Baku Magazine Issue 13 by Baku Magazine

LEYLA ALIYEVA, PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALAN GELATI.

Editor’s letter

they say, is part of your identity: like the clothes you wear, it helps defne who you are. And so it was with the aim of intriguing observers that we have created a major show of works by the modern French artist Bernard Buffet in Baku this autumn. Buffet is neither an established artist nor a rising contemporary star: rather, he is someone who was renowned (and a little controversial) while he was active several decades ago, who faded from the limelight, and whose popularity is now on the rise among collectors. If you can’t make the trip to the show at the Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, you can read about Buffet, one of my favourite artists, in this issue. That’s what I like so much about this magazine – it brings the city’s creativity to you, wherever you may be, and even adds another dimension to our work here. And the city is just one of the new nodes of an emerging axis of power and creativity in art, spanning the Caucasus and the Middle East. We are proud that our artistic heritage and contemporary art scene are playing a part in this regional development of global importance. Azerbaijan is about more than Baku, the city, of course. It is about its countryside, with magnifcent mountains, lakes and forests, and its other great cities, too. The magazine’s fashion team used the stunning backdrop of Ganja for this issue’s shoot. As a season, autumn is full of soul but also activity: in my country the forests change colour seemingly in the blink of an eye, while everyone in the world rushes to get things done before the end of the year. I hope you fnd the time to enjoy this issue.

Leyla Aliyeva Editor-in-Chief

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Contents SKETCHES SURE, HONEY

CULTURE FIX

Sculptural beehives by the roadside. From foodie heaven to conservation, from London to Sydney, our pick of what to see and do this autumn.

VIDEO GAMES

Loren Munk, aka James Kalm, gets the New York art scene going with his guerilla flm-making.

OBJETS D’ART

MAPPED OUT

ON THE RADAR

EMINENCE RUSSE

QUEEN SOPHIA

Wearable, playful, inspiring, even faintly bizarre: the latest must-have art and fashion collaborations. We have travelled far and wide to identify the most innovative concept stores around the world.

West coast artist and surfer Samantha Thomas is making waves with her sculpted paintings. Pop star, restaurateur and retail tycoon, Emin Agalarov has done it all – and he still wants more. Shoe designer extraordinaire Sophia Webster puts a bit of rococo into your step.

CULT & COLLECTABLE

A SINGLE MAN

Our edit of the desirable and the investable at the auction houses in the coming months. Bernard Buffet, the artist once loved by the public and derided by Picasso, makes a posthumous comeback.

A FRESH VIEW

There is a new breed of curator on the scene changing the way we look at art.

Matthew Williamson’s glamorous and exotic designs bring us the dream of the boho life.

THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

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10 top tips on not only surviving the world’s most lavish art fair, but doing it like a pro.

RENAISSANCE MAN

Ron Arad, the master of creative design, lets Baku into his London studio to invent a fashion fantasy land.

BATTLE LINES

IT’S A SMALL WORLD

102

FIFTY SHADES OF PALE

116

CULTURE CRASH

126

MADE IN ITALY

129

BAKU EYE

138

THE TRANSFORMER

The inside story of the intrigue behind the revamped Picasso museum in Paris. We take a tour of the world’s only museum dedicated to the miniature book, in Baku. Fashion’s new colour palette.

Jimi Crayon unleashes his creativity in Baku city. The distinctive look of Neapolitan tailoring is travelling the world, thanks to the ambition of some very mobile tailors.

Baku’s cultural barometer of cutting-edge trends on the international art scene. Architect Jean Nouvel talks about his work in Paris and his plans for the rest of the world.

CATALOGUE

144

PROFILE

149

MY ART

150

DESTINATION: LAHIC

153

THE BUZZ

155

MAVEN

156

THE ARTIST

159

HISTORY LESSON

160

THE ILLUSTRATOR

163

THE CIRCUIT

168

TABULA RASA

CANVAS LA VIE BOHEME

Samanta Iacumin brings her Italian fair to Baku salons. Stylist Bay Garnett shows us her very personal collection. Head for the hills and feel right at home. Paris Bistro, Buddha-Bar and Baku Cafe – the city’s top three autumn openings. The artists among the scientists at Ars Electronica. The multitasking Chingiz Babayev waxes lyrical. Why the pomegranate is given its own festival in Azerbaijan. Become one with the earth in autumn. People, places and parties around the world. Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater relaxes with mugham.

COVER. Photographed by LAURA SCIACOVELLI. Styled by MARY FELLOWES. Dress by SONIA RYKIEL. Shirt by JH ZANE. Tights by FALKE.

ART. CULTURE. WILD.

A CONDE NAST PUBLICATION AUTUMN 2014

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CONDE NAST ART DIRECTOR MANAGING EDITOR DEPUTY EDITOR/CHIEF SUB-EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Leyla Aliyeva Darius Sanai Daren Ellis Maria Webster Abbie Vora Laura Archer Caroline Davies

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Simon de Pury

CONTRIBUTING FASHION DIRECTOR

Mary Fellowes

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

PICTURE EDITOR DESIGNER SUB-EDITOR PRODUCTION CONTROLLER

DEPUTY EDITOR, RUSSIAN BAKU MAGAZINE DIRECTOR, FREUD COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, MEDIA LAND LLC IN BAKU / ADVERTISING

CO-ORDINATION IN BAKU

DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR PRESIDENT, CONDE NAST INTERNATIONAL

Jarrett Gregory Michael Idov Emin Mammadov Hervé Mikaeloff Kenny Schachter Claire Wrathall

Nick Hall Arijana Zeric Andrew Lindesay Emma Storey

Tamilla Akhmedova Hannah Pawlby Khayyam Abdinov +994 50 286 8661; medialand.baku@gmail.com Matanet Bagieva

