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Friday, December 31, 2021
LG Unveils The Slim And Powerful UltraGear 17G90Q As Its ‘First Gaming Laptop’
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The Stillhouse Classic Vodka Goes Where No Glass Canister Can
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Fauna Allegoria: Chinese Artist Leo Liu Xuan Qi Melds The East and West
Chinese artist Leo Liu Xuan Qi has always dabbled with the arts since his days as an Art Director in an advertising company. Albeit in a different form and medium, Liu saw how his past experience served as a conduit for his artistic creation when he chose to take up art as a full-time career. The artworks he has created so far are multi-dimensional — spanning from sculptures to paintings.
Ahead is a short catch up with the artist.
You were born in China in 1977 and you graduated from the Shanghai Printing College in 1999 (Art and Design). You decided first to head to the advertising world and you worked as an Art Director. What did this experience in a Shanghai-based advertising agency taught you?
The experience from the advertising company greatly benefited my following artistic creations, especially with regards to visual communication and creativity.
Tell us about your first steps as an artist when you decided to focus fully on your art?
When I decided to switch from design to being a full-time artist, my first steps were to search for themes, ideas and thoughts that I wanted to express. Whenever I want to create a piece of artwork, I will go out for a walk, or visit a bookstore or shopping mall, allowing myself to enter a relaxed state. This arouses my train of thought and inspires me. This may be an old habit from when I worked in the advertising company.
With your background as a graphic designer, you have explored elements from traditional Chinese art — in particular ink painting — which you have then mixed with contemporary design and vivid pop colours. Would you say that you are merging east and west iconographic elements throughout your art?
Yes, this cannot be avoided, because I have always been influenced by both. When I was a child, I started copying and learning from the ”Jie Zi Yuan — The Mustard Seed Garden” painting book, and I studied calligraphy until high school, and I had a deep appreciation for traditional Chinese art.
Later on I studied Western painting (drawing, colour and sketching) for examination purposes. Therefore, Chinese and Western art has been implanted in my heart since the early days. Additionally, the design thinking process from advertising melted and merged with my heart over time. I prefer using contemporary and popular visual language to convey the Eastern spirit.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
Usually inspiration comes from factual news or perceptions of life, and sometimes when you go shopping, inspiration always pops out for me, and I will record it right away.
What type of materials do you usually work with?
I prefer using a variety of materials together, such as acrylic paint, Chinese ink and charcoal pens. Sometimes different materials blend together to produce unexpected visual effects.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
Usually inspiration comes from factual news or perceptions of life, and sometimes when I go to shopping, inspiration always pops out for me, and I will record it right away.
Wang Guangyi is known as a leader of the New Art Movement that started in China after 1989 and is one of the central figures of the Political Pop movement. Best known for his “Great Criticism Series”, Wang creates links between the propaganda aesthetics of the Cultural Revolution and striking imagery of American Pop. Do you relate to some of Wang Guangyi’s artworks?
Wang Guangyi is like China’s Andy Warhol. His works not only have rich Chinese elements but also have a strong imprint of the times. This is also a standard for my own work, which indicates my identity without losing the sense of the times.
Art critics have noted some influence from Andy Warhol in your art. Would you agree there? Would you describe yourself as a pop-art artist?
Agree with this statement, I was indeed influenced by him.
My first series of “Yellow Duckling” works have distinctive Pop Art characteristics. This is mainly due to his influence. For example, colourful, symbolic clouds often appear in the background, but there is also a part of my own deliberate integration of a realistic style into the work, showing a contrast between a flat plane and a three-dimensional environment. And the abrupt context also reflects a kind of conflict between tradition and contemporary culture. I should be regarded as half a pop artist because it has gone beyond flattening and symbolising and has a greater sense of spatial vision.
You were awarded the Platinum Award at the 31st UOB Singapore Paining of the Year Competition for your artwork “Wandering Cloud”. How important has been this Award in your career as an artist?
