There are few words that can describe my awe and respect for this man. He first reached legendary status during his
early career as a behind the scenes participant during one of greatest
magazine/editorial eras of the 20th century. So, today, we speak of
Rick Gillette as he is known professionally. We will speak of what was and what
is … the past and the present.
The past life of Rick Gillette included collaborations with so many of
the legends and greats: editors, photographers, stylists and magazines. Think
Avedon, Newton, Mellen, Hiro, Karen Graham, Lauren Hutton, Penn, Vogue,
Vreeland and many more! Rick was behind the scenes on some of the most iconic magazine
spreads ever to be published and then he moved behind the camera, tested the
waters of design and finally to his destination as gallerist, curator and
collector.
In his present incarnation, we find Rick Gillette as the proprietor of a 3,000-square-foot space by the name of FRG OBJECTS &
DESIGN / ART in Hudson, NY. The space serves as showroom, selling floor
and gallery space where he exhibits contemporary modern artists who exemplify
the spirit of our times whether it is art, furniture or accessories. One
such artist is Sean-Paul Pluguez who
will be featured in a one man show at FRG beginning May 16th. The “Gold
Project” or Vault, as it is
called, will speak to the power of the color, the material and the transformative
power that it possesses when everyday objects are sheathed in the molten liquid.
"For
centuries, gold had a profound impact on history, as a symbol and a storehouse
of wealth accepted universally around the world …. When people are worried
about political instability, war or inflation, they often put their savings
into gold." Oddly
enough this quote is from the Federal Reserve Bank and yet it sums up so much
of how we view the color and the emotions that it evokes.
When thinking of gold within the art world one might journey back to so
many religious works of the 14th and 15th century or even to a more
contemporary point of reference such as the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by
Gustav Klimt. Pluguez utilizes the
potency of gold to demonstrate that it can transform the most common of objects
into works of art. For some reason, to me, there is a surrealist overtone in
some pieces.
The point is that you simply must get yourself to Hudson New York and
explore the world of Rick Gillette. You might be lucky enough to engage him in
a conversation about what was, but you might be far more interested in the
present.
I took the liberty of asking 3 questions which should give you
sufficient background and insight into the mind of this virtuoso! ... So here
goes …..
1-In your current incarnation as
gallerist/curator/interior designer; art, furniture or photography what is your
end game? In other words what would be your goal and why did you decide on
this?
End Game? I’ve never really known
why I do the things I do. When you are driven by desire you don’t always think
about where you’ll end up. My life has been and is a never ending journey
toward a vision. The medium I work in changes, my financial situation varies
but the process and doing the work is where I feel a kind of peace. It has
never been about money or fame for that matter. I really only use those things
to fund the next project and I’ve rarely planned what that will be. Life
changes, demand for the quality of what I do may wane, I reach a creative limit
and rather than fight it, move on.
For better or for worse I rarely
accept “good enough” it’s always about the potential in something.
I value great art, architecture
& design and recognize when something is brilliant, too perfect to change!
Even then I tend to focus on a part or section of it and think that’s beautiful
in itself. How can I use that in a new way, show its relevance and value in today’s
world?
That brings us back to your first
question, my goal is to make and show beautiful art and design, to nurture and
support other artists and give the public the opportunity to have things in their
lives that broaden their perception of who they are and what home can be.
2-Can you describe or recall your
most memorable moment as well as your biggest nightmare (people, places, etc.)
during the glory days of Vogue et al?
I think I would have to say that my most
memorable moment was in the early eighties. I was working on a proposal for a
beauty book and my agent asked some of the greats I had worked with, Penn,
Hiro, Polly Mellen, Andrea Quinn, Martin Stevens VP at Revlon etc. to say
something about me. Reading their comments had me in tears. I had never really
known how they viewed me even after more than a decade of working with them. I
had been told in the beginning that I could not do both Hair & Make-Up, it
just was not done, no one could do both well. Something gave me the courage to
say that that’s what I do; I stuck with it and had to stand up to the biggest
names in the business throughout my career. Someone had said early on you are
only as good as your last sitting and I took that to heart and I approached
every job as if that might be true. I obviously continued to work long enough
that by 30 I was being called a legend in my own time and the most difficult
person in the business to work with. Well, so when I received the quotes we requested
and I read what people had said about me and working with me which could not
have been more warm, positive and to the point about how and why I worked the
way I did I was more than touched.
I mentioned some of my great
nightmares above but I think the worst of it was when I was transitioning into
photography, when various editors and art directors who had time and again
thanked me privately for pushing everyone to do our best work, for the magazine
awards, sittings we had done together had won, promotions they had gotten, I
could go on and on….
And yet when they could have truly
supported me as an artist, someone dedicated enough to give up everything to
continue to evolve in the world I had practically grown up in, they would not
work with me. Moreover the most powerful man at Condé Nast would
not allow even his most trusted associate to give me a photography job and we
never found out why. That was probably the worst betrayal of my life.
3-if you could incite any 5 people to
dinner who would they be and why?
Who would I invite to dinner? My
parents, to thank them for never trying to determine my life for me, for
telling their 5 boys four of which were gay that we should do what made us
happy as long as we were GOOD people.
The photographer Hiro who was never
unkind to me, condescending or critical of my decisions. He was brilliant and
funny, when he didn’t quite get the make-up I had done for a cover for Italian
Vogue (I had decided to do completely different make-up on Lauren Helm’s left
and right eyes) he looked at me smiled and said Rick I’ll give you all the
rope you need! He was also interested and caring regarding my personal
life, business queries and all for my taking pictures, when I showed him some
work he said without hesitation “beautiful you should be shooting covers.
Helmut and June Newton for many of
the same attributes as Hiro and for taking me under their wing in Paris. When I
called Helmut from NY furious that American Vogue had cancelled us to shoot the
French collections, he said get yourself over here we will do them for French Vogue
together, I did and we shot them and he gave me my first Paris Vogue cover with
Dale Haddon.
Best of all when I met him at dinner
in the South of France to work for American Vogue he said Rick sit here next to
me, during dinner he whispered to me “I have a present for you, it’s coming
with desert” so just as desert is being served in walks Peter Keating, Helmut
kicks me under the table and quietly says “here’s your present right on time”.
Franklin D Israel, Architect and
Professor of Design at UCLA, the best male friend of my life. He was the first
person who recognized and supported me in my talents beyond hair & make-up.
He was incredibly intelligent as you can imagine, and it was so inspiring to
discuss endless things that had nothing to do with fashion. When I called to
tell him I was selling my Park Ave. apartment and wanted to buy the top floor
of a Gothic sky scrapper in New York’s financial district he got on a plane
from LA to look at it with me. When I said we should gut it and create a
Barragan village for my home and studio he might have thought I had lost my
mind, but we did just that. Not only do I consider that loft my greatest
achievement as an interior designer it changed the course of his career as an architect;
he became one of the top in his field. Just before he died of aids in 1996 MOMA
LA gave him almost the entire main floor of the museum for a retrospective of
his work. Unwell and weak he walked me and my photography assistant through the
entire exhibit while the museum was closed to the public, he took us to lunch
and back to his home where we talked of our lives twist and turns, called our
friend Duggie Fields in London who had introduced us in the early seventies, and
hugged good bye. I never saw him alive again.
www.frgobjectsanddesign.com
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