Midweek Moods

It may not be ‘Fiesta Friday’ quite yet, so hit up my Midweek Moods for some visual stimulation - and much needed distraction - to get you through to the end of the week. If you’re on Pinterest follow my #HIGHLIFE and #LOWLIFE boards for all the latest #lifestyleporn from the www and beyond...

Happy midweek everyone! 

#HIGHLIFE - Danesfield House

#LOWLIFE - Toile de #WORKBxxCH

#LOWLIFE - Casely Halford X H by HARRIS

#HIGHLIFE - Clooney X Kusama

Follow more #highlife & #lowlife antics on Twitter @JMVELARDI

My Funny Valentine

Salvidor Dalí X Chanel No 5

Happy Valentine's Day - love from @JMVELARDI XOXO

Enamour-ware

Humble enamelware is making a comeback of late into the heart of our homes. Dating from the early twentieth-century, enamelware’s smooth, clean lines - created by fusing porcelain onto steel - has endured both as a functional product as well as a design classic for nearly a century. From traditional kitchen shops and designer home stores to contemporary pop-ups and antique markets, there is a revived hunger from both chefs and hipsters alike for the clanging of enamelware in their kitchens. 

Whether brand new or vintage, enamelware’s prone chips and dents make it that much more loveable – not so easily said for its ceramic or plastic counterparts; emanating a wholesome quality of traditional cooking – think delicious roasts or bubbling crumbles - with a dash of unbreakable invincibility. A chip remember only adds to that much sought after character. I myself love the stuff and I’ve enjoyed slowly collecting a service of my own on my travels over the years with conventional white and blue designs from Britain to more colourful styles manufactured on the Continent. On a recent trip to Serbia, known for its enamelware production, I returned laden with bowls and pots in all shapes and sizes to add to my growing collection of utilitarian chic.

The artists’ magazine TOILET PAPER - conceived in 2010 by Italian contemporary artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari - has launched a collection of enamel tableware with the contemporary Italian brand Seletti, which I was delighted to discover on a recent visit to Opening Ceremony's London flagship. 

Under the art direction of Micol Talso, TOILET PAPER magazine has earned cult status for its distinctive photography-based publication. Every issue takes on a single theme that informs highly conceptual creations, resulting in surreal, saturated and seductive cover-to-cover visuals. As well as its seasonal issues, TOILET PAPER has worked closely with the worlds of art, fashion and design: previous commissions have included exhibitions at Palais de Tokyo in Paris and an art billboard for New York’s High Line Art project; it regularly collaborates with luxury fashion brand KENZO as well as international periodicals such as Vice, The New Yorker and Wallpaper* Magazine.  

For the Seletti Wears TOILET PAPER collection, a series of kitsch imagery from TOILET PAPER magazine's visual dictionary are transferred onto the surfaces of enamel plates and mugs in a colourway of retro hues of white, green and blue creams with black edging. As ambiguous as the magazine, the graphic collection is a zany juxtaposition between product and art form with graphics ranging from a prancing horse and a plunger to a bar of soap with bite marks and a set of female fingers. TOILET PAPER’s iconic language continues with the line-up of a vertical knife, a bloodied heart and a horseshoe to affectionately read ‘I love you’. The service undoubtedly makes for an unforgettable table setting and would be best mismatched to create idiosyncratic dialogues between diners.   

Be enamoured with the full enamelware collection Seletti Wears TOILET PAPER now available at Opening Ceremony worldwide.

Visit Seletti for further details of the collection including vinyl tablecloth designs and explore the world of TOILET PAPER at toiletpapermagazine.org

More art, culture & lifestyle updates @JMVELARDI

Images courtesy of TOILET PAPER magazine

BAFTA Art Diary

The film industry is in full swing with awards season counting down to its zenith at the Oscars next month. Before all eyes descend onto Hollywood, London will host the 67th British Academy Film Awards in celebration of film and documentary. The esteemed BAFTA awards are generally viewed as a signifier to Oscar success and with Gravity receiving the most nominations amongst a pool of brilliant talent from 2013 - including 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, The Wolf of Wall Street and Blue Jasmine to name only a few - this year’s ceremony at the Royal Opera House will guarantee plenty of action and drama on the night.

