As January comes to a close, we reflect on the amazing start to the year, with Japandi Revisited: Shared Aesthetics and Influences at the Wayne Art Center. The exhibition has now wrapped up, and we’re so grateful for the incredible response and the thoughtful conversations sparked around the connections between Japanese and Scandinavian art. Thank you to all who visited and engaged with the exhibition! We look forward to continuing this journey of discovery with you as the year progresses.
This month, our New This Week series has introduced work from four brilliant artists—Lizzie Farey, Lawrence LaBianca, Caroline Bartlett, and Birgit Birkkjær. Let’s take a moment to revisit their featured works, each of which brings something unique to the world of contemporary art.

We kicked off January by featuring the talented Scottish artist Lizzie Farey, renowned for her innovative use of natural materials in her sculptural works. Known for her exceptional skill in weaving and creating intricate forms from willow, birch, and other locally sourced fibers, Farey’s work explores the intersection of nature and art.
Her sculptures evoke a deep connection to the land and reflect her commitment to sustainable practices. Lizzie’s weaving techniques create organic, flowing forms that are both visually striking and rooted in the traditions of her craft. Her work continues to captivate, as it brings the natural world indoors, transforming raw materials into art that speaks to both the environment and the human spirit.

We then turned out attentino to the captivating work of Lawrence LaBianca, whose sculptures intertwine text and form in a way that sparks both intellectual and emotional engagement. LaBianca’s Call Me Ishmael piece, inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, was a focal point this month, offering a layered narrative that weaves literary history into contemporary sculpture. The piece invites viewers to explore the intersection of language, memory, and visual art, encouraging reflection on both personal and collective stories.
LaBianca’s ability to transform literature into a physical experience through sculptural work continues to resonate, and we’re thrilled to have featured his thought-provoking art in January.

In mid-January, we turned our spotlight to the work of Caroline Bartlett, an artist whose weaving practice defies convention by blending textile art with elements of sculpture and painting. Bartlett’s intricate, handwoven pieces explore the relationships between form, space, and color, creating works that evoke calmness and balance. Her Curves and Lines series, with its harmonious geometry and nuanced color palette, captivates viewers and brings a sense of movement within the stillness of the woven fibers.
Bartlett’s unique approach to weaving and her innovative use of materials continue to set her work apart in the contemporary textile art world.

To close out January, we showcased the minimalist beauty of Birgit Birkkjær’s work, particularly her piece Agua Azul 47. Birkkjær’s approach to weaving combines traditional craft with a modern aesthetic, using materials like linen, cotton, and horsehair to create intricate geometric patterns that seem to shift and evolve with the viewer’s perspective. Her work stands as a testament to the power of repetition and precision, capturing a sense of movement while maintaining a serene, contemplative quality.
Birkkjær’s ability to balance simplicity with depth continues to inspire, and we were honored to feature her stunning art this month.
As we wrap up January, we’d like to thank you for being part of our journey as we continue to share and celebrate the works of incredible artists. Stay tuned as we bring even more exciting new art in the coming months, and we look forward to sharing more inspiring stories with you as we move through 2025.
It’s Never Too Early: How to Buy Art in Your 20s
Lizzie Farey($1,800), Deborah Valoma($1,700) and Stéphanie Jacques($1,200). Photo by Tom Grotta
Thanks to the DIY movement and a mass of online and cable design and decor resources, we’ve never had more encouragement to create environments that inspire and invigorate. Art can be an essential element of such an environment and investing in art need not be a bank breaker. Domino, a curated site that encourages readers to “bring your style home,” offers several tips for buying art in your 20s, including not buying too big and not being afraid to invest http://domino.com/how-to-buy-art-in-your-twenties/story-image/all. We at browngrotta arts have a few additional thoughts:
INYO (95-2), Tsuruko Tanikawa, brass and iron wire, coiled and burned, 7.5″ x 6.5″ x 14″, 1995 ($1,200)
1) Think objects: If you are in your first apartment or are fairly certain that a move is in your future, Ceramics, Art Baskets, Glass sculptures can be easier to place in your next home than a large wall piece may be.
Naomi Kobayashi Red & White Cubes ($1,000 each)
2) Invest for impact: Prints are generally less expensive than originals, editions less expensive than a one off. And you will find that some mediums are, in general, priced more accessibly than others. Art textiles and fiber sculpture are an example. Work by the best-known artists in the field go for under a million dollars, compared to tens of million dollars for paintings by well-recognized artists. You can start small with works in fiber, ceramics and wood, and create a small, but well-curated, collection. Consider Naomi Kobayashi, a Japanese textile artist whose work is in the permanent collection of many museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and whose work can be acquired for $1000. Or an up-and-coming artist like Stéphanie Jacques from Belgium, whose masterful multi-media works address issues of gender and identity, and begin at prices below $1500.
GRAY WITH BLACK, Sara Brenan, wool & silks linen, 12.5” x 19”, $1,900 photo by Tom Grotta
3) Take advantage of digital placement: Reviewing art online is a great way to expose yourself to a wide variety of work, and develop your personal aesthetic. Once you’ve found a work that appeals, digital placement can give you a greater level of confidence before you press “Buy.” At browngrotta arts, we ask clients to send us a photo of the space the propose to install the work. We can digitally install the piece, to scale and with shadow, so you have a sense of how will work there.
32pc CONSTRUCTION III, Pat Campbell, rice paper, reed, 8″ x 7.5″ x 5.5″, 2002
4) Document: If the work you purchase has appeared in a book or a catalog, make sure you get a copy. Ask the seller for any information he/she has on the artist for your files. On each artist’s page on browngrotta.com, you can find a list of publications in which the artist’s work appears. The documentation is good to have for insurance and appraisal purposes and you can watch as the artist’s cv —hopefully — expands in the next several years.
5) Buy for love: It’s great to learn 10 years down the road that a work of art you purchased has appreciated and is worth more than you paid for it. We’d argue, though, that if you’ve enjoyed owning it for 10 years, and thought each time you looked at it, “I really love that piece,” you’ll have gotten your money’s worth, and enriched your life in the process.