LIFESTYLE, TRICKS OF THE TRADEMichelle AdamsMarch 30, 2022Comment

Living With Art | Billy Cotton

LIFESTYLE, TRICKS OF THE TRADEMichelle AdamsMarch 30, 2022Comment

The Springs, New York farmhouse of artist Cindy Sherman, designed by Billy Cotton. Photo ©Stephen Kent Johnson, courtesy of Rizzoli New York.

©Stephen Kent Johnson, courtesy of Rizzoli New York.

This month marks the release of Billy Cotton: Interior & Design Work, a lush tome documenting the groundbreaking work of a rising and notable talent. Known for his livable and easy interiors that mix historical and modern influences, Cotton’s work spans architecture, interiors, furniture, lighting and product design. "His lineage—Irish Catholic on his mother’s side, Baltic Jewish on his father’s—and the divergent lenses through which his parents viewed life and culture endowed the designer with a rare perspective that simultaneously looks forward and back" says co-author Mayer Rus. Cotton’s sophisticated interiors—many designed for art-world clients, including Cindy Sherman and Lisa Yuskavage—are set in tradition but reflect the relaxed sensibilities of our time. "Cotton moves easily within the world of contemporary art, having designed a broad array of homes for influential artists, gallerists, and collectors. But he chafes at the suggestion that he possesses some special talent or insight as an artist whisperer," says Rus. Cotton instead insists that his mission is simply to imbue environments and products with originality and nuance.

“A lounge chair is covered in Pakistani ralli blankets. The fireplace surround is a Billy Cotton design of recessed and protruding ceramic bricks made in Mexico. Sculptures by Chris Garofalo and Matthew Solomon line the mantel. The decoupage side table is by Joseph Heidecker.” Photo ©Stephen Kent Johnson, courtesy of Rizzoli New York.

The Hamptons farmhouse Cotton reimagined for artist Cindy Sherman is no exception. Described by Rus as "a gleeful exercise in eccentric bohemiana, animated by color, texture, idiosyncratic flourishes, and furnishings of wide-ranging pedigree," Cotton designed the interiors to complement Sherman's art collection .

“Sherman’s free-wheeling art collection — a smorgasbord of thrift-store finds, outsider art, and works by friends of the artist — buoys the atmosphere of eccentricity and playfulness.”

— Billy Cotton

In an excerpt from Billy Cotton: Interior & Design Work, Cotton shares his process for designing Sherman’s home.

“The design of artist Cindy Sherman’s waterfront compound in Springs began with the renovation of an 1830s farmhouse that had been altered and expanded over the years but still retained its modest scale and ample charm. Our architectural interventions were calculated to shore up the timeworn structure and gently adapt it to the rituals of contemporary life, all while pre-serving the home’s historic texture and unpretentious character. In the spirit of disciplined eclecticism, we assembled a polyglot collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century antiques leavened with idiosyncratic furnishings acquired from flea markets and yard sales. The bohemian mood of the decor is underscored by a wide-ranging assortment of vintage textiles, including Moroccan Beni Ourain carpets, Pakistani ralli blankets from the 1920s, African indigo cloths, Indian suzanis, and Italian tapestries. Sherman’s free-wheeling art collection—a smorgasbord of thrift-store finds, outsider art, and works by friends of the artist — buoys the atmosphere of eccentricity and playfulness. We also designed a new pool house constructed of a primitive concrete, endemic to the region, which incorporates sand, shells, pebbles, and bits of brick. In the vein of Carlo Scarpa, the unassuming yet soulful pool pavilion becomes an exercise in compelling materiality and tactile allure.”