On the 22nd of July, Berlin-based duo Jacob Klein and Nathan Cowen, the creative forces behind the ever-inspirational online mood board Haw-lin and the accompanying studio Haw-lin Services, presented their very first solo exhibition in Germany at the HVW8 Gallery in the German captical in a collaboration with adidas. For the exhibition, named 'Shows You', Klein and Cowen will showcase a selection of spacial and graphic imagery that reflect their eclectic and detail based process. The German and American creatives founded their online moodboard Haw-lin when they met in 2008 while both working at Eike Koenig's inspirational Berlin-based design studio HORT and started working for clients some years after as Haw-lin Services, building on the reputation they had gained all over the world through their excellent curation of imagery and art projects/collaborations that were created under their Haw-lin eponym. Now for the first time, the exhibition 'Shows You' has created a physical overview of their working process across different mediums and the way Jacob Klein and Nathan Cowen communicate content, which resulted in a unique insight into the minds of these highly inspirational minds, who we hold in the highest esteem.

When in Berlin this Summer, make sure to drop by HVW8 before 'Shows You' closes on the 3th of September of this year. [ Continue reading ]

Last month, American author Dale Hope presented the reissue of his well sought-after publication, first released in 2000: 'The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands'. The inspirational book is a highly comprehensive printed gem on the most enduring souvenir ever invented: the Hawaiian shirt. Seriously enhancing the first edition: over 150 pages were added to the original; the layout was updated completely; some new stories about other important artists, who originally hand-painted the shirts, were written; as well as the whole Pataloha story (Patagonia's collection of Hawaiian-inspired shirts and dresses) with Rell Sunn is told — making the new book more a true second edition than just a mere revision of the original. As beautifully, yet different, illustrated as the original, the new edition features hundreds of images, recounting the colorful stories behind the colorful shirts: as cultural icons, evocative of the mystery and the allure of the islands, capturing the vibe of the watermen culture and lifestyle. Valued by professional collectors and by millions of vacationers and servicemen, in recent years the Hawaii shirts are enjoying a fashion revival, having been reinterpreted on different catwalks by multiple fashion houses in the last decade.

Drawing from hundreds of interviews, newspaper and magazine archives, and personal memorabilia, the author evokes the world of the designers, seamstresses, manufacturers, and retailers of the Golden Age of the Aloha shirt (from the 30s through the 50s), who created the industry and nurtured it from its single-sewing-machine-shop beginnings to an enterprise of international scope and importance. Here, too, are the fun-loving 60s, interviews with collectors who preserve these shirts as fine works of art; and insights into the roles of coconut buttons, matched pockets, woven labels, and exotic fabrics in the evolution of the Aloha shirt. [ Continue reading ]

Although the official run of the exhibition ended last week, the highly inspirational show named 'FERNWEH' presenting the latest works by the Berlin-based Dutch artist Aldo van den Broek, continues to be open by appointment at the Amsterdam-based Galerie Ron Mandos until the 20th of August. Giving those who have missed it a last chance to see, what we feel is one of the most interesting exhibitions of the Summer to be found in Amsterdam. Recurring themes in all of Aldo van den Broek's dark and mesmerizing work are history, underground, punk and romanticism. His creations characterize the world where he lets architecture and people meet. He is fascinated by the urge of people to strive for safety and freedom simultaneously and the deconstruction that usually follows. Travels and experiences bring valuable inspiration to his work. His researches brought him to Berlin, where he has been living since 2010, but also the post-communistic suburbs of Belgrade and Tbilisi.
Aldo’s work reflects his interpretation of purity and beauty within ugliness. Therefore, he choses to work with wasted materials with no apparent value. Used and re-used by himself, or found on the streets and abandoned places. By literally using his own past failures as a beginning for his new works, these different themes are constantly transforming and melting together till they reach their final appearance. [ Continue reading ]

We are catching on at the very last moment, but the super exciting second Canadian exhibition of work by 'The Godfather of Japanese Eroticism' Toshio Saeki will run for one more day at the Toronto-based Narwhal gallery. Presented in the successor of the 2014 debut exhibition of Saeki's work, which took place in the same location, are original ink drawings from 1972 to the present, including three new original drawings exclusively for this exhibition. As part of the exhibition Saeki has recreated one of his most famous scenes and recolored it to create 'Ureshidaruma', an edition of 100 silkscreen prints available only through Narwhal (and online here). Saeki’s artwork draws from the basement of a collective subconscious, depicting universal taboos through surreal narratives and dark humor. Filtering imagery from his photographic memory and childhood experiences through imagination and dreams, Saeki splits open a universally erotic world where iconic characters subject themselves to grotesque behaviors staged within traditional Japanese environments. [ Continue reading ]

