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EPOCSODIELAK

Konstantin Grcic and Mirko Borsche presented their mobile club experience at Salone 2016

One of the highlights of last month's Salone del Mobile came from renown Munich-based creatives Konstantin Grcic and Mirko Borsche, who presented their one-off shared project named EPOCSODIELAK — a light machine that can turn any room into a raving club. The light and sound installation is the result of a chance creative collaboration between the two renowned German designers, internationally recognized in the product and graphic design fields respectively. Given the ambiguous moniker EPOCSODIELAK, the impressive machine is a 3x2x1 meter, free-standing Disco Totem. Made in black powder coated steel and chainlink fencing, it is equipped with a tight cluster of strobe lights, lasers, a fog machine and mix desks. Powered by a 1200 Watt dynamic sound system, the project proposes a self-sufficient sound/light unit, which has enough whack to turn any space into a state- of-the-art disco. With its design kept to a minimum, through the choices of non-complex industrial materials, next to on the other hand its surprising audio-visual power the machine marries both of Grcic and  Borsche's individual talents to delightfully communicate in an iconic language within their fields of specialism. Both designers create through deliberate minimal touches with maximum effect in their own field and put that together resulted in this mobile disco experience boiled down to its bare essentials, still having maximum impact. We love it!

The installation was first presented by KALEIDOSCOPE and ZEITmagazin on the occasion of Salone, where 400 guests followed the invitation to KALEIDOSCOPE’s project space and celebrated the superlamp with a party that was quoted to be among the favorites of this year's edition in Milan.  [ Continue reading ]

Everybody Knows, Nobody Knows

We continue to stay in Japan, bringing you another Japanese artist whose exceptional work we recently discovered - in this case through a feature by the always inspirational Phases Magazine. Although the excellently curated platform almost always succeeds in curating captivating imagemakers, the work of photographic artist Yuichiro Higashiji stands out in the most subtle way possible. Reminding us strongly of the work of another photographic imagemaker which we hold in the highest esteem; Adam Jeppesen, the Japanese photographer's works from the principle of reproducing his images to the point of fading. In this proces a fascinating dynamic is instilled through which his - in the case of his 'Everybody Knows, Nobody Knows' series - grainy black and white representations come to life and fade away, almost mimicking the way affect and memory are sometimes stimulated in the brain. As a result the series of images by Higashiji become their own profound kind of projection on anyone who takes the time to really indulge in the images. [ Continue reading ]

Ryo Okamoto

During the weekend of the 5th of February, Amsterdam will welcome a new initiative by the name of MONO JAPAN. The debuting event organized by the Japan Cultural Exchange offers a stage to acclaimed Japanese masters of traditional practices next to the new generation of ambitious and enthusiastic creators from the country famous for its craftsmanship and design vision. The inspirational new platform has curated a diverse selection of exhibitors, presenting their products which range from pottery, washi (paper), textile, clothing and furniture to teas, sakes and art in the iconic rooms of the Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy. Out of this beautiful lot of ambassadors of the Land of the Rising Sun we particularly love the work of multidisciplinary artist Ryo Okamoto, who is present with fellow artist Daimon Kanno, to introduce his totally unique, yet very Japanese vision on contemporary art. [ Continue reading ]

Les Lalanne at Galerie Mitterrand

As much as we love elegant well-balanced design, it are those makers who create with a similar precision, but always inhabiting a certain element of friction, who continue to stand out rather than loose real relevance over time. Among the artist who have proven to be just that; exquisitely precise but always finding ways to be represent friction into in their case timeless sculptural creations based on animals and nature - full of humor - are the French artist duo Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, who have inspired us with their timeless work since we discovered it through the Yves Saint Laurent art sale in 2009. Following a retrospective exhibition in 2009, inspired by the death of François-Xavier, last month on the 12th of December, the Paris-based Galerie Mitterrand opened another grande exhibition devoted to extraordinary work of Les Lalanne, celebrating 40 years of collaboration between the artists and Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand, and 25 years with the gallery. This exhibition is the opportunity to discover (or rediscover­) the art works of this internationally renowned, extremely talented couple of sculptors. [ Continue reading ]

Talking New Vintage with Geert Bruloot

For the just released 12th issue of Journal de Nîmes we travelled to Antwerp to speak with retail pioneer and well-respected figure within the fashion industry: Geert Bruloot. The curator of the current shoe exhibition in the ever-inspiring MoMu has played a pinnacle role in the road to stardom of the infamous Antwerp Six, which he sold before any one else at the avant-garde designer store Louis and exclusive footwear boutique Coccodrillo. On that rainy wednesdayafternoon we sat down with him and talked about the main theme of the issue 'new vintage', the importance of the experience in a fashion store and the need for rebellion in these times of homogeneity.

