"Indian artwork and karigari is immensely appreciated and sought out in international markets. Our embroidery and needlework are considered rich in culture and aesthetically appealing to the western fashionistas," Shane said.
Added Falguni: "Chanel (the French fashion house) recently created an entire line, which were Indian-inspired designs on Western silhouettes. Our Indian designers and their sensibilities are definitely being recognised and appreciated and more Indian designers are making inroads into the western markets every day."
They enjoy working with their international client whom they describe as trendsetters.
"Working with international pop stars has always been exciting and fun. They are the trendsetters who know what they want and what looks good on them. It is easy to work with them and there's always something fresh and new to play around with," Falguni said.
Recently Demi Lovato, one of the judges at the upcoming edition of "The X Factor", chose a bold trendy outfit made by them. Also, they styled the entire look of the backdancers outfits for Madonna's Super Bowl performance.
Based outside Mumbai, the husband and wife duo are known for their ultra-feminine and elegant clothes. Their inspiration is all about the fusion of western cuts and Indian embellishments to create a dress that appeals globally.
The designer duo has created ripples in international markets by showcasing at the London Fashion Week four years ago and participating in the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Berlin for the second time this year. The show was attended by American singer Ashanti and actress Michelle Williams, both of whom wore their outfits.
And they are happy with the ways things are shaping up.
"We have been showcasing at various fashion weeks like Dubai and London for a while now. Fergie's stylist approached us with a design request and the outfit that we designed for her for a FIFA World Cup performance got a lot of appreciation and recognition. After that various stylists have approached us for styling and design references for other pop celebrities," Shane added.
When asked how designing for an international celebrity is different, Falguni said: "Styling is different every time - whether it's an Indian or an international celeb. It depends on the individual we are styling and their sense of style and comfort. It always gives us a chance to explore, ideate and innovate," she said.
Apart from creating designs for international celebs, which also include Rihanna, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, they are retailing in London, Manchester, Miami and Dubai.
The couple, who introduced their label in August 2002, specialises mainly in trousseau and custom-made garments. Most of their inspiration comes while travelling abroad.
"Most of our inspiration is taken on our trips abroad; we often try and make time to see new places on our trips even if we travel for work. It rejuvenates us and gives us a fresh perspective," said Falguni.
So what next?
"We are open to reading scripts and designing for a Bollywood movie. We have a few projects we are looking into at the moment," Shane concluded.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Spellman Brady & Company Completes Artwork Installation for New Ohio Hospital - St. Louis Post-Dispatch (blog)
St. Louis, MO (June 12, 2012) - Spellman Brady & Company completed Artwork Master Planning services for Springfield Regional Medical Center (SRMC), a new 254-bed hospital in Springfield, Ohio. Spellman Brady’s scope of services included the design, procurement and installation of artwork for the project’s main lobby, atrium, elevator lobbies, patient room corridors, women’s health pavilion and the donor and heritage walls.
The new, 4-story, 475,000-square-foot hospital is a full service medical facility, with all private rooms equipped with the most advanced technology. Spellman Brady’s goal for the environmental Artwork Master Plan for the hospital was to promote a positive and sensory experience for patients, families and the staff.
Spellman Brady selected numerous local and regional artists to create artwork for the project. Over 90% of the contributing artists were from Ohio. The result was artwork with local scenery and familiar faces, to welcome the patients and staff. The Artwork Master Plan created a sense of community and support that promote the full patient healing process.
For the hospital’s lobby, Spellman Brady & Company coordinated the creation of a one-of-a-kind sculptural hanging mobile. The piece consists of multi-colored resin panels suspended within the three-story lobby space, and was inspired by the local Buck Creek, which runs behind the hospital. The overall relaxing effect is similar to watching a soothing stream flow through the space.
Spellman Brady & Co. collaborated with the architectural joint venture team of Champlin Architecture of Cincinnati, Ohio and Karlsberger of Columbus, Ohio. Danis Building Construction Company of Dayton, Ohio served as General Contractor and was responsible for the project’s construction. McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. served as Construction Management Advisor and purchased all owner-supplied equipment for the project.
