Page 182 - home and garden

n the past 15 years, Los Angeles has been trans- Hollywood. The house once belonged to the actress Anne Baxter,
formed into one of the world’s most culturally best known for her leading role in the 1950 film All About Eve.
diverse cities. Communities from various back- She was the granddaughter of the modernist architect Frank
grounds are contributing to an interesting new Lloyd Wright, who recommended his brilliant colleague John
dynamic that has given birth to all sorts of Lautner to remodel the house in the Fifties.
creative initiatives. Theatre venues, exhibition Five years ago, when they were still living in Italy, Valeria and
spaces, dance companies and architectural her husband bought the house to use as a holiday home. ‘Then
practices have all sprung up, most notably Frank the contemporary art scene became so vibrant in LA that
Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Broad we didn’t want to leave,’ she explains. Instead, they decided
Contemporary Art Museum, and the Eli and to become a part of it, scooped up their young twins (who
I Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica. With new already loved skateboarding and surfing) and moved their
galleries, pop-ups and foundations opening constantly, this whole household to California.
sprawling city on the edge of the Pacific has evolved into a The house needed a lot of work, so Valeria turned to the
cultural hotspot, particularly in the field of contemporary art, architects Johnston Marklee. ‘Sharon Johnston is a close
in which Los Angeles is now one of the world’s capitals. friend,’ Valeria explains. They preserved all the key Lautner
The latest initiative to make its mark on the city is Depart, a rooms, but opened up the kitchen to connect it with the living
non-profit art foundation that arrived on Sunset Boulevard in areas and to reflect a more contemporary use of space, and
January. Founded by the Italian collector Valeria Sorci and her removed a corridor wall upstairs. They also designed some
husband, it is an offshoot of its parent gallery of the same name furniture and advised on the planting in the garden.
in Rome, and exhibits paintings, sculptures, installations, video As you enter through the front door, a curvaceous yellow
and photography by emerging artists from around the world. Its ‘Saruyama’ sofa from Moroso draws you away from the staircase
inaugural show in February was tantalisingly named The dance and into the open-plan living area. The large red installation by
step of a watermelon while meeting a parrot for the first time, and Daniel Buren on the wall opposite seems to lead the way towards
showed the work of Italian artist Gabriele De Santis, who took an unusual, curved, indoor-outdoor sofa by Lautner still in
as his themes skateboarding, and pop and digital culture. excellent condition. Beyond this is the terrace, where red-
Valeria’s personal art collection, which includes artists such brick steps wind their way down to the pool. Along its length
as Grear Patterson, Ed Ruscha and Sigmar Polke, hangs nearby runs Veronika Kellndorfer’s ‘Schocken’ sign, a replica from a
in her early-Forties neo-Tudor house in the foothills of West Twenties department store in Stuttgart.

180 NOVEMBER 2015 HOUSEANDGARDEN.CO.UK