BOON

To our mothers & caregivers… Our love & thanks · · · · We are here for you 11-5 Wednesday through Sunday

This wall. . . . . . Thank you... Anna Hepler - @anna_hepler Juan Brenner - @juan_brenner Kendra Wadsworth - @kendradawnwadsworth Jonathan Aumen - @jonathanaumen Agnes Grochulska - @agnesgrochulska Garren Doremus - @garrendoremus Edward Alan Gross - @edward.alan.gross Kourtenay Plummer - @kourtenayplummerpottery Camden Whitehead - @chesapeakeandcherrystone

AGNES GROCHULSKA Paintings and sculpture by Polish-American artist, Agnes Grochulska, are meditations on the transformative power of line, shape, and color. Her mastery of oil and traditional portraiture are seen in her expressionist visual language. She often combines elegant, introspective figures with bold contours, gestural lines, and vibrant palettes. Every brushstroke is made with acute confidence and sensitivity, hinting at emotional depth with decisive ambiguity. Grochulska’s exaggerated subjects are at once familiar and anonymous, occupying a space between dream and reality. There is a magnetism to her work, creating an alluring intimacy that invites the viewer to get close and to form a connection. Her sculptural work from her most recent series, “Metamorphosis,” presents an evolution of her process. These woven soft sculptures are made from the cut fragments of past paintings, conjuring new expressions of object, animal and figure. When these sculptures find their way back into paintings, this practice comes full circle. In “The Learned Fool and Taste of Licorice,” Grochulska crafts a double portrait, contorting a human subject with a rendering of her sculpture in a disarming composition that evokes mystery and tension. In the words of the artist, “Painting becomes object, object returns to haunt the painting.” — 1 through 5: “The Learned Fool and Taste of Licorice” (SOLD) 6 & 7: “The Learned Fool” puppet 8 & 9: “Dialogue” 10 & 11: “Color Study for a Portrait” 12 & 13: “This is Not a Vase” 14 & 15: “Black Dog (When objects pretend to be animals and vice versa)” 16: Studio detail

JUAN BRENNER Photographer @juan_brenner ’s works exude an intimacy steeped in the storied and complex cultural histories of his native Guatemala. As a self-described “archivist,” Brenner documents everyday life throughout the Guatemalan highlands, finding moments that are rich in both texture and emotion. His stunning collection of landscapes, urban environments, and portraits showcase the resilience, vivacity, and reclamation of a community whose identity emerges from the friction between colonialism, religion, and Mayan heritage. Brenner has further explored these themes in his commercial work. Partnering with @nike in 2021, he captured a series of portraits highlighting “Marchistas”, a community of competitive race walkers whose determination and exuberance have endeared the sport to Guatemala’s national identity. In 2025, a commission for @theworldofinteriors showcased The Dance of the Little Bull – one of Chimaltenago’s historic ceremonies rooted in traditional folkloric music, dance and costume. Brenner’s photographs are nuanced and mesmerizing. His great love for the people and the land he’s from are evident in his provocative, reflective, and vibrant works. It is our great privilege to share Brenner’s unique perspective with our Richmond community. In collaboration with @patrick_harkin , Curator of the Andrew’s Gallery at William & Mary, we welcome Juan Brenner to Boon and invite you to experience his work in person. 
______ 1. San Andrés Iztapa,
Chimaltenango, Guatamala, 2018 2. From @theworldofinteriors commission,
Chimaltenango, Guatemala 3. Cayambe,
Equador, 2022 4. Portrait of a “Marchistas” athlete for @nike , 2021 5. Chichicastenango
Quiché, Guatemala, 2021 
 6. Chichicastenango
Quiché, Guatemala, 2019 
 7. From the series “The Ravine, The Virgin, & The Spring” 
 8. Santiago Attilán, Sololá, Guatamala, 2018 
 9. Paquix,
Huehuetenango, Guatemala, 2018
 10. Portrait of a “Marchistas” athlete for @nike , 2021 *Photos 1, 3, 8 and 9 are featured at Boon and are editions of 3. Printed on Fine Art Baryta paper. Each frame is handmade using local maple and walnut.

