Calendar
Featuring 12 animals from the Bench Players – a series of previously unseen animals from Rop van Mierlo’s archive. 24 x 33 cmWire-O bound Printed on 240 gsm Lessebo Design Natural Shipping Tuesday 13th December.
[ Continue reading ]The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Thursday September 20th — —
“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” – Herbert Simon — Thursday September 20th — —
I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Thursday September 20th — —
Featuring 12 animals from the Bench Players – a series of previously unseen animals from Rop van Mierlo’s archive. 24 x 33 cmWire-O bound Printed on 240 gsm Lessebo Design Natural Shipping Tuesday 13th December.
[ Continue reading ]This wednesday, during the opening of Unseen Photo Fair Amsterdam, we've met the German photographer Peter Granser. Intrigued by a story of a little town Gruorn in the Swabian Albs - east of Germany, which was forcibly evacuated between 1937 and 1939 to make room for a military training ground, he made a series of black and white landscape images accompanied by these wonderful stills of old and left behind tank ammunition, projectiles and shells. The pieces are staged as sculptural objects and curated in an almost romantic way. [ Continue reading ]
A new photo fair in Amsterdam named Unseen will have it's grande opening for selected guests next wednesday the 19th of September 2012. The following day the fair will be open for public as well. The ambitious project, a joint operation of FOAM, Platform A and Vandejong and directed by Marloes Krijnen, who is also the director of FOAM, has the vision of revolutionizing the photo fair. Unseen intends to give new photography a platform it deserves, the fair ideally aspires to be: "a meeting place for young photographic talent, for known photographers with new works to show, for galleries that focus on new developments, and for an audience interested in discovering unknown and groundbreaking work." In this world of new talent there is also a place for new buyers and collectors. The fair has it's focus on this group as well: "we enable potential collectors to take the first step to buying work. With a special programme, we guide ‘first-time buyers’ in the world of photography and coach them in collecting." [ Continue reading ]
The Lange Leemstraat is one of Antwerp’s longer continuous streets. It starts on the edge of the city center and cuts straight through the Klein-Antwerpen area, which is popularly better known as (a significant part of) the Jewish neighborhood. The street slices the segment of the Belgian city between the Mechelsesteenweg, the Van Eycklei and the Belgiëlei, in two halfs — together forming a perfect triangle when seen on a map. Most of the tall but narrow houses in the street are at least four stories high and an overall multiethnic feel prevails next to the omnipresence of the orthodox Jewish community; when entering the street one is instantly struck by a metropolitan vibe. It feels like a miniature Brooklyn in the heart of Antwerp. For me, it forms one of the many (hidden) qualities of the city with a remarkable cultural diversity and unique urban structure that was only partly transformed for the modern age.
When continuing along the street from the center, somewhere halfway at the heart of Klein-Antwerpen, the impressive 'Résidence Isabelle' arises. The street is too narrow to actually see it before being in its proximity. All of a sudden it’s just there, forcing the street into an Y-crossing. The apartment building is the kind of beautiful architectural dissonance one finds throughout Antwerp. It doesn't match with its surrounding, but fits beautifully. In today’s digitally globalized world the concept (or illusion?) of visibility is more dominant and demanding then ever. In my eyes, an organically grown, bricolaged, environment like the Belgian harbor city still cultivates the opposite: a strong sensibility for the unknown and the mysterious through its partly chaotic, partly impractical, but always deeply intriguing urban DNA.
When somewhere last year, we discovered the work of a young Antwerp-based painter named Bendt Eyckermans, a very similar feeling of mystery hit. Who was behind these striking paintings, reminding of some of my favorite magic-realistic artists, yet with an incredible contemporary perspective and subject matter? After connecting through Instagram (bless the digital age too!), Bendt agreed to meet in his studio, which to my surprise is located right there in my favorite neighborhood of the city. [ Continue reading ]
Last weekend, the Westergas area in Amsterdam was completely transformed again for the Unseen Photo Fair. Following two slightly underwhelming editions, this year turned out to be a rather exciting display of photographic work from all over the world. In spite of these fluctuating levels of inspiration to be found in the booths, there's one spot that never ceases to impress us since their debut three years ago: the booth of Antwerp-based IBASHO Gallery. For Unseen 2017 they decided to bring work by our favorite photographer under their representation; Yoshinori Mizutani, who shot the series named 'Amsterdam' during his first visit ever to the city, while the 2015 edition took place (when we were all set to meet him, but he had to cancel because of sickness - hopefully next year!).
