With a short but wonderful stay in beautiful Portugal coming to an end, we present the latest by one of our favorites from the country: Lisbon-based publisher Pierre von Kleist editions. The relatively small publishing house continues to release incredible additions to their highly focussed catalogue, making the company an inspirational example for the practice of publishing in the contemporary climate - releasing only publications of the highest quality, in limited runs. Their latest release is named ‚Rua Stan Getz’ and features the work of Portugese photographer André Cepeda, who released 'Rien' with the same publisher three years prior to this one. In the year 'Rien' was released, Cepeda spent three intense months in São Paulo, exploring and photographing the city, while reevaluating the very nature of his practice - resulting in this incredible warm series created from an open and sensitive perspective, showing the great talent of the photographer. [ Continue reading ]
As the sun set over Northern Tasmania’s Tamar Valley in March of this year, the latest chapter of the Rapha Prestige rides, with the one of the yearly locations; Launceston, Australia, began. The group of riders gathered on the deck of the Barrel Room Restaurant at Velo Wines, where just a week prior the summit had unseasonably received its first snow of the year. The brutality of the Tasmanian landscape and climate would be a defining feature of the riding weekend, making it one of the more demanding rides of the series. This particular yearly Prestige ride was hosted by the earlier mentioned Velo Wines, a winery owned and managed by Michael and Mary Wilson. For those unfamiliar, Michael rode alongside former champions such as Lemond, Hinault and Fignon, and more than held his own, winning stages of the Giro and Vuelta. Not content with merely hosting and crafting the route for the Prestige, Michael had also reignited his training and formed a team to participate. The result of it all is another incredible ride caught beautifully in photographs and video, forming a tremendous new Prestige chapter [ Continue reading ]
Looking back at the last Salone del Mobile, which took place two weeks ago, we remain super impressed by one of the incredible new designs which were revealed in Milano. As part of the yearly wallpaper* Handmade exhibition, the renown designer/art director Yorgo Tloupas - together with his Yorgo&Co company - created an extraordinary design, combining different loves of his: cycling, design, and drinking cognac. The Martell flask (forming a beautiful follow-up to the Pinel et Pinel's collaboration) as envisioned by Tloupas consists of a top two-thirds, which contains water for the bike ride, and the bottom third contains Martell cognac, for the celebration. Making it our clear favorite out of this year's wallpaper* Handmade - the magazine’s sixth groundbreaking exhibition dedicated to the marriage of craftsmanship and design, of which the flask in our eyes is a prime example. We just love the both robust and elegant design by Tloupas, having created what without a doubt is the most beautiful flask ever for cycling. [ Continue reading ]
The Japanese photographer Yoshinori Muzutani released the incredible series 'Tokyo Parrots' in 2013 and since then it has left an unforgettable impression on us. The escaped parakeets - not actually parrots - have flourished in the city of Tokyo for some decades now, and likewise fascinated photographer Yoshinori Mizutani, who upon his first encounter with them was struck by apprehension and fear, as if he had walked into Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’. Unnatural as they seemed in the urban environment, he followed the flocks and watched their daily patterns, eventually locating one of the largest nesting places in a certain ginkgo tree. After some resesarch Mizutani found out that these parakeets were brought to Japan in the 1960s and 1970s from tropical regions in India and Sri Lanka to be sold as pets, but which have been roaming the city after the owners lost interest. The result of his bird watching study is a highly remarkable, aesthetic series of surreal photographs revealing a tropical urban world inhabited by parakeets. [ Continue reading ]
Today Acne Studios has launched another incredible project. After 'Snowdown Blue' in 2012 they now present 'Peter Schlesinger Sculpture', a monograph about the work of renowned artist Peter Schlesinger, accompanied by a capsule collection of silk pyjamas that has evolved directly from the work. Through his numerous collaborations with Acne Paper, a friendship has grown between Schlesinger and Acne Studios Creative Director Jonny Johansson and together they developed the idea of doing a book, with photographs by Eric Boman, Schlesinger’s partner of 40 years. The limited edition book contains a pictorial history of more than 150 of Schlesinger’s work, dating from the late 1980s to present day. It is lavishly produced in Sweden on Japanese paper and bound in rustic cloth. Alongside the book, an exclusive collection of pyjamas, a favorite garment of Schlesinger’s, has been designed by Jonny Johansson based on prints drawn by the artist. The collection is produced in the finest silk printed in colours inspired by his ceramic glazes. [ Continue reading ]
After writing about Virginie Khateeb's visit to the marble quarries of Carrara and sharing the incredible 'Il Capo' documentary that was shot in the area, we found a new inspirational artist - Belgian photographer Frederik Vercruysse - who has explored that fascinating place on earth and returned with some impressive work named 'Temo Polveroso' or 'Pulverised Time'. The project which Vercruysse initially had in mind when embarking on his residency at Villa Lena was a new series of still lifes, but he soon felt compelled to capture his inspirational surroundings in images rather than remain within the four walls of his studio. His photographs of the marble quarries reveal a similar dynamic as Khateeb's images - showing a mixture of an utmost raw beauty and solitary melancholy, which could be seen as a metaphor for the embodiment of the area: the creation of beauty at the expense of nature. Without any human beings in the frames, it is impossible to fathom the larger-than-life scale of this totally unique form of landscape exploitation/architecture. The series of 16 stunning images over which a cloud of mysterious, powdery mist appears to be suspended, will be on display at the inspirational gallery/store Graanmarkt 13 in Antwerpen until Saturday 30 May. [ Continue reading ]
After introducing the CUAP shirt in December of 2014, this month our good friend Sergei Sviatchenko has introduced a new addition to the collection of his Private Classicist label, slowly evolving into a complete range of products created from the roots of his signature Close Up And Private art/style platform. Sergei found another perfect like-minded partner - sharing a sincere passion for modern classics and clean aesthetics - in the Danish accessories specialist Mismo. A company which has been a favorite of ours since we first encountered their beautiful products in 2009, and we have been appreciating their output for years, making it a dream collaboration. A very limited capsule collection of 25 pieces of 2 designs, created by Sergei and Mismo out of one of the most iconic styles by Mismo; the M/S Shopper. The Mismo staple piece was adorned with a photography and a collage artwork in signature Close Up And Private style, applied on an incredible Blue/Black and a Grey/Cuoio version, individually embossed with numbers. We can't wait for more incredible Private Classicist pieces. [ Continue reading ]
