The Artful Home: Ann Sophie Staerk

I was catching up on (i.e., mostly fast-forwarding through) my Tivoed design shows this weekend when I came across the diminutive New York City loft below on HGTV's Small Space, Big Style. Designed by architect Leonardo Annecca, the loft functions as both an apartment for Annecca and his family and a work-and-exhibit space.

The thing that grabbed my attention, though, wasn't so much the spare, neon-lit space itself -- but the vibrant artwork on the walls, done by Annecca's wife, Ann Sophie Staerk.

Hailing from Denmark and trained at the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen and the Chelsea School of Art in London, Staerk creates images that have been described as having a "sand art innocence." Other pieces (like Flowerblow, top) feature a kaliedescopic pop sensibility, and still others have an organic dreaminess that bridges abstract and figural work (such as Aquatic Interior, below).

Many of Staerk's paintings start as digital snapshots of city interiors and exteriors, which she projects onto large canvases. Boiling the images down to their essential forms by tracing the outlines of her original subjects, she then fills them in with bold blocks of color, transforming recognizable urban spaces such as shops and houses into almost-abstract landscapes.

A look at a few of Staerk's pieces:

Am I a Freedom Junkie?

Glam Rock

Deardeer

By the River

Waves of My Denmark

Lollipop

Crane II

Hair Blow II

Staerk exhibits in Copenhagen (where she has a group show starting September 7) and New York, and prices for her paintings seem to start at about $1,200.

That's a bit rich for my blood, but I'd love to get my hands on some prints of Staerk's work. I'll be sure to keep you posted if I find any.