We've been fans of Mizutani's work from the moment we discovered his iconic 'Tokyo Parrots' series some years ago and he has been expanding his impressive portfolio with one beautiful series after another ever since. In recent years he has been moving beyond figurative images into the photographic abstract, which brings new layers of depth into his artistic vision and for one resulted in our favorite Plant Journal cover till date. Mizutani's abstract work beautifully touches a similar color palette as his figurative work and therefore still shows a remarkable similar signature, which is rare. With 'Amsterdam' Mizutani focusses on one of the city's most iconic landmarks; the canals, which now a days are structurally polluted by tourists or wealthy boat owners (and their drunken friends) — yet through the lens of Mizutani all of that ugliness is filtered out, in order for abstract colorful representations to remain, revealing some of the most beautiful expressionistic photography of the famous stretches of water that we have ever seen. [ Continue reading ]
We have encountered their inspirational work repeatedly throughout the last few years, but only recently became aware of the extraordinary Copenhagen-based headquarter and Studio Store of Danish multidisciplinary design firm Frama. A little under four years ago, the firm traded their industrial space for the former home of the St. Pauls Apotek (pharmacy) which was established in 1878, respecting all of the building's original woodwork and architectural elements, using it as a canvas to create something radically new. The synergy between the past and present elements of the space is a direct manifestation of how Frama defines their main interest within the creative field as a dialogue between two opposite poles; classical and contemporary approach – between digital and analogue production. In addition to their earliest interest of producing beautiful understated products — designed in-house, next to commissions to other Nordic creatives — in recent years a new focus on interior design was added to their activities, showing that remarkable signature of blending old and new materials, contexts, and influences within every project. The inspirational level of multidisciplinarity in the complete output of the firm today, makes the Studio Store more than just a 'showroom' for their product, but forms an incredible Gesamtvision for Frama's aesthetic design discourse and ideology. And it is exactly this, beyond that we really appreciate their design vision, what makes Frama one of the firms we feel is spearheading creation with a contemporary mindset. When in Copenhagen, make sure to directly step into their universe located at Fredericiagade 57. [ Continue reading ]
We have been off to a slow start here (not elsewhere), but with some very exciting meetings ahead in the coming months (stay tuned!), there will be an even stronger overal shift to ‘Less but Better’ in this year. Nevertheless, we will start picking up the pace from here, still sharing those things that continue to move us — today putting focus on the infamous Studio Job once more. As part of the Carpenters Workshop Gallery's ten-year anniversary programme, last week the gallery with three locations worldwide opened its Parisian space for the public to an exclusive exhibition by Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel, which might very well be the most impressive display of their holistic practice till date.
Entitled ‘Here There Nowhere’ the exceptional solo show presents new creations, some of the most emblematic pieces that the duo created over the last few years and, very excitingly so, for the first time it opens up the drawings that form the basis for most physical creations to the public. The result is a highly diverse constellation of the fascinating creatures, iconic hybrid forms and ironic objects that punctuated with iconographic references — forming a kitsch and fanciful world where the object transcends functionality with everything bound together by the ‘Neo-Gothic’ aesthetic, masterfully championed by the Dutch power duo. When in Paris, ‘Here There Nowhere’ in a must visit! [ Continue reading ]
Last Saturday, one of our favorite Amsterdam-based galleries; The Ravestijn Gallery, opened a new show by Dutch collage artist Ruth van Beek named 'The Situation Room', which we feel ends a very interesting year of exhibitions, following other favorite shows by Vincent Fournier and Robin de Puy. The work of van Beek originates in her ever-growing archive. The images, mainly from old photo books, are her tools, source material and context. By folding, cutting, or adding pieces of painted paper, she rearranges and manipulates the image until her interventions reveal the universe that lay within them.