Following the release of his remarkable 'Courts 01' in 2012, today New York-based photographer Ward Roberts presents his second printed chapter, named conveniently 'Courts 02', of the ongoing photographic study documenting sporting courts at the Arcana in Culver City, California, after it already has been open for purchase online for the last couple of days. Initially aiming to document Hong Kong's car parks when he started with the series back in 2007, Roberts found a deeper connection with the city's basketball courts and switched his focus to these colorful spaces instead. He noticed that many of the most multicolored courts were located beside low-income apartment buildings, and used these as landmarks to track down the hidden spaces. After publishing 'Courts 01', Roberts continued his search while on travels to Bermuda, Hawaii, New York and Melbourne.  In these locations, he also found the sports grounds that never cease to fascinate him, enhancing his captivating collection of images with interesting new chapters. The result in 'Courts 02' is yet another series of immaculately captured public spaces, in Roberts' signature toned down color palette, finding highly aesthetically fragmentations of these ordinary areas of play, which we can't take our eyes from.
As all iconic images inevitably do, Ward Roberts’s courts have now become a force of their own, circulating the world with terrific velocity via the rushing slipstream of the internet, gathering momentum and making their mark upon the global eye. [...] His art is so powerful: he gives life to the spaces of photography, and photography to the spaces of life. [ Continue reading ]

Last month marked the release of already the ninth issue of the inspirational The Plant Journal. Full of flowers this time around, it honors one in particular — not the most trendy flower, but definitely a classic of some sort; the geranium. Seamlessly fitting the changing weather of the last weeks (at least in The Netherlands and Belgium), the magazine celebrates the summer, which for instance also perfectly matches life like artist Roberto Burle Marx, one of the protagonists of the issue. Legendary German illustrator and artist Tomi Ungerer shares his beloved piece of land in Ireland while Elein Fleiss shows her knowledge on herbs and Antoni Arola details his passion for seeds. Kuba Ryniewicz focusses on Conrwall’s mighty marine flora, Mark Borthwick the lush of Jamaica. Formafantasma and Ethel Baraona meditate about the meaning of borders and Mercedes Villalba explores desire paths. Furthermore, one learns about the linen process, how to preserve dandelions into paperweights and the tastiest ice-cream recipes by Kitty Travers.

In all, the new inspirational issue is packed with some of the most beautiful flowers one finds on this earth, captured by talented people like Brian Kanagaki, the always great Scheltens & Abbesses and one of our favorite photographers around; Yoshinori Mizutani, who captured the park life in London like only he can, as is also portrayed on maybe the most beautiful cover created for the magazine. Yet, there is one series, even above Mizutani's, which is our clear favorite, coming from two Belgian inspirators in their particular field: the collaboration between photographer Frederik Vercruysse, who teamed up with stylist Clarisse Demory and no less than flower grandmaster Mark Colle, for a series of bouquets in which they honor six deceased pop cultural icons (Whitney Houston, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson. Minnie Riperton, Nina Simone and David Bowie) in bespoke arrangements and settings created for these individuals.  [ Continue reading ]

We are big fans of the very gifted Austrian artist and illustrator Stefan Zsaitsits. Having an extraordinary strong signature running through all his work, the artist who's still based in his country of birth, creates captivating dark pencil drawings of mostly childlike figures in which he oftenly seems to hybridize particular thoughts and emotions directly on or with the body part which is involved. The highly delicate and at times slightly repulsive raw images evoke a sense of unsettlement, although there is also great beauty to be found even in the smallest details, sometimes under a layers of scratched pencil marks — underscoring the many, at times literally, layers one finds in his thought-provoking creations. As of recently he has moved beyond just the pencil (after having worked with paint some years ago too) and in his latest works color —mostly a blood colored red— is thoughtfully applied, creating another level of depth in his depictions. A collection of these latest works open for the public today, in the Salzburg-based Galerie Trapp, where Zsaitsits presents his newest creations in an exhibition named 'Zwischen Luv und Lee'.  [ Continue reading ]