Albert Read Nicholas Coleridge

BAKU magazine has taken all reasonable efforts to trace the copyright owners of all works and images and obtain permissions for the works and images reproduced in this magazine. In the event that any of the untraceable copyright owners come forward after publication, BAKU magazine will endeavour to rectify the position accordingly. BAKU magazine is distributed globally by COMAG Specialist, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 7QX; tel +44 1895 433800. © 2014 The Condé Nast Publications Ltd. BAKU magazine is published quarterly by The Condé Nast Publications Ltd, Vogue House, Hanover Square, London W1S 1JU; tel +44 20 7499 9080; fax +44 20 7493 1469. Colour origination by CLX Europe Media Solutions Ltd. Printed by Taylor Bloxham Limited, Leicester. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. 26 Baku.

artbasel.com | facebook.com /artbasel | twitter.com /artbasel

Contributors Jimi Crayon

is an artist, creative director and flmmaker who is based in London. What tree would you be? An oak tree. I have no idea why. Instagram or photo album? Tough choice. Neither’s perfect but I love photography. Autumn is a time for… Change, letting go, moving on. It’s all very spiritual. Artistically, what inspired you most about Baku (p116)? It’s the mix of ancient and modern. There’s a harmony there so everything feels true and authentic.

Anna van Praagh

James Panero

is a feature writer who contributes to the Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times. What tree would you be? A willow. I love how they dangle themselves into rivers. Instagram or photo album? Photo album. Autumn is a time for… Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park, London. I just love it. What is the most unusual way you’ve experienced art (p63)? A night-time exhibition in the catacombs of Paris – it was incredibly eerie.

is a New York-based writer and the executive editor of The New Criterion. What tree would you be? An American elm along the Literary Walk in Central Park. Instagram or photo album? I’m holding out for Picasa. Google, don’t abandon me! Autumn is a time for… Back to school; in the art galleries. What makes Loren Munk (p39) different from other artists on YouTube? His persistence, and the fact that he aims to broadcast every artist he knows but himself.

laura archer

is Baku magazine’s associate editor. What tree would you be? A cherry blossom – as a child living in Pakistan we would see them fowering in the Hunza valley and know that warmer days were on their way. Instagram or photo album? Photo album. Autumn is a time for… Refection and renewal. Never underestimate the transformative effect of a new jumper. What was Ron Arad’s studio like (p78)? A cross between Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and Alice’s Wonderland. I felt like I’d fallen down the rabbit hole.

is a culture writer based in London, while often working in Paris, and writes for the International New York Times. What tree would you be? A Persian sycamore. Instagram or photo album? Instagram. Autumn is a time for… Major exhibition openings and book releases. Cool feature of the new Musée Picasso (p92)? A terrace with panoramic views, sphinxes at each end, and a cafe.

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Laura Sciacovelli

is an Italian-born photographer who has worked with i-D, Vogue and Miu Miu. What tree would you be? A very old olive tree from Puglia, twisted and rugged. Instagram or photo album? Photo album with printed Instagram images! Autumn is a time for… A new beginning with an extra kick from the summer, but also for the most beautiful light of the year. How did you fnd the people of Ganja, where you shot the fashion story (p102)? I loved their kindness and curiosity, and their incredible enthusiasm.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MERIJN HOS.

Farah Nayeri

Sure, Honey

These colourful wooden beehives â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which could almost be a dishevelled Donald Judd sculpture â&#x20AC;&#x201C; were snapped at the roadside in the village of Gachrash in rural northern Azerbaijan. Collected mainly from citrus trees and mountain meadows, honey here is such a prized commodity it even warrants its own Honey Fair, taking place in Baku each autumn. Photograph by RICHARD HAUGHTON

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STEPHANIE QUAYLE, ‘CONGRESS’ (2014). IMAGE AND WORK © THE ARTIST.

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WHERE IT’S AT THIS SEASON

THE BIG IDEA 24 NOVEMBER–22 DECEMBER HERE TODAY

Where London What This London charity spectacular takes place at the Old Sorting Offce, a vast, semi-derelict party space in Soho. It features paintings, video art and huge installations around the theme of wildlife conservation, by artists dead and alive: Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Gavin Turk, Jake and Dinos Chapman, and Stephanie Quayle (Congress, pictured). And it’s all for the very good cause of saving endangered species. heretoday.org 33 Baku.

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( 21–23 NOVEMBER MARGARET RIVER GOURMET ESCAPE

Where Western Australia What Foodies make the pilgrimage to the wine region of Margaret River every year, for the beach BBQs, farmers’ market and private estate dinners. gourmetescape.com.au

Where London What Icons of 20th-century vintage knitwear, by Vivienne Westwood and Julien MacDonald among others, feature in the Fashion & Textile Museum’s exhibition charting the infuence of the pop, punk and deconstruction art movements. ftmlondon.org

21–29 NOVEMBER RUSSIAN ART WEEK

23 OCTOBER–9 NOVEMBER SCULPTURE BY THE SEA

Where London What Many of London’s auction houses, including Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams and MacDougall’s, lead the way with Russian art auctions at this bi-annual event to celebrate all things Russian in the UK capital. russianartweek.co.uk

18–21 NOVEMBER SECOND BAKU INTERNATIONAL FICTS SPORT FILMS FESTIVAL

Where Baku What With the inaugural European Games just around the corner, this festival, sponsored by the Azerbaijan Olympic Committee, celebrates sport and flm. bisff.az

Where Sydney What Sculptures by artists from around the world line the spectacular coastal cliff walk from Bondi Beach to Tamarama. sculpturebythesea.com

UNTIL 15 FEBRUARY 2015 KILLER HEELS: THE ART OF THE HIGHHEELED SHOE

Where New York What Spiked, curved, studded and cuffed, this show tracks the heel from 16th-century Italy to the streets of Manhattan today. brooklynmuseum.org

5–9 NOVEMBER NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL

Where New York What Small names and big – Bill Cosby leads the troupe of comedians this year – try their hardest to make you laugh. nycomedyfestival.com 34 Baku.

