Two centuries of archived threads from The Vintage Showroom
Safeguarding the proud stock of British sportswear, Douglas Gunn and Roy Lucket founded The Vintage Showroom in 2007 as a collector’s tribute to historic threads. Their Notting Hill showroom and retail space in Covent Garden’s Seven Dials are dedicated to outdoor duds from throughout the ages. Their new book,…
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An unlikely exhibition pits the New York School rebel against Renaissance Masters
It’s hard to imagine that Cy Twombly, with his canvases composed of angry scratch marks and messy swathes of paint, would have been influenced by 16th-century French painting. But the Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin’s leading modern art museum, proposes just that in its exhibition “Cy Twombly & The School of Fontainebleau“. The School of Fontainebleau was a Mannerist decorative style led, oddly enough, by two Italian artists Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540) and Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570), who were commissioned to decorate the Palace of Fontainebleau, built on the edge of a forest 45 miles from Paris for the king’s hunting retreats.
Fiorentino and Primaticcio oversaw everything from the paintings and frescos to tapestries and sculptures, and even used “graphic media to disseminate their programmatic style,” making them not only some of the most renowned artists of the period, but the most media-savvy as well.
Flash forward two and half centuries to Twombly and the New York School of painters. After Twombly left New York and the studio he shared with Robert Rauschenberg (whose works are shown in the same gallery at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum, along with other prominent figures from the New York School), Twombly moved to Italy where he engaged with European art history in a way he never had before. He was especially moved by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), whose style was heavily influenced by Fiorentino and Primaticcio’s graphics. Even though his admiration for the Classical Baroque style seems unlikely, in 2008 Twombly admitted, “I would have liked to have been Poussin, if I’d had a choice, in another time.”
Like Poussin, Twombly often explored myths in his work. “Leda and the Swan” is, of course, about how Zeus transformed himself into a swan in order to come down to earth and rape the mortal Leda, and his “Apollo and The Artist” series is comprised of eight drawings of inscriptions of the word “Virgil”. More specifically, Twombly’s “Empire of Flora” is a direct reference to Poussin’s painting of the same name and explores similar themes of metamorphosis “set in a heroic landscape as an amorous allegory of desire.”
When viewed side by side, you can see elements of Twombly’s pencil work in Poussin’s sketches and studies for larger oil paintings like “The Conversion of St. Paul”. Though it’s not uncommon for modern art museums like the Hamburger Bahnhof to have amassed a collection of modern painters like Twombly, Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, it is uncommon to see their work curated in direct relation to centuries-old painting, and by making unique connections curators Eugen Blume and Matilda Felix manage to keep works in heavy rotation as fresh and exciting as they were when Twombly’s controversial scratch marks first shook up the art world.
“Cy Twombly & The School of Fontainebleau” runs through October 2012. Find image credits after the jump.
Hamburger Bahnhof
Invalidenstraße 50-51
10557 Berlin, Germany
Image credits:
Empire of Flora: “Empire of Flora” (1961), by Twombly
School of Fontainebleau: “School of Fontainebleau” (1960), by Twombly
Poussin: a study for “The Conversion of St. Paul” (1657) by Nicolas Poussin
Thyrsis: “Thyrsis” (1977), by Twombly
Our latest shipment with the subscription service features Joshua Harker’s 3D filigree brilliance
Back in November 2011, we announced our partnership with the subscription service Quarterly Co., which offers users the chance to receive gifts in the mail from a roster of design-minded contributors four times per year. For the second shipment, Cool Hunting co-founders Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten sent subscribers a miniature “Crania Anatomica”, a sculpture by Chicago-based artist Joshua Harker.
We first learned about Joshua when he was seeking funding for the project on Kickstarter with the goal to raise $500; he ended up with $77,271, the highest funded sculpture project in the history of the website. Now, Joshua has created a version exclusively for our second Quarterly shipment. We’re thrilled to offer subscribers a little something that celebrates the human form and serves as a solid addition to any cabinet of curiosities. Subscribers have been receiving theirs over the last few days and have been tweeting pictures of the little 3D-printed filigree wonder in various settings.
Due to high demand, Quarterly Co. is currently closed to new subscribers, but you can join their waiting list or check out their blog for more information.
Images by Josh Rubin
Custom curated booklets aim to personalize online gift-giving
Options for online gift-giving are by no means scarce. Going beyond the basics of easy browsing and affordable shipping, CEO John Poisson founded Wantful with the intention of making the process even more intuitive, creating a rare blend of curated storefront, gift card and material goods. At the most basic level, the service provides users a way to send a thoughtful selection of gifts to choose from in a lovely, customized catalog.
