Museum Director's Home Is Her Personal Museum

As director of the Museum of Arts and Design, Holly Hotchner is never far from its collection of contemporary art and crafts. At her home on the Upper East Side, she has achieved a similar atmosphere, filling the apartment with an eclectic mix of art, crafts, and jewelry that reflects her profession, her personal taste, and her sense of humor.

Almost every surface of the two-bedroom co-op she shares with her husband, Franklin Silverstone, and their Brussels Griffon dog, Lulu, is adorned with art. Although Ms. Hotchner's collection of contemporary paintings, photos, sculptures, and crafts is extensive, her minimalist aesthetic and desire for "a completely Zen-like feel" reign.

Born and bred in New York City, Ms. Hotchner, 56, has lived in virtually every neighborhood in Manhattan. About 20 years ago, she stopped moving and settled down on a quaint, tree-lined block with rows of well-maintained pre-war buildings on East 73rd Street, between Second and Third avenues. "The apartments were originally lived in by the mistresses of rich Fifth Avenue men," she said. Since the women were often taken out to eat by their wealthy paramours, kitchens were kept small, leaving the majority of the space for bedrooms and entertaining. Ms. Hotchner has taken advantage of the space for displaying art.

In the apartment's entranceway, the works of old masters, such as Jean-Francois Millet, and contemporary artists, such as Carroll Dunham, hang side-by-side.

An open living room and dining room area is accented with touches of red (including a large, dark red couch). "Red and black are my two colors," the auburn-haired Ms. Hotchner said. A gouache painting of a soccer ball by Cuban artist Alex Arrechea, titled "Red Line," and a post-Hurricane Katrina photo by Canadian-born artist Robert Polidori are focal points, hanging above the couch and dining room table, respectively.

The living room shelves are lined with contemporary ceramics from all over the world. One wall is dedicated to a collection of Native American miniatures made from a variety of materials, including silver, stone, ceramic, and horsehair. Ms. Hotchner said she is drawn to these one-of-a-kind pieces made on such a tiny scale, and that they are some of her favorites. "It's the virtuosity that I find interesting. They are extremely difficult to make," she said, adding: "What better thing to collect in a small New York City apartment?"

The apartment's second bedroom, used as an office and den, features some of the more avant-garde pieces belonging to Mr. Silverstone, who opened the North American arm of the London-based auction house Phillips and once owned a ceramics gallery in Montreal. He is now an art consultant and creator of an art cataloging software called Collectify.

Mr. Silverstone's taste is in direct contrast to Ms. Hotchner's minimalist sensibilities, with a penchant for what she describes as "funk ceramics." Take, for example, a ceramic sculpture of a biker wearing only a leather jacket, a helmet, and a pair of sunglasses; or a ceramic hanging sculpture of a portly opera diva. Some of Mr. Silverstone's objects have made it into the city apartment, but most have found a permanent home in the couple's Easton, Conn., country house.

Even the guest bathroom has its own artistic masterpiece: A Japanese raku-fired ceramic water hog head hangs above the toilet.

In Ms. Hotchner's apartment, serious and amusing pieces co-exist. Not 15 feet from a photo showing the wreckage following Hurricane Katrina stands a Richard Ford, Jr. multicolor chest of drawers that could double as a character on "Blue's Clues," and that complements a colorful Roy Lichtenstein print hanging nearby. "I thought the chest was fun; it's definitely a conversation starter."

While her collection includes some of the biggest names in contemporary art — Cindy Sherman and Mr. Lichtenstein, for example — burgeoning artists claim a great deal of space. Many of the pieces on display are the work of artists whom Ms. Hotchner has met through the museum, almost all of whom are working today. Crafts done by potter Warren MacKenzie, photos by William Eggleston and Adam Bartos, and glass art by Beth Lipman are featured in her collection.

A self-proclaimed Japanophile, Ms. Hotchner travels all over the world. For her, souvenirs take the form of pieces of art, including ceramics, vessels, and baskets from Japan (some of which she describes as "functional and affordable," others as decorative), as well as chandeliers and lights from Murano, Italy. While abroad, she'll often meet with the artists before she buys their pieces.

Much of her art and furniture comes from art fairs or auctions. A common theme is the "find" factor, stemming from Ms. Hotchner's ability to recognize the fabulous.

A personal flair for style is perhaps most evident in her modern jewelry collection. "I always loved antique jewelry, but the museum introduced me to the world of Contemporary jewelry," Ms. Hotchner said. Her closet drawers are filled with one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art made from paper, sequins, bone, beads, rubber and, in the case of one particular necklace, metal-rimmed paper discs. She becomes a living, breathing piece of art, her hands, fingers, neck, and ears adorned with these pieces.

Ms. Hotchner unabashedly admits to her taste for one of the world's most collected items: snow globes. Her glass orbs, like almost everything she owns, are truly artistic. One is made by the duo of Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz, who specialize in globes depicting cataclysmic events. "I may just have found the only living artists working in the snow globe mode," she said with a laugh.