24–26 OCTOBER LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Where Las Vegas What Ward off the oncoming winter blues at the festival that celebrates joie de vivre. Music, art and good food help visitors fnd inspiration for chasing their dreams. lifeisbeautiful.com

UNTIL 18 JANUARY 2015 KNITWEAR, CHANEL TO WESTWOOD

ERIC MICHAEL JOHNSON/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX/EYEVINE.

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Loren Munk is New York’s guerilla flm-maker supreme. James Panero meets the man stirring up the art scene.

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Video Games

From top: still from James Kalm’s video ‘Jeff Koons: A Retrospective’ at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, June 2014; Loren Munk, aka James Kalm, recording a video for his blog, November 2011; still from ‘Jeff Koons: A Retrospective’; stills from James Kalm’s video of ‘Bloodfames Revisited’ at Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, 2014.

ne day, when art historians take stock of the 2008 Whitney Biennial, the frst artist to come to mind won’t be someone who appeared in the exhibition. It will be the artist who was thrown out of the exhibition for recording it with a tiny digital camera and posting it on YouTube. “The ironic part is they can flm you with their security cameras, and you don’t give them permission for that, but God forbid you are there getting pictures of the art,” refects this social media provocateur. Working under the pseudonym James Kalm, since 2006 Loren Munk has made more than 1,000 videos just like 2008 Whitney Biennial Busted. They all start the same way: a shaky glimpse of a bike locked on a New York street, a pan to a gallery or museum door and a heavy-breathing voice-over announcing, “This

is James Kalm, the guy on the bike, welcoming you to another half-assed production.” Then with a cut, or maybe not, we watch in point-of-view style as the camera takes us in, glances around and moves in closer to look at individual

here and take you out of the building. OK?” “They are going to take me out of the building?” Munk asks. “Turn it off, please. The camera. Last time I ask you.” Next thing we see is Munk’s feet being escorted down the stairs, as he explains to the viewer how he was just threatened with a lawsuit and copyright infringement. “This is James Kalm getting kicked out

works on display. All the while, a wry voice leads us through, giving us frst impressions, striking up conversations and sometimes striking out with gallery security. “People told me this is the stupidest thing they’d ever heard of,” Munk says of when he frst explained his video project to friends. “I heard that, and I said, ‘Man, I’ve hit a gold mine!’” The reason art historians of the 2008 Whitney Biennial will one day think of Munk is that, frankly, there is no better record of the exhibition than his halfhour-plus video walkthrough. Munk posts everything he flms free on YouTube, either as the ‘James Kalm Report’ or ‘James Kalm Rough Cut’, and if you can’t remember what appeared to the right of the lift on the ffth foor, just tune in. Beyond that, his 2008 reportage has become something of a turning-point for a form of radical art documentation. “If you are showing exciting art that has cultural signifcance, by discriminating against all those people who can’t see it in person, you are holding back society,” says Munk. Back in 2008 the Whitney thought otherwise. “Excuse me, sir,” says a guard fve minutes into the clip. “They are telling me right now that you are using that camera. Sir, if you don’t stop now, they are going to come over

of the 2008 Whitney Biennial,” he concludes, offering his trademark sign-off: “Thanks, Kate,” a nod to his wife. He later returns to flm four more segments, vowing to leave his camera on while declaring it a performance piece called The Camera is Off. “That ended up being one of the biggest videos up to that point,” Munk says. Far from landing him in court, the Whitney linked to it and soon started posting their own YouTube videos. Today, the Whitney invites Munk to all its 39 Baku.

nauseous and your commentary is idiotic’.” But as we have grown used to the look of video in the smartphone era, Munk’s work now seems ahead of its time. As the internet has levelled the feld of arts journalism and newspapers have cut back on coverage, a freelancer with an online following can also hold increasing sway. By the last count, more than three million viewers have logged on to see Munk’s YouTube videos. His audience is growing internationally, too. “I’ve got people keeping up with me in the UAE, in Morocco, in China,” says Munk. “I get these letters from artists in Algeria saying, ‘I love your videos, will you look at my website?’” Even a school of Papulankutja aboriginal people in the outback of Australia tunes in. “We are 500 miles from the next big town,” their teacher emailed Munk, “but my kids can feel like they are part of the Williamsburg

Above: stills from ‘2008 Whitney Biennial Busted’. Right: Loren Munk in his studio in Brooklyn, 2011. Below: stills from ‘2008 Whitney Biennial, The Camera is Off Part 1’.

for: a tall, paintsplattered balding man wearing an old bike helmet, the only person in the room whispering into a camera. His videos are equally distinctive. Without ever showing the host’s face, they are less like classic documentary and more like going to an art opening inside the head of a knowledgeable

friend. “I want it to be closer to the way someone really experiences the art scene, grabbing the artist, swinging back, zooming in, with their buddy and a couple of beers.” As part of his practice, rain or shine, Munk bikes nearly everywhere from his 353sq m loft in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The audible breathing, the shakiness, are there because he’s just pedalled miles through busy streets, over the Brooklyn Bridge, and doesn’t wait to catch his breath, always flming in one take. “The immediacy is important,” he says. “It is changing the way people look at video. But people still say, ‘Your shaking is making me 40 Baku.

PEOPLE TOLD ME THAT THIS WAS THE STUPIDEST THING THEY’D EVER HEARD OF. I HEARD THAT AND SAID, ‘MAN, I’VE HIT A GOLD MINE!’ art scene” – referring to one of the alternative Brooklyn neighbourhoods, like Bushwick, that Munk documents as often as he does Chelsea. Today Munk covers every corner of the New York art scene with tireless energy but never for any fnancial gain (he turns down offers of online advertising). “Munk’s obsession with art, art history and the New York art world is evidently more than one person can handle. So he created James Kalm,” Roberta Smith, the chief critic of The New York Times, wrote in 2011. She went on to praise him for giving “dizzying visual expression to some of what lures the art-driven to the city: the sense of possibility in the air and of history beneath our feet.”

Anyone can flm a gallery opening but Munk’s flms are different in that they have attracted a particular community and this has led him to fnd new artists, curators, critics, collectors and gallerists who have been excited by his work. If there’s a context for Munk’s flms, it’s that they share something with the handheld clips coming out of war zones, and something with our culture’s obsessive digital documentation. Other artists have used YouTube but little else matches the breadth of Munk’s work. So where will his videos end up? Probably not as something sold in a gallery, unlike an earlier generation of video art. “The old model is the opposite,” says Munk of video from the pre-internet age. “They were doing something in response to television, using technology in a hermetic, esoteric way, and you can access it only if you jump through the hoops to see it in a gallery.” The videos have also reinvigorated Munk’s frst passion for painting and have already paid off for him through his paintings, which consist of complex diagrams, maps and fowcharts of the art world. “He’s really synthesized a lot of things in his practice,” says Nick Lawrence, gallerist at Chelsea’s

Freight and Volume, who began representing Munk two years ago. “There’s something unjaded and pure about it, and it shows up in his paintings. There’s a certain against-thegrain, countercultural approach in what he covers, how he covers it, in his technique. And his paintings are painted with an obsessive quality. The lines that connect in his paintings are exactly how he zigzags around the room at an opening. They are very spontaneous, very provisional.” Munk agrees: “Often that’s the best way. I just walk through the doors and say, ‘This is pretty cool,’ and I just turn on the video and let it go.”

TODD HEISLER/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX/EYEVINE.

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press previews and director Adam Weinberg comes over and shakes his hand. “It has gone from something they were throwing me out for six years ago, to something they now view as valid.” Compared to the polished look of TV news, Munk’s videos take a bit of getting used to, but the art world is coming round to the 62-year-old performance documentarian. His appearance at a gallery opening has become a sign of critical arrival, and gallerists now know who to look

23-26 octobER 2014

grand palais et hors les murs, paris Organised by

OfďŹ cial sponsor

Time for Tea The supermarket has been a huge source of fashion inspiration this season – see Anya Hindmarch – so it is ftting that the London-Ibiza jeweller True Rocks and Gavin Turk have collaborated on a Rich Tea biscuit pendant. The original biscuit was bitten and signed by British artist Turk and is now on offer in silver and gold, from £350. truerocks.com

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Two of fashion’s greatest fgures – Barbie and Karl Lagerfeld – have become one. Replete with the trademark fngerless gloves, high collar and black printed jeans of Chanel’s creative director, the limited-edition doll can be yours for €200. net-a-porter.com

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Barbie Lagerfeld

Do the Twist It may resemble a twisted metal sculpture, but this curved brushed- and polished-brass object is actually for wearing on your fnger. It’s part of the Serpentine Collection by jeweller Ale, whose handmade pieces are always inspired by art. layanalondon.com

COMPILED BY ABBIE VORA.

Magic Carpet Ode to Alber This beautiful tome details the transformative effect Lanvin’s creative director, Alber Elbaz, has had on the Paris fashion house in his 13 years at the helm. Published by Rizzoli, it includes images of his famously theatrical window displays – for which he often collaborates with artists – as well as drawings by the designer.

Emma Cook’s 1970s, bohoinspired autumn/winter collection features several pieces (above, in velvet) printed with an ornate Persian rug design. The image was scanned from an antique carpet Cook had inherited from her grandmother and transferred onto fabrics. Other pieces include her signature loose silk shirts and kaftans. emmacook.co.uk 43 Baku.

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Shop Front

Our round-up of the edgiest and most creative concept stores around the world. Illustration by Siggi Eggertsson

1 OPENING CEREMONY Los Angeles. The ultra-cool OC began in NYC and has taken its creative approach – collaborating with arty types – to the west coast (and beyond). openingceremony.us

4 GALLERY MADRID Madrid. Where Nike trainers become objects of contemplation in stark, tasteful, art-gallerylike surroundings. gallerymadrid.com

7 HOTEL DROOG Amsterdam. The hotel at which sleeping is the least of it: come here to shop, use the spa and garden, to eat, and see art. Every last thing is curated to perfection. droog.com

2 THE WEBSTER Miami Beach. The resort city’s choice luxury boutique in its very own art deco building, with a rooftop bar. thewebstermiami.com

5 DOVER STREET MARKET London. The original store, now also in Tokyo and New York, renowned for its designer-curated fashion displays and brilliant Rose Bakery cafe. london.doverstreetmarket.com

8 SLEEPING DOGS Hamburg. Furniture meets fashion meets art at this wonderfully laid-out showroom. sleepingdogs.de

3 CREATURES OF COMFORT New York City. Hard-to-fnd labels, including their own, in Manhattan’s Little Italy. creaturesofcomfort.us

6 LA JEUNE RUE Paris. In the ever-hip Marais, this is an entire concept street, and is still in development. Ethically sourced food in designer interiors. lajeunerue.com

9 THE CORNER Berlin. From Acne to Louboutin to Jean Prouvé, this chic store combines current fashion and vintage modernist furniture. thecornerberlin.de

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13 D.TALES Dubai. D.Tales brings classic and contemporary Scandinavian designed furniture and objects to the Gulf. design-tales.com 10 PRINTA AKADEMIA Budapest. Not only a shop with clothing and accessories from local labels, but also a gallery, silkscreen studio and cafe. printa.hu

14 TEATRO DHORA Jaipur. Set up by a young fashion duo behind the label Dhora, this new store sells Indian cottons, leather goods and home decor. dhoraindia.in

11 SUPERMARKET Belgrade. This vast shop (in a former supermarket) has a bar, restaurant and Serbian fashion. supermarket.rs

15 BLACKMARKET Singapore. Founded by a Filipino video artist, this wood-panelled store offers fashion labels from Asia. theblackmarket.sg

12 EMPORIUM Baku. Haute fashion, a cocktail bar and the avantgarde meet at this huge Japanese-designed store. emporium.az

16 10 CORSO COMO 18 ICON Shanghai. Tokyo. The latest branch of the famous A quirky, multi-brand Milan original – the epitome of clothing store in an actual the concept shop – started by house. The garage plays gallerist Carla Sozzani. host to guest brands. 10corsocomo.com icontky.com

17 MCM SPACE 19 DAGMAR ROUSSET Seoul. Melbourne. A vast space-themed futuristic This store is an intriguing store that manages to retain combination of clothing, a hint of the German luxury jewellery and art boutique by leather brand’s heritage. day, and French school by night. mcmworldwide.com dagmar.com.au 20 THE DEPARTMENT STORE Auckland. Co-founded by local fashion star Karen Walker, this space offers clothes, interiors and beauty. thedepartmentofnews.com 45 Baku.

ICMI

The Collection

icmi.co.uk

INVERLOCHY CASTLE HOTEL, Highlands ROCPOOL RESERVE HOTEL, Inverness INVER LODGE HOTEL, Highlands BLANEFIELD HOUSE, Turnberry FACTOR’S INN AND COTTAGE, Highlands

GREYWALLS, near Edinburgh CROMLIX, Perthshire THE INCH, Loch Ness THE COLONEL’S HOUSE, near Edinburgh THE ROXBURGHE, Kelso

Photograph by Elizabeth Weinberg

espite her Texan roots, Samantha Thomas is the epitome of down-to-earth California calm, with her restful, easy presence setting a tone of focus and contemplation. The 33-year-old artist is getting noticed in Los Angeles and New York for her vibrantly coloured, textured paintings that rise off the canvas in three dimensions to become sculptural objects. Thomas’s work plays off the history of abstraction and references seminal fgures such as Kazimir Malevich and Lucio Fontana, as well as movements such as Mono-ha and arte povera. Art was always a part of her daily life growing up in southern Texas, fve minutes’ drive from the Mexican border. While her father ran his own business, Thomas’s mother, who had studied art, and Samantha would spend afternoons painting and drawing together. And that wasn’t her only forte – she was offered a golf scholarship to The University of Tulsa, but turned it down in favour of moving to Los Angeles and enrolling on the fne art course at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Now, her typical day starts and ends with a surf, either near her home in Malibu or at Venice Beach, in between which she can be found at her bright and airy studio in Culver City. Interestingly Thomas chooses to work only with painting’s core materials – paint, gesso and linen – but experiments widely within these limits to produce highly expressive creations. As the art world continues to look to LA for the next big thing, Thomas is certainly one to focus on.

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Artist Samantha Thomas is carving out a name for herself with her 3-D paintings, says Jarrett Gregory.

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California Dreamin’

Samantha Thomas in her Los Angeles studio.

Jarrett Gregory is an associate curator at LACMA. 49 Baku.

Pop star, pin-up, restaurateur, retail tycoon – there’s no stopping Moscow’s Emin Agalarov, says Anna Jackson-Stevens.

set goals that are kind of unreachable,” admits Emin Agalarov. “For example, I want to have a number one worldwide single. It may be a dream but the journey towards it has brought me great things.” This journey has included opening for Jennifer Lopez, winning a prestigious World Music Award this year, and performing at the Miss Universe pageant to a global television audience of nearly one billion. As the son of a billionaire property developer, Agalarov could have just sat back and enjoyed the ride. But that’s never appealed to the 34-year-old, best known by his stage name, Emin. He was born in Baku, but raised in Russia, Switzerland, and then the US where, when he was 15, he frst started working the foor for $5.50 an hour at Kmart in New Jersey. “It was critical for me, because I never wanted my parents to tell me what to do and the only way to do that fairly was to never ask them for anything.” He taught himself to sing and write songs – which has led to eight albums and a position in the US Top 10 Billboard Hot Singles chart – while for more than a decade he has worked for his father’s company, Crocus International. Now based in Moscow as its commercial director, Agalarov oversees three shopping malls and an expanding chain of restaurants in the city, including Nobu in partnership with Robert De Niro, and Shore House with prolifc restaurateur Arkady Novikov. As his 35th birthday approaches – which he will celebrate on 11 December as he fnishes touring his current album, Amor – Agalarov’s momentum continues unabated. “I want to continue to experiment with music,” he says. And business is expanding, too, with a new mall concept – Vegas II at the Crocus City development – that he wants to be Moscow’s answer to Times Square in New York. “There’s a pressure to live up to expectations,” he acknowledges of both careers. “But I want to surprise people with something new every time.”

