scan of the space, I can count nineteen paintings and photographs. But there could be more. Every wall isn’t close to covered yet, and there’s so many works of art in the world to choose from…

They say art is life, and I’m not sure that’s true for everyone, but for me, it’s life giving. Museums are my greatest source of inspiration, the thing I missed the most in the pandemic years when travel was shut down. Practically the first thing I did when we landed in Paris (after taking a quick nap) was rush out to a museum – it was Galerie Perrotin, in case you’re curious. For me, blank walls are meant for hanging pictures. But I don’t limit myself to that. In my office, I also display pictures on the floor, leaning against the walls. It’s unconventional, but I love the undone look.

Art doesn’t need to be fancy. And if we treat it like it’s precious, that makes less accessible. Accessible is exactly what it should be. Art is universal. It’s the earliest method we used to express the human experience, and one we’ve held onto for millenia. New techniques and technologies change our approach to it, of course. And it’s purpose, too. The camera made painting far less important, because it gave us a new way to memorialize moments in time. But that doesn’t mean it made painting obsolete.

Recently, I worked with Canadian brand Opposite Wall to create a new gallery wall in my office. The decisionmaking process wasn’t easy – I love art, all of it, and narrowing down the pieces I loved best took time. But I’m so happy, now that it’s all done, with how it turned out. In time, I’ll probably add to it. (I can already envision how I want to build on it, but that’s a future project.) For now, though, I love walking past it in the mornings when I’m “on my way” to work. And seeing little bits of it sneak into the outfit photos I take in front of my office mirror.

Art may not be life. But it’s an incredibly important part of my life. And since I can’t actually move into a museum – maybe one day? – I’m glad to be able to surround myself with so much of it in my home.

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