Artist’s works light up Netflix series
Virginia Woolf isn’t the only one who knows the value of having a room of one’s own. On Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, free-spirited Frankie (Lily Tomlin) carves out creative solace in the living Pottery Barn ad that is her pal Grace’s (Jane Fonda) beach house.
While she has a meditation room outfitted with Indonesian art, floor pillows and incense, Frankie’s art studio is where her paintings become pure expressions of herself. Production designer Devorah Herbert tells Architectural Digest that the art featured on the show is the handiwork of Chicago-based artist Nancy Rosen.
“It’s one of the most personal elements on the show,” she says. “We didn’t go to a prop house — we had it all commissioned. It’s all so specific, and being able to handcraft each item every time Frankie has a new piece of artwork or an art show, that is really fun.”
Tomlin reveals that Rosen’s paintings — full of sharp angles, vibrant colours and expressive faces — help her dive into her character. One notable era in Frankie’s artistic career saw her focused on solely painting representations of vaginas. “Nancy is who Frankie is in terms of her maternal instinct (and) her passion for her work, her family,” Tomlin says. “When I sit in a scene studying a painting, I think, ‘When did I paint this?’ It’s a memory I’ve forgotten, but it’s just as it should be. It’s just what I intended.”