Art, medallions and men's summer fashion

My escort for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition Preview Party was charming young interior designer, Romanos Brihi, who was seeking works for his clients, and for his own collection.

In addition to possibly being a good investment, I suppose owning a unique piece of art is a way of showing off your taste or wealth, or both - even if you don’t choose it yourself? Art has become so much a part of the luxury lifestyle that the line between art gallery and concept store has become somewhat blurred (see my latest post at The Dabbler): I’m sure it’s all good for the UK economy, but I do think there's too much focus on pure materialism. Should there be such a symbiotic relationship between contemporary art, interior decoration, high-end fashion and designer goods?

Talking of which, I spotted some finely dressed men at the party. Apart from the Olympics, it’s not everyday you see chaps wandering around wearing medals on ribbons around their necks. The Royal Academicians have different coloured ribbons according to their discipline eg red for painting, green for sculpture – and (I think) grey for architecture.

These gentlemen are wearing the red ribbon. I do hope Anthony Eyton (on the right) remembers inviting me to lunch at Brixton Market, the subject of one of his paintings in the show (see below).

Stephen Cox, whose daughter is the first RA poet in residence, models the green ribbon here, rather dramatically set off against a royal blue linen suit.





















His granite and gold leaf masks work exceptionally well with greige, rendering them an instant hit with interior designers the world over.

Elsewhere, other smartly dressed menfolk included cocktail waiters in buttoned-up black, Gareth Pugh in a curiously gothic cutout suit,

Nicky Haslam in a wall-matching grey number... and this jolly fellow in vintage-style pinstripes.

There were sunglasses and hats..I wore recycled vintage cotton lace with a feather bolero - and I borrowed a Bakelite butterfly bag from ShopCurious. Plus, there was one elderly gent who wasn’t wearing anything at all.






















Towards the end of the evening, as paparazzi and punters clamoured to get final photographs on the red carpet, things became a little crazy…

 
You’ll have to visit the show yourself to see the art.

Will you?

A curiously arty party...

The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition seems to be more about art than exhibitionism this year. At the preview party a couple of weeks ago, everyone was talking about Christopher Le Brun’s ‘Salon hang’ in Gallery III. This style of display is named after the Salon Carre of the Louvre, where, from the eighteenth century onwards, the gallery walls were painted dark green or red, and filled to the rafters with the new art of their day. Until the late 1880s, it was the custom for Royal Academy shows to have their works displayed in this manner, in contrast to the modern ‘white cube’ format.







I didn’t notice much evidence of figurative art coming imminently back into fashion. However, there were some indications that the contemporary art market has turned a corner and is looking back in time for its inspiration. There have been plenty of detailed reviews already, but here’s a selection of photographs from the party and a few lines from ShopCurious:



William Norris & Company’s food was suitably arty, and presented in dinky little trays. There was a curiosity cabinet style display of antique kitchen and glassware - or was that an exhibit? I also wondered if a tiny fork I spotted on the floor was part of the show?






























The lovely ice lolly girls in the courtyard added a soupcon of retro flavour to the evening.


Arty folk always manage to look curiously cool – there were musicians in Missoni, and artists in... Jasper Conran – and lots of exceptionally well turned out types. I posed in my vintage Vivienne Westwood dress beside Jeff Koons’ Colouring Book, made from high chromium stainless steel with transparent colour coating (the sculpture, not my dress). And next to Olu Shobowale's Coffin to Die For... And with Tracey Emin.







































There’s money in art, but is it worth the asking price? Would you pay £90,000 for Allen Jones’ Think Pink – a hot pink mannequin in a crumpled blue wrapper? Or £60,000 for Martin Creed’s Work No. 998 – a pile of retro style chairs?




















The one piece everyone seemed to like, Keith Tyson’s Deep Impact, wasn’t for sale. I was rather taken by John Bellany’s Homage to Michael Spens, which provided plenty of food for thought. Fellow Royal Academician and exhibitor, Hughie O’Donoghue, admired the triptych with me, commenting that it reminded him of Max Beckmann’s work.














Simon Leahy-Clark’s Library II was created from newspaper cuttings on canvas. And fans of pop art are likely to be attracted to David Mach’s Mini Marilyns, which are made from matches.

















I don’t usually spend much time in the architecture room, but there was one piece I absoloutely loved – and I’m not sure who's responsible for this fabulously futuristic model? I adore the organic, flowing lines and the way the wood is layered in terraces.










Whatever anyone else says, it’s always worth seeing things for yourself. You’ve got until 15th August to visit the show. So do let me know what you think.

Will you?

Her Eminence, Queen of Britart

Just thought you might like to see a photograph of Tracey Emin, taken at last night’s preview of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Here she is, looking resplendent in red Vivienne Westwood, together with her Royal Academician’s medal.

Whatever you think of Emin’s art, at least you think something - which, I believe, is what it’s all about... Personally, I’m rather a fan of her childlike curiosity for life, and the way she perceptively articulates this through her work. As a woman, it’s easy to identify with her portrayals of feminine vulnerability and her struggles to come to terms with womankind’s lot.





