Laurence Esnol Gallery

May 19, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Laurence Esnol Gallery was born from an encounter between a couple of art collectors and a painter. Drawn by their love for art, Laurence Esnol and Daniel Aïdan opened a gallery dedicated to the works of one artist, H. Craig Hanna. Inaugurated in 2008, the gallery is today located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in the heart of (the most Parisian) art quarters in Paris. The team has since dedicated its passion and energy on promoting a renewed idea of contemporary art, through the paintings of H. Craig Hanna – Laurence Esnol Gallery being the only permanent showroom of his work. Laurence Esnol Gallery has also broadened its commitment by supporting other artists trough temporary exhibition. Whenever I’m in Paris, I always visit this beautiful place.

7 rue Bonaparte / Paris

Photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Black Models at Musée D’Orsay

May 15, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Taking a multi-disciplinary approach that combines the history of art and the history of ideas, “Black models: from Géricault to Matisse” exhibition at Musée d’Orsay explores aesthetic, political, social and racial issues as well as the imagery unveiled by the representation of black figures in visual arts, from the abolition of slavery in France (1794) to the modern day. Designed to provide a long-term perspective, the exhibition looks more particularly at three key periods: the era of abolition (1794-1848), the new painting era up to the Matisse’s discovery of the Harlem Renaissance and the early 20th century avant-garde movement and the successive generations of post-war and contemporary artists. The exhibition primarily focuses on the question of models, and therefore the dialogue between the artist who paints, sculpts, engraves or photographs and the model who poses. It explores the way in which the representation of black subjects in major works by Géricault, Manet, Rosseau, Cézanne and Matisse and many others evolved. Here are some of the wonders from this very moving exhibition (open until 21st July 2019)…

Photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Brutto Gusto

November 15, 2018November 15, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

Whenever I’m sure I know Berlin well, it proves me that I’m completely, completely mistaken – that’s the charm of this city! Even Mitte, a neighborhood that is often referred to as no longer off-beat, but not yet mainstream, has some secrets hidden from me, especially on the Torstraße (that doesn’t just end on Soho House Hotel). One of them is Brutto Gusto, a place that’s blurring the lines between a flower shop and fine arts gallery. You will find here both, a delightfully big, blue hydrangea, and a ceramic artwork with a 13,500 euro price tag. Like one of those Carolein Smit‘s sculptures, that are temporarily exhibited at Brutto Gusto (until 12.01.19). Smit explores disturbing motifs, that simultaneosly repulse and attract. But when you notice the meticulous craftsmanship that is involved in every work of hers, there’s no way you will turn away from it. The place as well sells artisan pots, vases and glassware, all that coming straight from the studio.

Torstraße 175 / Berlin

Photos by Edward Kanarecki and via flatlandgallery.com

Triennale Brugge

August 24, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

I went to Brugge (you might also know it as Bruges), the capital of West Flanders in Belgium, last week. The city is world-known for its canals, cobbled streets, townhouses and medieval buildings – shortly speaking, majority of this magical city is under protection of UNESCO. Well, no wonder why. But this time, this city felt even more enchanting than usual.

Now I’m honest. I had no idea that the Triennale Brugge 2018 is on – this was meant to be a few day trip to the town I’ve been visiting for years. But the occurring event transformed this city into a breathing artwork. The Brugge Trienniale invited international artists and architects to think about this question: how flexible, liquid and resilient can a historic city like Bruges be in an age when nothing seems to be certain any longer? Many of them sought inspiration for their work in the role of liquidity in the city that is literally criss-crossed and surrounded by water. The waterways that once earned Brugge its international renown, become a metaphor for Liquid City. Fifteen works of art, installations and meeting places have been put up in the city centre. You can walk into them and experience them. And while seeking them, discover the less touristic, off-beat tracks of Brugge. My favourites? The inflated installation by Spanish studio Selgascano, which is a literal ‘meeting place’ on water, and Jarosław Kozakiewicz‘s ‘Brug’ bridge. The ‘Skyscraper’ by StudioKCA, which is a massive whale sculpture made of 5 tons of plastic pulled out of the ocean, makes you think as well.

Triennale Brugge 2018 lasts until September 16.

Triennale-Brugge-2018-Iwan-Baan-05-OBBA-Floating-Island

Between Art & Fashion at Helmut Newton Foundation

July 2, 2018January 5, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Carla Sozzani, former editor-in-chief of the Italian Elle and Vogue, has collected photographs for many years. Since 1990, she has also exhibited these works in her Corso Como 10 in Milan in close cooperation with numerous internationally renowned photographers – including Helmut Newton. The personal friendship between Carla and Helmut not only led to countless exhibitions, but also to the current presentation of her multifaceted photography collection at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, under the title Between Art & Fashion.

More than 220 photographs were selected from the collection (which actually comprises almost 1,000 works!). The exhibition not only presents numerous icons, it also contains plenty of rare surprises. Some of photographers are represented with only a single work, while for others there is a small group of photographs (like the mega-wall by Steven Meisel). The selection is not about completeness, but authenticity and visualization, about the quality of autonomous and representative images – in this case thematically adapted to the specific exhibition venue.

On display in June Newton’s room, on the occasion of the 95th birthday of Helmut’s wife, who worked under the name Alice Springs, are 22 previously unseen portraits – Yves, Azzedine, Karl, Vivienne are all here. But it’s also worth visiting the pernament exhibition on the ground floor, which features Helmut Newton’s office room display, posters, his wardrobe and favourite (and sexy, which isn’t shocking knowing Newton’s body of work) objects.