Hasta La Ideas

Singer-songwriter Gavin Turek has teamed up with singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer bLAck pARty (aka Malik Flint) for a duet called “SLIDE” that meshes together their lush disco and tropical funk styles seamlessly. Of the R&B tune, Turek says, “As an artist, it’s too easy to get discouraged by rejection in this process. Time continues to escape regardless, and you must choose to slide into the next step. You must decide to keep going whether or not you get the validation you seek.” With elements of ’70s soul, the sultry song emits nostalgia and nonchalance.

Curated by Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, a multi-channel virtual broadcast featuring the work of eight designers

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From Collectif des Createurs Canadiens (aka Canadian Creators Collective or CCC), a Montreal-based non-profit that promotes contemporary Canadian design globally, comes FICTIONS—a multi-channel immersive exhibit that features new and exclusive work from eight local designers. It’s the inaugural exhibition by the CCC and curated by Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, who doesn’t settle into the passive pedestals found in the recent online-viewing-room rush. Rather, this virtual experience lets viewers toggle between four different camera angles (floor view, bird’s eye, detail and overall view) as the “broadcast” changes throughout the day. 

Tonally, the exhibit calls to mind ’70s sci-fi and post-apocalyptic interiors though the imaginative speculative furniture speak to the future—as well as the state of Montreal’s design community today. Pierre-Alexandre Guay and director of photography Alex Lesage present these works—by Atelier Zébulon Perron, Claste Collection, David Umemoto, Loïc Bard, Pascale Girardin, SSSVLL, Yannick Pouliot and Lambert & Fils (whose founder Samuel Lamber co-founded the CCC)—in unexpected ways. All while an original soundscape by composer Philippe Brault contributes to the textured atmosphere.

FICTIONS runs online through 4 May.

Images by Alex Lesage

One half of electronic soul duo Quadron, Cecilie Karshø—known professionally as Coco O—has just released her debut solo LP, It’s a Process. Full of the Danish artist’s sweet, soulful and at times beautifully breathy vocals, the resplendent album pulls influences from R&B, soul, electronic, jazz and pop. “I have been looking forward to this day for almost seven years now. To be honest, I have struggled to make this album. I needed to take some time to figure out what I’m about as an artist, and how to take ownership of my own process,” she wrote on Instagram. “Gwen” is a divine introduction to the record, but we recommend listening from start to finish.

Commissioned by the Nevada Museum of Art in partnership with New York’s Art Production Fund, artist Ugo Rondinone’s enchanting “Seven Magic Mountains” installation debuted in 2016. The colorful, towering limestone cairns (located in the Ivanpah Valley desert outside Las Vegas) have attracted so much attention and appreciation that the organizations are applying for a permit to display them for five more years—even though it was originally intended to rise for only two. To prepare for such an extension, Rondinone’s studio, along with a restoration team, will clean the totems and repaint them to their former glory, after wind-swept micro-sandblasting and 100+ degree temperatures have caused fading. Read more about the site and the forthcoming process at Surface.

Image courtesy of the Nevada Museum of Art

“I hope that we can have more frank discussions about the problems of industry inclusiveness and the approach and sense of responsibility around design, specifically in the world of type. With that in mind, I had a candid conversation with Elizabeth Carey Smith, a design director in New York and a past president of the Type Directors Club.” —Agyei Archer