Three's a Trend

In Chelsea, Art for Bibliophiles

By Alina Cohen
This summer, artwork that celebrates the written word is on view at several Chelsea galleries. Clockwise from left: Glenn Ligon's "Untitled (Study for I Feel Most Colored)," 1990; Sam Messer and Jonathan Safran Foer's "Variations on Sleep," 2009; Katerina Jebb's "Five Dozen Eggs Shipped Yesterday," 2013. Clockwise from left: Courtesy of Sean Kelly NY; courtesy of Fredericks & Freiser; courtesy of Paul Kasmin Gallery.

It’s summer reading time at three Chelsea galleries: This season, Fredericks & Freiser, Sean Kelly and Paul Kasmin are all exhibiting work that integrates text and image, celebrating the written word and contemporary literature through visual art. At Fredericks & Freiser, the artist Sam Messer has collaborated with the literary luminaries Jonathan Safran Foer and Denis Johnson to produce sculptures, paintings, drawings, prints and a stop-motion animated video called “Denis the Pirate.” The actor Liev Schreiber narrates the film, while the indie-music mainstays Sarah Neufeld (of the Arcade Fire) and Colin Stetson provide the score. In “Atlas of Stress and Anxiety,” arrows and scribbled text describe elements of a drawing that looks very much like Safran Foer’s face in front of a laptop. They’re humorous and self-deprecating notes; the phrase “Semitic giveaway” appears frequently.

Many of the pieces in the new group show at Sean Kelly, “By the Book,” turn books themselves into art. Claudio Parmiggiani’s sculptural piece includes a boat model atop a stack of books; Peter Liversidge’s “Ex Libris” comprises a mound of them on the floor from which visitors may select one to take home; and Marcel Duchamp’s “Le surréalisme en 1947″ is displayed on the wall in all its cheeky glory — out of the cover emerges a form that looks like a breast. Glenn Ligon’s “Untitled (Study for I Feel Most Colored)” demonstrates the power of combining text and image. In thick black letters against a white background, Ligon’s message — “I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background” — takes on new dimensions.

And down 10th Avenue at Paul Kasmin Gallery, “The Written Trace,” featuring established artists such as John Baldessari and Ed Ruscha alongside younger ones including Zachary Susskind and Rose Salane, explores the visual qualities of words. The show reveals how artists have interpreted and used words throughout time: Two of its more unusual works, an illuminated manuscript from the 1500s and a polished steel hatchet with acid etching by Shaun Crawford, span a half millennium.

“Collaborations: Sam Messer with Jonathan Safran Foer and Denis Johnson” is on view through July 31 at Fredericks & Freiser, 536 West 24th Street, New York, fredericksfreisergallery.com. “By the Book” is on view through July 31 at Sean Kelly Gallery, 475 10th Ave., New York, skny.com. “The Written Trace” is on view through Aug. 14 at Paul Kasmin Gallery, 293 10th Ave., New York, paulkasmingallery.com.

Three's a Trend

The Spring/Summer 2016 Men’s Shows Elevate Basketball-Inspired Looks to a Full-Court Press

By David Farber
Athletic looks at, from left, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Valentino. At bottom left, Amar'e Stoudemire at Louis Vuitton. At bottom right, Carmelo Anthony with Gildo Zegna. Runway: Nowfashion; Stoudemire: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images; Anthony: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images for GQ

At the spring/summer 2016 men’s wear shows in London, Milan and Paris, the athletic trend shows no signs of abating, with heavy-hitting designers including Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Prada showing looks that could seamlessly transition from the runway to the three-point line. (In a decidedly retro twist, this spring’s defining luxury item may well be a track suit or pair of tiny, shiny shorts.) The love for the ballers, it seems, is mutual: another trend that’s only gaining steam is the appearance of athletes like Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire at men’s fashion week shows and parties, having left their jerseys at home in favor of sharp, dapper duds. Game recognize game, after all.

Complete Coverage: Spring 2016 Men’s Collections: Paris

Three's a Trend

At the Spring 2016 Men’s Wear Shows, Grommets Are the Embellishment of Choice

By Jason Rider
Grommets adorn the looks at, from left, Alexander McQueen, Prada and Raf Simons. Nowfashion

Grommets — those metal-edged cut-outs usually reserved for ventilation in a trench coat or for adjusting a belt size — have transcended their functional role to become a graphic adornment in many of the best looks at the men’s wear shows this season. Earlier in London, Alexander McQueen showed a coat covered in oversize ones; while in Milan at Prada, a classic pleated skirt was toughened up by their addition. And last night in Paris, Raf Simons showed multiple coats and jackets with repeating patterns of grommets in Y, V and diamond shapes.

