The BIG night had finally arrived where Gardner was able to showcase his talent, creativity and love for art.

Back in August, I convinced him that it would be fun to submit a portfolio. It was for a competition called Artist v Architect. A panel of judges selected 12 artists and 12 architects for the battle of the best. Each person was to submit one piece of their own and then they were matched up with another to create a collaborative piece.

When I read the rules for submission, I realized we had no portfolio of Gardner’s work but it is showcased throughout our house. So the day before the deadline, I grabbed our tripod and moved around the house photographing every piece. You may wonder…well where was Gardner? Well…..as most people could guess, he was spending another weekend day at the office in his workstation, eyes glued to the computer.

That is were our teamwork and respect for each other comes in to play. We both fully understand the time that is needed to complete project deadlines so I knew I had to do the work if we were going to make the submission deadline while Gardner worked hard on his architectural deadlines in the office. So I rapidly photographed all the art around our house, sat at my computer for a few hours of photoshop editing and then compiled it all into a thoughtful, simple, but comprehensive portfolio that I had to email the next day.

Although Gardner has a degree in Architecture, he has had a lifetime of passion for art and started painting at a young age alongside of his father and uncle who both saw an abundant world filled with a creative foundation.

Gardner’s work incorporates a mix media of paint and collage. He was first inspired by Robert Diebenkorn, Franz Klein and Mark Rothko, all of which were masterful colorists and gifted contemporaries of composition form. Throughout his architectural studies in North Carolina and Italy, he became fascinated with objects and scales where his art style shifted to collage masters. While living in Charlotte, North Carolina during the 90’s, Gardner was able to watch the downtown infrastructure undergo change which in turn added alot of demolition. This led him upon an opportunity to repurpose a bit of history through the reuse of existing structural components such as aluminum, steel and concrete. The natural patina and the aged materials encouraged him to refocus his art palette.

The day had finally arrived……and it was SOOO exciting to finally install Gardner’s individual piece at One Arts Plaza for all to see.

Each piece is so different from the next as his found pieces are unique, while never having muliples of the same structural components or artifacts. Which is why Gardner was having a hard time parting with his piece the night of the event!

Below are both pieces that Gardner created…..the first being his individual piece which was a collage of work measuring 36″x48″ —                                                                               Grove Park No.22

The second is the collaboration piece which was done in conjuction with his artist partner, Riley Holloway. Gardner’s part was a mix of metal, steel, and KnollTextiles wallcovering memos.

For all the artwork shown was up for either a live or silent auction so there were opportunities to bid on various pieces of work and 100% of all the proceeds went to the organization, Family Compass. Last nights event brought in over $10000 from the auction bids on top of all the ticket sales.

It was such a great night to watch Gardner in his artist element surrounded by several great friends and colleagues who attended in support. So thankful for all those that were there and many others that we know couldn’t join us that night but I know are 100% behind the vision and artist talents of Gardner.

At the end of the evening, Gardner was selected as Favorite Architect while a Favorite Artist was also selected. Then they asked the crowd….who’s your favorite — Artist OR Architect?! Sure enough…Gardner won the event as Favorite Architect Artist. We don’t have all the details yet, but this win has given him the opportunity to create a full collection of work which will be on display in the OmniHotel next summer. The best part is it will all be FOR SALE. So to all our friends and family who want a Gardner Vass piece….stay tuned for more details.

Below is Gardner with his trophy….he was in shock but very excited at the same time. I have no doubt that his show this summer will be nothing short of phenomenal.

Below is the piece that Gardner hung in our family room. It was a test to see how it looked. Gardner loved what it added to our room and he decided he wanted to bid on his own art the night of the event. After several people made their bids the night of the event, Gardner swept in at the last minute to take the high bid. We will bring it home in a few days for a permanent installation for all our friends and family to see that weren’t able to be at the event.

I can’t say I disagreed….I was secretly hoping we could afford to bid on it as well. Plus we were more than excited to know our $$ would be going to the organization, Family Compass (www.family-compass.org). Family Compass works hard to build healthy families and a strong Dallas community by preventing child abuse and neglect. A mission we fill so strongly towards.

Thanks again to all our friends and family who continue to support our passion for design, architecture + art. We feel so blessed.