Pretty Visitors

 

Check out my interview with the wonderful Madeline of the Tumblr Pretty Visitors.

Image via twinfactory.co.uk

Days Of Del Rey & A Rossi Revival

No overnight YouTube success can sing a tune quite like Lana Del Rey. Ever the DIY recording star, the 24-year-old’s self-edited clip of debut single Video Games has garnered over 2 million hits and spawned the album Born To Die, set for release in early 2012.

The New Yorker, whose stage name is derived from a combination of film noir actress Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey automobile, cites Nirvana and Biggie Smalls as two of her biggest musical influences. It is through this combination of retro nostalgia and catchy lyrics such as “you fit me better than my favourite sweater” that the artist also known as Lizzy Grant evokes the days of Sixties sirens singing in small jazz club venues, served with a 21st Century twist.

Del Rey kicks off her UK tour on November 4th in Manchester. It will be the chance to prove to her critics what we already know: she doesn’t just meet the hype surrounding her persona; she exceeds it.

The double single Video Games/Blue Jeans is out now.
lanadelrey.com

The Sergio Rossi boutique re-opening on Saturday was the perfect continuation of the shoe brand’s ethos: elegant decadence.

Inspired by feminity and the world of screen icons, the new flagship store displays creative director Francesco Russo’s designs including pony skin ankle boots, crystal embellished stilettos and fur pom-pom adorned sandals in an Art Deco-styled interior.

With guests including Georgia May Jagger, Roisin Murphy, Dinos Chapman, Liberty Ross and Erin O’ Connor having already given the beautifully decorated space their seal of approval, it’s safe to say that all Londoner shoe fetishists have found themselves a new mecca.

Sergio Rossi, 207A Sloane Street, SW1 X9QXsergiorossi.com

Proud To Protest & Cosmic Collages

With Frieze Art Fair having turned London into a kaleidoscope of visionary talents, the timing could not have been more ripe for Seana Gavin’s Alternate Dimensions exhibition at the b Store.

The artist will be showing exactly what makes her space psychedelia work so magnetic. The exhibit will include a three-dimensional collage window installation and otherworldly landscape pieces such as Lost In Space.

Gavin, for whom dreams, science fiction and her upbringing in Woodstock, NY all act as inspirations, has previously exhibited her pieces alongside the likes of Tracey Emin, Mark Titchner, and Jake and Dinos Chapman.

A graduate from the Camberwell College of Art, she explores different states of consciousness in her work, in reaction to the imagery overload and visual noise that constitute our modern-day world.

It is hard to pinpoint exactly what makes Gavin’s work so compelling: is it the full spectral range of colour, the seemingly unconnected elements that are blended into one cohesive image or the fact that her collages transport its viewer into another dimension?

The definite explanation of its attraction may still be up in space, but it’s clear that the only worthy  way to experience Seana Gavin’s work is up close and personal.

Alternate Dimensions is at b Store, 24a Savile Row, W1S 3PR until 5 November.

The DSM Takeover / Luminescent Lights

Dover Street Market is engulfed by a variety of installations this week, all in celebration of London’s Frieze Art Fair.

The work of Brazilian/French artist duo Vivid Astro Focus encases the ground floor entrance, creating a 360-degree tunnel of vibrant paintings, which the DSM team is calling it “one of the greatest installations we have ever done”. Three stories upwards resides an exhibition of creations by heel-less shoe God/Daphne Guinness favourite Noritaka Tatehana and New Yorker ceramicist/sculptor James Salaiz.

The store is also exclusively hosting Dr Marten’s Bespoke in its basement event space, where the iconic boots can be completely customised, right down to the last eyelet.

If you ever needed an excuse to get lost in Dover Street Market for a few hours, this is it.

Carsten Höller’s (BELVEDERE)RED Double Sphere Hanging, debuted at the pre-Grammy Awards party in Los Angeles, is truly a more than meets the eye piece of art.

Composed of red and white flashing bulbs, the light installation was inspired by Höller’s desire to unbalance the rational mind and create a piece which puts the viewer’s personal experience at the forefront of its purpose.

Built in partnership with Belvedere Vodka and (RED), the piece will be auctioned off at Art Basel Miami in December. All proceeds from the sale will go to the Global Fund, an international organisation dedicated to fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, making the Double Sphere Hanging both benevolent and beautiful.

David David Talks On Twin Magazine Blog

 

In a shameless bit of self-promotion, check out my post for the Twin Magazine blog here.

Image via twinfactory.co.uk