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Queen Sophia Since her debut just last year, Sophia Webster’s whimsical shoe designs have won the hearts of women from London to Miami. Now she’s set to do the same in Baku. Abbie Vora meets her. Portrait by Clement Jolin

verything about Sophia Webster is cute and girlie – from her blonde plaits and petite stature (propped up on cloud-motif platforms) to her fxation with famingos and cult 1990s flms such as Clueless. But behind this is a fashion powerhouse who has won a string of accolades, including the Emerging Talent Award (Accessories) at last year’s British Fashion Awards; whose debut collection for spring/summer 2013 was snapped up by the likes of Bergdorf Goodman, Harvey Nichols and Net-A-Porter; and who this year designed a shoe range in collaboration with J.Crew. “Jenna Lyons is super cool,” Webster declares of the globally infuential creative director of the US brand. “Jenna noticed us early on, so it was encouraging having a company like J.Crew wanting to work with us. She has amazing vision.” But it’s London-born Webster’s extraordinary vision that has made her the go-to label for statement-making celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Sarah Jessica Parker and Rita Ora. Her designs are a perfect concoction of saccharine femininity and grown-up luxury. Covered in stripes, zigzags and polka dots, they have leather laces and crystal bows, iridescent butterfy wings on the heels, oversized gems on the toes, and come in a rainbow of pastels, neons and metallics. “I try to tap into that

Sophia Webster in her east London studio; and (below) a clutch bag and shoes from her a/w 2014 collection.

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part of a woman, the fantasy part, that deep down I’m not sure you ever grow out of,” she says. Coupled with this is fne craftsmanship. Having trained at the Royal College of Art and Cordwainers, Webster’s technical skills encompass more than just design. “There’s a certain science to pattern cutting. If you don’t know how that all works then shoes can be uncomfortable.” Plus, she’s the former protégé of British shoe wizard Nicholas Kirkwood, who hired her the moment she graduated. Before we sit down to talk, I meet Webster, 29, in her studio near Old Street, east London. The former warehouse is quietly buzzing, with a dozen people either at desks or sashaying between towering shelving units flled with shoes that look like hothouse fowers. There are big fauxforal garlands draped about, famingo cut-outs propped up against walls, and life-sized ‘Sophia’ doll boxes (for models to stand in, like Barbies) – all remnants from past campaigns and fashion week presentations. Webster fnishes a call and ushers me out into the street and across to a cafe, where we 54 Baku.

I TRY TO TAP INTO THAT FANTASY PART OF A WOMAN THAT DEEP DOWN I’M NOT SURE YOU EVER GROW OUT OF. can speak undisturbed by the demands of her fourishing business. As she orders a mug of tea, she sighs and fxes me with her light-blue eyes – being in the third trimester of her frst pregnancy I’m not surprised if she’s a little weary (she’s since given birth to a baby girl, Bibi Blossom Stockley-Webster). “I’m taking each day as it comes,” she says, referring to her still fedgling brand. “I do what feels right. We did a couple of pop-up shops in London this year and I’ve been doing loads of trips abroad to our stockists to gain insight into the women who buy the shoes.” And what did she discover, I ask. “The women in Dubai and Miami love the real show pieces,” she says in her east London accent. “And the pop-up stores brought in such an assortment – from the 18-year-old choosing a birthday present with her mum, to women who’d buy 10 pairs at once. “When I hear about celebrities wearing my designs it’s wonderful, but it’s even better when I see ordinary women in them,” Webster continues. “The other day I saw a woman cycling in my heeled jellies, and my husband, Bobby [Stockley], who manages my company, was like, ‘Soph, look!’ She was wearing little socks with them and she looked amazing. If someone loves them enough to buy them, well, that’s really

BERETTA/SIMS/REX. NEIL HALL/REUTERS/CORBIS. BENJAMIN LOZOVSKY/REX. BEN A PRUCHNIE/GETTY.

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( Clockwise from above: Rita Ora wearing Sophia Webster sandals; the designer with Suki Waterhouse at the British Fashion Awards 2013; Rihanna with her brother; and Solange Knowles, both in Webster heels; from the a/w 2014 presentation; and an over-theknee creation for this season.

special.” But the biggest coup, Webster admits, would be if Gwen Stefani wore a pair. “She was my idol growing up. If she ever wore them I might faint!” With the newest branch of Harvey Nichols open in Baku from this autumn, the city’s fashion-forward female residents will have their frst taste of Webster’s offbeat aesthetic. “The luxury market in Baku is rapidly expanding,” she says, “and it’s exciting to be a part of that. I’m very inspired by different cultures.” Her autumn/winter collection is based on a modern-day fairy tale. “It has a ‘noughties’ vibe,” Webster explains. “Prince Charming doesn’t turn up because he’s a bit of a player.” Luxe trimmings such as furry pom-poms and shearling adorn stilettos, mules and booties; embroidery is incorporated as a reference to Webster’s Czech ancestry and oversized blackand-white houndstooth features prominently, as “Gwen Stefani always wore a lot of it”. Her signature speech bubble clutch bags reappear this season and her Mini range is expanding, offering similar versions of Mummy’s shoes for little feet. Being a woman and designing shoes for women naturally means an understanding of comfort. There’s a lot of cushioning in the soles, wearer trials are carried out, and she never designs a heel that is more than 10cm high. This pragmatism provides another wonderful juxtaposition to Webster’s intricate detailing. “I get told all the time [by the factory in Brazil] that my designs are not possible,” she laughs. “But that’s part of the fun. When I go there I talk them into it. I make suggestions, then they realize I was right!” As the only designer in her business, will she hand over the reins while on maternity leave? “No, I’ll continue to design,” Webster says frmly. “It’s diffcult running your own company – I’m emotionally attached. I will have to step back a bit, but I’ll make it work somehow.” While the pace at Sophia Webster HQ doesn’t look likely to slow down anytime soon – a standalone store is defnitely on the cards, she says – she is looking forward to some simple pleasures: “I can’t wait for all the girlie things with my daughter, like baking together, and doing her hair. I have a stepson, but he’s not interested in any of that!”

