Casa de Kooning, a New Artist Colony

By
Joshua Burke
The young and talented actor River Phoenix once said that art and music was oasis in his
head, the creation process was personal and fulfilling. The Elaine de Koonings home is an oasis
for artist who need perfect light, access to outdoor scenery, and the energy from other artist
imagination can be fed.
The studio is described as a large, light, slanting room with a concrete floor, flows
seamlessly into the main house but has its own separate entrance. The window fills the walls
and ceiling leaning toward the end of the room, where the floor ends to reveal a basement area
below where art supplies from storage. Near the staircase leads to the artists bedroom upstairs, a
plane Amish-looking room with a Jacuzzi and a large window overlooking the undisturbed
woods. Theres nothing that compares to the light here, because theres water on both sides,
said Chris Byrne, owner and cofounder of the Dallas Art Fair. He was brought to the house by
Elaine de Koonings herself in 2010, who gives the house over to artists who are free to act as
owners then tenants.
The Artist convent for the creative are two hours from New York City, and are reminded
of the many owners of the home who have kept the spirit of the art alive. Since Kooning
purchased the home, it has had famous artist stay including the world renowned Joe Bradley,
who makes paintings resembling human figures from assembled, canvases. Chris Duncan also
has benefited from the small house in the woods, where his geometric abstraction and colorful
dynamic patterning art has shown in exhibitions in San Francisco, New York, Tokyo, Belgium,
London, and Germany. His work has also included permanent collections of the Museum of
Modern Art, NY library.

Casa de Kooning, a New Artist Colony

By
Joshua Burke
During Byrne ownership of the house, he has not altered anything. He believes the
change would be sacrilegious to change anything. The idea of an artist oasis was started when
a friend of his was getting ready for his first museum show, which needed a space for large-scale
paintings. His friend stayed for nine months, on and off, and became the guinea pig for other up
and coming artist. Unlike a mirage, the Elaine de Koonings home is a real oasis for artist who
need help to produce their imagination on to canvas.

Bibliography

Ghorashi, Hannah. "House Party." ARTnews. Art News, Aug. 2015. Web. Aug. 2015.
<http://www.artnews.com/2015/08/04/house-party-an-afternoon-at-east-hamptonsunofficial-artist-residency/>.

"Chris Duncan." Eli Ridgway Contemporary Art. N.p., Aug. 2010. Web. Aug. 2010.
<http://www.eliridgway.com/index.php/duncanworks/duncan-paintings-sculpture>.