Springfield Regional Medical Center, a Community Mercy Health Partners facility, has provided comprehensive medical services for residents of Clark County and surrounding communities for over 100 years. As Springfield's only full-service hospital, Springfield Regional offers complete care including 24/7 emergency services, cardiac services, maternity services, critical and intensive care, surgery and pediatric care - all provided by skilled doctors and highly trained health professionals.
Spellman Brady & Company is a nationally recognized woman-owned interior planning and procurement firm specializing in furnishings and artwork to create brand identity for healthcare, higher education and senior living organizations. Founded in 1991, Spellman Brady & Company provides comprehensive services to bridge the gap between architect, manufacturers, artists and the owner, acting on the owner’s behalf. The St. Louis–based firm has planned over 25 million square feet of space in 38 states, and provided procurement management with over $470 million in furniture, furnishings and artwork. Celebrating 20 years of success, Spellman Brady & Company is “the partner that sets the standard for uncompromised design and delivery solutions; the model beyond compare.”
Source: interact.stltoday.com
Unique Chinese art trove boosts Hong Kong art hub dream - Reuters UK
HONG KONG |
HONG KONG (Reuters) - One of the world's pre-eminent collections of Chinese contemporary art was bequeathed to Hong Kong on Tuesday by a Swiss collector, a move that could transform the city's troubled bid to realise a new, world class cultural and arts hub.
No ordinary collection and amassed over three decades by visionary Swiss businessman, Uli Sigg, 66, this definitive assemblage of some 1500 works spans China's watershed and tumultuous recent decades of modernisation, and is conservatively estimated to be worth $167 million.
In a surprise move after years of hard negotiations with several cities around the world, Sigg chose to donate the bulk of his unique collection to an as-yet-unbuilt Hong Kong visual culture museum, Museum Plus (M+).
Emotional Hong Kong art administrators and leaders praised Sigg's "historically" significant art bequest, that would catalyse what has been a long-delayed and troubled dream to realise a leafy, 40-hectare cluster of modernist buildings, museums and theatres on the edge of Victoria harbour.
"It will enable use to strengthen our position as the cultural hub in Asia," said Stephen Lam, Hong Kong's chief secretary and number two official.
Long known as one of the world's most capitalist financial hubs on the south China coast, the former British colony has struggled to evolve a more vibrant and diversified arts scene to match its self-proclaimed stature as Asia's world city.
But as other major regions in Asia compete fiercely for higher-end cultural and arts based tourism including China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, Sigg's endowment could help galvanise Hong Kong's current strengths which include a major art fair, as well as its booming art and wine auction markets, buoyed by a wave of mainland Chinese millionaires.
One major problem for Hong Kong, before Sigg's gift, had been a struggle to find quality artwork to fill the proposed cluster of museums, exhibitions and performance venues, particularly given the rapidly rising cost of Chinese artwork.
"It would be impossible to now build a collection similar in depth, scope and quality," said Lars Nittve, a former Tate Modern director now spearheading the M+ project who sees it becoming the next Guggenheim Bilbao or Tate Modern; a "game-changing" art space with global appeal.
Sigg said his decision was motivated by a desire to freely showcase what has been called an "encyclopaedic" collection of sometimes edgy and subversive artworks from 350 of China's leading contemporary artists including activist Ai Weiwei, in a city where freedom of expression is more fully enshrined than on mainland China where sensitive art is still heavily censored.
"My expectation is that these limitations (in China) do not exist in this way in Hong Kong," said Sigg, who was also considering donating his works to other Chinese cities and those in Europe. "To me it's very important that a Chinese public can ultimately get access to these works. (There are) still limitations that exist in mainland China for that."
Under the deal, Sigg, a former Swiss ambassador in Beijing, will donate most of his collection, while 47 pieces will be acquired by the M+ for HK$177 million.
His works include those from China's stable of increasingly prominent art luminaries Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi. On display at the announcement was a brusque wood carving by Wang Keping of a head with a chained neck and muzzled mouth from the 70s.