In the run-up to this weekend’s BAFTAs I pick the most inspiring exhibitions on show in London town; from large-scale installations to intimate works of art, the capital offers a range of celebrated talent equal to that on the silver screen:

Bailey’s Stardust at the National Portrait Gallery 

If you want to know where all the stars are hanging out in London head to the National Portrait Gallery where a landmark exhibition of David Bailey’s photographs chart more than half a century of electric imagery that spans popular culture, celebrity and reportage from around the world.

Bailey's Stardust runs until 1st June 2014 at the National Portrait Gallery. 

Jack Nicholson, 1978 - David Bailey

Richard Deacon at Tate Britain

Discover Turner Prize winning sculptor, Richard Deacon’s material manipulation in a major exhibition presented at Tate Britain. A range of large-scale mixed media sculpture and organic drawings reveal Deacon’s prolific career for sinuous forms over four decades. The gallery’s recent £45million renovation is a masterpiece in the marriage of the historical and contemporary worth exploring on your visit.

Richard Deacon runs until 27th April 2014 at Tate Britain.

It's Orpheus When There's Singing #7, 1978-9 - Richard Deacon

Globe Head Ballerina at the Royal Opera House

Look no further than the venue for this year’s BAFTAs for a dose of contemporary art. In fact, look upwards along the façade of the Royal Opera House to view Yinka Shonibare, MBE’s gravity-defying public art installation Globe Head Ballerina, which takes residence with neighbouring street performers in the heart of Covent Garden on Bow and Russell Street.  Find out more about the installation commissioned by the Royal Opera House in my review Street Dance.

Globe Head Ballerina will be on display at the Royal Opera House until 2017.

Globe Head Ballerina, 2012 - Yinka Shonibare, MBE

Martin Creed at sketch

Whimsical and witty are the main ingredients to Martin Creed’s art practice. What’s the point of it? is a survey of the controversial artist’s signature works currently on show at the Hayward Gallery. To immerse yourself fully in the conceptually curious world of Creed cross over the Thames to Mayfair and pay a visit to the Gallery at sketch where the artist has redecorated with aplomb the restaurant’s famed salon; curating its furniture, furnishings, tableware and artwork as well as designing a custom marble floor. Mixed in with the culinary creations of Head Chef Pierre Gagnaire, the total effect creates one of the most stimulating rooms in the city. 
The Gallery at sketch may be viewed during the day – for dining advance reservations are strongly recommended.

 Martin Creed in the Gallery at sketch 

ICA Off-Site: Dover Street Market at Dover Street Market

Art meets fashion in the latest of the Institute of Contemporary Arts’ Off-Site projects. Returning to its former address in Mayfair, now occupied by fashion emporium Dover Street Market, a collection of rare archival material occupies the exterior and interiors of the emporium across all six floors. Not unfamiliar with in-store art interventions amongst its designer collections, Dover Street Market makes for the ideal canvas in this evocative homecoming where seminal art activity was staged between 1950-1968. More details on the blog - Back to the Future

ICA Off-Site: Dover Street Market opens this week at Dover Street Market through to 6th April 2014.

ICA Off-Site: Dover Street Market

Richard Hamilton at Tate Modern

The late British artist Richard Hamilton is affectionately known as Daddy Pop. A leading member of the Independent Group in the Fifties debating art, architecture and theory, it was at the ICA in Dover Street where the earliest work of Pop art is cited - Hamilton’s very own 1956 collage, Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? showcased in the This Is Tomorrow exhibit. Themes of American consumer culture, celebrity and politics inspired Hamilton to create a number of influential images on art history’s timeline from the twentieth century. London pays tribute to Hamilton with an exhibition at the ICA’s main gallery on The Mall as well as with a retrospective at Tate Modern, which promises to be an immersive mash-up of the artist’s affiliation with the worlds of architecture, product design and film throughout a career that dates from the 1950s to the artist’s final series of paintings created in 2011.

