A wall is an interesting concept. It provides function, yes, obviously, but outside of its protective role as a barrier to the dangers of the world, it serves the high purpose of acting canvas. We often bare our person in our homes, nailing sentiment and soul into plaster and drywall and wood. I have been privileged enough to witness some truly spectacular examples of the human nest, both the carefully-sculpted and contrived as well as the most raw and vulnerable (and unassuming at first glance). Such an odd marriage indeed between human and habitat.
For homeowners Leonard and Adele Leight, the canvas of the home has taken on an entirely new level – a place of living that has transformed into a living museum, housing both the family and an art collection of national acclaim. Join the Leights and their collaborators for an event showcasing the house with the new book The Leight House: The Home and Collections of Leonard and Adele Leight. Photographer Ted Wathen and author Peter Morrin will accompany the Leights at Carmichael’s Bookstore this Friday, September 28th for a special signing at 7pm.
Built in 1968, the modern-minded house of Leonard and Adele Leight is already a stunning example of architecture as art. But the wooded backdrop and sharp exterior of the Leight home is only half the story of this unique place. Art collectors for decades, the Leight’s have amassed one of the foremost collections of studio art glass in the United States, a display of beauty and craftsmanship that has become completely integrated into their home and lives. Situated in a seamless arrangement with the Leight’s additional ceramics and furniture collections, the art glass has transformed the home into a living museum with virtually everything in the house a collector’s piece.
Documenting the Leight’s home with a stunning array of Ted Wathen’s photographs, The Leight House: The Home and Collection of Leonard and Adele Leight also tells the story of how the collection formed within their family, as author Peter Morrin chronicles the life and history of everyday living with art. The quartet will be in attendance at the Carmichael’s Frankfort Avenue store this Friday for a special signing of the new book. Copies of The Leight House are on currently on sale at both locations in paperback for $29.95.
How loudly do your walls speak of you? Subtle or screaming, the habitat place is one that showcases life, both internal and external. Share the world of the Leights and stop by Carmichael’s for a chance to see how a life lived in art can shape both a space and a family.
Carmichael’s Bookstore has two area locations: 1295 Bardstown Road and 2027 Frankfort Avenue. For more information, visit the event page or call the Frankfort Avenue store at (502) 896-6950.
Image: Courtesy of Carmichael’s Bookstore website www.carmichaelsbookstore.com