This award is very important to my art career. It affirms and encourages my artistic creation. It also prompts me to think about new artistic creation directions. It makes me pay more attention to the relationship between traditional and contemporary pop culture. Coincidentally, Singapore exists exactly between the two cultures of the East and the West.
What emotions do you hope the viewers experience when looking at your art?
I hope to experience happy emotions, and be full of hope and dreams for the future.
What is the role the artist plays in the society?
For myself, I act as a practitioner in society.
The five words that describe best your art?
Brightness, future, dreams, emptiness, fusion.
What can visitors expect to see from you at Fauna Allegoria 2022?
I want to use Fauna Allegoria’s exhibition to think deeply about our relationship with nature, and the future. With the rapid development of today’s technology, human beings’ awe of nature slowly disappears, and their hearts become arrogant. They greedily destroy the natural environment for short-term needs, resulting in the natural environment losing its balance. Humans should re-establish their belief in nature to overcome the earth’s difficult situation.
You have moved with your family to the Lion City. Which is your favourite museum in Singapore?
National Gallery Singapore and the MINT Museum of Toys.
What is your favourite mantra that you live by?
Go with the flow.
If you were to name one mentor who has inspired you in your life and path as an artist, who would that be ?
Marcel Duchamp and Wu Guan Zhong.
Get your tickets to the exhibition here. Be sure to follow Leo Liu Xuan Qi’s Instagram: @leo_liu_xuanqi
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The Gerber Lockdown Pry Lets You Tackle Small Indoor and Outdoor Fixes In Style
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Saint Laurent Men’s SS22: A Blast From the Past
In July, Anthony Vaccarello unveiled his Spring/Summer 2022 menswear collection for Saint Laurent. The show took place on Venice’s island of La Certosa, which was a short boat ride from the centre of the city. References to the brand’s archive of the 70s and 80s anchor the collection and it juxtaposed with the futuristic set installation by artist Doug Aitken.
The July evening saw celebrity guests such as Hailey Bieber, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anja Rubik and others attending. All of them decked in Saint Laurent and were photographed in black-and-white — a signature of the brand now.
“A fantasy on a Victorian dark romance” was how Vaccarello described the lineup. The ensemble of clothes consisted of ruffled open-collared shirts, billowing blouses slashed to show the chest, dainty pussy bows and flowy capes. These aesthetic elements, clearly borrowed from the brand’s long history as a couture house, further blurred the lines between femininity and masculinity.
The fabric used to make these Gothic pieces included velvet, jacquards and delicate laces. On the opposite end, these materials were paired with metallic babouche slippers and highly-pointed leather sabatons — not losing the Rock ‘n’ Roll appeal that Vaccarello is known for. The burst of jewel-tone hues also provided a playful levity to the collection.
As mentioned earlier, the set was created to counterbalance the “vintage-y” flair of the collection and the artist used mirrors to achieve this contrast. Within the installation there were plants and the foliage created a kaleidoscopic visual treat. The structure is called, “Green Lens”, and it aimed to highlight the fluid relationship human beings have with nature and was also part of the Venice Biennale Architecture exhibition.
“The idea of the structure is about the desire to look at the future without forgetting the past and the history and the same is for the collection, which is mixing past and present and projecting it into the future,” Vaccarello said in his press notes. He intended his clothes to do the same well — to reflect the era but also refracting to come up with something new for society.
For more fashion reads, click here.
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Ferrari Reveals New Logo for its 75th Anniversary
Celebrating its 75th anniversary, Ferarri has decided to reveal a special logo that pays tribute to the man who started it all — Enzo Ferrari.
Enzo Ferrari founded the iconic Maranello automaker back in 1947 and dived into the world of Grand Prix racing just three years later. Ferrari lined up alongside other iconic marques such as Alfa Romeo and Maserati at the very first Formula One World Championship race at Silverstone in 1950. Today, Ferrari is the only team to have competed in Formula 1 every single year since the championship’s inception.
