When in 1906, French jeweler and watch maker, Louis-François Cartier & his son Alfred, crossed the Atlantic to branch out into the New World, he was already dubbed “the King of Jewelers” by the Prince of Wales. Cartier, who had founded his company sixty years earlier, in Paris, served European royal courts from Britain to Spain,... »

Sexy, edgy, uncensored, controversial & provocative are only a few words which describe the work of American fashion and celebrity photographer, Sante D’Orazio. The 53 year old Brooklyn based artist has captured the faces & bodies – many of them – of some of the entertainment industry’s most famous figures. His photographs have appeared... »

Photo: Tatsumi Masatoshi/Cai Guo-Qiang Studio Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project, Philadelphia Museum of Art at sunset on December 11th, 2009 “Mr. Cai, who orchestrated the opening fireworks at the Beijing Olympics, plans a 60-second explosion on a large, flower-shaped apparatus that’s attached to a scaffolding on the façade of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. An hour and... »

Vogue Italia’s December 2009 as inspired by the social networking site Twitter’s layout … »

“My current series explores the dichotomy between high-energy nightlife and a time of broad and introspective contemplation. Since 2006, I have been painting night landscapes of cities such as Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, Los Angeles, CA, and Seoul, Korea. This series began after moving to Atlanta in 2006. I used to drive around at night just... »

Christie’s auction of items from country home of Yves Saint Laurent, the sequel to The Sale of the Century took place on November 17th, 2009 in Paris. The sale raised four million euros in total. A view of a salon with furnishings from the private collection of late French fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent and French... »

~ I dreamt of you together in a sunny field, walking to me, smiling. Is this true? Do you pass from hand to hand what here falls in common light? Is this within your power? Mother, do you kiss the necks of bathing souls and laugh when you lower your Brownie? Are there trains and trips to the city, and Mother, is there refinement... »

Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel exhibits more than 80 ensembles from the private collection of renowned style icon Iris Apfel. Celebrated for her “controlled flamboyance,” the fashion maven is also the co-founder of the textile design company, Old World Weavers. Paula Richter, the Museum’s Curator for Exhibitions and Research explains, “Not... »

. Icarus’ Matrioshka 1. Before Even after being burnt For being curious, Icarus cannot resist to gamble His life force Once again. Russian roulette odds evaluated He bravely steps up To the edge-ac-u-lation, And lets go… An invincible adolescent, Unbridled, unbroken, Supreme once again; A celebration for not being dead yet… A few seconds For a lifetime consequence No frittering possible. “If I didn’t get you before, This time I will.” Tapping him, poking him,... »

On November 9th, The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art will host a preview of Yinka Shonibare MBE. Nigerian born Shonibare is one of the most celebrated contemporary African artists of his generation. The exhibition features the 47 year old artist’s multimedia works including paintings, photographs, film and sculptural tableaux. Rachel Kent of Museum... »

The Dubai based Meem Gallery has organized an exhibition of two of the greatest living Iranian artists, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostami. The show features thirty sculptural pieces by Tanavoli and photographic works by internationally recognized Kiarostami. “Having studied under Marino Marini’s tutelage at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Carrara and Milan for four... »

* Akio Takamori, Alice, 2008, Stoneware with underglazes, 42 x 27 x 27″, Barry Friedman Ltd., NYfrom During the next three days, SOFA Chicago will celebrate its 16th year as one the most critically acclaimed Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fairs in the world. Returning to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall (600 E Grand Avenue), the... »

* Antoine Watteau, Seated Young Woman, ca. 1716, Black, red, and white chalk, Pierpont Morgan Library & Museum Rococo and Revolution: Eighteenth-Century French Drawings features more than eighty exceptional drawings almost exclusively from The Morgan Library’s renowned holdings. The efflorescence of the ancien régime and its eventual downfall provide the backdrop to a century of... »

Gail Buckland’s Who Shot Rock & Roll examines the works of photographers who captured the “energy, intoxication, rebellion, and magic” of rock & roll. Iconic images from Elton John to Led Zeppelin, Bjork to Janis Joplin, and James Brown to John Lennon are included in the exhibition which accompanies the book. More than 250... »

* Evening dress by Norman Norell, Harper’s Bazaar, March 1950, Louise Dahl-Wolfe. The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) presents American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion, the first exhibition to explore how the “philosophy of beauty” is allied to the craft of dressmaking. Each of the 75 looks on display was... »

. With no tangible objects, textual documents or libretti to its form, dance is one of the most ephemeral of the arts. Its aesthetic intangibility puts this sophisticated and sensual artistic expression especially at risk during tough economic periods. Dance companies, choreographer and worst still, dancers, might just as well join the most endangered species... »

*Opto-Isolator, 2007, Golan Levin with Greg Balthus, Photo: John Berens, courtesy bitforms gallery nyc Digitally growing plants and a mechanical eye that mirrors the blink of a visitor’s gaze will be among the digital works that will feature in Decode: Digital Design Sensations. The exhibition will show the latest developments in digital and interactive design,... »

A surprising museological marriage has taken place between novelty and tradition. One of Britain’s beloved small museums has organized an exhibition of paintings by that most famous of aging YBA’s, Damien Hirst. Celebrated for its exquisite collection of 18th century French fine and decorative arts, The Wallace Collection is presenting 25 new paintings by... »

On October 21, 2009, The Guggenheim Museum celebrates its 50th birthday. On the exact day that the Guggenheim’s Frank Lloyd Wright–designed building opened its doors to the public, the Museum is holding a free day to all visitors. The celebrations include a stunning Kandinsky exhibition, which the  New York Times has called “sensational.” »

See Review of Ricardo Tischi’s Givenchy S/S 2010 RTW on Style.com »

* Fransje Killaars, Figure and Crosses, 2008 – courtesy Galerie de Expeditie During the coming weekend, Paris will witness its most exciting annual contemporary art event. FIAC (Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain) 2009 will play host to exhibitors from 21 countries with France (75 galleries), Germany (21 galleries) and the United States (18 galleries) leading the... »

* Viktor & Rolf, The Fashion Show, Fall/Winter 2007/8. Centraal Museum, Loan H+F Collection. Courtesy Peter Stigter, model Maryna Linchuk (DNA Models) A new exhibition at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen examines contemporary interactions between fashion and art. The Art of Fashion: Installing Allusion surveys the growing trend among fashion designers to ‘install’ and ’stage’ their... »

“The large galleries at Modern Art Oxford will allow me to push the work into the full museum scale that it has been edging towards for the last few years. It can finally become what it really is.” Karla Black * Karla Black, Installation view Kunstverein, Courtesy Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne; Mary Mary Gallery, Glasgow,... »

“With his violin tones Shlomo Mintz could even enchant a nightingale.” * Scott Bartner, Portrait of Shlomo Mintz (Work in progress – please see video for completed work) American portrait artist Scott E. Bartner was born in Washington, D.C. in 1960 and grew up in the suburbs of Bethesda, Maryland. His family’s artistic life did not reflect... »

* Courtesy Sakshi Gupta, Untitled, Galerie Krinzinger Wien The art fair responsible for creating much of the buzz (bubble) around contemporary art during the past several years is in full swing in London. Not surprisingly, Frieze Art Fair is not immune to the recent economic challenges that have face contemporary art. According to the Wall... »

To mark the release of her forthcoming book, Ellen von Unwerth has autographed 1,500 individual copies of Fräulein. The limited edition $700 tomb surveys over fifteen years of creative work by one of the original supermodels who is known for photographing some of the world’s most beautiful women: Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Vanessa Paradis,... »