The process starts by visiting the Wantful website and sharing general background information about the intended recipient. Basic questions like gender and relationship are followed with more in-depth inquiries such as sense of style, preferred living quarters, cooking habits and whether they sing along to their music. From there, Wantful does the work: “We put together a list of recommendations and other ways to look through our products,” says Poisson. “You choose 16 things that you think are perfectly suited to that person and put them together in this printed booklet.” The sender puts down a certain amount of money when they check out to pay for the gift that ultimately gets chosen.
Wantful’s selection is expansive but smartly edited, with thousands of solid options that are updated constantly. “It’s the equivalent of an entire department store, except that our products are the kinds of products you don’t find in a department store,” explains Poisson. “Our real focus is our team of buyers that find things you don’t find anywhere else.”
While the recipient gets to choose the gift they want, much of the treat lies in getting a dedicated book filled with specially picked goods. As Poisson explains, “This isn’t a transaction. There’s meant to be something emotional attached—even if it’s a casual gift.” The self-proclaimed professional buyer shared some of his favorite makers as well, listing the husband and wife perfumer D.S. & Durga alongside White Sycamore and Cavalier Essentials.
The service syncs with Facebook to remind users of upcoming birthdays, and a calendar of upcoming events can also be made. Wantful then sends reminders as the dates approach. Poisson recommends having a mix of safe and quirky gifts, throwing in unexpected items like a $500 box of chocolate as a teaser item. When the recipient gets their booklet, they simply select their gift and await its arrival—easy as pie—or a jar of artisanal kimchi.
Antiques and fashion take flight in two Dalston boutiques
London’s East End is globally renowned for playing host to some of the world’s most stylishly eclectic fashion houses, art galleries and bars. But it’s the small gems you won’t necessarily hear about—unless you’re a local—that continue to fuel this reputation. Launched in 2010, Pelicans & Parrots is one such treasure. Nestled on Stoke Newington Road, just a short way from the beautiful chaos of Ridley Road Market, it’s a visual paradise, brimming with everything from vintage designer handbags through to antique leather armchairs. CH caught up with owners Ochuko Ojiri and Juliet Da Silva for a quick chat about antiques, aesthetics and avoiding the usual retail pitfalls.
We chose Pelicans & Parrots because we like the juxtaposition of the elegant parrot and the awkward—but beautiful—pelican.
Our stock comes from all over the world. Our furniture and objects are a mixture of new and vintage and come from different antique fairs and markets across the UK and EU. Much of our newer pieces are from the US as well as other areas of Europe. All our clothes are vintage and about 80% are sourced in Italy.
Hahaha! We often argue whether or not we want to sell an item! I’ve currently got a rather nice hunting jacket that I’m very reluctant to part with and I seem to recall Juliet carrying a pretty special YSL bag!
Being a pair of creatives in the middle of a recession we felt we had no choice but to try our own thing. We had nothing to fall back on, and bills to pay. I think we have been able to survive as we both come from a strong design and retail backgrounds. We decided early on to concentrate on creating a beautiful space filled with things that we love that also have heritage and longevity. We are constantly sourcing and putting our own twist on current trends and this is something we think sets us apart from every other store.
Finding the money and convincing people that—although we do love them—there’s life beyond the Pound Shops. On the flipside, it’s a great and rare privilege to have one’s taste and indulgences validated. We also get to meet some fantastic characters!
After living in the area for many years we could see that Dalston had a fast-growing social scene and nightlife that had migrated from Shoreditch. But, there were no shops! We took great delight in being described as “Dalston’s first proper shop”. We basically created what we ourselves needed. We want both shops to create an aspired spectacle. Whether it’s our life-sized caged flamingo in our first shop or the anthropological chic we employ in P&P Black.
I would tell them to visit Ridley Road Market in Dalston, eat at Rochelle’s Canteen in Arnold Circus E2 and shop at Afrique Fabriks on Kingsland Road, Dalston.
Pelicans & Parrots
40 Stoke Newington Rd
Dalston, London, N16 7XJ
Tel. +44 20 3215 2083
Pelicans & Parrots Black
81 Stoke Newington Road
Dalston, London, N16 8AD.