Since then, Ferarri has gone on to become one of the most recognisable brands in the world, even becoming the world’s strongest luxury brand in 2021, according to Brand Finance. Its Brand Strength Index scored 93.9 points out of 100 and has a brand strength of AAA+.
2022 is also shaping up to be a jam-packed year for the marque. Ferrari is set to launch its high-performance SUV, the Ferrari Purosangue, as well as a convertible version of the 296 GTB, a hybrid plug-in sports car. Alongside these, the Italian automaker is also tipped to introduce new Icona models as follow-ups to the Monza SP1 and SP2 speedsters.
Ferrari released a video to celebrate its monumental anniversary. Check it out below.
In other motoring news, car superfans based in Los Angeles ought to head to Petersen Automotive Museum, where a two-part exhibition dedicated to hypercars is currently being held. The first part, currently running until September 22, 2022, features cars such as the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, Aria FXE concept, Koenigsegg Agera RS Final Edition. The second part will launch on September 17, 2022, and will feature a list of hypercars as yet unannounced.
For more car reads, click here.
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
The Gisoom Cabin Will Stand In A Lush Forest Close To A Lake In Iran
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Stay Warm And Cozy Indoors While The Snowbot S1 Takes Over Your Clearing Tasks
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The Exod Monolith Is A Four-Season One-Person Shelter
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Hypelev: Everknown Lets Us Show Off Our Kicks With This Floating Display Stand
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The Hemmelig Room Is A Bookworm’s Refuge
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Nmoto Turns A BMW C 400 X Into The Art Deco Golden Age Scooter
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Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Rossinavi Unveils Its Eco-Friendly Sea Cat 40
Italian shipyard Rossinavi unveiled its all-new fully-electric 42.75-metre catamaran concept during Miami Art Week. It has been named the Sea Cat 40 and is inspired by marine algae phytoplankton that converts sunlight into energy. It is fitted with 135 square metres of solar panels which generates 250kWh of energy.
The Sea Cat 40’s interior and exterior were developed by Rossinavi in collaboration with Fulvio de Simoni Yacht Design.
“The idea is to create a link between nature, electricity and futurism, which, supported by the most advanced technologies, is able to offer excellent performance to Sea Cat 40 that offers priority to the environment. A real challenge for the future of boating and a milestone for the shipyard,” says Federico Rossi, COO of Rossinavi.
According to the shipyard, the Sea Cat 40 has been designed for transatlantic voyages — able to cruise continuously for 20 days at eight knots, with a centralised A.I system that maintains the battery’s charge status to preserve power. The power banks are enough to provide 80 per cent of travel in full-electric mode, with the remainder relying on hybrid electric-diesel engines.
The Sea Cat 40 offers generous amounts of space, the open-plan saloon and dining area on the main deck measures 100 square metres. The catamaran will feature five staterooms on board, which includes a spacious master suite.
Its beach club hosts sun lounging spaces alongside a jacuzzi, with stairs leading down to the swim platform aft. Accommodation is for up to ten guests in five cabins found on the lower deck, with crew quarters for seven staff members in four cabins.
- READ MORE: Sunreef Presents “Sailing Super-Catamaran”
Rossinavi is committed to eco-sustainability and also driving educational changes in the industry, saying: “In the world of influencers, the wealthy and the billionaires give the common citizen a kind of ideal aspiration, which needs to go beyond the image of an extremely high-performance car, but totally heedless of the CO2 emissions it entails, otherwise, we risk giving the new generations that kind of ambition. If these influencers manage to change this approach we can really improve the world.”
Another solar-powered catamaran is Silent Yachts’ Silent 60, a solar-powered catamaran with a kite wing instead of conventional sails. The ship has 42 solar panels that generate 17 kWp to power two electric motors of 200 kW each. The yacht also has a battery capacity of 286 kWh, allowing for zero emissions.
For more yacht reads, click here.
