International Style: At Home with LA’s Stealth Stylemakers

Whenever we need a dose of inspiration, we head to Matin, the under-the-radar LA private art gallery that’s also the creative workshop of owners Christina and Robert Odegard. The gallery represents a small group of artists, who make what they term “exceptionally handmade work.” That includes the furniture designs of architect John Pawson (Matin is the lone US representative) and artist/icon Donald Judd, as well as several European artists who work in porcelain. Not to mention Christina Odegard herself; a jewelry designer and sculptor (she and Robert met at RISD), who has recently produced a group of cast bronze lanterns, candlesticks, and lights that we’ve been admiring of late.

Above: A Matin Bell in painted bronze by Christina Odegard and vessels by Marie Torbensdatter Hermann, one of the artists in Matin’s roster. The private gallery works primarily with collectors, curators, architects, and interior designers; the couple’s small midcentury house in the Hollywood Hills doubles on occasion as their showroom, but the majority of their business is conducted online.

Above: The pierced Matin Bronze Lantern No. 2 in Smoke White (a candle fits under the base) with ceramic pieces by Matin artists Edmund de Waal, Robert Turner, and Rupert Spira. The etchings above the mantel are by Louise Bourgeois, one of Christina’s inspirational icons. 

Above: The Odegard’s have applied a spare, John Pawson aesthetic to their 1950s house. The living room is furnished with Dosa poufs, Donald Judd’s Walnut 9 chair, Edmund de Waal’s porcelain piece One Safety in the fireplace, a Spencer Fung chair, and Christina’s bronze bell and candlestick. 

Christina carves her bronzes out of wax, or, in the case of the candlestick, wood. They’re cast in Los Angeles in small open editions. Above L: Her Large Candlestick stands alongside her great grandmother’s chair, reupholstered in off white. Above R: The candlestick is 38 inches tall; $6,000 from Matin. “The forms take inspiration from antique bell shapes, Chinese lanterns, and organic references,” says Christina. “I come to a form mostly through the process, either carving the wax or wood, and allowing it to develop as I carve.”

Above L: Christina also makes her bell form as a wall light in painted cast bronze; $6,000. Above R: The Matin Bell is detailed with a bronze clapper strung on a woven leather cord with a hand-carved ebony heart, turquoise beads, and a carved buffalo horn pull; $8,000. 

Above: Christina first created Matin’s bronze lanterns for her garden, where they rest atop candles. “Their surface, when left untreated, will develop a patina over time that blends in with the surrounding nature as if camouflaged,” says Robert, who adds that they’re also available in a Waxed Black or Smoked White finish. All of Christina’s bronzes can be placed indoors or out.

Above L: Bronze Lantern No. 2, $3,800. Above R: Bronze Lanter No. 3, $3,800. Christina also makes a line of one-of-a-kind sculptural gold jewelry that you can see at Matin; a small Matin jewelry line is also sold at Chariots on Fire in Venice, California.

To see more, go to Matin, and send queries to [email protected]. Also don’t miss our posts on Matin’s John Pawson’s Tables and Kirsten Coelho’s Porcelain Renditions of Farmhouse Tinware.