Paris: Madame Gres at Musee Bourdelle

We were lucky enough to be able to visit Paris for the Bank Holiday weekend just gone - and it was a beautiful time. The weather was incredible, the people were incredibly helpful and goodlooking, the hotel was great, and there were attractions aplenty. First on the list was Madame Gres at the Musee Bourdelle sculpture museum.



Dedicated to the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, whose home and studio the premises once was, the exhibition intersperses Bourdelle's work with the intricate drapes and folds that was Madame Gres' trademark. The setting alone was worth the visit - but all together it worked very very well, even to a layman like me with little knowledge of either artist.

Galas to Public: Eat it bitches!

We saw this at the Barbican at the weekend. The staff all seemed a little embarrassed at the intensity of the sounds, especially as it was elsewhere a beautiful sunny day, but it was pretty much what it said on the tin. I didn't know what to expect, but it was certainly meant to get you right in the ears and eyes. This interview from Run Riot explains the work and Diamanda's outlook pretty well - sample text:

LD (Run Riot): Are you working on anything new at the moment? What else is coming up for you in 2011?

Diamanda Galas: A large work dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia in the very old and the horror of that ignominiousness as it is experienced. Yes, for those who laugh, more unpleasant subject matter from Ms. Galás, and eat it bitches, you too boys who laugh in the pubs. When you die you will cry alone and the smell of your own shit will be your only best friend. Have a nice life, pansies!

Image and video from Run Riot/Diamanda Galas

Milan 2011 - Tokujin Yoshioka at Moroso

Tokujin Yoshioka delivered a beautiful installation at the Moroso showroom - with the beautiful lighting and the smoke, it wasn't quite like being inside at all.







Sadly though the rain earlier that day wasn't a good friend to the beautiful white chairs or floors.

Ah! The Duomo

Like a mountain of pure God dropped from the sky, the Duomo dominates the centre of Milan through its sheer size and scale. It's hard for even the most heathenlike of the heathen not to be impressed by the decoration, the statues, the marble - there isn't a single square inch that doesn't have some kind of ornament. This year we went up on the roof - which like the rest is covered in marble - to see how everyone looked from so very high. Like ants it turns out.

Milan 2011 - Design Academy Eindhoven

Bike Porn at Design Academy Eindhoven

We saw these sexy gold and copper bikes dotted around Milan the few days we were there - imagine our surprise at finding their source nestled in a quiet workshop space in Porta Romana...

Sestosenso by Paul Cocksedge

Paul Cocksedge created this installation in conjunction with BMW and Flos- celebrating the new LED only BMW lighting. Lamps designed by Cocksedge conceal their light source - in the same way his blue room concealed films on the walls only visible once you step into the red Sestosenso lights positioned in the room - take a look at the film to get an idea of how it worked.