We recently discovered the stunning 'Grey Cobalt II' series by the Finnish photographer and visual artist Felicia Honkasalo, while browsing the greatly inspirational online archive of Aint–Bad, which is an extraordinary source for some of the most interesting photography being produced today. In recent years Honkasalo has been refocussing, both in her most recent Master's studies and the work she has been creating, beyond traditional photography into a broader visual arts direction, yet the more classical photographic series that was produced (and shared by Aint–Bad) at the end of 2014 focusses on objects, documents and photographs inherited from her late grandfather. It also already shows he free approach in experimentation with the still images, juxtaposing different genres of photography to create a narrative that both shows an interesting composition of different aesthetics and evokes an emotional reaction and the questions of what lays behind the depicted. Having never known her grandfather, she uses the narrative of remembrance to reconstruct him through his world that has ceased to exist — portraying rock matter, technical drawings of blast furnaces, and an encyclopedia worth of books on metals and mining, which together symbolizing a man and his world, that she never really knew, but inherently connected to her by blood. We are really inspired by both her aesthetic choices and the emotional narrative that transcends the imagery: incredible! [ Continue reading ]

We've been great admirers of Dutch ceramic artist Carolein Smit for years and as we failed to write about the last time we were able to experience her haunting creations in real life during her The Flatland Gallery solo exhibition in 2015, we would like to revisit her latest presentation of new work that closed last October. Named 'Primordial Soup', the group exhibition at James Freeman Gallery in London, presented the work of Chris Berens, James Mortimer and Sam Branton, but what stood out (for us) beyond their paintings were the incredible new creations of Smit that brought the show the true emotional tactility as promised by the theme. This motive behind the curation of the four artists focussed on trusting instinct over reason, which in the eyes of Freeman has become a rarity nowadays, with the implication being that it is a lack of discipline to be tamed. Nevertheless, unfettered magical thinking still sits at the core of the artistic practice of numerous interesting artists, allowing those creators to tap into (more and more) hidden ideas, giving shape to things that don't make sense, but with a growing power as a subversive (and subconscious) reaction to the growing metrics-obsessed reality of today's world.

For us Carolein Smit's work forms the beating heart within this artistic genre that very likely will become more and more relevant in a society obsessing over numbers.   [ Continue reading ]

Three weeks ago it was that time of the year again for a beautiful new issue by our friends of The Travel Almanac from Berlin, who presented already their 11th issue, for the first time featuring an all-female cast. The new issue’s cover stars are Isabelle Huppert, shot at the legendary Les Bains in Paris by Heji Shin, and Kacy Hill, shot in Los Angeles by Jenny Hueston. The actrice extraordinaire recounts French radicalism in the 60s and explains Continental approaches to acting. While the American songwriter and model describes the travel mindset of Middle Americans. In their own words: "in a time when interconnectedness is being disavowed and borders feel more pressing, travel is emerging as an ever more crucial and powerful subject matter. In the last five years The Travel Almanac has explored perspectives, places, and objects that evoke telling atmospheres and feelings" — with its latest issue it continues to do exactly this, forming an elegant and important voice in todays world, which we feel (and hope) will continue to be relevant long after the just presented new issue. [ Continue reading ]

Next to other Japanese frontrunners in interior design who have inspired us deeply over the last few years; names like Yusuke Seki, Jo Nagasaka of Schemata Architects, SIDES CORE and the ever-inspirational Nendo, Masamichi Katayama's legendary Wonderwall design firm is a name that was still clearly missing in our online reflections of what moves us in the creations of others. Fortunately, with last August's presentation of 'Wonderwall Case Studies', we can finally show our appreciation for their incredible vision, which this Summer was honored by Gestalten with the very first comprehensive exploration of the work, process, and mind-set of what is one of the most influential interior design firms in the world. The release of the compendium not only celebrates Katayama’s 15-year old prolific and profound body of work, but also honors the designer’s 50th birthday. Wonderwall’s East meets West approach to retail design has produced integral successes like the development of a inspirational brand space for Lexus; to the global flagship design of Uniqlo, that has become something of a benchmark in its field — the book presents rich documentation on eleven milestone projects out of a portfolio brimming with international projects, exciting collaborations, and an impressive list of clientele. Visual essays showcase the Wonderwall working culture. An in-depth profile, written by the M+ design curator Aric Chen, provides insight into Katayama’s early years, education, key influences, and major professional achievements. And a final catalog section presents a visual overview of twenty-three additional agency projects, highlighting Wonderwall’s reach and renown.

