Palais de Tokyo.

The above piece by Theo Mercier was a favourite at the 'Dynasty' exhibition. The Michael homage was spotted in the court yard. 

Jaime Hayon at Masion & Objet.

One of the many interesting things I saw at Masion&Objet in early September was the Jaime Hayon exhibit "Moving Ideas". It was a glimpse into his creative process - from work-in-progress sketches to prototypes from first projects and recently unveiled pieces. Experimental, eccentric and quite extraordinary. 

More here. Images from here. (Cameras strictly verboten so no images of my own.)

Legends of Unity.

I went to the opening of an exhibit of portraits of African footballers by Kehinde Wiley last night. It's a collaboration between Puma and Wiley and as well as artwork you can see the range of Puma clothing, footwear and accessories inspired by the work.

It is vibrant, graphic work which I was looking forward to seeing up close - the only disappointment was that the originals were not on exhibit - apparently stuck in customs. I'm a big fan of West African textile prints so I found the bold wallpaper type backgrounds really beautiful.

Images by me & various other sources. Unfortunately so many people and press it was hard to get a decent shot. The exhibition runs from 24 June to 3 July.

Shopping party.

Yes, I just posted about a shopping detox and I'm following it up with an invitation to BUY.

This Friday for anyone in the Cape Town area.

Conrad Botes Exhibition

Crime and Punishment. 2008. Reverse-glass painting, oil based paint on glass.

Opening Thursday evening at the Michael Stevenson runs until 21 February.  More here. 

Shiny and bright

Another great group show brought to us by Curious Whetsone and Frankley. Put this in your diary Capetonians!

Big Wood Exhibition

Some work by DH for the exhibition Big Wood. I really like it. He had his vector artwork laser cut into wood. I think the opening was on Saturday eve in Durban. See here for more (some images from the 2007 exhibit). 

Lytton Street Studios Exhibition

Got this invite from Frank. See you there?

Biblioteq

Pop over to elledeco to see images from Tord Boontjes new(ish) book. I'm a fan and snapped up a garland light shade as soon as I came across one (about three years ago on a european holiday). His work seems to be everywhere now but I still love my light shade.


Biblioteq is a great little bookstore where you will always find something inspiring. They also get involved in exhibitions and competitions fairly frequently. Next one in conjunction with Mingo Lamberti is next week, see below.

This exhibition is sure to be an entertaining visual delight. Illustrators Linzie Hunter, Rod Hunt, Nishant Choksi and Allan Sanders.






Hot Rods and Hairy Beasts is showing at the Coningsby Gallery from Monday 29th September until Saturday 4th October 2008, so anyone in London - enjoy. I am familiar with the work of a few of the artists (Linzie Hunters 'sex spam series' is getting a lot of attention) and the others are well respected. A group showing should be fantastic. The Parisian dog poo image is hilarious! I think DH stepped in dog poo about 4 times when we were in Paris. And we were only there for a week.
Thanks Doug, for the email about this great collective.

Heads up - Cape Town 9&10 May

Some nice upcoming events for Capetonians: 'Two Karens' at Curious, Whetstone & Frankley opening Friday eve (87a Station Road, Observatory) and a nice little sale (who can resist a sale?) in Muizenberg on Saturday.

Dolly vase

dolly vase, originally uploaded by black_kat1.

This is by Corneel Lemmer. Exhibited earlier this year at the Design Indaba Expo and now at Flogging Art. See more of 'Flogging Art' at Fourwallsdesign.

I love this vase, she looks great with a single bloom making her pretty head/face.

Flogging Art III

I was sent this invite recently. Sounds great, I've been to one of these before. Diarise if you're in the area.

Curious, Whetstone & Frankley invites you to FLOGGING ART III, a flash exhibition of art, photography, ceramics and jewellery.
One night and two days only!

Friday 28 March from 5pm, Saturday 29 March, 10‑4, Sunday 30 March, 10‑4
87a Station Road, Observatory, Cape Town (between the Obs Library and Obs Station)
Tel. 021 44 88 780

MAD museum

Another cool example where the subject matter is unexpected for the medium. This crazy piece: a skull table cloth. Not sure I'd display this pretty but macabre cloth although I can definitely appreciate the craftmanship and the love the twist.


By Hildur Bjarnadóttir Untitled (skulls)
Crocheted cotton yarn.
Photo: Richard Goodbody, Inc.

It's part of an exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design called "Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting."

"A provocative and timely exhibition of international artists using fiber in unexpected and unorthodox ways, this exhibition shines a spotlight on a territory in which distinctions between art, craft, and design are seen to be arbitrary and artificial. It also illuminates a field of creative practice that today is fresh, surprising, and engaging to all audiences."

Another exhibit at MAD is "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery" exploring old crafting and needleworking techniques rejuvenated into mainstream art and design. The artists hail from as diverse countries as Transylvania, Egypt and Mexico. The below piece caught my eye.


Andrea Dezsö, My Grandmother Loved Me Even Though ...
Embroidery, cotton thread on white cotton canvas
Photo: Andrea Dezsö

Melanie Sutton

I haven't personally attended this exhibition but I've heard it's great. Optimistic and uplifting. Reason enough to visit in my opinion. If you are in Cape Town, perhaps you'll agree.

Sweet Surrender by Francois Van Reenen

An exhibition by Frank Van Reenen at Whatiftheworld / Gallery 208 Albert Rd. Woodstock
From 07 Dec 2007 - 12 Jan 2008 (Opening: Friday 07 Dec 2007 18h00)

From whatiftheworld
"The first solo exhibition by artist Francois Van Reenen at Whatiftheworld / Gallery, feautring a selction of new sculptures, prints, paintings, and animation. A pioneer of Flash animation filmmaking in the 90’s and an accomplished sculptor, van Reenen extract’s sentimentality and nostalgia from his 50’s based toy and comic collection, transferring dilemmas of taste and emotion onto his prints and sculptures. The artist’s rye sense of humour and self conscious ironical take on the world combined with autobiographical references form the basis of his conceptual and aesthetic approach."

I love Frank's work and was fortunate to have been given a 'Shy girl' print (below) from Frank and Tracy for my birthday a few years ago. More here

An exhibition of sculptures by Adrian Köhler

Cup of Tea 2007 wood 8 x 18 x 15cm


Swiss Army Knife 2007 wood 18 x 4.5 x 35cm

A postcard for this Exhibition -WOOD 4 Dec 2007 – 26 Jan 2008- is floating around the studio. I think it's the most beautiful work. It looks painstakingly perfectly crafted and I am diarising this one as a must-see. More info here 34 Long
All images © Adrian Köhler, 2007