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Portrait of a Lady: Women in Chinese Art
Continue ReadingPAGODA RED is full of evocative hints of past lives — a delicate silk shoe, a bespoke home for a much-loved songbird, an elaborate jewelry box from a bygone era. Beyond the evocative, we’re also a showcase of evolving craftsmanship and tastes over time. Our expansive collection lets design history unfold, over centuries of fine […]
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Toyoharu Kii: Master of Modern Mosaics
Continue ReadingA leader in the global craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii works with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass handmade by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Constructed using traditional techniques, his art is nonetheless modern. Kii’s work is abstract and highly textured — highlighting the intricate process in the often-overlooked art of mosaic making. […]
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Bruno Surdo: Tree Spirits
Continue ReadingAfter viewing Tree Spirits, Bruno Surdo’s debut at PAGODA RED, you will never look at a tree the same way again. Surdo brilliantly conveys the deeply personal sentiments to be found in the twists and turns of burls and branches. He says creating the paintings was a meditative experience and, until now, they have never […]
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Luxe Life: The Custom Homes of Chinese Songbirds
Continue Reading“Songbirds brush the eaves in flight and fish dart through the waterweed, men of elegance and taste, apprehending their nature, do not weary of watching them all day long.” – Wen Zhenheng, translated by Tony Blishen The practice of keeping a small songbird as a pet is a longstanding tradition in China dating back to […]
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The Thrill of the Hunt: Shea Soucie’s Meaningful Collections
Continue ReadingIn his book The Joys of Collecting, world-renowned collector J.Paul Getty writes that a collector “frequently experiences thrills and sometimes savors triumphs.” These moments—from the thrill of finding an object worth collecting to the triumph of acquiring the piece you’ve been searching for — inspire designer Shea Soucie both in her own collecting and in […]
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Gordon Chandler: Inside Out
Continue ReadingGordon Chandler’s art starts with simple materials that might otherwise go unnoticed. In his hands, scrap metal and industrial steel drums become beautiful. He often works outside, gathering materials from salvage yards—his artworks feel at home in the open air, where the elements make the patina deeper and richer. Chandler’s art brings new energy to the […]
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Jim Rose’s Timeless Artistic Legacy
Continue ReadingJim Rose spent his artistic life cultivating the mind of a maker. He absorbed the practices of Ming and Shaker furniture makers, not just through study, but through the physical creation of objects that carry their influence. Instead of traditional carved wood, he used hot-rolled and reclaimed steel — coaxing the material into clean-lined forms. […]
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Musings of Calm with Past + Present Chinese Art
Continue ReadingMusings of Calm is a dynamic exploration of a timeless philosophy — that art and objects can be catalysts for creating tranquility, especially in times of disruption and turbulence. Featuring thoughtful pairings of contemporary Chinese works from Chambers Fine Art and historical pieces from PAGODA RED, Musings of Calm immerses viewers in a meditation on […]
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Michael Thompson: Studio Visit
Continue ReadingThe work of Chicago-based artist Michael Thompson defies even the most ardent attempts at classification. He’s the kind of creative whose technique, spirit, provocation and form is always cut with a little mischief. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Michael Thompson’s body of work spans across a range of art […]
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Jan Pieter Fokkens: A Colorful Universe
Continue ReadingBorn in the Netherlands in 1979, Jan Pieter Fokkens is part of the last generation to have an analog childhood. His abstract art examines the effects that advancing technologies have had on our understanding of the universe and our place within it. In his work, Fokkens’ hand-paints and draws intricate, color saturated patterns inspired by […]