Tel. +44 20 7249 9177
A fine selection of rare brews and comfort foods from the owners of NYC’s art gallery and pub
Hidden among the slender streets of NYC’s Lower East Side, Culturefix stands as a haven for beer snobs, foodies, art aficionados and really just anyone looking for a good time. The slightly labyrinthine multipurpose space splits its talents among three floors, starting with an impressive selection of nearly impossible-to-find beers and curious dishes at the bar downstairs. A ramp at the back of the bar leads you to the ground floor, which is home to their event space and gallery. Work your way upstairs from there and you’ll come across the Recession Art at Culturefix storefront, which peddles a discerning range of original works by an array of emerging artists.
Within moments of exploring the space it’s easy to see owners Cole Schaffer and Ari Stern have a firm grasp on the finer things in life, namely food and drink. To take advantage of their vast knowledge and overall generosity we asked Schaffer to suggest five of his favorite rare beers from Culturefix’s rotating selection of international craft brews. Stern, a “retired chef”, balanced that out with insights into what would be the perfect dish to accompany each ale, all of which we highlight below.
One of the most interesting beers found at Cutlurefix, Professor Fritz Briem’s Grut is soft, smooth and incredibly delicious. Dating back to the 1500s, before the widespread use of hops, the traditional grut brewing style leaves little more than locally grown flora like bay leaves, ginger, caraway, rosemary for flavoring— remnants of which can be found in each unfiltered bottle.
CS “This sour, gingery and floral beer has found its way into many dishes and our hearts since the very beginning.”
AS “It goes great with our Miso-Mussels, the base for which is made with Korean fermented miso, grut, chili paste, onions and garlic. The slow cooked mussels retain their tenderness while soaking up the delicious liquid.”
Another ancient beer, the weissbier style originated in the 1600s, leading to a time where an estimated 700 weissbier breweries existed in Berlin alone. The unconventional brewing process renders the beer extremely acidic, which is commonly cut with a syrup mixer.
CS “The Bayrischer Bahnhof interpretation is a slightly softer, more mellow version of the “Berliner Weisse” style with a beautiful balance of tartness, fruitiness, and sweetness. Mellowed only by a mixture of Guava puree and honey—its a great spring and summer refresher. “
AS “Along side our Goat Cheese polenta with tomato braised mushrooms, the Berliner Weisse becomes a relief from the richness of the polenta and the earthiness of the mushrooms, making each bite and sip combination a new treat.”
Falling out of favor over the last 30 years, the Gose style is extremely difficult to find outside of the two German cities where it originated, Goslar and Leipzig, although it is currently experiencing a small resurgence thanks to three European breweries. One taking it up again is Bayerischer Banhof, which produces a top-fermented wheat beer made only from traditional ingredients—oats, coriander and salt for flavoring.
CS “Salty and Citrusy, the Gose is Ari’s favorite summertime beer. I think of it as hard lemonade for someone who hates hard lemonade. “
AS “This beer goes well with any food, which makes for an easy pairing, we usually will suggest our empanadas with homemade sofrito as a natural choice. The peanuts and raisins in the empanadas are brightened by the citrus notes of the beer, and the crisp dough is lightened by the bitter finish of this southern German classic.”
Earning it’s beautifully rich color and soft, slightly acidic fragrance from the use of hibiscus flowers in the brewing process, the Rosée d’Hibiscus is a humble wheat beer with plenty of body.
CS “On first sight, this beer looked thick and viscous, but it drinks light and refreshing with only a hint of hibiscus sweetness (not to mention the most beautiful color a glass has ever held). Its the perfect thirst quencher on a hot summer day.”
AS “This combination of sweet and sour, goes great with our XO marinated shrimp and kimchi bok choy. The ultra-savoriness of the shrimp and intense spice of the bokchoy and tempered by the weight of this beer. The hibiscus flavor seems to lessen the spice and allow the eater/drinker to do more of both.”
Founded in 1988, Brasserie Fantôme has gained international attention and somewhat of a cult following among craft beers enthusiasts for its secret combination of herbs, spices and fruits that fall in accordance with the season, allowing each beer to be unique and made only once.
CS “Far and away the best beer we have ever had, always consistent, always incredibly complex and different from year to year. The First year we carried the Fantome summer saison, it was smooth with light hop and berry notes. This year, we are carrying the Hiver, and it is more aggressively hopped and less fruity, as if the brewer knew how MY tastes changed and created a beer for ME. “
AS “Pairing food with such a complex and rich beer can be challenging, and for its size we needed to think of a dish that eats a bit ‘longer’, our enchiladas made with a traditional salsa verde from puebla, roasted chicken and its crispy skin, and queso cotijo was the perfect fit. The richness of the corn tortillas, and the ‘brown’ flavor of the cheese, makes for a great combination with the real ‘King of Beers’.”