With her imagery, van Beek triggers the imagination of the viewer: passive human hands are animated, objects turn into characters, and abstract shapes come to life. The original image may have been taken out of context, but the familiar imagery –the formal photography of an instruction book, a clearly displayed object, or a staged action– remains recognizable, and thus speaks to our collective memory. Contrasting elements engage in conversation in van Beek’s work: the dead past coming to life; the literal and the abstract; displaying and concealing expressively; both the limitation and the endless possibility of an archive. Hereby, van Beek joins a new generation of artists that, by finding restriction in closed archives, offer a counterweight to the limitless availability of information. The constant organization of the world around her even gets a literal representation in van Beek’s work: the rearranging hands of instruction books appear and reappear, like a self-portrait of the artist as a creator. [ 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 ]
Next to the beautiful 'Invisible Machinery' series by Japanese photographer Toru Ukai, we had one undisputed favorite series of work on display during last weekend's Unseen Photo Fair: the incredible 'Statues' by Swedish born and Berlin-based Henrik Strömberg. In all the images of the photographic artist one encounters the world, remote, removed, almost as if disappeared. Places become difficult to locate, plunged into darkness, half empty rooms, left-behinds; and in the case of the series as seen in Amsterdam deformed statues. In his series 'Statues', which was one of the two series on display in Amsterdam, he took his vision to the iconic shapes of ancient sculptures, deforming them to a new austere composition, from which results this certain inward-looking nature, a deep and universal self-reflection. His view penetrates the invisible, seizes it and gives it a shape. A connection is created between the inside and the outside, the true essence of things and the mere sense of things — resulting in a new shape and aesthetic that both attracts and repels, but never fails to captivate. [ Continue reading ]
Tomorrow the 2016 edition of the Unseen Photo Fair will open its doors for the public at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam and it promises to be another celebration of photography, with work from all over the globe having found its way to the Dutch capital again. Although we weren't blown away by what saw in the former two editions, there will be always (we hope) those hidden gems to be discovered amidst the more repetitive imagery on display. Returning Antwerp-based gallery IBASHO is one of the participants we really appreciate.
Last year the gallery was a newcomer on Unseen (after they had just started their operation on the edge of the Antwerp-South area) and this year it brings a debuting photographer to Amsterdam, which we feel is one of those few great new talents to be discovered. With its focus on contemporary Japanese photography, during their first presence at Unseen Photo Fair IBASHO presented, amongst others, the iconic 'Tokyo Parrots' by the great Yoshinori Muzutani in Amsterdam, this time around it introduces the incredible series 'Invisible Machinery' by the very talented Toru Ukai. The Tokyo-based photographer is interested in the hidden and invisible structure in our modern society, which he has given the moniker invisible machinery, portrayed in his ongoing series to be seen at Unseen. Ukai observes the structure in the social systems, the law and the architecture, but also in the behavior of people; gestures and figures — captured in sharp and cold tones, with a distinct digital feel, proving to be a perfect fit for the science fiction-like arena which is urban Japan. Having such an interesting signature, perfectly fitting the narrative of his unique perspective on the world around him, makes us eagerly look forward where Ukai will take his beautiful photography in the years to come..
When visiting Unseen Photo Fair in the coming days, make sure to not skip IBASHO's booth and enjoy the work by the incredible new talent! [ Continue reading ]
We first discovered the incredible work of New York City-based artist Landon Metz when he had created the cover for the fourth issue of The White Review in 2012. In the same year we sold his 'Painter Painting Surface' publication in the Another Shop and have ever since followed his development step by step. Looking back four years ago and seeing the recent work Metz created for exhibitions in New York City, Brescia and Milan shows a new direction in his creative vision which we really appreciate. From the very beginning Metz has been creating biomorphic forms splayed across, in the earlier years often times eclectic and overlaying, which slowly moved towards more abstract shapes.
Recently, and especially for the shows in Italy, his flat work has progressed to a new place that remarkably extends and redefines his already significant achievement. In his latest three series Metz isolated forms from earlier works, which he blows up to an epic scale and executes as large-scale monochromes, having irregular stretchers specially fabricated and thinking to an unprecedented degree about their display in relation to the architecture of the exhibition space. For his two recent shows in Italy he even took his forms beyond just the wall and materialized the shapes into sculptures placed on the floor and the ceiling of the exhibition space. The new direction shows the artist' remarkable focus and dedication to investigate the scope and depth of his unique artistic vision, in our eyes putting himself in one league with some of the most interesting abstract artists working today (and in the past for that matter). We can't wait to see where the artist will take this in the near future. [ Continue reading ]
Released as a publication in 2014 by publisher Lecturis, Finnish photographer Heikki Kaski's incredible 'Tranquility' series continues to travel the world. Last week the series came from Brussels to London as part of the Foam Talent exhibition at Beaconsfield Gallery, and subsequently it will find its way to Riga. No suprise there by the way, as it is still some of our favorite photographic work which we've encountered recently, moving between the fields of documentary and landscape photography, full of mysticism and narrative, in line with names like Wim Wenders and Todd Hido. The story of the series revolves around its slightly captious moniker: the Californian town of Tranquility, which Kaski visited repeatedly over the course of one and half year. The town exists on a new kind of frontier, which is geographical, but also historical, marking the seeming obsolescence of established forms of production and social organization. Heikki Kaski’s pictures of the town and its inhabitants are a fractured series of reflections on a landscape that seems to have outlived its own history. He does not offer a factual narrative about the specifics of this place, which is treated instead as the archetype of a particular situation, joining subjective experience to economic realities. This is an acknowledgement of the fundamental link that exists between the social order and the lives of those who exist within it. Kaski creates a distinct, palpably uneasy atmosphere, marked by the use of several, and often clashing, visual strategies to demonstrate the unresolved tensions that have come to define not only the place itself, but also evoke the inner lives of those people who call it home. [ 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 ]
Another year has passed right before our very eyes. Although, as always, we tried to grasp it every once in a while, it feels like yesterday since the last new years eve. But here we are again after another remarkable, flown by, twelve months with some wonderful things to look back on (and to look forward to!). As per usual there was as little sitting still as possible with some great collaborations realized - among which the rebrand of Travelteq is particularly special - hard work on our own projects and of course trips (business ànd pleasure) all around the world. Both accompanied by bike or just with family and friends. Speaking of those; a wonderful highlight was Tenue's trip to San Francisco, but also the visit to beautiful Porto, Paris with ...,staat, Sweden to partake in the Dalslandrunt15, the exciting trip to Croatia for the upcoming revitalized Our Current Obsessions, and visiting our friends of GERTRUD & GEORGE in Geneva, amongst others. This year also marked some extraordinary steps forward for Tenue de Nîmes with the introduction of the first own designs, several great collaborations of which the Hancock VA coats are a true highlight and finally the presentation of Journal Nº 12. As always we will be back in the new year, with very soon an all new aesthetic and approach for Another Something. Stay tuned and until that moment, enjoy our favorite discoveries of last year. [ Continue reading ]
Lollipop Magazine, of which the third issue was launched this year, is a tremendous visual document of an entire Formula One race weekend. Popular Mechanics named it 'The Greatest Formula 1 Magazine You've Never Heard Of' and it certainly is the most inspiring racing magazine we have ever laid eyes one. Driven by sharp and elegant photography, it takes one inside the team garages, the paddock and trackside - giving unprecedented access to the world's most secretive sport. The most recent issue, Lollipop Magazine #3 is a 228 page soft-cover book, featuring nine races and critical statistics of the season. It features interviews and portraits of Pirelli director Paul Hembery, next to F1 drivers, Daniel Ricciardo, Dutch pride 17-year old Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas, Alexander Rossi and Kevin Magnussen. Finally, the issue also features an one-off fashion shoot, collaborating with Pirelli Motorsports, and legendary photographer, Harri Peccinotti, who shot the risqué Pirelli Calendar in 1969. [ Continue reading ]
During last week's London Design Festival the super fascinating Plants Out Of Place initiative curated an exhibition with a selection of inspirational projects to introduce its mission to the public. The London-based initiative seeks to engage with the world to re-consider the value of wild plants and how we may utilize them to design for a better future - a vision through which they created a sensory event aiming to trigger the public on an experiential level to question the values and approaches to sustainable practices. The exhibition showed an overall high standard with work by inspirational names like Studio Drift and Drink Factory, yet we are most impressed by the work of our favorite; Coloni which combined forces with Studio Aikieu, resulting in some of the most beautiful imagery we have seen in months. [ Continue reading ]
