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Avenue Road’s New Gallery Concept Nods to Hedonism
There’s perhaps no better time to indulge in the fusion of art and design than during Miami Art Week, which may explain why Stephan Weishaupt waited until then to debut his latest gallery concept. The founder of Avenue Road and Man of Parts has carved a niche with his vision of amassing a tight-knit group of collaborators that produce lovingly crafted furniture with clean lines, sculptural panache, and intriguing backstories that makes each an immediate classic. With his gallery concept, called 5oz in reference to the amount of champagne typically poured into a flute, Weishaupt now aims to bring that distinct point of view to presenting blue-chip art in relaxed, home-like settings that eschew the clinical white cube.
The appointment-only gallery and showroom unfolds across two sumptuous Miami Beach residences—one an Art Deco gem noted for terrazzo floors, fluted columns, and lush flora, and the other a Palm Springs–inspired bungalow next door. Inside, the power of this fusion is clear. An architectural print by photographer Peter Steinhauer lends a welcome dose of drama to a vignette anchored by a pristine solid oak desk and console by Sebastian Herkner. Acrylic glass sheets by Regine Schumann, meanwhile, bathe the interior in a chromatic aura not unlike the Magic City glow after dusk. The effect, much like the gallery’s name, is intoxicating.
NeueHouse launches a membership option that grants more access to all its venues.
As the world becomes attuned to a new order of workspaces centered around thoughtful design that sparks creativity and collaboration, NeueHouse is launching an all-access pass to its outposts in New York, Los Angeles, and soon Miami and Venice. The Salon membership also offers unlimited entry to its shared offices, designed by the Rockwell Group, with eight flexible work days each month alongside its events and programming.
Takashi Murakami enlivens a Hublot timepiece with his signature rainbow flower.
On the heels of his noir debut with the Swiss watchmaker, the Japanese designer changes gears as he launches a second timepiece under the Hublot Classic Fusion range. The 100-piece limited-edition drop sports a scintillating watch face composed of 384 gemstones inset in the shape of a smiling flower—a hallmark design of the artist that marks this partnership as a playful marriage of whimsical designs and luxury craftsmanship.
A bold-faced roster of creatives decry the Cuban government for jailed artists.
Following the July 11 protests, Cuban authorities arrested artists whose work was deemed a threat to national governance. Now, an open letter signed by art and culture’s biggest names, including Meryl Streep, writer Paul Auster, and cartoonist Jules Feiffer, are calling on the government to release the detained creatives on the pretext of free artistic expression. “Throwing artists in jail or exiling them from the country forever—in response to their art, words, and ideas—is abusive and inhumane,” reads the letter. “Art should be free from censorship and repression, in Cuba and everywhere.”
Balkrishna Doshi becomes first Indian architect to win the RIBA Royal Gold Medal.
Through a prodigious career that spans 70 years and included partnerships with Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, Balkrishna Doshi has received the 2022 award by the Royal Institute of British Architects following his Pritzker Prize, making him the first Indian architect to secure both accolades. The founder of Vastu Shilpa Consultants is slated to receive the award during the 2022 ceremony for his efforts in advancing Indian architecture with capital projects like the Atira Guest House, the CEPT University, and the Amdavad ni Gufa art gallery.
A poignant video installation by an Afghan artist is awarded by the PinchukArtCentre.
In depicting how children interact with Afghanistan’s turbulent political climate, a poignant conversation following the militant takeover by the Taliban, Aziz Hazara’s Bow Echo display at the Ukrainian art institution was named the winner of the Future Generation Art Prize 2021, a $100,000 award for young artists. Describing the work as “a gesture of remembrance and mourning that doubles as an urgent call for attention to a perilous situation,” the prize jury notes that “the piece holds many paradoxes in a simple scene: the playfulness of childhood, the limitlessness of grief, the conquest of land and territory, and the precarity of the future.”
Tech-driven real estate startup, co-founded by Bjarke Ingels, announces its first development in San Jose.
The housing startup Nabr has revealed its first development in SoFA, San Jose’s arts and culture district. Founded by architect Bjarke Ingels, WeWork alum Roni Bahar, and the former head of Sidewalk’s Model Lab, Nicolas Chim, the company is based on a software platform that will allow residents to custom-design their living spaces and provide a seamless financing model that supposedly puts residents on a pathway to homeownership. “Our goal is to pioneer a new sustainable urban lifestyle,” says Ingels. “At SoFA One, residents have access to a Scandinavian standard of quality of life, yet they are still in the hub of Silicon Valley, America’s greatest innovation ecosystem. Residents get the best of both worlds.”
Today’s attractive distractions:
Mean Girls star Rajiv Surendra debuts a pottery collection with PlantShed.
Scientists excavate the tomb of two ancient Egyptians with golden tongues.
