Incollect Magazine - Issue 2

2022 Incollect Magazine 45 and Czech Art Deco pottery from the 1920s and early 30s, collected by Penny starting in the early 1990s. “When I met Allan he was already a dealer participating at shows around the country. He said to me — ‘look, if we are going to be dating it would be great if you would collect something,’ ” Penny says. That was in 1992 and Penny, who has a master’s in social work from Columbia University, was working at a hospital in New Jersey. “We were exhibiting at a show when I spotted an interesting blue and white Art Deco ceramic. I really loved it so Al bought it for me as a present. Then we went on this life journey together.” They were married in 1996, and 26 years later that initial gift is now the centerpiece of a 100-piece collection of Art Deco ceramics, displayed in custom-built shelving. Their adjacent gallery (by appointment) is filled with wonderful diverse works including a large, patinated weathervane of a fleecy Cotswold ram that once, given its scale, likely sat atop a woolen mill. “It was never meant to be put in front of you at eye level and called a piece of American sculpture,” Katz says, “and yet the makers felt the need to be creative, to have these realistic details, to make it a more beautiful object.” That’s what I admire in Folk Art, this rebellious attitude that gave its makers the freedom to put their own twist on something. It is what I am always connected to.” Collecting Folk Art has been a very personal journey for Allan and Penny and one, Penny says, that changed over time. “We have chosen to surround ourselves with art, color, light and with objects that energize us and enrich our life. They give us a sense of history, place, purpose and are timeless. We each have our favorites but are respectful of our differences in style, taste and the choices we have made. We hope this journey will continue to expand, evolve and change for a long time to come.” Above, left: Female bottle cap figure by Clarence and Grace Woolsey, Lincoln,Iowa, circa 1975. Above, right: Allan and Penny are also connoisseurs of fine design in many additional genres. The couple commissioned artisan John Russell of Guilford, Connecticut to design and craft their custom bamboo bed, which is built into the wall. Above the bed, a circa 1970 work in oil and rice paper on canvas by Kenzo Okoda, a Japanese American Abstract Expressionist.