Richard Hamilton opens 13th February at Tate Modern through to 26th May 2014. 

Swingeing London, 1968-9 - Richard Hamilton

Hannah Höch at Whitechapel Gallery

Head East to Whitechapel Gallery to the view the original ‘cut and paste’ works of Hannah Höch. A driving force in the development of twentieth century collage, Höch was a member of Berlin’s Dada movement and transformed everyday printed material into intimate artworks. Over one hundred collages feature in this first major exhibition in Britain and include themes on fashion, finance and feminism in a post-war Germany.

Hannah Höch runs until 23rd March 2014 at Whitechapel Gallery. 

 

Für ein Fest gemacht (Made for a Party), 1936 - Hannah Höch

Click here for a full view of my BAFTA Art Diary map of London


Visit jonathanvelardi.com/writing for more articles on

Art, Culture & Lifestyle 

Images courtesy of David Bailey, sketch London, Whitechapel Gallery
ICA and the estate of Richard Hamilton

Cycle4Schooling

Are you already bored with that New Year’s resolution? Have you been taken hostage by the British weather? Or are you a lover of two-wheels? If the answer is 'yes' to any one of these, Al Madad Foundation wants to hear from you. The London-based charity launches its first sponsored charity challenge this year in aid of its innovative educational projects for internally displaced children in Syria. 

Cycle4Schooling hopes to raise vital funds for Al Madad’s bespoke outreach programmes designed to bring infrastructure and stability to Syrian children with a cycle event between London and Oxford - representing capitals of art and education that form the charity’s primary objectives. On 17th May 2014 the challenge will start at London’s Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, heading westwards through the scenic boroughs of the Home Counties, before reaching its final destination at the world-famous Bodleian Library, Oxford.

Al Madad Foundation is looking for participants at any level and experience to sign on, saddle up and help support this very worthy cause. Funds raised from Cycle4Schooling will continue to be channelled into projects in Syria’s largest city, Aleppo where Al Madad has fostered successful relations with local grassroots organisations over the last year; implementing a unique model of development that works directly with the local community. Largely unreported, the ongoing Syrian conflict has resulted in the closure of over 4,000 schools across the country as well as thousands of trained teachers and professionals who are out of employment. Al Madad’s mission to re-establish a sustainable and self-reliant schooling system under the direction of qualified individuals to teach children for a wage, focuses on the balance of community and rebuilds the hopes for opportunity of otherwise lost generations. With two existing sites in Aleppo, Cycel4Schooling aims to respond to the growing demand on the ground for further long-term educational programmes to be introduced in order to reach more displaced children and their families.

Al Madad Foundation's schools programme in motion

I had the pleasure of working with Al Madad on its fundraising art exhibition, Recounting Palestine’s Stories: An Intervention in 2012 (Show & Tell, June 2012). Collaborating with a charity whose mandate is to generate serious change in the Middle East from the very frontline was a personally enriching experience and this is why I wish to share Cycle4Schooling with you all in the hope you will support this inaugural event aimed at helping the futures of so many. 

The challenge is a full day commitment with several pit stops scheduled en route as well as a four-wheel return to London from Oxford at the end of the day – for a full information pack including a training programme and guidelines visit Cycle4Schooling – any further enquiries may be directed to Rasha Barazi at 0207 408 7881 or contact@almadadfoundation.org

Enter Cycle4Schooling now or if you would like to sponsor a cyclist or support any other of Al Madad Foundation's projects visit almadadfoundation.org

Images courtesy of Al Madad Foundation

Back To The Future

London's Institute of Contemporary Arts will return to occupy its former address in the heart of Mayfair at 17-18 Dover Street next week as part of its ICA Off-Site programme. Following on from the success of its large-scale occupation in The Old Selfridges Hotel with the exhibition A Journey through London Subcultures: 1980s to Now last year (London Underground, November 2013), the ICA will present rarely seen archival material in a temporary exhibition where the fashion retail store Dover Street Market now resides. 

Before its relocation to its present premises on The Mall, Dover Street staged some of the ICA’s most important exhibitions in post-war British art. Between 1950 and 1968, seminal art activity conducted by the Independent Group took place at the ICA and brought together critical debate from the areas of art, architecture and theory. Pop Art and Op Art movements as well as a catalogue of exhibitions by Bacon, Freud, Pollock and Picasso earned the ICA its status as a pioneering art destination. Appropriately, Dover Street Market London and its outposts around the world have become destinations for not only innovative fashion but for the seasonal art collaborations curated by its founder Rei Kawakubo who invites international artists to work with the conceptual in-store spaces. ICA Off-Site: Dover Street Market will feature interior and exterior installations across all six floors of the fashion emporium, in conjunction with the publication Institute of Contemporary Arts: 1946-1968, which will examine this remarkable period of art activity and the origins of a British institution.

The project and publication coincides with the upcoming exhibition at The Mall of the late British Pop artist and original member of the Independent Group, Richard Hamilton whose work and career is inextricably linked to the ICA’s history. Tate Modern will also be honouring Hamilton with a retrospective documenting a celebrated career over 60 years later this month.

ICA Off-Site: Dover Street Market opens to the public on 11th February and runs through to 6th April 2014 – for further information visit ICA Off-Site.

View last year's A Journey through London Subcultures: 1980s to Now on the blog here.

ICA Off-Site: Dover Street Market

11th February - 6th April 2014

17-18 Dover Street

London

W1S 4LT

Richard Hamilton at the ICA

12th February - 6th April 2014

12 Carlton House Terrace

London

SW1Y 5AH

Serif vs Sans Serif

In my latest blog entry for Ohh Deer I explore the typographic crux that is Serif and Sans Serif with a little help from some illustrations by Studio Velardi. Everyday font wars play out on products and propaganda, each one battling for attention; for a moment of our appreciation or disdain. Typeface plays a significant role across our cultural landscape in both creative and commercial industries such as technology, fashion and entertainment. In an age of online publishing, the question 'to serif or sans serif' is carefully considered when deciding how we wish to project ourselves through as much as what our words say, as how they look.  

Decisions, decisions...

Typeface now gets physical thanks to Japanese design studio TYPE who invite us to wear our taste in typeface as part of our personal style. Inspired by how ‘the design of a typeface affects how a message is communicated’ TYPE launches an ingenious collection of eyewear designed around the anatomical characteristics of Helvetica and Garamond families to represent their respective 'universality and individuality' for its inaugural collection.

Helvetica’s solid sans serif lines are lifted off the page to create spectacle arms as are Garamond’s serif accents that are incorporated onto the bridge of a classic keyhole frame. Each model is available in Light, Regular and Bold weights; finished in Black, Tortoise or Clear colourways and can be made as eyeglasses or sunglasses. 

TYPE is currently only available in Japan and will be expanding their typeface catalogue in the coming seasons - explore the entire collection  here to see what typeface suits you. 

Read my full Serif vs Sans Serif feature on the Ohh Deer blog.

To view a selection of my published writing visit jonathanvelardi.com/writing; follow @JMVELARDI on Twitter for my take on the latest art, culture and lifestyle news and view more illustrations by Studio Velardi at studiovelardi.tumblr.com

Illustration by Studio Velardi | Images courtesy of TYPE

Tray Chic

With men’s fashion flexing its A-game in recent seasons it was only a matter of time before the inevitable transition from dandy menswear to equally dandy homewares took to the playing field. It’s all well and good looking fly from head to toe but if you don’t know your brogues from your Bauhaus your sprezz-ometer will be found wanting.

Luxury preppy label GANT delves into its Scandi archives to introduce accessories for the home under its younger line GANT Rugger with a collection of serving trays. Yes, trays. Admittedly the words ‘rugger’ and ‘trays’ don’t initially slide off the tongue naturally, however the humble serving tray is one of the most popular Swedish exports and is a staple in the Swede’s design-conscious psyche for both beauty and functionality. Tapping into the leading trend for designerware GANT Rugger has released three individual styles that are more at home with a round of snaps amongst friends rather than half-time orange slices for the team. 

Each tray is handmade from a single sheet of Scandinavian birch wood and features Swedish-inspired imagery that wouldn’t look out of place on a cotton square. The indigo-inspired 'Rope Tray' (above) is a handsome example of bridging runway looks with interior design ready for Springtime house parties. Head over to GANT Rugger to check out the new collection and serve up some chic in your man cave. 

For updates on design and lifestyle from the 

#highlife to the #lowlife follow @JMVELARDI

Images courtesy of GANT

The Beatles X Vans

This year's GRAMMYs marked the first in a long line of special tributes that will commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ historic appearance on America’s The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. The two surviving members of the iconic rock band, Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, reunited to perform and accept the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in the run up to next month’s TV special, which will be broadcast on US network CBS on 9th February at 8pm – the exact day, date and time four men from Liverpool appeared on US television in New York to take both America and the world by storm. 

The Beatles with Ed Sullivan – 9th February 1964

Beatlemania transcends musical tastes and continues to command lucrative interest as only the greatest band of all time can. After more than forty years since the band’s break-up, brand-Beatles has worked with influential designers on a variety of collaborations that have included street wear label A Bathing Ape to high-end Japanese fashion house COMME des GARÇONS. In this special year Vans will release a capsule collection of their trademark canvas sneakers emblazoned with trippy imagery from The Beatles’ 1968 animated film and album art Yellow Submarine, illustrated by Heinz Edelmann. The Yellow Submarine collection will include four colourways of distinct psychedelic graphics on Authentic, Era, Sk8-Hi and Slip-On models.

This highly anticipated collection is a first into the forays of footwear using Yellow Submarine iconography and follows previous collaborations between Vans and music heavyweights that include a 2013 release with heavy metal band Metallica. It may be nearly fifty years old but the Yellow Submarine collection looks as fresh and contemporary in 2014 as it did in the Sixties and will no doubt keep new and existing Beatles fans on their toes.

The Beatles X Vans capsule collection will launch on 1st March 2014 and will retail between $65 and $75 - check out full details of the collection at Vans.com

Visit GRAMMY.com for further information about The Night That Changed America: A GRAMMY Salute to The Beatles TV special airing next month. 

Images courtesy of Vans & © 2009 Apple Corps Ltd.

Hello For Some More

Sir Paul Smith’s celebrated exhibition at London’s Design Museum will be delaying its farewell. Hello My Name Is Paul Smith will be extended to 22nd June 2014 and will feature a host of new events scheduled for the coming months, which will include guest talks and Friday Lates dedicated to men’s fashion and style. 

The Design Museum celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and I can think of no better British designer than the distinguishable dandy that is Sir Paul Smith to face the museum’s landmark year.

Read my full review of the inspiring exhibition that charts the designer’s global success from Nottingham to Nippon at Ohh Deer’s blog. Visit the Design Museum for booking and visitor information.

#HelloMyNameIsPaulSmith epitomises eccentric, electric, Englishman - opens to public tmoro. #jolly_good_show pic.twitter.com/Au10tIJA0r
— Jonathan Velardi (@JMVELARDI) November 14, 2013

Follow @JMVELARDI for the latest updates on art, culture and lifestyle and visit jonathanvelardi.com/writing for a selection of my published writing. 

Image courtesy of the Design Museum

Gifted

The end of 2013 marked the finale of what have been momentous occasions at the House of Windsor. Celebrations for Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and subsequent Coronation anniversary last year provided much pomp and circumstance, great and small, which touched all aspects and interests of the British Monarchy. Design, innovation, culture and sport all featured in the royal limelight and as is customary, gifts were duly presented to the Monarch from these various bodies that contribute to what must be one of the most eclectic collections in the world, spanning The Queen’s sixty-year reign.

 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee, 2012 - David Hockney

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, the Royal Academy of Arts, founded in London by George III in 1768, presented a gift to The Queen of over one hundred works on paper by practising Royal Academicians. The Diamond Jubilee portfolio followed tradition of two previous gifts presented to its royal patron – the first to mark the Coronation in 1953 and the second to celebrate the Silver Jubilee in 1977 – both of which had featured a host of prominent talent from the era.

'Gifted' opens today @BritishMonarchy feat #art by Royal Academicians @royalacademy http://t.co/Tzs3mTwEMO #gifted pic.twitter.com/bp6dJFkyiM
— Jonathan Velardi (@JMVELARDI) November 1, 2013

Gifted: From the Royal Academy to The Queen, curated by Martin Clayton, Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Royal Collection, presents the entire Diamond Jubilee portfolio featuring traditional and contemporary artists who have transferred their respective mixed media practices to art works on paper. Hung in the Salon-style at The Queen’s Gallery, the individual works from the portfolio encircle a painting by Johan Zoffany from the Royal Collection, The Academicians of the Royal Academy dated 1771-2. The painting is believed to have been commissioned by George III - as the Academy’s founding patron - and provides historical grounding of the long-standing relationship between fine art and Monarchy, as well as the developments of artistic expression through the centuries. Zoffany’s canvas depicts an all-male landscape of all the founding members in their finery setting up a life class with male nude models - training that was at the core of the curriculum, adopted from the French framework at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In contrast, the Diamond Jubilee portfolio portrays a very different representation of twenty-first century artistic practice in Britain; notably the inclusion of female members, the breadth of media such as collage (Joe Tilson) and photography (Michael Manser) to the latest technology with an iPad drawing courtesy of David Hockney, and not a life drawing sketch in sight. The exhibition is by no means a comprehensive representation of contemporary artistic practice, however high-profile names such as Hockney, Tracey Emin, Anish Kapoor, Cornelia Parker and Grayson Perry will cater to visitors who do not join the art crowd on its annual pilgrimage to the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. 

Design for Kenilworth AMI, 2010 - Grayson Perry

Other highlights include the design for London 2012’s Olympic Aquatic Centre by international architect Zaha Hadid and a print by sculptor Phyllida Barlow in her trademark pink hues, who is preparing to take on the grand Duveen Galleries at Tate Britain this year in the name of the annual Tate Britain Commission launching in late March. 

& great to see an artwork by my former tutor @SladeSchool PhyllidaBarlow. #gifted pic.twitter.com/D20hauOGYt
— Jonathan Velardi (@JMVELARDI) October 31, 2013

While artists with controversial reputations in the art world are included in this exclusive portfolio, their restrained contributions may disappoint visitors expecting strokes of anarchy within the crimson gallery. On display are the beautifully crafted bespoke portfolio boxes that will archive the prints - reminding visitors that as with Zoffany’s painting, the works assume a new role, beyond the gallery walls, onto the royal timeline of history. 

Gifted: From the Royal Academy to The Queen runs to 16th March 2014 at The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Tickets include entry to Castiglione: Lost Genius - an exhibition of drawings and prints by one of the most accomplished draughtsmen from the seventeenth-century, Giovanni Castiglione. For further visitor information visit the Royal collection’s official website.

The Queen's Gallery

Buckingham Palace 

London

SW1A 1AA

Images courtesy of Royal Collection Trust

2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee, 2012 - David Hockney

Inkjet Printed iPad Drawing on Paper, 20x14" © David Hockney

Design for Kenilworth AMI, 2010 - Grayson Perry

Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013

Happy New Year

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Greetings from 2014! I hope the New Year has gotten off to a brilliant start despite Mother Nature’s hindrances of late. I’m back from riding high on a wave myself - a metaphorical wave of inspiration - after what was one of the best breaks I’ve had in a long time. Lake Geneva called me back once more to test my French as well as my stamina, as I walked down every rue and boulevard worthy of cultural exploration under the bluest of blue skies. 2013 continued to surprise down to its very last hours as I travelled over the Swiss Alps to what had been previously unchartered territories of Eastern Europe. Ringing in 2014 in Belgrade was only the beginning of an electric adventure across the Serbian capital, bounteous of art, design and gastronomy. The city proved to be a hit on all my senses and I’ll be sharing all the #highlife and #lowlife from Belgrade and Geneva on the blog in the coming weeks.

Until then, here’s to a prosperous and boundless year ahead!