Frederik Vercruysse is a very talented Antwerp-based photographer whose beautiful work we discovered some years ago. He describes his work as still life photography in the broadest sense of the word, always aiming to photograph the subject in its purest form, sometimes realistic, often minimalistic. Distinguishing features of his work are fresh, graphic images bathed in a soft light. Vercruysse has an eye for detail and a well-defined sense of aesthetics. He is an expert in creating compositions, regardless of whether he is photographing architecture, an interior or a still life. With Frederik being such an inspiration for us, we asked him about his inspirations in life. [ Continue reading ]

We have been following the highly talented Antwerp-based photographer Frederik Vercruysse from the moment we discovered his collaborations with fellow photographer Filip Dujardin some years ago. In recent years Vercruysse worked on a broad scale of projects, ranging from commissions for brands and magazines, next to free projects of which his 'Tempo Polveroso', shot in the marble quarries outside of Villa Lena, still is a big favorite of ours.

Last week marked another important milestone in the career of the Belgian: for the very first time ever, presenting a collection of some of his best photography in a printed publication, produced together with publisher Luster. Named 'Index 2006-2016' the elegantly designed book includes architecture and interior design photos, as well as his signature captivating clean cut still lifes, compositions and landscape photography — all fresh, graphic images bathed in a soft light, showing his extraordinary eye for details. The two main fascinations behind the world he produces; graphics and composition, are omnipresent in his portfolio. The curation of the works presented in the new book pre-eminently show how controlled Vercruysse works: always taking the time to carefully arrange and rearrange, until he has found the most balanced composition — resulting in immaculately defined images of the highest aesthetic standard. [ Continue reading ]

Last month marked the release of already the ninth issue of the inspirational The Plant Journal. Full of flowers this time around, it honors one in particular — not the most trendy flower, but definitely a classic of some sort; the geranium. Seamlessly fitting the changing weather of the last weeks (at least in The Netherlands and Belgium), the magazine celebrates the summer, which for instance also perfectly matches life like artist Roberto Burle Marx, one of the protagonists of the issue. Legendary German illustrator and artist Tomi Ungerer shares his beloved piece of land in Ireland while Elein Fleiss shows her knowledge on herbs and Antoni Arola details his passion for seeds. Kuba Ryniewicz focusses on Conrwall’s mighty marine flora, Mark Borthwick the lush of Jamaica. Formafantasma and Ethel Baraona meditate about the meaning of borders and Mercedes Villalba explores desire paths. Furthermore, one learns about the linen process, how to preserve dandelions into paperweights and the tastiest ice-cream recipes by Kitty Travers.

In all, the new inspirational issue is packed with some of the most beautiful flowers one finds on this earth, captured by talented people like Brian Kanagaki, the always great Scheltens & Abbesses and one of our favorite photographers around; Yoshinori Mizutani, who captured the park life in London like only he can, as is also portrayed on maybe the most beautiful cover created for the magazine. Yet, there is one series, even above Mizutani's, which is our clear favorite, coming from two Belgian inspirators in their particular field: the collaboration between photographer Frederik Vercruysse, who teamed up with stylist Clarisse Demory and no less than flower grandmaster Mark Colle, for a series of bouquets in which they honor six deceased pop cultural icons (Whitney Houston, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson. Minnie Riperton, Nina Simone and David Bowie) in bespoke arrangements and settings created for these individuals.  [ Continue reading ]

Last Saturday, an inspirational new exhibition opened in Antwerp's current temporary new platform for its creative community named Born in Antwerp. After some of the city's younger creatives were given (literally, in several former warehouses at the former harbor area named Kattendijkdok) space to present their vision, now renown fashion designer Bruno Pieters took the stage to put together an exhibition which explicitly portrays the new direction he has taken in his discipline. Formerly known for his namesake label and three years as menswear designer of HUGO by Hugo Boss, in 2010 he stepped away from it all and took a sabbatical, in which he spent a lot of time traveling through India in search for peace of mind. In January 2012, he returned to make what Oliver Horton in The New York Times described as a “revolutionary” new statement in the fashion world with his new company, Honest By - the world's first 100% transparent company and pioneer in price transparency. Honest By publishes its entire supply chain for every product it creates and translates this into total price transparency.

'(Behind) the Clothes' distills this inspirational new vision of the designer back into the large exhibition space at the Kattendijkdok. With the insightful exhibition, Pieters shows how he not only offers totally ethical, environmentally-friendly designs, but also leads the way in offering 100% transparency to the consumer. There are two parts to the exhibition: ’The Clothes’ and ‘Behind the Clothes’, which combined form a remarkable insightful representation of what the future of fashion should be, and hopefully at least partly will be. [ Continue reading ]

Next Friday, one of Belgium's most exciting contemporary designers, part of this year's Wallpaper* Magazine Power List, Michaël Verheyden, will find his way from Genk to Antwerpen, where he will open a temporary store in the beautiful concept boutique Graanmarkt 13. One of our favorite stores in Antwerp also houses an excellent restaurant, an apartment for rent and a gallery which for the occasion will also become part of Verheyden's presence. After Ferry Voorneveld had the honor as a representative of Another Something during the Limblogdesigntour, a month ago, visiting the visionary designer's studio (soon more on that visit), the temporary Antwerp-based store will underline Verheyden's unique vision on design once more, perfectly framed within the excellent environment of Graanmarkt 13. The store will house a beautiful selection of interior objects and design furniture, next to newer work of Verheyden - never shown in Belgium before - which will be for sale in the gallery on the first floor. [ Continue reading ]

After writing about Virginie Khateeb's visit to the marble quarries of Carrara and sharing the incredible 'Il Capo' documentary that was shot in the area, we found a new inspirational artist - Belgian photographer Frederik Vercruysse - who has explored that fascinating place on earth and returned with some impressive work named 'Temo Polveroso' or 'Pulverised Time'. The project which Vercruysse initially had in mind when embarking on his residency at Villa Lena was a new series of still lifes, but he soon felt compelled to capture his inspirational surroundings in images rather than remain within the four walls of his studio. His photographs of the marble quarries reveal a similar dynamic as Khateeb's images - showing a mixture of an utmost raw beauty and solitary melancholy, which could be seen as a metaphor for the embodiment of the area: the creation of beauty at the expense of nature. Without any human beings in the frames, it is impossible to fathom the larger-than-life scale of this totally unique form of landscape exploitation/architecture. The series of 16 stunning images over which a cloud of mysterious, powdery mist appears to be suspended, will be on display at the inspirational gallery/store Graanmarkt 13 in Antwerpen until Saturday 30 May. [ Continue reading ]

We love the amazing still life campaign featuring Linda Farrow's Spring/Summer 2014 icons, shot by the highly talented Belgian photographer Frederik Vercruysse in a collaboration with art direction studio Uber en Kosher. Vercruysse is most known for his minimalistic, but highly stylized photography and former collaborations with Filip Dujardin. For the seasonal pieces shot by Vercruysse, Linda Farrow draws inspiration from cosmetic pastels and a new-found love for the eclectic stylish Seventies, creating a diverse and adventurous exploration of fashion eyewear. The constant elements are the hyper-luxe materials including snakeskin and gold, superlative finish and fashion-forward shapes Linda Farrow has become renowned for. The campaign showcases the LFL306 model, crafted from yellow gold and ash snakeskin frame teamed with gold plated lens, and the LFL300, made out of rose gold and its amazing mocha snakeskin frame teamed with a rose gold lens. [ Continue reading ]