Andrew Geller: Deconstructed: Artist and Architect

by Jake Gorst, Alan Hess (Foreword by), John Hall (Photographer)

Overview

Over the course of a career that lasted more than fifty years, Andrew Geller—architect, artist, and designer—quietly produced a large and culturally significant body of work, leaving an invaluable mark in his field. Geller's impact was first felt in the heady post-World War II years he spent at the Raymond Loewy design firm, where one highlight amongst many was his improvisational and free-handed influence on the Lord & Taylor brand. He is undoubtedly most well-known, though, for his architecture, and his stunning modernist beach houses in particular, houses that still grace our shores and which, not unlike Andrew Geller himself, were innovative, unconventional, and saturated with a delight for beauty and form.

In Andrew Geller: Deconstructed, Jake Gorst celebrates the life and work of his grandfather, bringing together two-decades worth of interviews, both formal and informal, as well as many artifacts and treasures culled from Geller's vast personal collection of drawings and photographs. Included within are stories and images not only of his now famous beach houses, but also of the many lesser-known buildings and early artworks, making this the definitive volume on this architectural icon. Gorst's intent in writing this volume - to share this wealth of information and provide an intimate glimpse into the inner workings of an artist—is here fully actualized, rendering a vivid portrait of a man whose main drive in life was to create beauty whatever he did.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780990380894
Publisher:	Glitterati, Inc.
Publication date:	04/15/2015
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 10.70(h) x 1.00(d)

Editorial Reviews

In Andrew Geller: Deconstructed, author Jake Gorst, who also happens to be Geller's grandson, shares the stories behind many magnificent houses and the artist who created them. As readers, we feel like weekend guests at these sculptural summer homes built on the coasts of New England towns.

March 10, 2015 - Gwendolyn Horton

Beautiful, beautiful book about midcentury modern architect and artist Andrew Geller, famous for his small-scale, geometric Long Island beach houses, for the innovative, egalitarian Leisurama homes, for designing the Sokolniki Park kitchen in which Khrushchev and Nixon had their famous debate, and much, much more. An important book for fans of real-life "Mad Men"-era design; a tribute to an under- appreciated and dauntingly talented, accomplished man.

The Philadelphia Inquirer - Steven Rea

From these sources and the interviews that he recorded over many years, Jake Gorst has lovingly produced a tribute to his grandfather. Andrew Geller: Deconstructed provides readers with a unique insight into the mind of an artist who over a fifty year career impacted the course of design and architecture. I received my copy yesterday and it is delightful, full of images never before published.

2015 March 24

This is a beautiful book about a mid-century modern architect whose wonderful designs expanded the concept of modernism. It is loaded with personal photographs and illustrations. For Jake Gorst, the book is a beautiful personal tribute to a grandfather and, for the rest of us, a tribute to a stunning artist and architect. Beautifully done.

Apogee Photo Magazine, August 2015 - Noella Ballenger

In Andrew Geller: Deconstructed, Gorst, 45, a documentary film-maker and writer who also lives in Northport, offers both a guide to Geller's work over the span of generations and a personal portrait of a man though the use of colorful anecdotes that perhaps can only come from a family member.

Newsday, March 6, 2015 - Carl Corry

Written by Geller's grandson, the book mines family archives to present a rich visual biography of a complex and gifted man whose fascinating, quirky designs expanded the concept of modernism.

May 2015 Elle Decor

During the course of writing the manuscript, previously unknown archival materials were discovered in crawl spaces and other hiding places in the house that he lived in for nearly sixty years. Prior misconceptions were enlightened and clarified. Even previously unknown Andrew Geller buildings were discovered. The finished book, Andrew Geller: Deconstructed, provides an intimate glimpse into my grandfather’s life and a deeper understanding of his work.

Modern Magazine, Summer 2015 - Jake Gorst

I am fascinated with the idea of these very light, buoyant houses that were designed at the beach for the purpose of enjoying the beach. The Geller houses were about a lifestyle and having fun. The families fell in love with them and couldn't part with them, and they saved them because people care about the things they love.

Rick Cook

Architect and artist Andrew Geller, “the architect of happiness,” is remembered for his unique, whimsical beach houses, including Pearlroth House, Elizabeth Reese House and the New York Hamptons Leisurama development. In Andrew Geller: Deconstructed (Glitterati Incorporated), Geller's grandson Jake Gorst has compiled two decades of interviews and a treasure trove of personal artifacts, including photographs and henceforth unpublished drawings by Geller.

2015 March 13

This appealing biography captures the essence of a gifted and distinctive American architect. Jake Gorst conveys Geller's winsome and distinctive spirit as a designer, grounding the evolution of his talents in a personal saga of friends, family, artistic vision and a larger cultural history of the post-WWII era. The photographs, drawings and the text are a delight—and sometimes even a revelation.

Gwendolyn Wright

Written by Geller’s grandson, Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker Jake Gorst, Andrew Geller: Deconstructed explores an outstanding if undersung residential oeuvre that The New York Times called “eccentrically free-form and eye-grabbing.” One Geller house in Westhampton Beach looked like a box kite precariously set on edge. Two neighboring residences on Fire Island resembled pieces of a puzzle, the peaked roofline of one being a perfect fit for the concave angled roof of the one next door. A curious construction in the Long Island hamlet of Sagaponack recalled a hybrid between a lighthouse and a Civil War–era submarine, while the main façade of another getaway in nearby Amagansett looked precisely like a stylized cat’s face.

Architectural Digest, March 17, 2015 - Mitchell Owens