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“The One” Mansion in Bel-Air For Sale At US$295 Million
The massive Bel-Air mansion known as “The One” will be up for auction next month with a price tag of US$295 million — which could make it the most expensive house ever sold in the US. The gigantic home was originally expected to list for around US$500 million.
The auction is being held by Concierge Auctions, in collaboration with real estate agents, Aaron Kirman of Compass and Branden and Rayni Williams of The Beverly Hills Estates as stated in a news release.
“While in 2021, digital properties like NFTs grabbed headlines for monumental one-of-kind sales, 2022 brings us back to the physical world with The One — a real estate property unmatched in size, scale, safety and triumphant design,” Kirman said.
The mansion was developed by Nile Niami nearly 10 years ago. “The One” sits on 3.8 acres and boasts panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel mountains. It has a whopping five pools, a nightclub, a full-service beauty salon, a wellness spa, a 10,000 square-foot sky deck and a 40-seater Dolby Digital home theatre. For the fitness junkies, there’s a 400-foot private glass-encased running track, providing you views of the city.
- READ MORE: Two Stunning Malibu and Miami Mansions
Other features include a three-bedroom guest house with floor-to-ceiling windows, a bowling alley, a tennis court, a 10,000-bottle wine cellar, and a garage to fit 30 cars.
Niami had borrowed and spent tens of thousands to bring this extravagant home to life over the years, and as of today, it is still unfinished. It has racked up more than US$165 million in loans and debts and “The One” has been placed into receivership by the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The property will be listed on January 7, and if it doesn’t sell on the open market, it will be auctioned off a month later in February without reserve — meaning it will go to the highest bidder. Bidding will take place via Concierge Auctions’ online marketplace.
Also in California, this Calabasas mansion known as the “French Chateau” is up for grabs. The 16,500 square-foot estate is listed at a price of US$32 million offers seven bedrooms and ten baths, luscious gardens, and also some star-studded neighbours — including Kourtney Kardashian, Drake, Justin Bieber, and Miley Cyrus.
For more property reads, click here.
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Gladden Is the Most Private Island Resort in the World
Located off the eastern coast of Central America, the most private island resort in the world lays bordered by Mexico on the northwest by Mexico, the Caribbean Sea on the east, and on the south and west by Guatemala but for all intents and purposes, given the nautical distances involved, the Gladden Private Island Resort is the perfect villa for two in the most remote spot in the world.
The Most Private Island Resort in the World
One of the most beautiful locations in the world, Gladden private island resort lies directly on the edge of the widest and most picturesque section of the Belize Barrier Reef in the Caribbean sea. It is the longest reef in the Western Hemisphere and the 2nd largest in the World. Located 20 miles off the coast of Placencia, Belize, Gladden is the furthest island out from the mainland and closest to the protected side of the reef where the water is calm and clear.
Incidentally, Gladden private island resort is near the magical “Gladden Split” where the whale sharks congregate once a year is a mere few miles away leading for the most Instagram-worthy and picturesque dives and snorkeling, all arranged via concierge with the assistance of boat captains.
Gladden luxury island resort: Just you and the views
The two-bedroom hotel is the only villa on Gladden island and it’s all yours. Even the staff which await to serve your every whim and fancy are located on a nearby smaller island, thus, living on the Gladden private island isn’t life in your own episode of Survivor, it’s really an all-inclusive experience. There is a second master suite should you wish to share Gladden with friends or family. A “privacy meter” indicates if a member of the staff is on the main island for any reason.
After a day of exploration and the idyllic beach life, guests can choose to dine on local specialties prepared by a roster of (at least one Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef ) and an assortment of guest chefs from celebrated kitchens around the world. Spa treatments and boat charters are also available through your personal concierge.
While most private island experiences require jetting to the far reaches of the globe, Gladden Private Island delivers the natural beauty and tranquility of a Polynesian atoll only four hours from Miami.
Gladden Private Island Resort goes for US$3,975 a night. Book here.
For more travel reads, click here.