An architectural design competition for M+ is slated later this year with the artspace expected to open in 2017. Hong Kong authorities have approved HK$21.6 billion ($2.78 billion) in endowments for the West Kowloon Cultural District with a vision of making Hong Kong "an integrated arts and cultural district with world-class arts and cultural facilities".
(Editing by Paul Casciato)
Source: uk.reuters.com
Irma Stern painting sells for R17.2m - Mail & Guardian Online
An Irma Stern picture has fetched R17.2-million at an auction in Johannesburg, the second-highest price paid for a painting in South Africa. (Maryanne Shaw, Gallo)
Source: mg.co.za
Changes needed for Fort Myers to build on fledgling public art collection - Examiner
Next week, the Fort Myers Public Art Committee is meeting to consider ways to fund the city's public art program going forward. While landmark artworks have been added to the River District's cityscape during the last few years, consistent funding is needed in order to build upon the city's fledgling public art collection.
The City of Fort Myers has actually been amassing a public art collection for decades. Its earliest public artwork, the Tootie McGregor Fountain, dates back to 1913. Ten years later, sculptor Eric VonZingon cast Rachel at the Well, which now sits in Menlo Park on McGregor Boulevard.
After a gap of 62 years, D.J. Wilkins (who then-mayor Art Hammel labeled the "Sculptor of Fort Myers") began forging a slew of representational sculptures beginning with the Henry Ford Bust (1985), and including River District and Centennial Park landmarks like The Florida Panther (1988), Uncommon Friends (1988), The Great Turtle Chase (2000), Clayton (2000) and the Wes Nott Statue at Lee Memorial Park (2000).
In 2001, Florida Power & Light Co. gave the city Caloosahatchee Manuscripts (the Jim Sanborn light sculpture that bathes the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in illuminated letters after nightfall) to commemorate the conversion of its power plant from oil to natural gas.
But it was not until 2004 that the city established a formal public art program.
Today, City of Fort Myers Ordinance 118.7.7 encourages private and public developments with a building construction value of $250,000 or more to either purchase pubic art valued at, or make a contribution the public art fund in an amount equal to, 0.75 percent of such costs, but not to exceed $75,000 in any event. The ordinance applies to new commercial construction (including projects zoned for industrial use), existing buildings that are remodeled where the construction value equals or exceeds 50 percent of the replacement cost of the structure, single-family residential development of more than 25 lots and multifamily residential developments such as condominium projects that create 50 or more residential units. Lee County school district properties are also excluded from the ambit of the program.
Monies contributed to the city's public art fund are administered by a 9-member Public Art Committee. Currently, this committee is chaired by Ava Roeder, an art instructor who teaches at Cypress Lake High Center for the Arts. Its members include Sharon McAllister, Gwen Middlebrooks, Janet McCormack, Robert Sanford and William Taylor, as well as alternates David Acevedo and Patricia Collins.
Members serve for three year terms, are not compensated, and must either be a resident of the city, work in the city, or be a member of an arts board or committee that is located in the city. The Public Art Committee oversees the commissioning, review, installation and maintenance of public art within the City.
In 2009, Riviera Development Group became the first private developer to place a public artwork on its development site pursuant to the city's public art ordinance. A colorful freestanding sculpture that stretches three stories into the Florida sky, Albert Paley's Naiad sits today at the entrance to the St. Tropez Condominium Complex (which includes adjoining Beau Rivage).
In 2010, the city and Lee County partnered together to install 30,000 square feet of art panels called Parallel Park on the newly-constructed 5-story Lee County Justice Center Parking Garage, and on March 2, 2012, the city dedicated Fire Dance by David Black, the first artwork commissioned and installed by the City of Fort Myers Public Art Committee using funds contributed by developers into the city's public art fund.
But with no new infusions of capital since the onset of the recession in 2008, the city's public art fund is quickly drying up and unless the Public Art Committee can find a way to assure contributions in the future, people working in or visiting the River District may have to content themselves with what's already there for the foreseeable future.
