New York: Assouline Boutique - “#Carlos's Places” - Carlos Souza Book Signing

 

New York: Assouline Boutique - “#Carlos's Places” - Carlos Souza Book Signing. At The Plaza, tucked away on the mezzanine of the lobby is the Assouline boutique, an “Aladdin’s cave” of beautiful books, here Carlos Souza signed his book “#Carlos's Places”. The simpatico Brazilian, maybe globetrotter is a better word, is known the world over for his glamorous and fun-loving style. He is the Worldwide Brand Ambassador for Valentino, CEO and Creative Director of his jewelry design company, Most Wanted Design. He has a terrific eye for photography, especially details and people…And, many, many followers on Instagram.

Above. Martine Assouline and Carlos Souza.

Amy Fine Collins and Brad Comisar

Alana Bunte

Sean Souza and Zani Gugelmann

 Most Wanted Design – Om Sign designed by Carlos Souza

Photograph by Thos Robinson/Getty Images for Assouline – courtesy Assouline

Carlos and Sean Souza with Martha Stewart

Margaret Russell and Stephanie Labeille

Assouline. Maestro bookbinder Paul Vogel, works entirely by hand using the finest archival-quality materials and century-old equipment of bone, steel, and wood, to help craft the perfect gifts for bibliophiles and collectors alike.

Marina and David Orantes with Martine Assouline

Assouline - “#Carlos's Places” - Carlos Souza. Carlos Souza’s book is a guide to some of his favorite places around the globe, from New York and Paris to Sao Paulo, London, Rome, and Shanghai. In each location, he notes the best the city has to offer by listing his preferred spots to dine, dance, shop, see art, or just get a drink. Along with noting the unique fashion, food, art, and design places of interest. Souza has written little notes on each place, like a familiar travel diary you share with friends. 

  Gabriele Maggio and Erin Hazelton

Nadejda Savcova and Cristiana George

Drinks – White Wine and Water

Bethann Hardison

Carlos Souza and Giovanna Battaglia

Lizzette Kattan and her son Ronald James

Claudia Avendano and J.R. Savet

 

Nora Coblence

Helo Medeiros and Claudia Davila

 

 

 

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Brooklyn: Sunday Brunch Wythe Hotel – Reynard Restaurant.

Brooklyn: Sunday Brunch Wythe Hotel – Reynard Restaurant. I saw some of the most attractive people (even the older men looked like movie stars) at brunch in the Reynard restaurant located inside the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn.  The trendy hotel started with the discovery of a factory on the Williamsburg waterfront. The building was constructed in 1901 and has been converted into a 70-room hotel.   At the Reynard, the Contemporary American food was good too.

Above. Up high, the Ides Rooftop bar space has an unobstructed view of the Manhattan skyline, including a view of the Brooklyn Flea – Williamsburg. At the open-air market you can find antiques, vintage clothes, crafts and food, it is open from April until November. 

 

Reynard - classic - Scrambled Eggs – Cherry Tomatoes, Cilantro, Chevre, Toast

Reynard - quintessential brunch food - Eggs Benedict – Kale, Ham, Hollandaise

 

Reynard – Contemporary - Sweet Potatoes – Pecan, Brown Butter, Apple

  The Manhattan skyline from the Ides Rooftop

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New York: DC Moore Gallery – Jane Wilson at 90 – East Village/East End exhibition

New York: DC Moore Gallery – Jane Wilson at 90 – East Village/East End exhibition. At the DC Moore Gallery, Jane Wilson at 90 East Village/East West exhibition, until November 1, celebrates her sixty-year career. The exhibition features a group of rarely seen 1960s cityscapes inspired by New York’s Tompkins Square Park, as well as her recent work, which has brought her recognition as one of the leading landscape painters of our time.

 Photograph copyright - Jane Wilson - Courtesy DC Moore Gallery, New York

Jane Wilson - Avenue B Bus, 1966 - oil on canvas

  Photograph copyright - Jane Wilson - Courtesy DC Moore Gallery, New York

Jane Wilson at 90 – East Village/East End. Wilson’s recent paintings are luminous landscapes that hover between abstraction and representation, inspired by the sky, sea, and land of the East End of Long Island.   She focuses on events of the natural world, seasons of the year, times of day, and the many moods of the weather. Evoking these constant occurrences, Wilson directs her energies to making the most passing phenomena visible, to capturing the effects of shimmering light, heavy air, and passing thunderstorms. In many of her paintings, the sky, which can just as easily be taken as an abstract field of pattern and color, is anchored by the barest rudiments of recession and a low horizon that is a juncture of light and substance.  

Above. Jane Wilson - Sun After Rain, 1990 - oil on canvas.

 

Jane Wilson at 90 – East Village/East End. Wilson has been exhibiting steadily since 1952, when she was a founding member of the legendary Hansa Gallery on East 12th Street in New York City. A few years after moving to 317 East 10th Street, across from Tompkins Square Park, in 1958, she shifted from abstraction and expressionist landscapes to New York cityscapes, particularly atmospheric views of the park and surrounding neighborhood. In her Tompkins Square paintings, she continued her interest in tonal effects of trees, foliage, and grey skies, sometimes streaked with sunlight breaking through the clouds, while at times introducing strong contrasts through primary colors of stoplights, traffic markings, and other features of urban life. 

Above. A portrait of Jane Wilson in 1957, painted by Fairfield Porter, oil on canvas.

 

Jane Wilson at 90 – East Village/East End. In the early 1980s, Wilson returned to landscapes and began creating the distinctive works for which she is best known today. Her radiant paintings of the past three decades evoke the rhythms of the natural world, marked by constantly changing dynamics of everyday events of the sky.

“My landscapes are not painted on-site or from photographs.  They come out of my mind… out of my bones, really.   I seek to capture what it feels like to be there, on a strip of land or sand.  I move into a kind of recall about season, climate, time of day.  It’s what I call ‘muscular recall’…the sense of temperature and humidity… the wavering weight of the sky.  All this motivates, defines selections, as I begin to Paint.”

 

Jane Wilson at 90 – East Village/East End – Jane Wilson and her daughter Julia Gruen

 

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New York: Il Buco Alimentari and Vineria

New York: Il Buco Alimentari and Vineria.  Living in Italy, when I’m in New York I try not to go to Italian restaurants. However, Il Buco is a favorite of friends’ designer John Derian and cookbook author Susan Simon, so, what more of an endorsement can you get? In fact it was delicious and I highly recommend the panini selection, which I failed to photograph, as I couldn’t wait to tuck into the Tuscan kale, Stracciatella and Anchovy one.   Not only a restaurant, and a cafeteria, which opens from 7 am, it is also an alimentari and vineria with a huge selection of the best of the best Italian and local products.

 

Il Buco.  A few tables are situated up front, in the caffeteria amongst the alimentari and the extensive selection of house-cured salumi which share a case with local and imported cheeses, like cave aged pecorinos, as well as fresh made pastas, Italian anchovies and bottarga. The bread is baked daily using organic grains and long fermented doughs.

 

Il Buco. Chef Christopher Lee (Chez Panisse, Eccolo) above, mans the salumi program with longtime salumi veteran, Bernardo Flores.  The stellar team was put together by Chef Justin Smillie (Barbuto, the Standard) which includes Kamel Saci, the artisan baker from Bordeaux and Keren Weiner (Chanterelle, Gramercy Tavern) who runs the pastry/gelato section.

 

Il Buco.  I have no words to describe these Crispy Artichokes with Preserved Lemon.

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New York: MAD Musuem – Loot: MAD About Jewelry Exhibition

Photograph by Helene Binet – courtesy mad

New York: MAD Musuem – Loot: MAD About Jewelry Exhibition.   MAD, the Museum of Art and Design presented its annual Loot jewelry exhibition and sale featuring a broad cross-section of designs from emerging and acclaimed international artists.  The exhibition is a platform for new trends and innovations from across the globe, as well as the ultimate pop-up shop for contemporary artist-made jewelry. Artists were present to talk to visitors and collectors about their materials, processes and techniques. Some of this year's artists incorporated their materials into carefully refined, centuries-old artisan traditions, while others used pioneering techniques. A stunning array of materials were showcased, including traditional ones, as well as a more unconventional selection, like cork, knitted plastic bags, eggshells, textiles, wood, glass, concrete, 3D printed nylon, and polymer.

Above. The Museum of Art and Design’s Chazen Building, designed By Allied Works Architecture.

 

Loot. Loot was curated and organized by Bryna Pomp. The exhibition featured designs from 50 jewelry artists from 23 countries and perfectly captured the vitality and innovation of jewelry-making today.

 

3D Printing - Selvaggia Armani. Collaborating with .bijouets,  Selvaggia Armani is a pioneer in the creation of jewelry using innovative 3D printing technology.

 

Glass – Federica Sala. “What is Fragile? What is not.” Federica Sala’s glass pieces show deep exploration of delicate and sensitive materials that suspend in time.

 

Brass Narratives – Laura Cadelo Bertrand.  A former production designer, Butoh dancer, choreographer and mine Laura Cadelo Bertrand became a sculptor jeweler in 1997, creating pieces mostly using metals.

 

Xorel - Danielle Gori-Montanelli. MAD and textile company Carnegie commissioned artist Danielle Gori-Montanelli to create a series of neckpieces made exclusively from Xorel, a PVC-free high-performance interior textile traditionally used as wallcovering material.

 

Resin with Metal - Maria Tsimpiskaki.   Maria Tsimpiskaki sees her jewelry design as a combination of line, color and material that is a result of a moment’s framed of mind and emotional state.

 

Recycled Plastic Bags - Kristina Kitchener. With a nod to her parents’ “waste not” Kristina Kitchener, using only the most basic processes and tools, deconstructs and reforms plastic bags and food packaging into recognizable jewelry forms.

 

Kristina Kitchener used cocktail sticks to create the above necklace.

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