ON TERRA INCOGNITA

NEW YORK ARTIST CAMILLE HENROT AND HER COMPOSER HUSBAND MAURO HERTIG PURSUE A CREATIVE FAMILY LIFE WHERE THEY LEAST EXPECTED ITUPTOWN WITH HELP FROM DESIGNERS HUSBAND WIFE.

- MICHAEL BOODRO

In the kitchen of Camille Henrot and Mauro Hertig's prewar apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side, designed by the firm Husband Wife, the oak table is by Michael Anastassiades, and the Rio chairs are by Pascal Mourgue for Artelano.

Sink fittings by Lefroy Brooks; bronze cabinet hardware and table sculpture by Henrot; walls in Antique White by Benjamin Moore.

OPPOSITE: Adam Charlap Hyman of Charlap Hyman & Herrero designed the living room's mantel and shelving, which are clad in a custom tile made by Elissa Medina. Sculpture on mantel by Henrot.

With its Old World apartment buildings and brownstones, its coffeeshops, bookstores, and bakeries, the Upper West Side of Manhattan is not usually thought of as a hotbed of avant-garde creativity. Camille Henrot, a French artist whose bronze sculptures are currently showcased in a one-person exhibition at the Hauser & Wirth gallery in Manhattan, admits that the neighborhood was an unlikely choice. "In the 11 years I lived in New York, I think I was on the Upper West Side maybe once," she says. "But the moment I stepped into this apartment, I had a crush on the view."

Her husband, acclaimed composer and sound artist Mauro Hertig, notes that the area, with its parks and quiet streets, is ideal for their two young sons and dog. "There's constant movement on the Hudson," he says. "The view is great for the boys, especially when the big boats go by. It's like a megahighway but slow."