Step into this unprecedented insight of Masamichi Katayama's mind, that goes far beyond just the finished projects, giving a unique perspective on his and Wonderwall's extraordinary level of excellence.  [ Continue reading ]

In times of visual abundance, the photography of Petros Koublis still has a quality that more and more seems to disappear in the discipline — it evokes a mythical, almost otherworldly feeling through the immaculate depictions of divine landscapes, as he likes to call it himself. Koublis' latest series named 'Anama' took the photographer to the Greek island of Tinos. Positioned in the heart of the Aegean sea, the island is famous for its strong winds, immortalized since ancient times through the myths about long forgotten legends, among which is Aeolus, the god of winds, who was said to have his palace inside the clouds that embrace the summit of its highest mountain.

The project was initiated by Athens-based Talc Design Studio and it was commissioned by a local group of entrepreneurs. The idea was to project the unseen part of an island more famous as a religion center, with thousands of pilgrims visiting every year the shrine that hosts the miraculous icon of Virgin Mary. From the rough, weather beaten northern part of the island, to the milder south, the landscape opens a door towards an emotional interpretation of its form, in terms of a constant metamorphosis that started with the first awakening of consciousness of the first settlers of the island, thousands of years ago, and it continuous to this day through the eyes of Koublis, who caught the magical place immaculately, honoring all the inherent mythology in a perfect visual translation.  [ Continue reading ]

Although Saint Laurent’s visionary creative director Hedi Slimane left his position six months ago, the design of  the just opened second Miami store, immaculately clad in white marble, located within the Miami Design District, seems to indicate that his artistic ghost still lives throughout the brand as it did for many years (until this day?) after he left Dior Homme. And why not, as it brought a distinct new elan to the (Yves) Saint Laurent label, which translated into record sales, a widely recognized brand and some highly inspirational elegant design explorations, particularly in the stores that were opened under the creative directing of Slimane. With Belgian creative director Anthony Vaccarello now responsible, new accents have been formulated in the visual language, steering away from the Slimane signature grunge influences which he mixed with modern rock and roll decadence, but in the design of this new Miami store, the Slimane touch, as seen for instance in the last year's opened new Parisian Saint Laurent store, feels as strong as six months ago. [ Continue reading ]

When we discovered the paintings of British artist Danny Fox, somewhere in the early Summer of last year, we experienced an excitement that hardly still occurs in that kind of encounters, especially in his discipline. His work, as much as the artist behind it, are of the hate-or-love-kind, and we fell head over heals for his uncompromising creations. At that time Fox had refocused the subject-matter of his unpolished paintings from painful self-experience to the more uplifting things he appreciates in life resulting in scenes with boxers, horses, cowboys, snakes, fruit, transsexuals, strippers or patterns reminiscent of ancient Greek decoration. It marked the start of a new phase, with the St Ives-born turning into a rapidly rising star in the art world, giving him the opportunity to travel beyond London, where he was based, moving to Los Angeles. An exhibition with new works opened last Friday, bringing Fox's work to Denmark for the first time, given the moniker 'A Spoon With The Bread Knife' — a reference to English rhyming slang where the bread knife translates to wife and spoon to cuddle. His new works show his familiar signature, through which he has created new captivating narratives, exploring a new richness in the complete image and bigger sizes in his canvasses, seemingly indicating that all this is only the start of what we can expect from one of our undisputed favorites in contemporary painting. [ Continue reading ]