Fall Up. ••• stackable pine stools and good advice by Camden Whitehead – architect, grandfather, husband of mimi, son of betty – and a dear friend to boon. @chesapeakeandcherrystone

A SOUND PRACTICE It’s one of our most treasured practices. After curating a collection the arranging begins. Combining intuition, skill, play and good luck. And does it ever bring us joy! Our visual compositions become a symphony of sorts – showcasing works of art, design and craft in surprising and harmonious ways. They demonstrate the impact made from combining accomplished pieces that take on new energy in the context of their surroundings. These compositions invite the eye to travel – connecting narratives, noticing juxtapositions and often playful connections between form, pattern, material and color. On the eve of a proper space refresh – we want to take the opportunity to celebrate one of our most recent focal walls. We hope you’ll be inspired – here at Boon and at home. Create your own compositions, rearrange your art, furniture and objects – doing so helps you reconnect with them. It allows you to see things you love in a new light, figure out what no longer serves you and discover what might be missing. All in an effort to create a home that reflects and supports who you are and the life you’re living now. So please, DO try this at home. ___ See comments for a list of the artists and designers who made this composition possible.

Liza Pittard (@lizapittardstudios ) is a scent artist based in Richmond, Virginia. Pittard’s scents reflect her upbringing in Virginia, thoughtfully crafting worlds that feel both familiar and obscure.  Cup plays with duality—bright and dark, unnerving and comforting. It opens with a pithy burst of green mandarin, pink peppercorn, and lush galbanum. Intoxicating and demanding. Then it softens into something tender and familiar. Your nose in a cup of tea, punctuated by allspice and clove. An incense from faraway that still somehow smells of home. Curling up against dry fallen fir needles amidst towering black spruce. Someplace to long to be. Stone, her first scent, began as an exploration into the sensory experience of stonehood—immersed in earth and growth, smoothed and nurtured by time. It seeks to capture the birth and death of the world surrounding this steadfast natural form. The making of this scent spanned many seasons, a timeline reflected in its evolving character. Mint leaf echoes moments of making in the studio during the winter. Crisp, sweet herbaceousness, which characterizes the top notes of stone, couples with the beginnings of fresh green growth into Spring. The heart brings it closer to the ground: dry, faintly smoky vetiver mingles with damp soil akin to petrichor. At last, Stone dries down to a smooth cedar and comforting musks: the feeling of a weathered stone in hand, somehow, by chance, fitting perfectly in the palm. Both Cup and Stone are available at Boon in sample, travel, and full sizes. Truthfully we have a hard time keeping them in stock with all the love they’ve been getting all over the country (we’re so happy for you Liza!!) But we’re fully restocked at the moment so come by and try them out or get restocked on your favorite.  Full Size - 50ml  $95 Travel Size - 9ml $42 Sample Set (both scents included) - 1.5ml $14

We’re overjoyed and truly humbled to be celebrating one year of Boon. One year of our artists, designers, & dealers charming our community. One year of our community charming us. To commemorate this moment in a small but meaningful way, we asked our artists to make charms to adorn the body, an object or the home. Some are playful and ready for an evergreen branch, some should find their way to the perfect nook, while others want nothing more than to travel with you. Like any good talisman, each carries their own unique meaning and allows you to connect with an artist whose work you admire. They will find their rightful homes and guardians. It’s for the love of making, the resonance of material and form, handheld beauty. You’ll know it when you see it. And be charmed – we’re sure. ·········· To celebrate this initiative – we are RAFFLING Boon Gift Cards! Starting this weekend (12/12) through Christmas Eve (12/24), for every purchase of a charm, your name will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win one of 5 gift cards* ($200, $100, or $50 value). *More information available in the shop

JONATHAN AUMEN Our relationship with @jonathanaumen began auspiciously. And that chance encounter has given us the opportunity to share his work with you. A mixed-media sculptor and painter, Aumen’s process is heavily informed by spending much of his life in China. This dual-cultural perspective has inspired a unique visual language rooted in playful discovery. In his paintings, an array of organic forms and glyph-like patterns are applied to vintage paper, books, and frames. Aumen’s sculptural work evokes a similar rustic primitivism, highlighting the tension between nature, time, and man-made influence. Assembled from scavenged materials, these totems celebrate the texture of the natural world while evolving its forms through an assemblage of contrasting materials, thoughtful modification and the additions of paint, wire, and string. ········ 1 & 2: Foreign Tongue 3 & 4: Ritual 5 & 6: Nile 7 & 8: Parts of the Whole (Flow) 9: Lulu’s Pearls 10: Unearthing 11: Untitled (Sold)

Part II: Cindy Neuschwander In her own words… A short video of Cindy sharing about her process and origins as an artist. . . . Video produced by Joey Tran and Jason Lefton for Page Bond Gallery.

Part I: Cindy Neuschwander Cindy Neuschwander was a dear friend and beloved member of the creative community in Richmond, Virginia. She profoundly shaped me and countless others. If you were to crack Boon open and look at its heart, Cindy would be at the center. Her warm, vibrant, and joyful spirit is a ballast as Boon continues to evolve. Cindy lived her entire life in a spirit of creative enchantment. As her friend and writer Marilyn Zeitlin expressed in Truth Finds You: Cindy Neuschwander, “Her life was an adventure – one of her charms as a human being was that she took risks and delighted in doing so.” She even approached ovarian cancer, including dying from it, as a creative process. Cindy started in photography but early on, she began exploring mixed media combining photography with distinctive sgraffito and mark making which was lively and provocative. This language became the foundation of her mature body of work – drawings and encaustic paintings. As Zeitlin described, “Intuitively she welcomed accident; she contrived only to set up a framework in which chance and accident could take the lead.” A heartfelt thanks to her husband and art dealer, Jay Barrows, who has made some of her remaining work available – drawings, paintings, mixed media, and photography. We cherish the rare opportunity to see her evolution in a single space. We hope you will too. It’s undeniable that Cindy was an important contributor to our art community but it’s the person, her spirit, her essence that offers the most enduring lessons. Show up with intention, joy and courage. Be quiet (very quiet), listen, honor intuition, collaborate with chance because loss is inevitable, and love never dies. I have profoundly grieved Cindy and it’s a privilege to make visible her compelling process – bold strokes and subtle marks – which is what life is made of. This world gives us experiences that we have the freedom to approach creatively – even grief, even death itself. “The body may fall, but the thread of love remains, woven into the very fabric of existence, binding the seen and the unseen in an unbroken circle.” *  – Angeline Robertson *Quote: @ vedicsoul1 via Substack

New at Boon. Boon and @_flying.geese_ were completely charmed by this lovely little appliqué quilt from 1887 with its category-defying deconstructed style and decidedly modern sensibility. The quilt’s unusual design blends ‘free-form appliqué’ and early style of Broderie Perse, cut chintz appliqué – which is typically more precise and representational in design. Using a simpler approach, the maker cut and arranged the motifs in an irreverent manner and meticulously appliquéd them on a densely stitched diamond grid. We would love to know why, or for whom, this piece was made! According to the MET, by the middle of the 19th century, quilts were an acknowledged art form and would be made to commemorate an event or relationship – so perhaps this was such a quilt. And, it’s from the collection of the late Joanna Semel Rose, renowned art patron, collector, and author, well known for her collection that was the basis for Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts, an exhibition from The American Folk Art Museum at Park Avenue Armory in New York City. 650 red and white American quilts, all of which were on loan from her collection, constituted the largest exhibition of quilts ever held in the city. We may never know the story of this little quilt but we’re inspired by its deconstructed and unconventional style and serious craft. An approach as relevant today as it was 138 years ago. — Feathers and Roses Quilt, c.1887 Framed in solid maple with linen backing and conservation glass.