Dior Couture By Patrick Demarchelier

HAPPY 4TH JULY

THE OVAL OFFICE BY JON RAFMAN IN THE STYLE OF JASPER JOHNS.

Dreaming

Namibia by Sebastiao Salgado

visionofsplendor.com

Hermes Leather Forever

Celebrating 175 Years , Hermès Leather Forever Exhibition shows us the beautiful company's long relationship with leather. The show is divided in 12 rooms which represent various leather collections including Travel, equestrian, accessories and handbags. Bespoke items from history such as items commissioned by the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson and a winged saddle apparently commissioned by a Japanese band. Most exciting for me is the Craftspeople from the Hermès workshop in Paris who will be present at the show, demonstrating the art of leather-working.

There is more , Hermès created four one of a kind versions of its Passe- Guide Handbag  representing England , Scotland , Ireland and Wales as tribute to those countries. Christie's will conduct and online auction of the bags from 14th of May till 31st. All proceeds of the auction will be donated to the Royal Academy of Arts. They should make a special piece for the Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Hermès Leather Forever Exhibition

6 Burlington Gardens

London

W1S 3ET

8th to 27th of May 2012

10am to 6pm Daily , Late Night on Fridays till 10pm.

Admission Free

Sources via,

www.hermes.com

www.christies.com

www.parkandcube.com

"DEMON CHEF" ALVIN LEUNG'S X-TREME CHINESE CUISINE..

HIS TWO MICHELIN STAR HONG KONG RESTAURANT BO IS OPENING IN LONDON'S MAYFAIR IN DECEMBER. NOW THAT WILL BE AN EXPERIENCE!

VIDEO BY RYAN HOPKINSON ON NOWNESS

LI CHEN THE SOUL GUARDIAN

AERIEL PAGODA I

AERIAL PAGODA II

FIREMASTER

THE THREE BODIES OF BUDDHA

THE PURSUER

CLEAR SOUL

SNOW WONDERLAND

SOUL GUARDIAN

THE GENUINE STATE

LANDSCAPE IN HEAVEN

GOLDEN PALM

ELEVATION

LORD OF WIND

OFFERING

SOARING DRAGON

CAUSAL (soul)

THE ILLUMINATOR

THE ILLUMINATOR CLOSE UP

  "Behind the Beacon is a ceremonial process; its essence lies in “Yinze”—the full or diminishing glory of the sun and the moon. (Li Chen)

One morning I received a call from a dear friend of mine whose taste and creativity I greatly admire, she recounted to me her trip in Paris and all the wonderful art she had seen but especially wanted to share with me in detail something she knew I would love. Buddha statues like she had never seen, her description immediately resonated with me and the googlelista that I am I fell on Buddhas Big Lap. It was love at first sight for me too, Splendid Buddha, big and round like a baby, strong yet soft, heavy yet light,  almost as if Botero and Buddha had baby via Artist Taiwanese Li Chens mind. 

Li Chen's  Spiritual Invocations come from his deep knowledge and experience in Taoist, Buddhist and Classic Chinese Traditions but most of all from his connection to his soul. That is what make these sculptures be different from the rest, they glimmer within. 

Now how can I invoke one of his sculpture in my house?! 

*When night light Glimmers : The Beacon*

In this Series:

The Pursuer, Illuminator, Angelic Smile, Fire Master, The Pavilion, Aerial Pagoda & Soaring Dragon.

"One evening in 2009, Li Chen returned from a busy day at work to his home. He lit a long unused candles on the family Buddhist altar and enjoyed the warmth of the silence, and the experience brought back memories of one of his earlier drawings titled “Illuminator.” This event was the spiritual beginnings of the artist’s current series of work. For the “The Beacon” Series, Li Chen completed just eight pieces in total. For Li lighting the lamp constitutes an act of “recuperation” and brings with it a certain ritualistic joy. Through the interaction of humanity and fire the burning of materials not only changes the environment, but a certain romantic sentimentality dances in the candlelight. As a result, ones state of mind becomes becalmed, providing an opportunity for one to communicate with oneself. “The Beacon” is far richer and more diverse than any of Li’s earlier work. It also marks the first time the artist has sculpted the human form, deliberately showcasing the characteristic of the Asian physical form. This work makes the connection between people and such high places as towers, pavilions, heavenly fire, containing objects that appear distant, but can be compared with Chinese literati’s slow wander.

  "The meaning of the Pursuer’s candle light can be decided by people’s different definition and thought for life. A white cloud twirling around the waist of the figure is evocative of a dream-like illusion, triggering the imagination and lending a surprising touch of humor to the otherwise thought-provoking theme. Such is the wondrous creativity of Li Chen." (Thomas Lee, President of Asia Art Center)

 ******* NEWS***************** ( Lucky Parisians )

LI CHEN EXHIBITION IN PLACE VENDOME PARIS 2 SEPTEMBER-29TH. 2013. 

   Li Chen has accomplished an artistic style that incorporates Eastern philosophy of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist traditions with contemporary thought, evincing the idea of “Spirit of the East.” His sculptures will be showcased at the center of Paris surrounded by historical buildings. While such arrangement seems to emphasise the contrast between two different cultures, they are alike in terms of providing new possibilities and interpretations for our cumulative civilisation and wisdom in contemporary world. Facilitated by the speed of globalisation and technology nowadays, we can thus expect a profound intellectual dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures occurring at Place Vendome. 

