art environments

Subterms

    Latest story

    150 Shares92 Views

    Matt Bua’s ‘Repurposed City’ in Upstate New York Just Hit the Market

    by

    The interior of Matt Bua’s cabin in Catskill, New York. Photo by Photo by Kevin Witte Productions. All images courtesy of Matt Bua, shared with permission

    Matt Bua’s ‘Repurposed City’ in Upstate New York Just Hit the Market

    February 13, 2025

    ArtDesign

    Kate Mothes

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    On nearly 27 wooded acres outside the town of Catskill, New York, artist Matt Bua has been hard at work on a creative compound like no other. For two decades, he has constructed an artist-built environment from salvaged materials comprising numerous living spaces and work areas. Recently listed for sale for $269,000, the off-grid property known as “B-Home” could be yours.

    Bua’s project originated with the idea to “build one of every type of dwelling we could with materials that were easily at hand,” the artist tells Colossal. From repurposed vinyl records, bottles, and reclaimed wood, a sprawling “repurposed city” emerged as painted signs, sculptures, and one-of-a-kind structures popped up over time.

    Bua describes his approach as “intuitive building,” working in response to the natural terrain, found materials, and vernacular structures of the northeast. He wrote a book titled Talking Walls, which focuses on the region’s tens of thousands of miles of historic stone walls and considers history and material culture merge in the ways we understand “place.”

    Bua lived in Brooklyn when he purchased the property. “All I wanted to do was go up there and build,” he recently told Artnet. He was inspired by self-sustaining communities like Drop City in Colorado, an artists’ commune formed in 1960 with a reputation for remarkable hand-built homes. Incidentally, he also used to maintain Catskill’s quirky Catamount People’s Museum, an installation of an enormous bobcat made from scraps of wood.

    Along with a cohort of friends who have contributed freestanding artworks and functional structures over the years, Bua approached “B-Home” as a collaborative experiment “informed by the needs and desires of our surrounding community.”

    Learn more about Bua’s work on his website.

    All images courtesy of Matt Bua, shared with permission

    Map of “B-Home” More

    More stories

    • 150 Shares139 Views

      in Art

      Visit Dozens of Incredible Artist-Built Environments, Homes, and Studios Around the U.S.

      by

      Prophet Isaiah Robertson’s Second Coming House, Niagara Falls, New York. All images courtesy of the artists, foundations, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, shared with permission

      Visit Dozens of Incredible Artist-Built Environments, Homes, and Studios Around the U.S.

      February 6, 2025

      ArtDesignHistory

      Kate Mothes

      Share

      Pin

      Email

      Bookmark

      Whether a self-taught artisan or a contemporary art titan, one can make artwork just about anywhere. As the saying goes, the only limit is your imagination. And when art and life intersect, sometimes the distinction between the two disappears.

      As the National Trust for Historic Preservation can tell you, homes and studios from rural Kansas to the hubbub of Manhattan have been the locus of eclectic, quirky, and innovative ideas that illustrate how creativity and daily existence are one and the same.

      Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village, Simi Valley, California

      Last month, the NTHP announced the addition of 19 new property members to its Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program. Comprising locations that range from houses and workspaces to quarries and hand-assembled fantasylands, the new spaces bring the total number of network participants to 61 across the U.S.

      Colossal readers might be familiar with one of last month’s additions, the Kosciusko, Mississippi, home of L.V. Hull (1942–2008), which was included in the National Register of Historic Places last summer. The designation was the first to honor the residence of an African American woman visual artist, and it was also the first time a home art environment by any African American was on the list.

      Women feature prominently in this year’s announcement, including Pope’s Museum in Ochlocknee, Georgia, which is distinguished as the oldest surviving artist-built environment by a woman in the U.S. A self-taught maker, Laura Pope Forester (1873–1953) created elaborate exterior installations, including murals and other works that pay tribute to women’s achievements, military veterans, and literary figures. The crochet-like white facade is composed of sewing machine parts.

      Additional places include the homes of groundbreaking women artists Louise Bourgeois and Carolee Schneemann, along with remarkable creations like Grandma Prisbey’s Bottle Village in Simi Valley, California, and Mary Nohl’s unique environment in Fox Point, Wisconsin.

      Plan your visits on the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios website.