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inspiring extraordinary experiences

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A Single Man

The once-maligned artist Bernard Buffet is back in the limelight, writes Claire Wrathall.

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Above: ‘Deux clowns bras levés’ (1989). From far left: ‘Femme au poêle’ (1947); ‘Paris, la tour Eiffel’ (1988). Opposite: ‘Kabuki II’ (1987).

n a poll of 100 art critics in 1955, the French artist Bernard Buffet was voted ‘the most impressive young painter in the world’. Aged 27, the young millionaire, as Paris Match dubbed him, had the world at his feet and a Rolls-Royce in his garage. And uncomfortable though some of his paintings can seem, with their spiky black lines scored through heavy impasto, demand for his work was insatiable. By the end of the 1950s, however, the art establishment turned against him. Picasso, in particular, was an outspoken critic of his work, as was André Malraux, the writer and minister of culture, who deplored Buffet’s sometimes cartoonish style. The artist remained unbowed: “Abstract painting is limited and boring,” he wrote dismissively, “while fgurative painting is unlimited.” His popularity never waned and by the time he died in 1999, his œuvre ran to more than 8,000 canvases, the largest collection of which is in Nagaizumi, Japan at a museum dedicated to his work. Yet since 2009, when the frst major retrospective since his death was held in Marseille, Buffet’s work has undergone a reassessment with a growing number of exhibitions at leading institutions. This autumn a major show of 46 of his paintings opens at the Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku and runs until 11 January 2015. It’s curated by the art dealer Jean-David Malat, London director of the Opera Gallery and a long-time champion of Buffet’s work. “He’s a very important painter,” Malat says. “He was remarkable as very few artists in the 1950s were so well known. He was a star.” The market for Buffet’s work is at last rising again. Of the 23 paintings of his auctioned at Sotheby’s this year, all but one has sold, mostly for more than their estimates. One still life, for example, sold for $305,000 in New York in May, more than four times its low estimate, while in London in February, Arlequin (1956) realized an even more sensational £458,500 against an estimate of £120,000. “At the moment it’s possible to fnd some of his fower paintings or still lifes for quite low prices,” says Malat. “He is undervalued, despite the growing interest. This exhibition will change that.” operagallery.com

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A new generation of curators is bringing an innovative perspective and a touch of style to how we view art, says Anna van Praagh.

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A Fresh View

Aya Mousawi and Simon Sakhai of the Moving Museum. Below, left to right: Jeremy Bailey, the Moving Museum, Istanbul; and Katie Tsouros of Artfetch, with an exhibit from her ‘Get Down Off the Walls’ show.

s the art world grows ever more international, there is a new breed of cuttingedge curator galvanizing the way we experience art. Gone are the days when one simply hung pictures on a wall. The new voices in the world of curating have stellar educations, but it’s much more than that – it’s their capacity for pushing boundaries, engaging with new technologies and regarding the world without borders. Take Forrest Nash, the hip young creative genius behind Contemporary Art Daily (CAD),

a kind of virtual gallery that keeps its readers informed about every important contemporary art exhibition in the world. Nash, 26, founded the site in 2008 while he was still a student at the Art Institute of Chicago. It now receives 120,000 visitors each month and is credited as being one of the most infuential websites in contemporary art today. “Part of what we do that is novel, is that we start all our research with our directory of about 800 spaces around the world,” says Nash. “This represents a network of artists and spaces. We see that the artists exhibiting in one location are participating in the broader conversation, which is never purely regional, or based on a single style.” The exhibitions to be listed are chosen by committee, and the team votes on which works should be included on the site to represent the show’s content. “It’s a balance,” says Nash. “On one hand we want to show which artists and exhibitions really matter to us. On the other we want CAD to represent the full range of whatever is happening in the international conversation, and that often means including pieces which, curatorially, we wouldn’t necessarily endorse.” Nash says CAD has a reputation for thoroughness. “Once we decide to publish something, we push hard to get as many images as possible.” The way he showcases art is also refreshingly democratic. “We don’t differentiate between artists and we’re not marketdriven – I couldn’t tell you how much these pieces would cost. So one day we might be focusing on an artist who is having a retrospective at a museum, and then the next week we might be endorsing a young artist who is having only their third show.”

Katie Tsouros, 28, the Dublin-based co-founder and chief executive of Artfetch, also curates online. Her no less ambitious remit is to seek out young artists who will be the future stars, and provide a platform for people to view their work. Presently, Artfetch has 40 artists signed up exclusively, with work available from as little as $100 up to more than $3,000. “When we present the work we curate it around a theme, and try to present it online in a way that replicates

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Above: opening night of Lia Chavez’s ‘Carceri’, 2014; and curator Brandon Coburn. Below: ‘Fever Thread’ at 1857 in Oslo, as featured on Contemporary Art Daily; Forrest Nash.

Tsouros continues. “The remit has expanded so much. Now it’s much more about developing an interactive experience with the audience.” Aya Mousawi’s Moving Museum is about as vibrant as it gets. She and her business partner, Simon Sakhai, have immersed themselves in their ambitious not-for-proft curatorial endeavour, which entails them taking over vast exhibition spaces around the world and showcasing art by international and regional artists to coincide with signifcant art-world events. Museumstandard production, in-depth publications and residency programmes all combine to