  This exhibition is organised by notable non-profit organization—Global Art Center Foundation (GAC), and Asia Art Center, with full acknowledgement and support from the Vendôme Committee (Comité Vendôme), Ministry of Culture (Ministère de la Culture) and Paris City Council (Conseil municipal). After 18 months of deliberated planning by the curatorial team, which consists of international experts from Paris, Netherlands, Italy and Taipei, the team has successfully overcome various obstacles such as transportation, structural calculation, artwork placement, loading capacity, and weather conditions. in the hope to help Taiwanese artist break free from geographical boundary and to engage in the infinite possibilities of the world. 

  As the economy of the east begins to rise and attract global attentions, Li Chen’s artworks inspired by Eastern culture and traditions will surely bring to light a visual and spiritual feast in the world.

    SOURCES

www.lichensculpture.org

www.asie-antiquites.com

To see more like LI Chen see my previous piece on Dashi Namdakov 

L'Apartement de Monsieur Lagerfeld

«Je voulais un appartement avec du verre et de la transparence partout …

Ici, pas de couleur, car je suis entouré de couleur en permanence. Je préfère vivre dans un environnement neutre.»-KL

 I wanted an apartment with glass and transparency everywhere … And there is no colour here, because I am constantly surrounded by colour. I prefer to live in a neutral environment.

Photos by Karl Lagefeld

www.admagazine.fr

www.karl.com/fr

Mechanical Splendor

1956 Jaguar DType

1960 Sebring Winning "Rat Race" Corvette

1931 Brough Superior SS80

1931 Duesenberg Model JLong-Wheelbase Coupe

1959 Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet

1947 Italian Championship -winning 1933 Alfa Romeo 8c 2300 Monza

Selection of Beauties for Gooding Auctions

1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa

1950 Jaguar XK120 Roadster

1995 MacLaren F1

1955 Austin Healey 100s DSC3

1927 BMW R47

Ferrari 166 Spider Corsa

1957 BMW 507 Roadster

1955 Bentley

1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Cabriolet

1954 Jaguar XK120 SE

1954 Mercedes Gullwing

I got my love of cars from my father, he was mostly a Mercedes Fan and drove like he was in a Formula 1 racetrack much to the horror of most people, even more when he would put one of his children on his lap while flooring it. Us the kids we loved it, we would drive all over Europe and get to our destination in no time.

  To me there is nothing like the beauty of Classic Cars, beautiful and elegant. There are so many that it took my days to do this post as I got completely engulfed into the world of classic cars it was so hard to narrow it down. It all started as I read about the famous Car Collector Auction House of Gooding & Company Amelia Island Sales that were a staggering $38 Million! The other well known of these Auctions are held at Pebble Beach and Scottsdale where they sold a 1955 Mercedes Benz 300Sl Alloy Gullwing for a record $4.6 Million.

Its fascinating and wonderful to see how many people still collect and appreciate the incredible history and craftsmanship of these classic cars and motorcycles. Just be aware once you jump in you may never be the same again.

Now which one should I bid on? 

Sources and Images via,

Gooding, Sports Car Digest, Luxist, Driven Urban Daddy and TopSpeed

A Universe In The Ocean

  “That was the most amazing, the most incredible moment of my life; as if I had been offered a trip to the moon … I thought of nothing else for months before it happened. Afterwards, for weeks I couldn’t talk about it without crying. I’m still not entirely over it … It was so beautiful and so intense, it changed me forever.”

Producer, journalist and film director of wildlife documentaries Claire Nouvain's speaking of her experience when she was invited on board the submersible Johnson Link-1 to travel down 1000 meters below the ocean in the Gulf of Maine part of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.

From this life changing experience she set out to produce this beautiful book on the incredible universe that lies in the Abyss of our Oceans. A mind opening book of 220 mesmerizing photographs of marine life that has never seen before by most of us.

With an average of depth of 3800 Meters, the oceans offer 99 per cent of the space where life can develop on Earth. The Deep Sea occupies 85 per cent of this space, and thus forms the planets largest habitat. " And what do we know about it? Compared to what remains to be discovered practically nothing."

One of the major discoveries is that the depth is full of lights. There is no light from the surface,  so creatures make their own, as many as 80-90 per cent of the animals are bio luminescent. Like fireflies they light themselves to collect food, to attract pray, to confuse predators and to signal potential mates.

Wow how fascinating is all this, am sure we won't find Nemo down here. This book will be a future classic, thank you Claire Nouvain  and all the scientists for opening our eyes to the magic of this planet.

Enjoy xo

Sources,

www.thedeepbook.org

www.literaryreview.co.uk/robinson_05_07.html

A Fine Ride

I am no cyclist, barely know how to ride a bike but I appreciate beautiful design. If I had to ride a bike it would be one of these, my favourite is the Black and Copper Plated Madison Street, so elegant . Wish there was a little more info on the people behind this well crafted line of bicycles.

See Detroit is not all about cars and music. xo

All Images and where to order via,

www.detroitbicyclecompany.com