Design: An Evolution of Style Continued

What inspires the legendary designer John Saladino

John-Saladino

Earlier this year I wrote an article on the evolution of style in which I asked a number of poignant questions which were looking for answers.  In my pursuit of information, I focused on those interior designers who, at the time of my becoming a designer myself, were influential to me as masters and mentors.

Some my peers came up in the ranks of these highly creative firms.  The real question is what did we learn from them, and how have we sustained these groundbreaking points of view into the present day.   Old rules were being broken and new dictates were championed.

saladino-inspired-9As I look at the current styles and trends being propagated in design I wonder where the next movement or aesthetic will rise from.  Does the new guard of designers have the same sense of poignancy in establishing a fresh ideology?

I would like to have us look again at the work of John Saladino.  He took an intellectual approach to how he constructed interiors.  Originally a fine art painter, he found himself isolated and in need of further stimulation.  Saladino never abandoned his artistry, but instead redirected his originality and creative efforts towards refining the three-dimensional cubes in which people live.

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John-Saladino-StyleBefore he became the go-to designer for his stylish manifestation of classical and historical periods, he established a reputation built on his knowledge of color and composition.  His expertise in the characteristic qualities of both natural and artificial light brought a special and unique signature to his early work.

I invite you to view an insightful interview that John Saladino gave to Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel in her series “Interior Design: The New Freedom” in 1981.  I continue to find substance and purpose in his philosophical doctrines on the artistry of interior design.  Each time I view his, like others in the series (to be showcased in future posts), I take away more inspiration and knowledge. They should be a requirement for all students of interior design to study.  Even I, who have a number of years accumulated in the field, have learned something with each viewing.

Written by Carl Lana