      Pope’s Museum, Ochlocknee, Georgia

      Shigeko Kubota Video Art Foundation, New York City

      Spiral House Park, Saugerties, New York

      “Enchanted Garden” and entrance to the “Troglodyte Cavern” at Valley of the Moon, Tucson, Arizona

      Mary Nohl Art Environment, Fox Point, Wisconsin

      Interior of the Mary Nohl Art Environment, Fox Point, Wisconsin

      Dog Mountain, Home of Stephen Huneck Gallery, St. Johnsbury, Vermont

      Interior of Reuben Hale House, West Palm Beach, Florida

      Interior of Prophet Isaiah Robertson’s Second Coming House, Niagara Falls, New York

      Interior view of Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village, Simi Valley, California

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.

      Hide advertising

      Save your favorite articles

      Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop

      Receive members-only newsletter

      Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms

      Join us today!

      $7/month

      $75/year

      Explore membership options

      Next article More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Near Liverpool, a One-of-a-Kind Art Environment by Ron Gittins Is Saved

      by

      “The Minotaur Room.” All images courtesy of Historic England, shared with permission

      Near Liverpool, a One-of-a-Kind Art Environment by Ron Gittins Is Saved

      January 3, 2025

      ArtDesignHistory

      Kate Mothes

      Share

      Pin

      Email

      Bookmark

      Behind the unassuming red brick facade of a gable-roofed flat in Birkenhead, England, sits a home like no other. The only clue passersby would have had, until recently, was a pair of hand-sculpted figurative columns that flanked the wooden front door. But to step inside this corner flat near Liverpool is to be transported into the imaginative world of Ron Gittins.

      A gifted artist who also dabbled in local acting groups and music, Gittins was a complex character. He took day jobs here and there, but he was much more inclined to work for himself, on his own terms. Anecdotally, he was known for his zest for life and determination to do great things; his sister recounts that he once exclaimed to their brother, “I will not be ignored!” His creativity shone through in every facet of his life, and his home is no exception.

      Hallway

      In a ground floor rented flat, which he let in 1986, Gittins created monumental hearths in the shapes of a lion, minotaur, and relief-adorned Roman altar. He painted bright murals inspired by ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt, including a central hallway adorned with hieroglyphs. The columns at the front door were reminiscent of palatial stone depictions of pharaohs and deities.

      Gittins turned to the era of English romantic portraiture in one room’s Georgian era-inspired murals, which feature framed paintings in a row above an ornate hearth. And in the bathroom, the walls swim with aquatic-themed images.

      “Although Ron was extremely proud of his artwork, he generally refused entry to landlords, maintenance staff, and any kind of officialdom in order to protect the fantasy world he had created for himself,” says a statement from Wirral Arts & Culture Community Land Trust, which now owns and manages the property. It adds, “After all, not every property owner would allow their tenant to build an epic concrete lion fireplace in their living room.”

      Gittins’ tenancy agreement permitted him to “decorate the interior of the property to his own taste and the external porch in classical style without the prior written consent of the Landlord.” He also had access to the garden, which he was able to landscape at his own expense.

      “The Lion Room”

      Few people were granted the privilege of seeing Gittins’ creations during his lifetime, as he was protective of his art and preferred to maintain his privacy. He continued to collect unique objects and transform his home into his ultimate fantasy, his self-described “villa.” Then, following his unexpected death in 2019, its fate was suddenly uncertain.

      In December 2021, artist Jan Williams—who is also Gittins’ niece—along with Chris Teasdale of The Caravan Gallery, launched a campaign to save the flat. Along with a dedicated team of volunteers comprising family, friends, and experts in arts and heritage, a last-minute purchase at auction was successful in March 2023. Since then, the team has continued caring for the installations and sifting through the artist’s eclectic collection of books, magazines, videos, clothes, furniture, and trinkets.

      The Wirral Arts & Culture Community Land Trust continues to catalogue Gittins’ belongings and work to preserve this unique environment for years to come. Learn more and take a virtual tour on the organization’s website.

      “The Georgian Room”

      Ceiling of “The Georgian Room”

      The “Roman Altar” in the kitchen

      Bathroom

      “The Minotaur Room”

      “The Georgian Room”

      Exterior of Gittins’ flat in Birkenhead, England

      Front door columns

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.

      Hide advertising

      Save your favorite articles

      Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop

      Receive members-only newsletter

      Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms

      Join us today!

      $7/month

      $75/year

      Explore membership options

      Previous articleNext article More