In Good Company: Juan Montoya
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Photograph of Juan Montoya by Walter Briski
I am sitting in an upstate New York flagstone dining room off a country kitchen, where the remains of a Swedish Meatball al fresco lunch is cleared to make room for the preparations of a fish soup dinner . I am the weekend guest of Juan Montoya, an iconoclastic AD 100 Interior Designer, and honored as a Dean of American Design by Architectural Digest in 2005, who garners the respect of many, myself included. His work is seen in homes in the Dominican Republic, Paris and locally at the venerable Time Warner Center.
Juan lives and breathes the visual world, and is an inveterate curator of pattern, texture and color. Having command of five languages, it is a natural that Scandinavia, Japan, and the Americas are deeply rooted in his aesthetic. Many may not know, but Juan is very disciplined, very structured in how he goes about his day and this is reflected in his gracious and charmed, yet hardworking life.
I have walked the narrow streets of Paris, visiting galleries where his well-trained eye selects pieces, which will become part of his showcase homes. Many of the finest furniture dealers and art salons of Paris call him his friend, past and current clients call him his friend, and I am honored also to call Juan my friend. During an afternoon of looking through auction catalogs, shelter magazine and artists monographs, here are a few questions I asked Juan during our respite at the table.
D: What has been the biggest thrill in your life?
JM: Flying a balloon in Hawaii.
D: Who is the most stylist woman you have met?
JM: Tina Chow
D: When is a critical moment in a designer’s life?
JM: (Laughing) When the client does not pay the bills.
D: What is your Favorite sandwich?
JM: Roast Beef, on white toast with a little mustard, tomato and thinly sliced onion.
D: What do you believe in for your life?
JM: Positive thinking, going forward and not backward. I believe in the present. I believe in loving yourself, it is better than anything else.
D: What direction are you heading towards in your work?
JM: I want to continue to produce a body of work that brings a sense of clarity and balance, which ultimately brings happiness to my life.
D: Favorite Charity?
JM: Aid for Aids
Juan Montoya’s Paris Apartment in the 6th Arrondissement
Photography by Eric Laignel
Juan Montoya’s Paris Apartment in the 6th Arrondissement
Photography by Eric Laignel
Kips Bay Showhouse 2010
Photography by Eric Piasecki
Juan’s new Monograph
by The Monacelli Press.
Available now, this monograph presents published and unpublished commissions.
To see an Architectural Digest video interview of Juan in his New York pied-à-terre
and hear his wonderful accent, go here.