Murals return with a fresh new look
The home mural is back. Artists are reinventing the decorative look for a new age, with fresh interpretations of classic motifs and techniques. William Sofield, an interior designer who oversees the look of Guccis retail spaces, hired Nancy Lorenz to create works for his home, including the gold leaf and mother-of-pearl piece gleaming above the living room fireplace. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
A close-up look at Lorenz living room mural. I love the sensation of walking along a really large painting, says the artist, who also created a 60-foot wall piece for the Beverly Hilton hotel. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
A lacquered mother-of-pearl ceiling panel by Lorenz highlights Sofields dining room. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
Figurative artist Matthew Benedict created evocative interpretations of vintage Americana on ceilings, doors and walls in Sofields home. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
Benedicts murals are a nod to the houses Hollywood pedigree. Once owned by Douglas Fairbanks, it was the site of United Artists inception. We deliberately set out to evoke that era without trying to copy it, says Sofield, the current owner. (Mel Melcon / LAT)
Denise and Chris Modrzejewski stand in front of a pastoral landscape painted on the dining room wall of their Pasadena home. (Béatrice de Géa / LAT)
Laura, left, and Cristina Capitanio created the countryside mural on the Modrzejewskis walls. The two are sisters and business partners; their company, Sorelle Fine Arts, specializes in custom art in the style of their native Italy. (Béatrice de Géa / LAT)
The mural of rolling hills and villas adds another dimension to the Modrzejewskis dining room. (Béatrice de Géa / LAT)
A classic fresco by Claudio Sgaravizzi punctuates the ceiling of the library in a San Marino home. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)
A closer look at Sgaravizzis frescoes reveals a world of detail he likes to make use of allegorical elements. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)
Another detail from Sgaravizzis library fresco. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / LAT)
Several more frescoes by Sgaravizzi adorn the San Marino homes dining room walls. When you do a fresco, you transform a room, the artist says. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)
I try to make frescoes that you can keep looking at and finding new things all the time, says Claudio Sgaravizzi, standing in front of his work. That is the real meaning of a fresco. Its not some special effect or a copy of a photograph. Its much deeper than that. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)
A flowering quince tree painted by Jeff Robinson in the living room of Kate Schintzis is a mod take on the mural. Molly Luetkemeyer, who commissioned the work, calls such murals incredibly energizing. (Robert Lachman / LAT)