Photos by Graham Hiemstra
Art, antiques, books and more come together in Portland
Even on a street bustling with galleries and boutiques, Ampersand Gallery stands out. Owner Myles Haselhorst opened the intimate space in Portland, OR in 2008 to create, he says, something that “feels less like a retail store and more like the interior of someone’s home, someone who is a collector of art, books and found artifacts.”
Having collected vintage photography for about a decade, Haselhorst presents shows at Ampersand that range from the serenely beautiful, like a series of 19th-century hand-colored Japanese photographs, to the downright macabre. “There are billions of snapshots of cute babies, but it’s less often that you find a whole series of morgue photos that were shot in Hoboken, New Jersey, back in the 1930s,” Haselhorst said, referring to a show that he curated, framed and presented in 2010.
Ampersand also serves as a vintage bookshop and publishing house, whose works focus on photography and design and are arranged in between antique cases, custom-made furniture by Kerf Design in Seattle and rolling carts that were designed and built by Haselhorst and his father. The furniture serves as the perfect foundation for Haselhorst’s extensive collection, from a set of typeface archives to camping brochures from the 1960s.
At a time when most publishers are scrambling to reinvent their materials in all-electronic formats, Ampersand’s treasures offer a reminder that a beautifully printed and published book is an art object that you can hold in your hands. “In today’s economy, you have to stay on your toes,” Haselhorst said, “especially if you are selling books and art, which more and more are getting absorbed into the endless offerings on the Internet.”
Ampersand’s next exhibition, “Gazed Upon”, will open on 29 March 2012. Guest curated by photographer Amy Elkins, the show examines the questions of female beauty and self-identity and will feature work by Cara Phillips, Stacey Tyrell and Jen Davis. Head to the Ampersand online shop to see more of what’s in stock.
Ampersand Gallery
2916 Alberta Street
Portland, Oregon 97211
Aspiring collectors find emerging artists in a new gallery storefront
Sensitive to the cash-strapped culture lovers of the world, Recession Art began with the simple premise of uniting aspiring collectors with emerging artists. After three years of shows at Brooklyn’s Invisible Dog, they have now opened RAC on New York’s Lower East Side. Seated atop Culturefix, an artsy watering hole with adjoining event space, RAC combines a storefront shop with a permanent gallery.
“We wanted to bring together two groups of people we knew personally,” says founder Emma Katz. “Artists who were making work but had no way to get it out into the world, and young art lovers who were maybe furnishing their first apartment and wanted access to original artwork.” True to their mission, Katz and curator Melanie Kress stocked the storefront with prints and books by emerging artists, along with affordable original works.
The space has played home to a number of pop-ups over the years, but both Culturefix and Recession Art saw the benefit of a shared venue. “We get people to come into the gallery that might not usually visit an art gallery. Our goal is for anyone to feel welcome here—if you come for a beer or a concert you might end up buying a handmade pop-up book or a photograph. It allows us to work with many kinds of artists including musicians, performers and poets.”
Kicking off things at RAC is an exhibition by veteran Recession Art artist Megan Berk. “Weird Party on the Other Side of the Hedge” shows scenes of Berk’s native Los Angeles, the nostalgic dreamscapes tinged with an air of outsider skepticism. A friend of Recession Art, Berk also designed a totebag and limited edition print for the store.
Recession Art plans to continue shows at the Invisible Dog, and are currently taking submissions online for “Everything is Index, Nothing is History,” curated by Melanie Kress. In an effort to build relationships with collectors, Recession Art also runs a Collector Club to keep the community abreast of artist activities, studio visits and private previews.
RAC
9 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
Walker Art curator searches far and wide for artistic innovation
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Curatorial savant and innovator Philip Bither exudes an infectious enthusiasm for the performing arts, fueling a passion that has spanned more than 25 years. Commissioning a range of artists from the emerging playwright Young Jean Lee to such stalwarts of the art scene as Laurie Andersen and Philip Glass, Bither has established a name as one of the most progressive curators of the interdisciplinary arts.
Surrounded by a shared love of jazz while growing up—his grandfather was a jazz banjo performer—Bither cites music as a catalyst for his devotion to the arts. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Bither made the great leap to NYC and landed a fortuitous position in the fundraising department of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). “I went to BAM specifically because I was so interested in the large-scale avant-garde theatre, dance and music productions that they were supporting. The producer, Harvey Lichtenstein, was brilliant at making commitments to artists who he loved.”