— As published in Journal de Nîmes No 12 — [ Continue reading ]

Chamber Collection #2

After last year's impressive debut of the New York-based inspirational boutique of limited edition design, objects and art named Chamber, this month the second annual collection, given the moniker 'Human | Nature', opened its doors. Curated by celebrated photographer and filmmaker Andrew Zuckerman who, just as his predecessors Studio Job, has worked closely with Chamber’s founder, Juan Garcia Mosqueda, in shaping the year-long project. With his curation for Chamber Collection #2, Andrew Zuckerman explores the theme of how the natural world interacts with man’s living environment as expressed through objects of design, art, and various types of ephemera. Zuckerman’s collaboration with Chamber draws on a broad array of sources, including Japanese aesthetics, ethnographic art, and biomimetics, in the service of creating a collection of objects that reintroduce organic forms or concepts into designed spaces. When in New York city this is a must see! [ Continue reading ]

Feral Futures by Coloni and Studio Aikieu

During last week's London Design Festival the super fascinating Plants Out Of Place initiative curated an exhibition with a selection of inspirational projects to introduce its mission to the public. The London-based initiative seeks to engage with the world to re-consider the value of wild plants and how we may utilize them to design for a better future - a vision through which they created a sensory event aiming to trigger the public on an experiential level to question the values and approaches to sustainable practices. The exhibition showed an overall high standard with work by inspirational names like Studio Drift and Drink Factory, yet we are most impressed by the work of our favorite; Coloni which combined forces with Studio Aikieu, resulting in some of the most beautiful imagery we have seen in months. [ Continue reading ]

Coming to Terms by Abdul Abdullah

The intriguing show named 'Coming to Terms' is emerging artist Abdul Abdullah's New York debut, featuring a new series of performative photographic portraits. The 29-year-old Abdullah is one of the most interesting emerging artists coming out of Australia, who after graduating from Curtin University had a focus on painting and in recent years moved into photography and video.  Notions of contemporary ceremony, genesis, ritual, reinforcement of personal identity, cultural hybridity and intimate aspects of the self are revealed in his work through his darkly distinctive oeuvre that is confronting and deeply elucidating in regard to the human condition. We are super fascinated by both the images itself as the symbolic instilled in them, and look forward what the future will hold for this exciting young Australian artist. When in New York see this incredible work! [ Continue reading ]

Reading 78 by Gil Rigoulet

Last week, on the 22nd of July, a great exhibition opened in the Parisian bar Ground Control, curated by the interesting young Mayday Mayday Mayday art/street culture platform. In the show named 'Reading 78', the still quite unknown but greatly talented French photographer Gil Rigoulet transports the spectator into the universe of the uncompromising British punk movement during the late Seventies. One year after the release of the now legendary and paradigm shifting 'Nevermind the Bollocks' record by the Sex Pistols, the English youth was having great fun, dancing like never before to the rhythms of the ever-hardening furious riffs. Taking place in the city of Reading, during its legendary rock festival: in the series a lawless zone is revealed in all its glory, portrayed in grainy black and white photographs - showing that in 1978 everything seemed to still be possible. [ Continue reading ]

Transition by Lauren Marsolier

Recently we stumbled upon the truly magnificent work of Los Angeles-based photographer Lauren Marsolier. The French-born creates extraordinary images that are convincingly real using multiple photographs, unrelated fragments of the outside world collected over time in a variety of locations. Months or years often separate the capture of elements juxtaposed in her landscapes; a technique reminiscent of the art of painting. Her work probes the mental process of transition - hence its moniker - a particular phase when our parameters of perception shift, when we suddenly don't see ourselves, our environment, or our life quite the same way we used to. These transitional periods often feel like being in a place one knows, but can't quite identify. We can't stop gazing at these remarkable photographs, which seem to tell deep stories of solitude and show a clinical beauty which feels both surreal and keeps haunting us. [ Continue reading ]

Ropes & Knots by Luke Stephenson

We have been following British photographer Luke Stephenson since our collaboration with him, when we gave a signed and numbered copy of his ‘An Incomplete Dictionary of Show Birds’ as our fourth Curated gift in 2013. In the following years Luke has kept very busy and made a name for himself through his exquisite eye for details which transcends his impeccable imagery, both in free project as on commissions. Recently another series of Luke has caught our attention when he portrayed Des Pawson (and some of his beloved knots, ropes and tools), the founder of the interesting Museum of Knots and Sailors’ Ropes for a feature in the inspirational magazine Hole & Corner. The incredible series by the photographer shows Stephenson's great talent, giving a wonderful and inspirational peek into the fascinating world of nautical ropes and knots guided by Pawson in an utmost aesthetic manner. [ Continue reading ]

eBay and Sotheby’s

Today, eBay and Sotheby’s will launch the first two live events in the all new Sotheby’s live auctions experience with the themes 'Photographs', starting at 10:00 EDT (14:00 GMT), and 'New York' starting at 20:00 EDT (0:00 GMT tomorrow). The experience enables art aficionados and casual collectors alike to participate in Sotheby’s live auctions anytime, anywhere with the same confidence and access of those bidding in person in the New York salesroom. The Sotheby’s live auctions destination features an innovative Museum View transitions, that bring the experience of walking through a museum or gallery to life in the online world – including enhanced zoom, in-context images, and item-level video. Participants - regardless of their location - see the exact same item and current real-time bidding online and experience real-time bidding sensitive to the millisecond. Today's auctions include work by Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Man Ray, Brassaï,  Robert Longo, next to the New York Yankees stadium sign from circa 1973. We love this promising collaboration between the two retail giants, make sure to check out the gems going on sale today - and try your luck. [ Continue reading ]

The Norman in Tel Aviv

A tribute to style, sophistication and service, The Norman in Tel Aviv  brings unprecedented prestige to the heart of the historic Mediterranean city since it opened last December. For business or leisure, The Norman aims to be a luxury hotel that has refined the art of hospitality, capturing the timeless elegance of the 1920s, matched with the superb comforts of a world-class luxury hotel. It incorporates antique elements from the original interiors of the historic buildings, blended with hand-picked textures and materials to create a rich design tapestry inspired by the prestige of the past. With the newest addition to its services they really caught our attention; this month the hotel introduces a personalized art tours curated by the hotel’s expert art curator. Reflecting the hotel’s devoted support of Israeli artists; The Norman’s décor incorporates original Israeli art works throughout all rooms and public areas. Now the hotel is offering guest’s exclusive access to visit the galleries and studios of the artists showcased throughout the hotel and meet with the artists themselves. Each tour is tailor-made depending on the particular interest’s guest.  [ Continue reading ]

The History of the Colette Gallery

Two days ago the first collaborative effort between Christian M. Andersen's Creative Future and the iconic Parisian concept store colette was launched for pre-order. Compiled as a close collaboration between de two parties involved, the elegant book which was created examines not only colette’s affiliation with art and design, but also the artistic processes, approaches and ideas of the many artists that have worked and exhibited with colette since 1997. The project took more than one-and-a-half years to develop and features a long list of notable artists including KAWS, André Saraiva, José Parlá, Kevin Lyons, Erik Parker, Curtis Kulig, Michael Dupouy, Pedro Winter and Julia Chiang. In addition, the cover artwork of the book is created by the Brooklyn-based artists, KAWS. [ Continue reading ]

Strange Plants II

Last year we were very impressed by the beautiful debut publication of independent publishing house Zioxla named 'Strange Plants', which will have a just as impressive follow up at the beginning of next month. The new book features the work of 30 artists, 5 more then than the first edition, and explores what these artists think about plants and how they portray them in their work. The very talented editor of the book, Zio Baritaux, brought together a new selection of artists, including names like Allison Schulnik, Misha Hollenbach, Francesca DiMattio, Zin Taylor, Katarina Janeckova, Stills & Strokes and Ren Hang. Schulnik, for example, used her own garden as a character in one of her short films; Stills & Strokes projected colors and geometric shapes onto the leaves of plants in botanical gardens; and DiMattio filled the sculptures in her exhibition with dramatic and unruly flowers. Each artist’s work is accompanied by an insightful article or interview that delves deeper into the relationships between plants and people, resulting in another inspirational book. [ Continue reading ]

Sergei Sviatchenko: Collages

At the end of October SCHLEBRÜGGE.EDITOR published the first monograph to focus exclusively on the prolific collage output of our friend Sergei Sviatchenko. Edited by Rick Poynor, whose essay provides an engaging critical overview, it gathers Sviatchenko’s most significant work from the past 10 years and shows little seen collages from his early years in Ukraine before he moved in 1990 to live and work in Denmark. The severe reductiveness of Sviatchenko’s image manipulation sets his collages apart. Works from his long-running 'Less' series consist of only two or three elements floating on a jarringly bright background. The fewer fragments he allows himself to work with, the more crucial the acts of selection, excision and montage become. Depthless backdrops deny his collage constructions a sense of location and push them forward as graphically sculptural objects. The swift cuts that Sviatchenko makes into his source pictures give them angular new outlines that can verge on abstraction. The elegantly designed monograph is illustrated with 165 images, selected to bring out salient themes in Sviatchenko’s continuing development, which has made him one of our favorite collage artists since we discovered his work. [ Continue reading ]

Engineered Garments Workaday by JIMA

The New York City-based fashion label Engineered Garments showcases its incredible sub-label Workaday in this editorial that was brought to our attention at the end of October by Inventory and still is one of our favorite outings of this year. The extraordinary editorial was launched by the mother company of Engineered Garments and label Needles, the highly inspirational Japan and USA-based collective/stores Nepenthes, and shows the intrinsic skill and style of the regularly contributing highly talented Japanese photographer JIMA once again, portraying the workwear-heavy line along familiar themes. Workadays has a strong focus on jackets and work pants, or maybe even better referred to as uniforms, which are offered in military greens and shades of blue. Overall the collection boasts boxy silhouettes similar to ’60s USMC uniforms, contrast shades are used across patch pockets and trouser panels can be observed on the bottoms. The editorial shows the pieces on a group of classical looking men strolling around The Big Apple in an aesthetic reminding strongly of the great street-photographers like Louis Faurer and Garry Winogrand, combined with the cool of filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch and Jean-Luc Godard. Highly inspirational! [ Continue reading ]

Mid-Century Modern Complete

'Mid-Century Modern Complete' by Dominic Bradbury, published through Thames & Hudson can be seen as the definitive survey of one of the most popular, collectable and dynamic periods of international design. With over a 1000 illustrations, it is a must-have for any design aficionado, collector or reader seeking inspiration for their home. It offers a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the subject: furniture, lighting, glass, ceramics, textiles, product design, industrial design, graphics and posters, as well as architecture and interior design, use of innovative and affordable materials and forms of mass manufacture, and newly developed precepts of ‘good design’. Nearly 100 major and influential creators of the mid-century period are highlighted from Scandinavia, Western Europe, America, Japan, Brazil and Australia. They include icons such as Saul Bass, Robin Day, Charles and Ray Eames, Marimekko, Isamu Noguchi, Dieter Rams, Lucie Rie and Paolo Venini, as well as architects Alvar Aalto, Philip Johnson, Richard Neutra and Oscar Niemeyer. Very inspirational! [ Continue reading ]

Holland’s Finest

We are very grateful for everyone who had a share within the very first Our Current Obsession as without them we couldn't have realized it. Having introduced the main collaborator GERTRUD & GEORGE, some of the artists involved (with more to come), and ,The World of Black' in our space has been extended long and wide onto the online Our Current Obsessions environment, now it is time to give a proper insight into the other partners with which we’ve created the core of the extraordinary black selection of products for sale in our space on the Schippersgracht in Amsterdam. As these stores offer only the finest in their particular specialty we’ve named them Holland’s Finest, to which we owe a sincere debt of gratitude and feel honored to have collaborated with. [ Continue reading ]

Flower Contemporary

Flowers are associated with all the major events in life, whether celebratory or commemorative, but they also color our everyday existence and enliven the spaces around us. The extraordinary 'Floral Contemporary: The Renaissance of Flower Design' by the very inspirational curator Olivier Dupon and published by Thames & Hudson, gives an amazing overview and wide array of options how to implement flowers within all those occasions. Through the work of 38 floral designers, flowers for every occasion are presented in an utmost elegant manner; whether public decorations for weddings, arrangements for banquets, installations for shops and hotels, accessories for fashion shows, exhibits for art shows or private, in the form of simple but special displays for the home: which resulted in one of the most beautifully curated and designed books on the beauty of flowers we have seen. [ Continue reading ]

Nike x Undercover
Gyakusou Holiday 2014

Since last June Nike has been opening very inspirational new consumer destinations in 6 major cities all over the globe and online named named NikeLab. The new outlet is a place to showcase how Nike interacts and collaborates with other innovators as part of its larger journey of exploration. It will present a curated collection defined by product never before imagined paired with new variations of existing performance styles. Among the first line of new products presented within the new framework is an all new beautiful Nike Gyakusou line for the holiday season of 2014. Mirroring designer Jun Takahashi’s progressively more serious approach to running, this collection exponentially combines top Nike Running and Research Lab innovations with the designer’s athletic insights, which resulting in a collection combining its signature sharp aesthetic with the latest innovations in performance wear: we love it! [ Continue reading ]

Faculty Department

'Faculty Department' is a beautiful personal photography project and visual journey by the talented Justin Chung, focussing on the lives, spaces and stories of talented and noteworthy individuals worldwide. Chung’s interest in photographing creative people came alive when he moved to New York City to pursue a career in commercial fashion photography and portraiture in 2011. Chung found that while he was inspired by the work these creatives were producing, what he felt most connected to was their process: how the smallest intricacies in their daily lives contributed to making them the most effective, most happy, and most real. It is these intimate details Chung hopes to capture in the pages of 'Faculty Department'. [ Continue reading ]

Araki Teller, Teller Araki

At the initiative of the OstLicht Gallery and Peter Coeln in Vienna, 'Araki Teller, Teller Araki' which took place from the 4th of April until the 25th of May of this year, brought together two of the most important photographers of our times, showing new works conceived for this joint exhibition and entering into an artistic dialogue. The exhibition presented the encounter between two attitudes of extraordinary photographers, who are united in their radical artistic attitude and their almost insatiable hunger for images as reflections of their personal experience of the world. The elementary interest at the core of their work is the spiritual and physical ambivalence of human existence. To coincide with the exhibition Antenna Books in a collaboration with Araki's own eyesencia released Nobuyoshi Araki's and Juergen Teller's first jointly conceived and designed book. The publication assembles more than 300 photographs, including those works shown as part of the exhibition which were previously unpublished. In addition, Araki and Teller have each dedicated a text to the other. [ Continue reading ]

Sonic by Hedi Slimane

Last Thursday, on the 18th of September, the exhibition named 'Sonic' opened in the Paris-based Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent. It takes a look at 15 years of Hedi Slimane's photographic musical archives, ranging from London to New York, with particular focus on the beautiful Californian cycle begun in 2007, from which came 'California Song', the exhibition at the MOCA / Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in November 2011. In 'Sonic' studio portraits of highly influential and heroic rock figures like Lou Reed, Keith Richards, Pete Doherty, Amy Winehouse and Brian Wilson, stand alongside images of alternative scenes from London or California. The exhibition is completed with a video installation, juxtaposing the musical cycles of London (2003-2007) and California (2007-2014) in a documentary style, painting an alternative portrait of two generations of performers and their fans. This combination of two worlds; that of the icons of rock and roll and on the other side the rock and roll to be found in everyday life, exemplifies Slimane's unique creative vision and masterful observations from which all his work, whether as Artistic Director in fashion or as a photographer, stems. Make sure to visit whenever in Paris! [ Continue reading ]