Wendy Evans Joseph

“I like drawings and artworks made early in people's careers. They are slightly flawed, but that gives them a little more texture, nuance, and ultimately more meaning.”
Photo courtesy of Studio Joseph
Dinner Date: June 17, 2018
Location:
Written By:

This dinner with Wendy was a very special evening for me and will always be one of my favorites. I might be biased because I have had the creative pleasure of working for her at Studio Joseph, but I believe she is truly a great mentor. She is someone I admire and look up to for both her design work but also just the way she goes about life.  Wendy is a super fun person to be around, extremely fashionable, she likes to be fancy and she has a great energy about her. You can be sure to find her (and probably myself!) on the dance floor at any of the yearly New York Beaux Arts Balls wearing an amazing dress and having a great time. 

When we began organizing this dinner, Wendy insisted that she would cook for us. “New Yorkers don’t get enough home cooked meals!” she said, so she proposed her own menu:

“Thought I’d bbq a big steak….old school. 

Pasta with tomatoes and basil.

Huge Salad with lots of dill and other things.

Fancy cake for dessert.

Wine etc.”

A group of 12 guests ventured over to Park Avenue on a perfect summer evening in June. Wendy lives in the penthouse of the same building that her studio is in. It’s an vertically interesting home/office condition and she is always just an elevator ride away from her desk. 

Her home is jaw droppingly gorgeous. It’s the perfect setup for entertaining, pristinely arranged with incredible furniture, sculptures and art with windows that look out over the top of Manhattan.

Nearly every bit of reasonable wall space was adorned with art of the same caliber that you would find in the best New York galleries. Beautiful creations from the likes of Eve Klein, Mel Bochner, Philip Guston and Ellsworth Kelley visually welcomed our eyes as taste buds got comfortable with the martinis and chilled wines. 

dinner

We began the evening on the terrace. The wind was strong and the sun was beginning to set. Wendy’s husband tended to the dinner’s steak as guests mingled amid large abstract planters designed by Wendy’s friend, and the famous landscape extredionare, Ken Smith. 

As we headed back inside, Wendy began a tour of her art collection.

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—–Begin transcription—-

Wendy: “I collect art. I’m not some incredible collector but i’m, none-the-less.. I’m at it! For some reason there are a lot of black and white things, maybe that’s just my theme?”

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