A $7M model suite becomes a gallery
Black artists’ works create a powerful exhibit in San Francisco condo
The pieces are compelling — an imposing, wall-mounted necklace evokes “slave chains” as well as the bling for which it is named; striking portraits of Black women and men; a sizable and vertical sculpture, by a Ghanaian artist, created from discarded water containers and other pollution.
These arresting works are part of a pop-up exhibition in a $7-million (U.S.) model homeat 181 Fremont, an 800-foot tower in San Francisco. It’s the tallest residential building on the West Coast.
Called PODIUM, the highrise exhibition includes 20 artworks by 15 renowned Black artists.
“Each work speaks to racial equity, justice or colonialism in some way,” art adviser Holly Baxter told the Star. “Each piece tells a story and resonates with the (viewer) in a deep way.”
Although it was not originally planned in response to Black Lives Matter and anti-racism protests in response to police violence, PODIUM became “a very authentic, heartfelt, intellectual response to what was happening in the world,” Baxter said.
The home and art collection, curated from around the world, can be seen virtually in a video tour any time and in-person, by appointment, until the end of December.
For the condo’s interior designer Robbie McMillan, whose husband and seven-year-old daughter are Black, PODIUM has deep meaning.
“It’s huge, kind of everything personal as a human being in this world,” said McMillan, who worked with Baxter on the art and design elements in the 2,314-square-foot suite, one of 67 residences in the mixed-use highrise.
He’s a true believer in the powerful message of art, as illustrated in the primary (as opposed to “master”) bedroom. There, large black and gold chains, in artist Angela Hennessy’s work titled “Bling,” evoke the chains used in the transatlantic slave trade. As well, they’ve also become “objects of adornment, of status and wealth” in AfricanAmerican communities, Hennessey told Sculpture magazine last year. “In hip hop and rap communities, having gold is part of the performance.”
Another wall in the room features a six-foot-square portrait based on photos from the 1880s that belonged to artist Lava Thomas’s grandmother. The dramatic carpet, whose “eyes in chains” design links back to “Bling,” is one of the home’s five “gorgeous” custom rugs handknotted in Nepal, said McMillan. With layers of complementary textures, colours and patterns in the furnishings, “the room just vibrates,” he said. “It’s a continual reveal of excitement and bold energy.”
In another bedroom, portraits of two shirtless men borrow artist Erica Deeman’s own skin colour for a backdrop, said Baxter, adding that Deeman challenges stereotypes of Black men. The local artist also created photo silhouettes of two African-American women that are exhibited in the living room.
Baxter said she and McMillan wanted the 48th-floor model suite — which offers sweeping panoramas of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge — to feel like a sophisticated art collector’s home. The curated pieces, from both local and international Black artists, are priced from $3,500 to $65,000 (U.S.) and are available through Holly Baxter & Associates. The entire collection is valued at $380,000.
Art is a central focus of their work, McMillan says of AubreyMaxwell, the design firm he co-founded with Marcus Keller, his business and life partner of 20 years. Their own home is filled with works by Black artists.
High-quality furnishings that complement rather than compete with the artwork are key to the condo’s esthetic, said Mc
Millan. His vision and design for the space include Milanbased carpet company cc-tapis’s “warm and modern but not overly bold” creations that anchor contemporary furniture from another Italian favourite, B&B Italia.
McMillan said the “incredible design” and structural excellence of those pieces were a perfect match for the architecture and engineering prowess of the steel-and-glass building.
The award-winning landmark built by developer Jay Paul Company jaypaul.com/ in 2018 is anchored in bedrock more than 260 feet deep.