Harmonizing Spaces with Axton-Giddings Art
At Sue Bickerdyke Interiors, we transform spaces by integrating the dynamic artistry of Axton-Giddings—where Mari Giddings' vibrant colors meet Joe Axton's dimensional creations. Their innovative use of materials and hues aren't just displayed; they breathe life into each room, influencing our designs down to the finest details.
We harmonize the essence of Axton-Giddings art across our interiors by translating the bold textures and colors into key elements like custom upholstery, plush pillows, and elegant window treatments. Their artwork serves not just as decor but as the soul of the space, guiding our design process to create rooms that resonate with their artistic vision.
Sue Bickerdyke Interiors crafts spaces where art and ambiance merge, ensuring the spirit of Axton-Giddings' work is experienced in every aspect of the room. It's more than design—it's a dialogue between art and life, creating an immersive environment that’s a testament to beauty and collaboration.
MARI GIDDINGS & JOE AXTON
“In our work together, we make dimensional paintings- mixing media, genre & technologies using metals, metallic paints, glass, wood, clay, ink, paper, oxidation & tarnish. Part of the challenge for us often involves taking inherently unstable, “accidental” materials- such as gold tarnish- and making them stable, archival & purposeful. Consequently, our work studies change, emphemerality, the nature of collaboration, the interplay of male and female, and the elements of perception.”
For the initial ten years of their marriage, Mari & Joe Giddings-Axton maintained separate studios & signatures. Their son, David (1998), was their first officially collaborative work. Mari studied painting with Meryl Mahaffey before finishing her degree under master printers Wayne Kimball and Dan Britton at Arizona State University’s world-renowned printmaking program. After graduation, she served a three-year apprenticeship with painter-printmaker Robert A. Devoe, who, she says, “taught me, finally, that art could simply be about beauty.” She adds, “I see myself primarily as a colorist, in the tradition of Matisse, Bennard, Turner, and Rothko.”
Joe began his art career as a scene designer and stage painter, bringing, he feels, three-dimensionality and theatricality to the Giddings-Axton collaboration. “Plus,” he says, “a sense of audience and purpose that a classical art education often forgets.” Joe studied at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz & Northern Arizona University, and did his doctoral work in art theory at the City University of New York.
Giddings-Axton artworks can be found in numerous private & corporate collections, including ASU Permanent Collections, Target Corporate Collection, Southwest Airlines Corporate Collection, & the Disneyland Hotel. They are represented by galleries in Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