Although we weren't overwhelmed by what was on display at the last Unseen, there were still works which impressed us in the best possible way. We loved finally seeing the 'Tokyo Parrots' in printed form, as discovering the larger-than-life 'Facades' images by Markus Brunetti, but most impressive was probably seeing the work of celebrated American photographer Todd Hido in person. For the first time in the Netherlands a solo exhibition of his work opened on the 12th of September at Alex Daniëls Reflex Amsterdam, who in turn showed a new group of works unique from the show named 'Selections From A Survey - Khrystyna's World' at Unseen. [ Continue reading ]
Motivated by our visit to Unseen last weekend, we are ready to share a new truly extraordinary photography book (not seen at Unseen) which will be released officially at the end of next October. Inspired by the late-great cartoonist William Steig and his classic children's book; 'The Lonely Ones' - consisting of ligne claire drawings with smart captions by the author - photographer Gus Powell created his own 'The Lonely Ones' published by J&L Books: a series of remarkably beautiful color photographs of interiors and landscapes, inhabited by people, animals and inanimate characters. Every photograph is paired with a suggestive text by Powell - each of the 40 color photographs in the book hidden by a gate fold, on which is printed the single phrase. Every photograph is revealed individually behind its gate fold, resulting in one of the most elegant and living photography books which will be released in this year. [ Continue reading ]
With the official team presentations, which will take place this evening, the Tour de France fever in our hometown Utrecht is slowly reaching a highpoint (with the tropical temperatures of recent days also playing a significant role in this development). Although the little brother of Amsterdam has gained significantly growing international attention in recent years, because of its beautiful canals and historical city center with a more laidback and less touristic atmosphere - for many people the host of the Grand Départ is still unknown territory. As we have been happily living in Utrecht for quite some years now, we teamed up with Rapha to introduce our city properly and created a little map with all of our favorite destinations when it comes to Food & Drinks, Art & Culture, Antiques & Obsessions, Fashion & Design, Markets & Flowers and Hideouts & Escapes, which we named Utrecht's Finest. For those first getting to know Utrecht, or those who are curious what it is what makes the city special for us. [ Continue reading ]
We have been following British photographer Luke Stephenson since our collaboration with him, when we gave a signed and numbered copy of his ‘An Incomplete Dictionary of Show Birds’ as our fourth Curated gift in 2013. In the following years Luke has kept very busy and made a name for himself through his exquisite eye for details which transcends his impeccable imagery, both in free project as on commissions. Recently another series of Luke has caught our attention when he portrayed Des Pawson (and some of his beloved knots, ropes and tools), the founder of the interesting Museum of Knots and Sailors’ Ropes for a feature in the inspirational magazine Hole & Corner. The incredible series by the photographer shows Stephenson's great talent, giving a wonderful and inspirational peek into the fascinating world of nautical ropes and knots guided by Pawson in an utmost aesthetic manner. [ Continue reading ]
And yet another extraordinary analogue series by the super talented Berlin-based Croatian photographer Katja Kremenić. For the beautiful series which she named 'Lush Life', Katja once again finds herself in paradise, on the beaches of Central American Costa Rica - where she also shot her 'Rip Currents' series, through which we discovered her work - this time creating a visual narrative in her signature romantic free-floating style for the inspirational Australia-based travel platform The Adventure Handbook. Kremenić continues to excel in translating a broad field of emotions into her photographs, making the fragmentations of her gaze almost tangible through the frames of her images. Her continuing fascination with the beach both proves to be an everlasting source of aesthetic inspiration in the creation of her highly appealing images as the perfect environment for her to create in. We can't wait for more beautiful stories by Katja Kremenić. [ Continue reading ]
On the 8th of March the Rotterdam-based Nederlands Fotomuseum opened Viviane Sassen’s exceptional photographic project titled UMBRA. We have been a fan of Sassen's work for a long time now and love this particular collaboration with the Dutch museum. Especially for the Nederlands Fotomuseum, Sassen has made a new series of works that focus on the play of light and shadow, a very characteristic element that runs through all of her work. Sassen supplements this series with previously unseen images from her archives. UMBRA, which translates to 'shadow' in Latin, presents Sassen’s autonomous work in a kaleidoscopic exhibition in which shadow is often a metaphor for the human psyche. [ Continue reading ]
Copenhagen-based photographer Adam Jeppesen's work challenges the boundaries between documentary and fiction. He is seen as one of the greatest talents in contemporary Danish photography, and we discovered his work during the last Unseen Photo Fair, after which Jeppesen's work by far resonated the most. His photographs inhabit a blurred territory where the real and the fictional become interchangeable. Even if the Danish artist seems to remain faithful to what is in front of his camera, he doesn’t seem to be too concerned about objectivity. The highly impressive work we saw at Unseen was part of the The Flatlands Camp Project. A series of work, recorded on a journey from the Arctic through North and South America to Antarctica. For 487 days Jeppesen travelled in solitude and from this long journey a series of melancholic, evocative landscape pictures have emerged. [ Continue reading ]
Today we’ve received this lovely new tool called Lapka. Lapka is a tiny, beautifully designed personal environment monitor that connects to your phone to measure, collect and analyse the hidden qualities of your surroundings in a highly aesthetic and playful way. The precise sensors respond to the invisible world… [ Continue reading ]