“Roger Thomas: A Perfected World” Merges Interior Design, Signature Furniture and Gestural Drawings into Integrated Artistic Environment

Unique Installation Offers Glimpse into the Sketchbooks of Renowned Hospitality Designer; Runs April 16 through June 30 at Heather James Fine Art in Palm Desert, CA

(I-Newswire) March 31, 2010 - World renowned hospitality designer Roger Thomas will create an “integrated artistic experience” showcasing his many talents at Heather James Fine Art in Palm Desert, California. “Roger Thomas: A Perfected World” will open on April 16 and run through June 30, 2010.

“In my ‘perfect world,’ design and art are the same,” says Thomas, who as executive vice president of Wynn Design and Development has created large-scale, award-winning environments for Steve Wynn’s destination resorts such as the Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Encore. In 2007 and again this year, Thomas was selected for Architectural Digest’s AD 100 list of top designers, and in 2008 Interior Design Magazine named him “Designer of the Year.”

For this exclusive exhibition, Thomas is returning to his roots as a classically trained artist while keeping his primary expression in the decorative arts. The fact that Thomas is opening up his legendary sketchbooks to the public for the first time is of utmost importance to Chip Tom, principal and art curator at Heather James Fine Art. “During his travels and everyday life he creates the most exquisite drawings that often become the inspirations of his design work,” says Tom.
“These on-site drawings are so much the tradition of classical painters. In many ways, I feel Roger creates his designs as a painter applies oil to his canvas.”

Thomas is bringing into play his existing signature collection of furniture, including several items that were used in Architectural Digest’s 82nd Academy Awards Green Room at this year’s Oscars ceremony, as well as new, custom-made pieces - all covered in muslin to provide a blank slate for his “gestural drawings.” Other elements to be used in the installation include limited editions of chandeliers, hand-knotted Tibetan rugs, Peking glass vases and rare silk embroideries of never-before-seen drawings.

All the upholstered items will have hand-drawings done by Thomas alone, each unique, signed, and numbered. These drawings will masterfully extend from the furniture to the wall surfaces, fixtures and gallery floor, transforming the entire space into one large canvas for Thomas’ vision. Framed drawings on handmade paper of fragments of wall elements also will integrate with the furniture to illustrate, in Thomas’ words, “the perfect environment.”

Thomas acknowledges his “long-standing love” of 18th Century French furniture and design. “The drawings aren’t exact replicas [of 18th Century French designs] but memories of them,” says Thomas. “Designing an entire environment like this is a statement about what I treasure, what I value in art.” Thomas adds: “Art is the world of remembering, interpretation and expression. My job is to create extraordinary memories and experiences.”

Tom has high hopes for the exhibition, the first of its kind for Thomas: “My aspirations for the show are that the viewers experience Roger’s work as an entire art installation with historical art references and many layers of meaning.” The installation is a must-see for a brief period of time, as Thomas’ art will cease to exist at the close of the show.

Heather James Fine Art is located at 45188 Portola Avenue, Palm Desert, CA 92260. For more information about the Heather James galleries and the Roger Thomas exhibition, visit our website or call Emily at 760.346.8926.