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Dior Postpones Travis Scott Collaboration Indefinitely
Dior has announced that it will postpone its Cactus Jack collection with Travis Scott indefinitely. WWD reports that the capsule collection collaboration between men’s artistic director Kim Jones and the rapper will not be released in the near future.
The announcement comes after the tragic events at Astroworld Fest, where multiple people had died in the crowd during Travis Scott and Drake’s performance. Dior’s postponement is the latest out of a number of postponements to come out of the Astroworld incident.
Nike was to launch two Air Max 1 sneakers with Scott in December but postponed the launch indefinitely weeks after the festival and Coachella also dropped Scott from its 2022 lineup.
As many as 10 people died during the performance and 300 were injured. Event-goers took to social media to document the crowd crush that resulted in the deaths and injuries. Both artists had come under fire for mishandling the situation and not stopping the performance when audiences needed urgent medical attention. Scott had been further criticised for supposedly understaffing the event as well as cutting costs that ultimately led to an unsafe environment for festival-goers.
Since Astroworld Fest, Scott has stayed out of the spotlight and took to social media to express his remorse for the event and has been interviewed by Charlamagne tha God to speak about the event. Scott claimed that he had stopped performing a couple of times to make sure the audience was alright and claimed he was not aware of the situation until after the show.
Scott is currently facing several lawsuits, including a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of 282 clients seeking US$2 billion in damages.
“The defendants stood to make an exorbitant amount of money off of this event, and they still chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put attendees at risk,” Thomas J. Henry, the attorney representing the 282 plaintiffs, said in a statement.
It’s unclear how long brands will shy away from an association with Scott, and whether he’ll ever bounce back to the reputation he had before Astroworld Fest.
The Cactus Jack Dior collection designed by Scott and Jones drew inspiration from the rapper’s home state of Texas, featuring cacti and desert themes throughout the range. The collection also marked the first time Dior partnered with a musician on a collection and the first time it ever allowed its logo to be altered.
For more fashion reads, click here.
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Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Van Cleef & Arpels Immortalises Winter With the Diamond Breeze Collection
Flowers have been a source of inspiration for Parisian jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels since its inception. Throughout its storied history, the brand has created a number of emblematic collections featuring daisies, buttercups, camellias and many others. In this new Diamond Breeze collection, the lotus takes centre stage and headlines with three novelties: a between-the-finger ring, a pendant and a pair of earrings.
To celebrate the magical season of winter, Van Cleef & Arpels looked towards the lotus as the flower represents beauty, purity and rebirth. Nods to the lotus flower first appeared as part of the Maison’s Egyptian collection in the late 1920s. In 2001, it bloomed for the first time on a between-the-finger ring, which has since become a signature of the subsequent Lotus collections. The flower’s motif soon blossomed in other of the Maison’s collections, particularly its High Jewellery and Zip collections.
Van Cleef & Arpels’ prowess with working with white gemstones is fully displayed with this new Lotus collection. Scintillating diamonds are paired masterfully with shimmering white gold, and the result is a dazzling winter spectacle that will forever be etched in our memories.
The Lotus Between-the-Finger Ring
The highlight of the collection, this Lotus Between-the-Finger ring has a floral quartet. The petals of the flowers are delicately angled upwards and arranged in different heights. The slightly curled up petals represent the moment when a light breeze gently blows over the flower. At the centre, the diamond-studded pistil, like the corollas, quivers with dazzling grace.
The Lotus Pendant
Made up of three lotus flowers, the trio of flowers are arranged asymmetrically — an emblematic style of the Van Cleef & Arpels. When worn, the pendant shines upon the neckline. To further enhance the brilliance of the diamonds, the Maison incorporated the openwork technique. This allows for light to pass through the purposefully created gaps in the structure, which then allows the radiant diamonds to fully shine brightly.
The Lotus Earrings
This sparkling ensemble has three lotus flowers on each side, and only two will of the flowers will touch the wearer’s skin. The largest of the trio of flowers will be suspended. To create this masterpiece, the craftsmen at Van Cleef & Arpels call on several settling techniques such as the bead and prong settings. Clearly, this exemplifies the savoir-faire of the Maison in the field of jewellery-making.
