Additional views of the Galka Scheyer House, built by Richard Neutra in 1934 with a 1936 addition by Gregory Ain. In just a few weeks, Aunt Studio furnished the home for an artist residency, using minimal, flexible pieces that echo Scheyer’s vision of a living space as both gallery and gathering space.
@blue_heights_arts
The bar for @mouthwash.studio office
Radius 35”
Height 80”
2024
Photos by @rvstapleton
The office bar has an integrated fridge, light, and pull out mirror shelf. We took inspiration from early 1900’s British Art deco bar cabinets like the ones made by the Epstein brothers.
MW.S x Aunt Studio
Our teams are no strangers to collaboration, working together on the MW.S HQ, Cafe Tondo, and now, the visual identity and web design for Aunt’s next chapter. Both the identity and website echo themes present in all of our work together: warmth, practicality, and subtle hints of character and personality at every turn.
The wordmark is perhaps the most obvious example of these principles in practice. Set in Eleganse by Store Norske, it balances a calligraphic, old-world sentiment while remaining measured, rational, and clear in its display. Throughout the identity, a folio composition brings a tactility and print-inspired nature to the brand, as well as a clear belief as to how the work should be viewed.
These elements, when applied to the website, guide users through a body of work much like you would take in an exhibition at an art gallery: slow, methodical, working through one image at a time.
The hallmark of any great collaboration is the shared belief in process and approach. For us, this is found through an economy of means philosophy: blending the old with the new. Embracing innovation through ingenuity. See for yourself at aunt.studio.
Our visit to the Hancock Shaker Village during our architectural studies continues to influence how we approach design.
We’ve been studying the Church Family Round Barn in Pittsfield, MA, built in 1826, as part of our research for a new agricultural building.
Constructed from limestone quarried on site, the circular masonry-and-timber barn is organized around a central open core and oculus, surrounded by two concentric rings.
The upper level, accessed by a ramp, allowed horses to move in a continuous loop as they unloaded hay into the center to feed cattle below. The central level stored hay and housed the cattle, while the lower level collected manure that was later used to fertilize the farm.
Aunt Studio worked with the new owners of the Galka Scheyer House to prepare the empty residence for an emergency relief artist residency. Built in 1934 by Richard Neutra for pioneering art dealer and Blue Four champion Galka Scheyer, with a second-floor bedroom addition by Gregory Ain in 1936, the house represents a rare collaboration between Neutra, Ain, and Scheyer herself.
With only a few weeks to make it habitable, our approach balanced sensitivity to this layered architectural history with the pressing need to create a functional, welcoming space. Scheyer envisioned her living room as both a gallery and a place of gathering, with furniture that could be reconfigured to suit exhibitions, conversations, or quiet reflection. We drew inspiration from this concept, selecting low daybeds that maintain unobstructed views of Los Angeles while offering flexible seating and display opportunities.
2nd photo by Arthur Luckhaus courtesy of UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections.
3rd photo by Lette Valeska courtesy of Estate of Alexander Hammid.
@blue_heights_arts
