Whether he's shooting on location for TIME magazine, portraying a creative mind - while discussing the difficulties of working in the field - for The Great Discontent or documenting a day in the life of a young Chicago rapper/gang member (which seems to be almost synonymous these days), the talented Chicago-based photographer Ryan Lowry finds the right frames in all situations. Next to his work on commissions, out of which the TGD cover shoot was our introduction to his work, Lowry also created several series of free work. We are particularly drawn to his series named 'Badlands' which reveals the diversity of his photographic eye. In his portrait photography Lowry uses a lot of light, exposing as many details of the subject as possible, yet within 'Badlands' the photographer leaves a lot of room for imagination. The moody black and white images portray the dessert from a very mysterious perspective - creating an almost moon-like appearance - in which light and dark are strongly juxtaposed, both in the landscapes as the few male figures dressed in white and dark in some of the photographs. The mystique of these images continue to fascinate us thoroughly and we look out to more work by the talented photographer. [ Continue reading ]
It took around three years to develop - and it became ready just in time for the Baselworld show: NOMOS Glashütte presents the so called DUW 3001, a super impressive new standard caliber from its Glashütte watchmaking workshops. At only 3.2 millimeters, this motor is incredibly flat - flatter than almost anything else that selfwinds and is produced in series in the watch industry - and also extremely accurate. The few other automatic calibers available are either less accurate or extremely expensive. But NOMOS Glashütte will remain in its established price category. Nearly all the parts in DUW 3001 are placed between the base plate and the three-quarter plate.The ratchet wheel, for example, is now placed entirely under the three-quarter plate - and so needed to be made flatter than before. To avoid friction between the wafer-thin parts, a special new material was used; it has excellent, low friction properties, is extremely even, and is easy to form and harden. So impressive! [ Continue reading ]
We continue our stay in the beautiful city of Antwerp - after the latest A Magazine - where about a month ago the second 'Dries van Noten Inspirations' exhibition opened for the public in the MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp. Last summer we wrote about the first Dries van Noten Inspirations exhibition in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and in February a new extraordinary peek in the mind of the Antwerp Six designer was completed in his hometown. In similar fashion as in Paris, Dries Van Noten takes the spectator on a new intimate journey into his artistic universe, revealing the singularity of his creative process which he illustrates with his various and numerous sources of inspiration captured in themes. One receives an eye opening experience into the creative space within van Noten’s mind - through photographs, videos, film clips, musical references, as well as artworks by renowned artists that have triggered the designer’s imagination throughout his life and career. The new exhibition shows some of the old themes from Paris, but feels like an all new exhibition, with a little more focus as the exhibition space is a little smaller - making it possibly an even more impressive fashion exhibition than our favorite of last year. [ Continue reading ]
The ever-inspirational A Magazine curated by has just launched it’s 14th edition for Spring/Summer 2015 with the Roman jewellery designer Delfina Delettrez as the curator. It forms the first A Magazine curated by an Italian woman and the very first issue to explore the decorative realm of a jewellery designer, after the magazine’s longstanding relationship with prét-à-porter designers was first diverted in 2013 by the curation of British milliner Stephen Jones. Delettrez has chosen the abstract theme of ‘gold’, tipping an international array of artists, designers, photographers, stylists, architects, philosophers and other creative minds to interpret a myriad of aesthetic, alchemical and metaphysical representations of this precious metal and its intrinsic energy. [ Continue reading ]
The British artist Nigel Howlett - whose work we recently discovered - is interested in illusion and the cartoon. He likes simple ideas illustrated through colorful, bold and fresh image making. Having left Art school in 2003 with a BA in fine art, Nigel has since worked in the film and television industry as a set designer, for clients including Channel 4, BBC, ITV, and Sky, brands include Issey Miyake and Nike. Recently he has been concentrating on different personal art projects - among which is this fascinating series named 'Behind the Scenes'. The 'Behind the Scenes' series was born on set, inspired by Americana and its cliche characters. The canvas is used playfully - hung facing the wall - and the images are painted on the back, leaving a lot of space for interpretation with the spectator. Howlett deliberately makes the wooden frame and the canvas part of the piece - creating as he states it; a strange dialogue between this 'real' element and the cartoon nature of the painting. We love this beautiful series. [ Continue reading ]
The extremely talented young British photographer Jack Davison was just added to the roster of the incredible mini title agency. Being only 24 years old, his work inhabits everything for him to become a household name in portrait and possibly fashion photography in the coming years. We first noticed the work of Jack Davison when his '26 States' project was released, showing portraits from all over the United States giving a modern, honest and concise window into the Land of the Free. It first showed us his seemingly effortless talent for framing interesting images, underlining his tremendous talent with a camera. Davison creates both raw (portrait) images full of details and also more stylized observations, reminding us of photographers like Louis Faurer and Garry Winogrand on the one hand, with Philip-Lorca diCorcia shining through on the other side. Personally he has stated both Vivian Maier as Vivianne Sassen to be his biggest inspirations at the moment, which explains the broad aesthetic field he moves in. Keep an eye on this super promising talent. [ Continue reading ]
Sitting at the peak of a hill in the Moroccan mountain ranges, the incredible premises named Villa E rises up from the landscape, like a form extruded from the earth. The locally sourced Oika stone walling looks like an extension of the landscape. From the road in the valley, only tiny window openings reveal the inside of the structure, making one wonder what happens inside. Hidden within is a private mountain retreat designed by the highly inspirational France and Morocco-based Studio KO. With studio bases in both Paris and Morocco, Villa E represents the convergence of ideas from both design cultures. Studio KO weave together the contemporary minimalism of Paris with the earthy textures of the Moroccan aesthetic. Slender steel doors pivot lightly within monolithic desert red walls. Crisp white marble exists alongside textured rendered walls and crazy paving, forming a perfect hybrid. [ Continue reading ]