Objets above Douglas Coupland's hallway. Photo by Martin Tessler

Douglas Coupland channels Damien Hirst

The Canadian writer's second career as an artist is revealed in these photos of his second home and studio

Though he is best known as a novelist, Douglas Coupland originally trained as a sculptor and designer, and has been quietly building a second career in this area, exhibiting works since 2000. In March he exhibited at the Armory Show in New York, and he's just finished work on a public sculpture in Ottawa commemorating Canadian fire fighters. He is represented by Vancouver's Monte Clarke gallery, also home to Alison Yipp, Derek Root and Graham Gillmore.

 

Coupland builds Lego around one of his second home's pillars. Photo by Martin Tessler
Coupland builds Lego around one of his second home's pillars. Photo by Martin Tessler

When Vancouver-based architectural photographer Martin Tessler visited Coupland's second home, a mid-century detached house directly in front of the author's primary residence, he found Coupland had channeled Damien Hirst's dot-painting-and-pill-cabinet aesthetic, with a wall thread spools and a display case of dice. The house also sports original artworks by Roy Lichtenstein.

 

A Mousetrap game serves as a ready-made sculpture. Photo by Martin Tessler
A Mousetrap game serves as a ready-made sculpture. Photo by Martin Tessler

The house is a renovated mid-century property sitting directly in front of his other residence. You view the full series of photos on the NY Times site here. See how many mid-century design classics you can spot. Feel free to use Phaidon Design Classics as a reference. 

 

These thread reels were inspired by Damien Hirst's dot paintings. Photo by Martin Tessler
These thread reels were inspired by Damien Hirst's dot paintings. Photo by Martin Tessler