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This Members Club Is Just So L.A.
Flying the Salt Hotels flag, a new adults-only members’ club and hotel embodies the California lifestyle. In true L.A. fashion, The Aster is a playground that balances self-care and indulgence. Falling in the latter category are amenities such as a pilates studio, wellness suite for treatments, state-of-the-art cardio equipment, pool deck with 18-foot native trees and salmon-hued chaises, and second-floor salon overseen by celebrity hairstylist Jonathan Antin, whose rotating lineup of barbers and makeup artists are on-hand to primp guests and Glamgelenos for the sundown festivities.
And there are plenty of options on tap. There’s the Club Room, an all-day lounge and meeting space adorned in a hand-painted mural by Jason Gaillard depicting the ocean at golden hour; the saloon-style Cabaret Room decked out in bold-print sofas, a disco ball, and stage for musical performances and burlesque dancers; and the Hollywood Deck equipped with an outdoor theater, firepits, and the restaurant Lemon Grove where Top Chef alum Marcel Vigneron pays tribute to the city’s agricultural roots with dishes ranging from squash blossom pizza to steamed sea bream.
In addition to the members club, 35 suites inspired by Old Hollywood provide access to visitors. Fitted out in antique armoires, hand-glazed ceramic lamps, and three-way dressing mirrors, an ambiance of classic Tinseltown chic prevails. If L.A.’s aura still seems elusive, just step outside and gaze at local artist Tristan Eaton’s soaring facade mural featuring portraits of Sidney Poitier and Judy Garland. —Nate Storey
The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory at Detroit's Belle Isle Park. Image via Shutterstock…
Detroit’s lush Belle Isle Conservatory will close until 2024 for a $10 million renovation.
“At Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, the lush botanical garden at the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory offers a welcome respite from Michigan’s cold, bleak winters—but not this year, or the next. Starting in mid-November, the Conservatory will close until May 2024 to make way for a $10 million project that will update the building’s glass and steel dome. So fans of the gardens only have a few more weeks to enjoy them before they close to the public for many months. The project entails replacing glass panels on the dome and cleaning its steel beams, as well as updating the conservatory’s ventilation system.” [H/T Detroit Metro Times]
Hauser & Wirth is launching a performance festival in Los Angeles later this month.
Hauser & Wirth, a mega-gallery with more than a dozen locations worldwide, is set to launch a performance festival in L.A. this month. Kicking off on Oct. 29, the event, titled the Performance Project, will be a recurring showcase that will include performance art, theatre pieces, dance works, music, readings, film screenings, and other live events. The gallery will place a focus on LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists. The first iteration of the Performance Project will include a number of names, such as Martin Creed, Wu Tsang, and Jeremy O. Harris, who are familiar to the U.S. art world.” [H/T ARTnews]
Pierre Soulages. Photography by Remy de la Mauviniere / AP…
Pierre Soulages, the French abstract artist who mastered the color black, dies at 102.
“French painter Pierre Soulages, an icon of post-World War II European abstract art famed for his use of black, has died, according to the Soulages Museum in his hometown of Rodez. He was 102. Soulages became highly influential for his reflections on black, which he called ‘noir-lumiere,’ or ‘black-light,’ and was seen as France’s greatest living painter in recent years. A major Soulages retrospective at the Louvre on the year of his 100th birthday was held in 2019, in which the museum called him ‘a major figure of non-figurative painting’ and paid tribute to his ‘remarkable vitality.’” [H/T Philadelphia Inquirer]
Shutterstock will start offering AI-generated images while compensating human artists.
“The company plans on offering customers access to OpenAI’s DALL-E 2, a program that can produce professional-grade images from a mere text description. The stock image provider plans on integrating the DALL-E 2 program into Shutterstock.com in the coming months. Customers will be able to log in, type in a description for the desired picture they’d like to create and watch DALL-E 2 churn out the corresponding image in seconds. AI programs are sparking controversy because the professional artist community has grown increasingly concerned about AI replacing and stealing from their artwork to create computer-generated images. Shutterstock said it plans on launching a fund to compensate artists who contributed to any AI art generation through the DALL-E 2 integration. This includes paying artists royalties when the AI-generated art they helped inspire is used.” [H/T PCmag]
Bard College is building a performance art space designed by Maya Lin next fall.
“Call it a ‘generational and stylistic dance between Frank Gehry and Maya Lin.’ That’s how Gideon Lester, artistic director at Bard College’s Gehry-designed Fisher Center, referred to its forthcoming neighbor—a Lin-designed building that will provide studios for the center’s dance, theater, opera, and orchestral performances. The 25,000-square-foot building, which will cost $42 million and has not yet been named, is set to break ground next fall, the college said on Tuesday. Lin said her new building, a codesign with Bialosky and Partners, and acoustic engineering consultants Charcoalblue, will provide both indoor and outdoor rehearsal spaces as the center adds more artists in residence.” [H/T The New York Times]
Image courtesy of Shake Shack…
Shake Shack and Enrique Olvera will bring a taste of Mexico City to L.A. and New York.
“Continuing its collaboration with globally renowned chefs, Shake Shack is now set to team up with Enrique Olvera, owner and Chef of the fifth-ranked restaurant in the world, Pujol. Bringing a taste of Mexico City, the duo is set to host a three-course dinner for two nights only in New York and L.A. The menu served at the dinner will be inspired by Olvera’s Mexican roots and vast gastronomic experience. Leading the menu is the Ant Burger, topped with Chicatana Ant mayo, a signature condiment from Pujol, as the main course.” [H/T Hypebeast]
Plans for a new Las Vegas mega-resort bankrolled by Tilman Fertitta are underway.
“The Clark County Commission in Nevada unanimously approved plans for Houston billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta’s proposed resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The 43-story luxury project will include 2,420 hotel rooms, a theater consisting of 2,536 seats, and a multiple-level parking garage on a 6.3-acre lot located on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard South near the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The resort will also include retail space, indoor and outdoor dining, a spa and fitness center, conventions, offices, and a wedding chapel. The post-pandemic building boom in Las Vegas remains strong, as developers continue to bet on Sin City’s growth with project types across the board, including gaming, entertainment, and healthcare projects.” [H/T Construction Dive]
The Circus Canteen. Photography by Ishita Sitwala…
Today’s attractive distractions:
Sad Girl Autumn isn’t complete without a Taylor Swift–branded casket.
