"To make Ink, his “modern L.A. restaurant,” a reality, Voltaggio found a friend and business partner in world-class art collector and former CAA co-founder and Disney president Michael Ovitz. In particular, they were interested that the interior’s aesthetic—now comfortably saturated with graphite tones and exposed woods—wouldn’t obscure the pieces on the walls: a print by Chuck Close, charcoal by Tilo Baumgartel and a one-of-a-kind knife stencil by Matthew Brannon, among others. “Michael put together a catalog and handed it to me and said, ‘Choose whatever you want.’”
About some of the artists on display:
Charles Thomas "Chuck" Close is an American painter and photographer who achieved fame as a photorealist, through his massive-scale portraits. Though a catastrophic spinal artery collapse in 1988 left him severely paralyzed, he has continued to paint and produce work that remains sought after by museums and collectors.
Tilo Baumgartel is part of a group of young German painters based in Leipzig, along with Matthias Weischer, Christoph Ruckhaberle and others. The common trait of the group is their production of large figurative oil paintings. His paintings derive from social realist works and propaganda posters in their draughtsmanship and dramatic use of shadow.
Matthew Brannon is a painter based in New York City. His work has been exhibited at galleries and museums including Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and the Badischer Kunstverein in Germany, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, PS1 Contemporary Art Center in New York, The Royal Academy in London, and MAK in Vienna. He is represented by David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles.
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Went to ink! Michael Ovitz paintings are great. Great restaurant - voltaggio is better than the hype. Had to wait a bit even with reservation - a pet peve of mine - nevertheless was seated within 15 so can't complain too much. Haven't tried ink.sack yet - wish the sandwiches were bigger!
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