Seeking inspiration at the crossroads between the sensibilities of the Masters of ancient China and the painters of the Italian and Flemish Renaissance, the imagery Fabienne Verdier creates is firmly rooted in the most minimal yet monumental of gestures. Relying on custom-made paintbrushes constructed with various animal hairs — and often as tall and heavy as the artist herself — every bit of painterly minutia is magnified on an unprecedented scale.
A ten-year student of Chinese painting and philosophy, Verdier now separates her time between France and Canada, but her time spent studying in China continues to constitute what we love so much about the artist’s work.
There’s a brazen kind of minimalism to much of the artist’s paintings, a never ending paradox where the simplicity of Verdier’s work is constantly contradicted through the exaggeration of her gesture. Unapologetically linear from afar, there a sense of violent movement as the viewer draws closer to the artist’s monumental picture surfaces. The seemingly unintentional smattering of paint which surrounds the main forms are almost reminiscent of the blood spatter after a gun has been fired – Verdier’s enthusiastic mutilation of the tools of her trade becomes a precondition for such immense beauty.
The 2013 Frieze Art Fair took over Randall’s Island Park in New York last week and it was a chance to see pieces from some of the leading contemporary art galleries in the world, while also meeting the movers and shakers behind the scenes. For us, it was a great opportunity to view work by some of our favorite artists, while also seeing presentations by emerging galleries and ones who curated projects and artworks especially for the event. Though it was hard to narrow done the list, here are one-line reviews of our 10 favorite pieces that we saw at Frieze:
1. Daniel Arsham
The 16mm film projector is made from volcanic ash – pretty cool right?
2. David Benjamin Sherry
We loved his beautiful monochromatic images shot in the desert
3. Tom Friedman
36-inch styrofoam bread. We like white bread.
4. Daniel Firman
We won’t lie; this piece, called “Linda” freaked us out a bit.
5. Marina Abramovic
This piece was called “Golden Lips” and every time we looked at it we noticed something different.
6. Catherine Opie
This was a beautiful portrait of Kate and Laura of Rodarte.
7. Tony Feher
We just loved the clean lines and simplicity of the piece.
8. Richard Mosse
We featured Richard in Issue 9 of Corduroy and every time we see one of his pieces, we remember when he told us the story of taking the photos back to the Congo, and one of the warlords said, “Mr Mosse, the photos are really nice, but why are the trees pink?”
9. Thomas Demand
We’re always in disbelief every time we see one of his photos and remember that everything in the image is constructed with paper.
10. David Shrigley
His work always cracks us up and it’s also nice to see everyone around his work with a smile on their face.
With such an illustrious history, it seems as though the house of Chanel embarks upon a new milestone every other day. This time around it’s the 100-year anniversary of the opening of first Chanel boutique in Deauville. In celebration of the event, Karl Lagerfeld directed a short film starring Keira Knightley as Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, and Clotilde Hesme as her aunt, Adrienne.
The film chronicles Chanel’s initial success selling hats in the boutique to European aristocrats, celebrities and bourgeoisie. The set was designed to exactly reproduce the street where Chanel’s first boutique was located, an ambience largely reinforced by Lagerfeld’s custom costume designs for the production. While only thirteen minutes in length, the film and its characters manage to communicate an eerie kind of foresight as to the monumental success the house would later enjoy. Check out the video in its entirety below:
Scion is teaming up with cult fashion label Hood by Air for a new installation project opening this month in their gallery and retail space in Los Angeles. Dubbed the “Scion A/V Installation,” the space merges Scion product and lifestyle for the first time by showcasing artwork and limited-edition products, alongside vehicles from the Scion collection. This month’s project will bring New York-based fashion label Hood By Air to the west coast for the brand’s first pop up retail installation.
The Scion A/V Hood By Air pop up exhibition, entitled “MORPH,” will serve as the debut of a capsule luggage concept collection and feature three silicone art objects inspired by hiking luggage, tattooed skin and jewelry piercings as the focal point for the exhibit. Scion A/V has also partnered with Hood By Air to produce an entire inventory of limited edition Hood By Air items that will sell within the space, including but the coveted Hood By Air “Classics” T-shirt collection in never before seen color-ways, backpacks, posters, water bottles, Emory boards and small accessories.
The opening reception of Scion A/V Presents: Hood By Air “MORPH” will be held this Saturday, May 18th from 7–10 p.m. RSVP details on the flyer below. The exhibition will run for three weeks and close on June 16th. Head over to the Scion A/V Installation, located at 7667 Melrose Ave in Los Angeles.
Francesco Rugi and Silvia Qunitanilla, better known as “Carnovsky,” are a Milanese creative duo specializing in RGB installations. The duo’s psychedelic installations take full advantage of the RGB colour model (using red, green and blue light) as a means of compelling viewer interaction.
As part of Milan design week 2013, Missoni called on the duo to transform their Via Solferino showroom into a swirling kaleidoscope of the brand’s signature zigzag motif. The result was an entirely new conception of an iconic print, an evolution of the overlapping chevrons through exaggeration and distortion.
In their unmediated state, the installations serve as disorienting manifestations of the most amazing (or perhaps frightening) acid trip. Forms and figures are layered one on top of the other, almost reminiscent of an anatomical diagram in the duo’s non-commissioned works. It’s only with the aid of tinted lenses that each layer can be momentarily isolated. In that fleeting moment, carnovsky’s muddled reality is suspended – temporarily revealing the chromatic complexities of what lies beneath. Check out the video below:
