Andrew Geller: Deconstructed

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"Written by Geller’s grandson, Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker Jake Gorst, Andrew Geller: Deconstructed explores an outstanding if undersung residential oeuvre that The New York Times called 'eccentrically free-form and eye-grabbing.' One Geller house in Westhampton Beach looked like a box kite precariously set on edge. Two neighboring residences on Fire Island resembled pieces of a puzzle, the peaked roofline of one being a perfect fit for the concave angled roof of the one next door. A curious construction in the Long Island hamlet of Sagaponack recalled a hybrid between a lighthouse and a Civil War–era submarine, while the main façade of another getaway in nearby Amagansett looked precisely like a stylized cat’s face."

"Over the course of a career that lasted more than 50 years, Geller—architect, artist, and designer—quietly produced a large and culturally significant body of work, and in the process he touched a multitude of lives through the environments that he dreamed up and the works that he created."

"In Andrew Geller: Deconstructed, Gorst, 45, a documentary film-maker and writer who also lives in Northport, offers both a guide to Geller's work over the span of generations and a personal portrait of a man though the use of colorful anecdotes that perhaps can only come from a family member."

"As readers, we feel like weekend guests at these sculptural summer homes built on the coasts of New England towns.... Jake Gorst’s tribute to his grandfather in Andrew Geller: Deconstructed is a passionate, thoughtful exploration of a very interesting man. Known as the 'architect of happiness,' Andrew Geller designed whimsical beach houses and gave them equally imaginative names: Butterfly, Milk Carton, Raspberry Basket, Grasshopper and Square Brassiere, to name a few."

"Architect and artist Andrew Geller, 'the architect of happiness,' is remembered for his unique, whimsical beach houses, including Pearlroth House, Elizabeth Reese House and the New York Hamptons Leisurama development. In Andrew Geller: Deconstructed, Geller's grandson Jake Gorst has compiled two decades of interviews and a treasure trove of personal artifacts, including photographs and henceforth unpublished drawings by Geller."

"From these sources and the interviews that he recorded over many years, Jake Gorst has lovingly produced a tribute to his grandfather. Andrew Geller: Deconstructed provides readers with a unique insight into the mind of an artist who over a fifty year career impacted the course of design and architecture. I received my copy yesterday and it is delightful, full of images never before published."

"Andrew Geller, famed architect and artist, is known for his whimsical, modern beach houses, such as Pearlroth House, Elizabeth Reese House, Esquire Weekend House, and the Leisurama development in New York’s Hamptons. In Andrew Geller: Deconstructed, Jake Gorst, Mr. Geller’s grandson, celebrates the life and work of his grandfather, often referred to as the 'architect of happiness.' "

T"his is a beautiful book about a mid-century modern architect whose wonderful designs expanded the concept of modernism.  It is loaded with personal photographs and illustrations. For Jake Gorst, the book is a beautiful personal tribute to a grandfather and, for the rest of us, a tribute to a stunning artist and architect. Beautifully done."

"A new book by the grandson of the famed architect and designer Andrew Geller, who lived in Northport for five decades, revisits the life of Geller and the history of his pivotal modernist work.... Andrew Geller: Deconstructed, by Jake Gorst, relives the circumstances and inspirations behind iconic designs that can be found in as close to home as Long Island and as far away as Israel."