At the beginning of this year, a new specialty coffee bar named Voyager Espresso opened in a subway concourse in Manhattan’s Financial District, which we discovered last month through our friends of Superfuture. Architecture firm Only If was commissioned to develop an innovative architectural and interior design for its initial retail location in this unusual underground site. In contrast to the oh so familiar and saturated artisanal aesthetic of contemporary coffee culture, the shop’s design and material palette refers to the namesake spacecraft and scientific approach behind the Voyager. This resulted in walls which are clad in oriented strand board, transformed through the application of aluminum enamel paint. Work surfaces consist of black marble countertop, which refers to the texture of the walls. Elsewhere, perforated aluminum, copper, and black rubber are used. Without a doubt this forms one of the most interesting, perfectly executed industrial futuristic interior designs we have seen in a while, not to mention it being done for a coffee bar which is super refreshing to say the least. [ Continue reading ]

Today marks the opening of a new edition of Unfair Amsterdam. After debuting in 2013, the Dutch platform set up by a generation of young artists working together as a creative community looking for new ways to show and sell their work present another great edition. In the coming four days those artists in the Netherlands are showcased which in the eyes of Unfair need to be seen by the public. One of them is Thijs Zweers, who together with TORCH gallery Amsterdam, presents his 'The Land of Virtually Nothing' series which after Unfair will be on display in the gallery from the 16th of April. Although we haven't mentioned him here before, we have been following the talented Amsterdam-based artist for a while now and really appreciate his raw aesthetic. In his imposing drawings Zweers describes the new habitat for the younger generations; a digital wilderness of subcultures, images and stories with a very distinct romanticism. Using pitch black Siberian charcoal he describes the digital existence in detail. All works by Thijs Zweers start from the thought that the digital universe has become an autonomous biotope. Although all things seen on a screen are created by human fingers, the scale and expansion of this universe are way beyond human control. Simultaneously, staring at screens has become both a form of entertainment and a guideline for existence. Make sure to visit Unfair and don't miss the haunting work of the Dutch artist. [ Continue reading ]

We discovered the Antwerp-based IBASHO gallery as one of the exhibitors of last year's Unseen Photo Fair. During the long weekend in Amsterdam, amongst other work, it showed the incredible 'Tokyo Parrots' series by the very talented Japanese photographer Yoshinori Mizutani, which we were very happy to see in real life for the first time and formed one of the undisputed highlights of the whole festival for us. IBASHO specializes in contemporary photography and next to Mizutani has some very talented photographers in its roster. Despite the other talent Yoshinori Mizutani remains our favorite and on the 7th of April the gallery presents the second solo exhibition of the young Japanese artist. After the successful pop-up show in 2015 at Graanmarkt 13, the work of Mizutani will return in Antwerp with a solo exhibition in the gallery. The exhibition combines images from his earlier popular series 'Tokyo Parrots' and 'Yusurika' with two new series, 'Sakura' and 'Kawau'. In 'Sakura', inspiration of  the name of this particular show, Mizutani shows us an unusual and mesmerizing view on one of Japans icons, the cherry blossom. The abstract and graphic black and white photography of the 'Kawau '- Japanese for the cormorant bird - is Mizutani’s second exploration of birds in an urban environment, and forms the perfect grainy black and white counterpart of the pastel colored 'Tokyo Parrots'. We can't wait for this incredible showcase of Mizutani's talent. [ Continue reading ]

After we wrote about the inspirational 'Ceasefire' show by Pryce Lee at The Garage last Summer, the new upcoming show by the ambitious gallery is another reason to visit the beautiful 17th century carriage house in the canals of Amsterdam. With the show named 'The Fashion Pages' The Garage will present the international premiere of the latest body of work by the renown New York City-based artist Michael De Feo. The new series were created atop fashion editorials and advertisements and stems from De Feo’s recent takeover of the ad spaces of New York City bus stop shelters, with many of the photographers, models and brands involved applauding his unlawful 'collaborations'. Through his floral interventions De Feo transforms these images and the models within, blurring the line between unsanctioned and authorized works, which are both as aesthetic as subversive, forming a beautiful constructive statement in the overload of content one encounters these days. When in Amsterdam, make sure to not miss this when it opens on the 8th of April! [ Continue reading ]

In his new project, one of our favorite designers working today; Lars Beller Fjetland merges traditional crafting techniques with the latest 3D-print technology, with which he has created yet another elegant work of minimal design. The starting point for this collaboration was a trip to the archives of Theodor Olsen Sølvvareverksted, the oldest silverware producer in Norway, in the city of Bergen. There Fjetland uncovered sketches of an asymmetric serving cutlery from the late fifties that never made it into production. He was commissioned by Theodor Olsen to rework the idea, bringing it into the 20th century. Key was finding a more cost efficient way of developing and manufacturing small scale series of cold forged cutlery, which was achieved by utilizing 3D-print technology to develop specialized tools for tool making. Based and named after the plant, Fjetland created 'Monstera', a set of cutlery with asymmetric leaf shaped spoon blades, which are mirrored copies of each other, only distinguished by the lobes featured on the fork. The idea behind this reflects the plants ability to grow two types of leafs, while also adding a functional aspect to the end product. The stem-like handles were given an asymmetric ending to really celebrate the beauty of nature. Another beautiful addition to Fjetland's incredible catalogue. [ Continue reading ]

Recently the promising 'Nowhere Like Home' project by Norwegian Design Academy Eindhoven student Jonas Ersland was brought to our attention. The on-going photographic series started one and a half years ago on a little island in the very south of Norway. There, Ersland found himself back on the place where he had spent every summer since his childhood, after having lived a year abroad in Eindhoven for his studies. For the first time in his life he realized how familiar this place was to him. Every tree, every little street, all the elements you take for granted when you know a place from the inside spoke to him through their ingrained shapes and forms. To catch this exact sentiment, Ersland decided he needed to document his surroundings, imagining what it would look like to someone from the outside. After the first series, taken in the Southern Norwegian town Mandal, he continued making these monthly series from different places, trying to observe each place as an old friend, but from the perspective of an outsider, which at this point the spectator all over Europe: from his current hometown Eindhoven to Paris, different places in Norway, Milan and New York City. In his imagery Ersland seems to be clearly influenced by the impactful isolated imagery of names like Daniel Everett and Adrià Cañameras, but he proves to be of value in the genre with his unique qualities both through his personal aesthetic vision and the accompanying narrative forming the motif of the series. We look forward to more in this project by the talented photographer. [ Continue reading ]

From the moment we discovered the incredible kimono store Otsuka-Dofukuten in 2013, we became a fan of the creative visionary behind it: the incredible Tokyo-based designer Yusuke Seki. Since that moment we have been following his every move and amongst other things have asked him about what inspires him in life last year. This week Seki has released his latest project, which forms another incredible addition to his already impressive catalogue. Located in Tsubame-Sanjo, a blacksmithing town with over 300 years of history, Seki created the new shop for Tadafusa - an esteemed manufacturer of hand-forged knives - in which the notion of a cutting board shop is a thread woven deeply into the space's concept. Blending the existing building's exterior and an interior wall with his own design interventions, Seki re-envisioned the standard knife display case having created an extraordinary customer-knife interface out of crossed spruce lines. Commonly seen as a locked case of shallow depth with a large number of implements displayed vertically within has been given a more human scale, the sliding glass doors remain, but the 'case' itself is meant to be entered, not merely opened. The result is both highly aesthetically yet also promises a unique store experience due to the remarkable concept  which inspired the specific form. Without a doubt Yusuke Seki remains an everlasting source of inspiration. [ Continue reading ]