This Collecting Couple Lives with a Rotating Cast of Craft Masterpieces

ARTSY
By Casey Lesser
Portrait of Lou and Sandy Grotta outside their Richard Meier home. Photo by Tom Grotta. Courtesy of browngrotta arts.
Atop a hill in Morris County, New Jersey, there’s a bright-white modernist house that’s no ordinary living space. The Richard Meier–designed, sundial-shaped structure is a jewel box of ceramics, tapestries, basketry, wood carvings, and other handmade gems. Through floor-to-ceiling windows, exemplary works by esteemed artists and designers abound—from Viola Frey and Peter Voulkos to Françoise Grossen, Sheila Hicks, and Lenore Tawney. This the home of Lou and Sandy Grotta, who have been amassing a collection of modern craft masterworks for over six decades. In the evenings, after Sandy goes to bed, Lou tends to his objects. He’s always on the lookout for new ways to do justice to his wares.[More]
View of the Grottas’s dining room with works by Helena Hernmarck, Sheila Hicks, Mariette Rousseau-Vermette, Chief Don Lelooska, Richard Devore, Dorothy Gill Barnes, Gyöngy Laky, Campana Brothers, and more. Photo by Tom Grotta. Courtesy of browngrotta arts.
Installation view of works by Toshiko Takaezu. Photo by Tom Grotta. Courtesy of browngrotta arts.
View of the Grottas’s living room with works by Thomas Hucker, Sheila Hicks, Helena Hernmarck, Maija Grotell, Toshiko Takaezu, Wayne Higby, Kenneth Ferguson, John McQueen, and more. Photo by Tom Grotta. Courtesy of browngrotta arts.

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