Complete Coverage: Spring 2016 Men’s Collections: Paris

Three's a Trend

At the Milan Men’s Wear Shows, Sporty Parachute Nylon Gets an Update for Spring/Summer 2016

By Alex Tudela
From left: Nylon on the runway at Brioni, Jil Sander and Z Zegna. From left: Pietro D'Aprano/Getty Images; NowFashion; Courtesy of Z Zegna

At this point, it’s no secret that athletic-wear and technical fabrics have infiltrated the world of high fashion. But there’s something new and refreshing about the billowing parachute-nylon coats that appeared in the shows for Brioni, Jil Sander and Z Zegna during this men’s fashion week in Milan. The flowing jackets, in a restrained palette of cool grays and blues and paired with sharply tailored silhouettes, imbue the sporty fabric with an air of minimal sophistication.

Complete Coverage: Spring 2016 Men’s Collections: Milan

Three's a Trend

In Basel, Resting Spots for the Weary

By Nate Freeman
A number of booths at this year's Art Basel fair feature interactive seating elements, like the Rio-based collective Opavivará's "Formosa Decelerator," which contains 16 multicolored hammocks. Helga Traxler

The sheer number of sectors at Art Basel — Galleries, Statements and Feature on the Messeplatz, plus the gigantic Unlimited and the intimate public art of Parcours, in a charming medieval courtyard across town — can make scurrying around to check out all the work a bit exhausting. It’s convenient, then, that the worldwide uptick in interactive art spectacles has provided fairgoers and exhibitors something that can ease weary bodies: a place to sit down. Read more…

Three's a Trend

Minimal Undies With Maximum Coverage and Comfort for the Win

By Alexis Cheung
Minimalist underwear designs by, from left, Land of Women, Negative and Base Range.

The movement away from tight, constricting undergarments continues as budding lingerie brands create pieces meant to move with, not restrict, women’s bodies. Produced for the VPL (visible panty line) uninhibited, the designs cede to comfort, using super-soft, breathable fabrics and high-waisted, full-bottomed, generally wire-free (and all around, very minimal) elements. Created for “the sport of womanhood,” Land of Women’s functional and classic cuts — think supple, everyday sports bras and ample bottomed briefs — support any feminine endeavor. Negative combines subtle seduction (perforated lace) and playfulness (albatross feather prints) for their uncomplicated and considered pieces. And Base Range uses unexpected details, like a small triangular opening at the sternum, and organic fabrics for sustainable support.

May 27, 2015, 5:00 pm
London’s New Trio of Exceptional Kebabs  | 
Clockwise from left: Berber & Q; Sesame; Suvlaki.

That bastion of late-night British cuisine, the humble kebab shop, is slowly shedding its boozy reputation thanks to a round of gourmet grill houses opening up in the capital. Foremost is Sesame, a cheerful, no-reservations Mediterranean street-food spot just opened in London’s Covent Garden. It’s the first fast-food venture from the upmarket deli group Ottolenghi — conceived by Noam Bar, the longstanding business partner, and former boyfriend, of the influential chef and food writer Yotam Ottolenghi. “It’s a happy marriage between meat, fresh salad and beautiful condiments,” explains the Haifa-raised creator of Sesame’s spiced lamb kebab, which is served in the traditional Turkish style with mint yogurt, tahini, zhough (a Yemenite chili paste) and a pared-down version of the signature Ottolenghi salad — all neatly encased in the most pillowy pitta you’re likely to encounter this side of Istanbul. “An awful lot of thought went into the spices,” Bar says. “There’s even some cinnamon in there.” Inspiration for Sesame struck the Ottolenghi co-founder as he raced around central London looking for on-the-run lunch offerings: “The possibilities are still pretty limited,” he says, adding, “I thought, ‘Enough of the sandwiches!’”

