Kelly Gale Amen: Functional, Philosophical Interior Design
Monday, November 01 2010 by Sergio Santos ( urbancitylifetv.com )
Locally based interior and functional art furniture designer, Kelly Gale Amen, has just finished what he dubs, “the most bizarre project of the 21st century.” “I gave up what I would consider the greatest environment in Houston, the Compound, and did a condo,” says Amen. The compound was a living, gorgeous, breathing, environment that took up three times the land that his current condo, the Staircase, does. The seemingly rash move, however, is merely a case of art imitating life.
As Amen sits talking to me in the Staircase, he explains how the space wound up being, “one of the most interesting vertical cubic spaces, because I left all the walls out and added three extra bathrooms. So it fits form for the senior citizen, the aging and multidimensional person.” Functionality is key to Amen’s work. The Compound, for all its beauty, became less functional to Amen at some point. In this context, the emergence of the Staircase begins to make perfect sense from an artistic, evolutionary standpoint.
The always quotable Amen recounts, “When I was a child, I thought I would be a pharmacist and then I realized that drugs were too difficult for me to control for myself, much less anyone else. So I realized that I wanted to work in three-dimensional space, not even knowing what interior designers did.” That Amen figured out what interior designers did at some point is obvious as I walk around the Staircase and find thoughtful detail in every corner that I turn.
Whereas most condos can feel a bit confining, the Staircase is a vertical breath of free, open space, flooded with light and visually stunning scenery floor to floor. The winding staircase (for which the space is aptly named) spirals up to the fourth story that leads to a balcony with an immaculate view of downtown Houston. The Staircase is a living entity—like the Compound—but definitely its own, unique being.
Another component of Amen’s work is his functional art furniture. “In the early 90s I became less inspired with that as a complete composite of my work and then I switched adding functional art furniture,” explains Amen. Most visible locally, are pieces by Amen at places like Eleanor Tinsley Park and the Museum of Natural Science. Amen enjoys driving down Allen Parkway and seeing people make use of the benches: “people laying on it, eating on it, sitting on it, exercising on the benches. It’s life meeting, life meeting, long term.” This type of fluidity and energy are characteristics that truly define Amen’s work.
One of Amen’s most interesting viewpoints regarding usability and functionality is in regards to commemoration. “Everybody has someone they would like to honor. The easiest way is to give money, but the most effective way—I think—is to embrace our environment by honoring someone with a sustainable, functional art piece as in a bench, a chair a planter, something that is useable that is long term . . . we do a tombstone, but it has no function other than it sits on the ground. To have a chair where you can sit and meditate and be closer to the experience, I think is much more sensible to me.” The amount of thought the Houston-based designer puts into every facet of his work can sometimes be taken for granted, as his work is as usable as it is beautiful.
Spanning four decades, Amen’s career is expansive. The demolition of the Compound, although a significant point in that span, is a step towards the future. Amen is excited about the many projects he is currently working on locally, as well as others in places like Santa Fe and Atlanta to name a few as we converse in his new headquarters. Like the Staircase’s spiraling flights of stairs, the future of Amen’s projects will undoubtedly reach magnificent heights.
Photos by Sergio Santos