I’ve yet to visit the Tracey Emin: Love is What You Want exhibition at London's Southbank Centre. And the jury’s out as to whether Emin is a true creative genius, or simply a hardworking and hugely influential part of the fashionable contemporary art scene. One thing’s for certain - she’s always herself, and has become something of a national treasure.

Last night, Tracey insisted that we have our picture taken together, which was really sweet. Even without a flash, I think these photographs sum up her curiously charming manner.

Do you?


PS More photos in the ShopCurious review of the exhibition – coming shortly.

Win a stylish summer hat

I was curious to find out more about the new sculpture gracing the lawn at Royal Ascot and discovered that the Queen is wearing a hat after all, albeit an appropriately aristocratic and fashionably discreet little number. The description of the arty addition to the racecourse reads as follows (click on pic to view):










Everyone wants to be photographed standing next to the Queen and, although we can’t offer you that opportunity, ShopCurious is running a curious caption contest, which you might like to enter.

The prize for the winner is a simple but stylish summer hat (see left) in your choice of black or natural raffia – for the person who creates the most curiously amusing caption for the photograph below:







You can respond either as a comment to this blog, or by email to info@ShopCurious.com

Hope you’re feeling suitably inventive.

Are you?

Blushing bride

I recently attended a fabulous wedding in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. The reception was held in a spectacular pink palazzo: Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The gardens are simply stunning and make for one of the most romantic settings for a wedding party in the world.













Needless to say, I got a bit over excited (hence camera happy) and seem to have accumulated rather a lot of snaps (curiously, dozens of fountains - of which more later...) I'll spare the bride, groom and their families any blushes by not publishing any private photos of the very special and highly memorable occasion. But here's a curious phenomenon: with the arrival of dusk and and then darkness, the photographs from my camera became increasingly pink as the event progressed.


























I think this may have been something to do the misuse of my camera rather than any strangely original lighting, or could it have had something to do with all that champagne ... was it pink? The resulting effect is curiously exotic. Talking of curious exotica, if you're a lover of unique accessories, we have some quirky new designer bags at ShopCurious. They're by Timmy Woods of Beverly Hills and have wonderfully stylish tropical flower designs carved and handpainted onto acacia wood. They might even come in handy if you're looking to make a fashion statement at a wedding - or even as a luxury gift.



Whilst I'm on the subject of pink faces and Timmy Woods, one might spot the odd blush at Harpers Bazaar. In their UK October edition, they've a feature on The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, where on page 350 they have a picture of my hand carrying another individual Timmy Woods bag - The telephone bag , which they kindly say has 'surreal appeal' and is 'fitting for an art event.'


However, I think Harpers may have slightly overlooked the exclusivity of this bag, which they attribute to Lulu Guinness. I did notice that Lulu's new lips bag looks a lot like another of Timmy Wood's creations, so maybe there's been a little confusion. I'm very curious... is anyone able to shed any light on this unfortunate mix-up?

Are you?

The fashion of art

Last night I went to the preview of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The dress code was 'glamorous'. Did it live up to expectations? I snapped Grayson Perry looking curiously quirky in a Little Bo Peep number, Virginia Bates looking amazingly svelte, youthful and curiously chic in vintage c.1922 and the utterly charming Erin O'Connor looking curiously cool in tiered and floaty Ashley Isham.













Meantime, five minutes prior to leaving the house I threw together this outfit consisting of vintage Voyage, a cocktail of ruby red feathers and a telephone handbag that is available at ShopCurious (if you are impressed by celebrity endorsements, apparently something that once appeared in an episode of Sex and the City).













Sir Stuart Rose (who hot-footed it from Buckingham Palace) was certainly very impressed by my vintage Dior hold-up stocking shoes - so much so that he felt compelled to run his hand down my lower leg. I'm sure this was only a matter of professional curiosity, though I can't envisage this trend being that easy to sell to the usual M&S clientele.

Then of course there was the art. Counter to the recession and judging by the rapidly burgeoning number of orange dots, the exhibits seemed to be selling very well indeed. I really like the large naked lady canvases - postcard collages Big Blue and Golden Delicious II by David Mach at £25,000 a pop and Julian Schnabel's simply gorgeous oriental lady who was NFS, though a friend mentioned that he would mortgage his house if she were.

There is some intriguing pottery too, like the gigantic tutti fruiti ceramic pot by Kate Malone (below left) - not quite to my taste, but interesting. There are also the usual exhibits guaranteed to elicit a reaction such as the video of a barbed wire hoola hoop (Barbed Hula by Sigalit Landau) and the zebra sex installation by Matt Collishaw (if installation is an appropriate word to use?) curiously entitled 'In the Old Fashioned Way' - the fully functioning mechanics of which were thankfully switched off for the duration of the preview at least.












The food was as arty and alluring as everything else with this messy mushroom melange (left) vying for attention with the scrambled egg in this painting (right).

My verdict: this is a show that is well worth a visit. I will certainly be going back to spend more time exploring the wonderful array of curiosities on offer. Will you?