Across town in Haggerston, the North Eastern district that’s lately becoming something of a food destination, is Berber & Q. Housed in an old industrial railway arch whose previous incarnation was a car repair shop favored by black-cab drivers, this Mediterranean, by way of Brooklyn, grill is gaining traction beyond the local hipsters (thanks in part to an inventive cocktail menu and a certain crème fraiche, harissa oil and crushed tomato dip). Here, the Ottolenghi alumnus Josh Katz deconstructs the kebab, serving pulled lamb on metal “mess” trays complete with pita, Harissa paste and little pinch pots of cumin salt that demand a hands-on approach. Later this summer, back in London’s teeming culinary centre, Soho gets its very own upscale take on the kebab shop too. As the name suggests, Suvlaki is an Athenian style grill with a surprising array of meat skewers (and wraps), including wild boar sausage. All kebabs, it turns out, are not created equal.

Sesame, 23 Garrick Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9BN, sesamefood.co.uk; Berber & Q, Arch 338, Acton Mews, London E8 4EA, berberandq.com; Suvlaki, 21 Bateman Street, London W1D 3AL, suvlaki.co.uk.

May 21, 2015, 1:05 pm
Pop-Up Dining Down in New Orleans  | 

By serving exceptional food in unexpected locations, the supper club scene steals the culinary spotlight in the Big Easy.

Dinner Lab founder Paco Robert (center) stages his pop-up dinners at surprise locations, like this graffitied airplane hangar. Katie Campbell

On a recent Friday morning in New Orleans marked by inescapable humidity, Francisco “Paco” Robert was in the Dinner Lab prep kitchen flouring acorn-size balls of calas — an old-school local dish he makes with shrimp and rice. He was testing a menu for a small dinner party at the home of the chairman of the board of Whole Foods. The fact that Robert has any spare time for cooking — since the company he founded almost three years ago now runs multiple pop-up dinners every week in 33 cities from Nashville to Pittsburgh, including Los Angeles and New York City — is astonishing. And it could be said that the quick success of Dinner Lab is the result of a countrywide case of restaurant fatigue brought on by expensive nights out and food that falls short of expectations. Read more…

Three's a Trend

Fashion Ads on Instagram — For Art’s Sake

By Nicholas Haramis

Collagists are garnering acclaim and thousands of followers by lampooning luxury.

Yuki James

The New York stylist Yuki James (@yukijames) creates fake fashion ads that pair theatrical labels (Comme des Garçons, Vivienne Westwood) with theatrical subjects (a Mugler Ball voguer; a naked man in pearl earrings, his face painted red). “I use fashion logos in my work as I would porn during sex,” he says. “To trigger base desires and discourage over-analysis.”

Doug Abraham

Angela Davis in Moschino, Egon Schiele for Supreme and Balenciaga — but with bondage. The visceral, violent imagery of the art director Doug Abraham (@bessnyc4), also the owner of the New York clothing shop Bess, adds blood, sex and bad taste to images that are sometimes hard to look at, and even harder to look away from. “Ads flirt with sex, but in an indirect way,” he says. “What I’m doing is a bit of an LOL. I can get away with things people on the inside can’t.”

Kalen Hollomon

There’s something unnerving about the images of the Manhattan-based mixed media artist Kalen Hollomon (@kalen_hollomon), whose odd juxtapositions (Céline heels superimposed onto an on-duty cop) explore issues of gender identity, sexuality and consumerism. “I’m aiming to create entirely new images that push and pull at people’s perceptions of sex, branding, romance, decadence, sadness, joy, desire or disgust,” he says. “Maybe all of the above.”

Three's a Trend

A Suite of Spring Children’s Stories — Without Words

By Stacy Suaya

“Wordless books have enormous potential to encourage collaborative storytelling with children,” says Cristin Stickles, the children’s and YA buyer for McNally Jackson Books. “You can have a different story every time with just one book.” These three new titles from around the world, filled with nothing but beautiful illustrations, invite adults to exercise their imaginations — or simply delight in the imagery alone.

Illustrations by Daniel Miyares

“Float”

Can you transform a newspaper into a sailboat to transform a rainy day into an adventure? In “Float,” illustrated by Daniel Miyares, who recently illustrated a cover for the New York Times Business section and is most well-known for the children’s book “Pardon Me!”, a little yellow-slickered boy and his paper vessel brave the waters and find out.

$18, available June 9 or pre-order from Simon & Schuster. For ages 4 to 8. Read more…