Equally committed, Bither’s dedication placed him at the forefront of BAM’s hallmark event, The Next Wave Festival, where he served as both associate director and music curator, producing “a lot of music shows that lived somewhere in the in-between land of downtown noise and rock and pop and avant-garde jazz and contemporary classical music.”
Drawn to the dynamism of small venues that think big, Bither became assistant director of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, a homespun sensation in Burlington, Vermont. “I thought that I could translate some of the ideas and passions around the downtown dance and music scene that I was so involved with in New York into a smaller city and more community-based setting,” explains Bither. Under Bither’s tutelage, the Flynn Center’s burgeoning three-day jazz festival evolved into “one of the great small city jazz festivals in North America,” which continues to run, expanded to a two-week clip.
In 1997, Bither accepted a coveted opportunity to head the Performing Arts Centerof the internationally recognized Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. An amalgamation of art, the Walker Art Center hosts a variety of art events and exhibitions that offer an “intellectual ferment” where attendees “can simultaneously walk and see a French New Wave film, look at current trends in graphic design and watch a postmodern dance movement.” Named one of the nation’s “big five” museums of modern art, The Walker Art Center is dedicated to finding the “newest of the new” in art trends and talent. “We try to stay attuned to the next generation of innovators and artists who are combining art forms in new ways and even changing the whole relationship between audiences and live art,” enthuses Bither. Upholding the museum’s mission to “select works that have an intrigue and freshness,” Bither travels extensively in search of new and, often, international talent.
To showcase its provocative and engaging roster of performers, the Walker Art Center offers a range of unique programs including the annual Out There series, an event that “creates a framework for brand-new hybrid art forms.” Entering its 23rd year, the still-innovative event gets creatively “reinvented” each year. The Walker Art Center further promotes artists with the “SpeakEasy” program, an informal post-performance bar-side chat for audience members. Engendering an environment that both informs and intrigues, Bither hosts an interview series that has amassed “an amazing library of conversations with artists who are now written up in the history books of dance, theater, performance and music.”
Motivated by the diversifying climate of performing arts, Bither and his team are also involved in pioneering an academic initiative to train a new generation of curators. Bither explains, “We’re helping to evolve a half dozen of initiatives or networks, some of which we helped start. The leadership role that the Walker plays is something that spans the visual arts and film. The Walker is very ambitious and inspired to work way beyond its own state lines or national boundaries.”
This story is part of an editorial series sponsored and inspired by Le Meridien. New Perspectives explores fresh ideas and distinct points of view in global art and culture.
An online gallery streamlines the interaction between users and content
Hastening to bridge the gap between traditional media’s tendency to over-curate and the Internet’s overflow of content, Melissa Jones has relaunched Dream the End, an online space for art, music, poetry and film. With a homepage curated by guest editors, the site will update regularly as new virtual “editions” are released. The content comes from a mix of emerging artists and lesser-known figures from the past, with exclusive mixtapes available for streaming. It’s a great way to escape from quotidian demands and browse creative interests without the deluge of commentary and criticism.
Dream the End is unique in that it isn’t set up in a rational, linear browsing interface but rather resembles a cloud, with content scattered around a page lacking typical navigation features. Clicking on a piece of art will take you to a gallery of that artist’s work, and selecting a few lines from a poem will show you the piece in its entirety, accompanied by a blurb about the artist. The “random view” button at the bottom of every page redirects to a new homepage with different content, so the browsing possibilities are endless. All the while, because the site’s streaming music isn’t page-specific, visitors can enjoy listening to new music while they explore other mediums.
The widely appealing art selection includes an impressive range of works, from Sean Kerman’s “Female Lying,” a muted image Jones excerpted from a ’70s-era photography reference book on the human figure, and “Hand,” a recent piece by Chinese artist Hai Tien that harkens tranquil tropical flowers; to the more contemporary styles of Belgian artist Raoul De Keyser, whose minimalist black-and-white piece “Ad B4” juxtaposes with Rupprecht Geiger’s bold “Geist Und Materie 1,” an example of artist’s late geometric-inspired work, which he painted at the age of 96.
“As an antidote to the increasingly chatter-driven online environment, I wanted the design of the site to be a uniquely distilled sensory experience,” says Jones in a press release. “Dream the End is where people can see what’s good and hear what’s good, and not just read about it.” The success of Dream the End lies in its simplicity. The layout requires users to follow their interests around the site without worrying about what is current, relevant, or otherwise popular.
Refresh!, the first edition of Dream the End is now live and ready to browse.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