For more reads on jewellery, click here.
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Interview: Christie’s VP, Head of Watches Alexandre Bigler
We met Alexandre Bigler back when he was based in Thailand. Today, the soft spoken gentleman serves as the Vice President and Head of Watches, Christie’s Asia Pacific. We got in touch with him in August for some insights into how the watch auctions are faring, and to see if we are missing out on any trends.
Christie’s is a privately held auction house with a history dating back to its founding in 1766. It is owned today by Francois-Henri Pinault’s Groupe Artemis; Pinault is the chairman and CEO of Kering, the luxury conglomerate that owns Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin.
How many people work there at the Hong Kong office of Christie’s? And what is a normal work day like for the Head of Watches?
We have around 200 staff in our Hong Kong office, and six of them, including myself, are in the Watches team here. As the headquarters for the Asia Pacific region, we also have watch specialists stationed in Japan and Shanghai to engage with collectors. As Head of Watches, I have a very long task list every day, from answering clients’ enquiries, approaching consignors for next auctions, meeting either physically or virtually with my team and our global watches teams for auction updates and industry news, aligning sale strategies and promotions with marketing teams, to prepare sale catalogues etc
How do you source watches for the auctions? Or do the watches generally come to you in the first place anyway?
Leveraging Christie’s global networks of salerooms and offices, we source watches basically everywhere and anytime. For significant collections possessed by a private single owner, the pitching process or negotiation often takes much more time as we want our clients to have the best strategies tailor-made for their collections. We also source watches from trades, and surely we also have clients or new inquiries coming in to sell with us.
For pieces without exact past price references, how do you determine the appropriate estimate range?
Despite the fact that this scenario quite rarely happens, I will first look at the timepiece’s quantity, the condition, the brand, model/references, provenance, certificates and aesthetic to benchmark against similar timepieces produced in roughly the same year to get an idea of its possible estimate.
Are bidders getting any younger in the auction scenes like in retail?
An influx of new collectors and young buyers has emerged, and even more so after the pandemic. From what we have witnessed in the first half of the year, 40 per cent of watch clients are under the age of 40. Watches, as one of our luxury categories at Christie’s, are often a threshold for watch collectors to the auction world. Collectors, be they young or seasoned, can often find their dream watches at our sales that offer a wide array of timepieces spanning different eras, styles and price points (from US$1,000 up to US$9 million and more).
Globalisation and digitalisation also helped push young buyers to auctions. These young buyers are very tech-savvy, scrolling social media like Instagram and WeChat, etc, to learn the latest collecting trends. They are also very used to buying online in the primary market so, when they come to auction, they often bid strongly on online sales without even seeing the actual timepieces in advance.
What is the ratio of vintage and modern watches in your auctions these days?
I would say vintage and modern timepieces are quite evenly distributed at our auctions. Vintage timepieces performed exceptionally well in our Spring Auctions in Hong Kong this May — our first evening sale “The Legends of Time” featuring 18 exceptionally rare vintage timepieces achieving 100 per cent sellthrough rate, totalling HK$144,435,000 (US$18,693,293 or €15,254,936).
Apart from Only Watch, what is the most important watch auction for Christie’s in the last quarter of this year?
We are still working on consignments for the Autumn season (in November), but I can already share with you that in our upcoming online sale in Hong Kong, we are offering 222 lots in total with a low estimation of HK$21 million.
- READ MORE: The WOW Conversation: Only Watch
What do you think will be the next catalyst of change for watch auctions?
I think it’s going to be the digital space. We are more and more developing ourselves by using videos, podcasts, live pictures, artistic pictures and anything in the digital space that allows us to compensate for not seeing the watches in person.
Are there watches in your personal collection that you bought but do not wear because you want to preserve their condition and hence value?
I wear all of my watches in general.
For more reads on Leaders, click here.
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