[The Florida cities that have enacted public art ordinances reads like a AAA directory of tourist destinations. Boynton Beach, Clearwater, Coral Gables, Coral Springs, Delray Beach, Ft. Pierce, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Key West, Miami, Miami Beach, Naples, Orlando, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach all have percent-for-art ordinances. However unlike Fort Myers' ordinance, which merely encourages participation by private developers, each of these percent-for-art ordinances requires contributions by public and/or private developers erecting structures within their jurisdictions.]
Source: www.examiner.com
Inside Chris Brown’s Hot NYC Charity Art Show - Hollywood Life (blog)
Chris showed off his amazing artwork with artist Ron English in NYC! Read on for EXCLUSIVE details on Chris’ art-filled affair, paintings, philanthropy and more!
Chris Brown threw a party with girlfriend Karrueche Tran by his side to celebrate his artwork and raise money for a charity that’s dear to his heart.
The talented 23-year-old debuted his first collection of paintings on June 11, as well as a collection of tiny astronaut toys. Chris partnered with Ron English to design the collectibles called Dum English. HollywoodLife.com caught up with Ron who worked closely with Chris to discuss their electrifying pairing.
“I didn’t even know who he [Chris] was,” Ron told HollywoodLife.com, laughing over blaring music at NYC’s Opera Gallery. “I downloaded some Bobby Brown songs and my wife was like ‘that’s a different guy.’”
However, Chris had long admired Ron. In fact, he has three tattoos of Ron’s artwork on his body.
“It’s more of a compliment than buying,” Ron told us about Chris’ tattoos.
Chris set a goal to collaborate with Ron and easily achieved it. Together they launched Dum English – a limited edition of toy astronauts. However, despite how cute their trinkets look at first glance, Chris and Ron had a darker meaning behind the space creatures. In a way, the astronaut represented Chris’ rise to fame. The journey can be thrilling, yet isolating.
“There’s a dark side to fame. It’s a lonely thing,” Ron said.
Aside from Chris and Ron showing off the Buzz Lightyear look-alikes, Chris displayed his own personal paintings. Chris’ work — which included comical names like “Chompuzz” and ”Too Many Partie” — were graffiti-inspired canvasses.
However, the most personal part of the evening for Chris was the way his artwork meshed with his charity, Symphonic Love. Any proceeds from Chris’ paintings – which sold from $2,500 – $10,000 — were donated to the charity which supports artistic development in children.
Chris definitely glowed throughout the evening with his girlfriend Karrueche by his side. And even though an almost awkward moment occurred when ex-girlfriend Rihanna’s song “We F0und Love” blasted through the speakers, the two were very playful and flirtatious. Chris was a gracious host and never denied a photograph with a friend or fan — including myself and HollywoodLife.com’s Editor-in-Chief, Bonnie Fuller.
Click through the gallery above for exclusive pics and weigh in below: what do YOU think about Chris’ artwork?
– By Nicole Karlis
More Chris Brown
Source: www.hollywoodlife.com
Council adds support to Anglesea wall art proposal - Voxy
A proposal for a temporary artwork on Hamilton's Anglesea Street wall has gained backing from Hamilton City Council.
At its Operations and Activity Performance Committee meeting yesterday, Council voted 11-2 to endorse the proposal, which would see the installation of a "mind map" artwork on the Anglesea Street wall for three months. The "mind map" artwork invites members of the public to make associations and add their ideas through a website or specific location.
The proposed artwork would coincide with the annual Spark Festival and be created by Hamilton artist Kim Paton, a Wintec Visual Arts lecturer and the Ramp Gallery Curator. Council has committed $5000 to the project, from its Public Art Fund, reliant on the project manager finding the remaining funding required for the artwork and testing of the materials on the wall.
Mayor Julie Hardaker says: "People in the city have been talking about using the Anglesea Street wall for an artwork for decades. This is an opportunity to put a spotlight on a unique part of the central city, and do something creative and adventurous. It's also a chance to see one of our local artists at work, and I'm excited about seeing the outcome."
If the project proceeds, installation will begin in August.
Source: www.voxy.co.nz
Jedward preview new single 'Young Love', reveal artwork - Digital Spy
Source: www.digitalspy.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment