Christopher at home

By: Damian Rogers Belitsky

Photography: David Waldman

“I’VE NEVER MET an animal print I didn’t like,” purrs artist, fashion designer and — most recently — hiphop impresario Christopher Estridge as he lounges amongst zebra throw pillows in his penthouse apartment atop a landmark building in Yorkville. He and his husband, John Bailey, a former President of Famous Players and current trustee of Alliance Atlantis, have been living in these light-drenched rooms-with-a-view since moving to Toronto in 1992.

Estridge’s natural wild side is evident throughout the couple’s home, which is jam-packed with an ever-changing arrangement of paintings, sculptures, objets d’art and curios; every corner holds a surprise and every piece comes with a story.

There’s the peace pipe that they picked up on a trip to Vancouver Island hanging near the Warhol they’ve had for years, which is hanging near a couple Estridge originals that the artist finished painting earlier in the week. As we talk, he touches up the shuttered kitchen doors that he has covered with dismantled picture frames and painted all black — it’s his homage to American sculptor Louise Nevelson.

Art is everywhere — even the kitchen and the bathrooms have work by big names like photographer Wee Gee and graffiti artist Keith Haring — but this is hardly a stuffy museum or showroom. Guests are encouraged to interact with the environment by running a hand over the cool organic surface of a ceramic work by Gisela Wittenberg (who shows at Trias Gallery in Toronto, which also represents Estridge) or opening a box by American artist Barton Benes (who Estridge collects).

The overall effect is one of movement, play and engaged creative energy. Inspired by their time in Los Angeles, where he and Bailey lived before moving to Toronto, New York–native Estridge has kept the furniture and carpet in shades of white and beige, which provides an airy foundation for the constant flow of activity that takes place in the penthouse.

And as the studio and headquarters for Ghetto Panda, the fashion line/record label he runs with business partner Bryan Van Dusen, the place sees lots of activity. Naturally, there’s inspiration everywhere.

Estridge is a true renaissance man, multi-talented and blessed with an enthusiasm for experimentation and a genuine love of life. He remembers working as a stockboy at Bergdorf Goodman’s fur department back in the day, and one of his bosses asking him, “Christopher, what exactly is it that you want to do?” When Estridge said simply that he wanted to be an artist, his boss asked, “Well, then why don’t you just do it?”

Estridge quit his job two weeks later and started bringing his then unfashionable collage pieces to SoHo galleries who were only interested in minimalism.

Soon he was decorating the interior of the first generation of disco “juice bars.” By the time Studio 54 opened, he laughs, “we’d already been dancing for seven or eight years.” Solo shows followed and Estridge has always been happy to try something new, work in a different medium and reinvent his style.

The mix of Africana, Canadiana and Asian themes in his decorating reflects Estridge’s many interests and experiences. “I love different cultures,” he says. Large wooden Buddhas look perfectly at ease beside a carved loon bowl by Cree artist Erroll Ashley; a Lalique aluminum compact looks natural beside a clay-cast paw print of his beloved dog, Oscar, who passed away last year.

Estridge’s infectious warmth infuses the entire penthouse so that everything connects together beautifully and, like his own work, offers a gently challenging yet open celebration of earthly life.

Estridge displays a comically oversized wooden crucifix that he made using some of his old credit cards as beads. “People say that money is the root of all evil,” he says, “but money can be a road to happiness, depending on how you use it.”

Seeing the artist surrounded by art, basking in the sun of his rooftop terrace, it’s hard to argue.