produce a pretty incredible art show with a twist. Last year they conquered Dubai, opening alongside Art Dubai. As part of the Dubai project, she commissioned the artist Michael Rakowitz to open an Iraqi-Jewish restaurant, the frst in the Arab world since the exodus of the Jews in the 1940s. Open for just seven nights, it did a roaring trade of more than 500 covers. Last October the Moving Museum took over a 3,700 sq m building in the Strand, London, showing at the same time as Frieze London. This autumn it’s Istanbul, where the duo has invited 38 artists to live and work in Turkey’s largest city for three months and host weekly salons, talks and flm screenings. Local artists will work alongside their international counterparts, all tasked with engaging with Istanbul in different ways. One has plans to dive to the bottom of the Black Sea and unearth old Ottoman telegraph cables. As an example of curation, it’s pretty exciting. Gallerist, art adviser and curator Brandon Coburn, 36, is about as out there as it gets. His latest project is by Lia Chavez, and features an installation of her meditating blindfolded. Sporadically she would break off and draw whatever vision she had seen, which would then be projected onto Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. In addition, viewers were encouraged to meditate with her, and many did. “We wanted to make the gallery more than just a white-walled box,” Coburn explains, “make it more experiential, with the international community included through our online presence.” The former architect says he gains inspiration from all over the world, and cites Baku as one of the most inspiring places he has been. “I couldn’t believe how fast the art scene in Baku was evolving,” he says. “Its energy and dynamism was palpable and incredibly exciting.” Barely 29, London and Mumbai-based Shanay Jhaveri is making great strides in the Indian and international art world as a writer and curator. Jhaveri seeks to engage South Asian art with an international perspective. A recent example was his contribution to the Nouvelle Vague season of exhibitions that took place at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2013. “My presentation, titled ‘Companionable Silences’, focused on non-Western women artists, starting from the 1920s, who had lived or worked in Paris,” explains Jhaveri. “Considered collectively, their works pointed to modernism’s cross-cultural past, as well as the place primitivism and Orientalism occupy within conversations of the modern.” It’s this grasp of the global nature of today’s art world, and the awareness of how to ensure their projects have a worldwide reach, that sets these young curators apart. Their eyes are fresh, their way of curating daring and original. The art world had better keep up.

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Ones to Watch

Aida Mahmudova, 32

Founder and creative director of the not-for-proft Azerbaijani contemporary art organization Yarat. Curatorial style: Expansive. Mahmudova’s passion for supporting emerging artists and bringing the diversity of the Caucasus to an international audience makes her a key player in the Central Asian art world and beyond.

Jonathan Freemantle, 35

Curator and creative director of the Edinburgh International Fashion Festival. Curatorial style: Audacious. This South African curator’s work merges fashion and art incorporating runway shows, workshops and exhibitions. Works alongside his wife Anna, a model. One to watch.

Nadim Samman, 31

Curator-in-residence at Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary in Vienna. Curatorial style: Globetrotting. British-born Samman shot to prominence at the Marrakech Biennale in 2012 and has since proved his mettle working with artists from the Middle East to Moscow and all places in between.

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a museum experience,” says Tsouros. “One of our recent themes was ‘What makes a good artist great?’, which was a conversation about how you can see the telltale signs of a future star artist. We also had ‘Why paint now?’, which was all about the future of painting, then ‘Get down off the walls’, which was a sculpture-based installation. “In future we are looking to use augmented reality, so you can see an image of the artwork in the room you are in,”

Autumn Issue

JIMI CRAYON. PIERLUIGI LONGO.

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Hail the new white Cube Coming round the houses Meet you under the arches A lack of structure Go south-east, young woman At Cannes, a vision

Exotic, erotic and glamorous, Matthew Williamson is high fashion’s master magician. And he is getting more bohemian by the day. Words by HARRIET QUICK Fashion drawings by MATTHEW WILLIAMSON Portrait illustration by PAUL HOLLAND

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he chandelier is Italian and from the 1970s – it’s quite fabulous, isn’t it?” Matthew Williamson declares. He is gesturing towards an impressive glass fxture with multiple oblong amber shades arranged in an inverted pyramid. You would require tunnel vision to miss this fxture that hangs from the stucco ceiling rose in his living room. It casts a glowing light over a full-size stuffed peacock, a velvet and tapestry patchwork sofa, and shelves and tables of collectable curios and souvenirs from his travels in Asia and South America. “You should have seen us assemble it. We were washing the pieces and passing them along one by one in a production line – it took hours.”

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the lithe forms of his model friends, Kate Moss and Jade Jagger. It swept the decadent post-rave spirit of Ibiza onto the London catwalks and made front-page news. The Puck-like Williamson and a coterie of jeunesse dorée became the new darlings of fashion. He became in demand everywhere and was toasted with awards (including the British Fashion Awards Red Carpet Designer of the Year in 2008). Even Prince performed at Williamson’s catwalk show at London Fashion Week in 2007, which he then featured in the video to his song ‘Chelsea Rodgers’ from the Planet Earth album. These many sponsorships and collaborations were all skillfully managed by his then partner and business manager, Joseph Velosa, who now acts as chairman of the business. 1.

The pretty, colourful, footloose style that he adores and which has become his signature, proved the perfect antidote to the dramatic, conceptually driven fashion of the time pioneered by Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan. A roster of glamorous friends and fans (his shows always have an impressive front row) and his own party-friendly image – he cuts a handsome, gently tanned Peter Pan fgure – broadcast the Matthew Williamson brand across the world. Between 2005 and 2008 he was creative director of LVMH-owned Florentine house Pucci, and in 2009 he created a capsule line for H&M. In 2007 he was given a retrospective at London’s Design Museum. This very popular show included a telling personal photograph that showed Matthew, aged about 9, sketching away in his bedroom wearing a patterned shirt against a background of patterned wallpaper and bed coverings. It seems the nascent designer had insisted on choosing a lively decorative scheme, even then.

To behold Williamson’s home (the spacious ground foor of a 19th-century villa in Belsize Park in north London) is also to understand the fertile, eclectic and many-hued imagination of a designer who has been successfully seducing women with his exotic, bohemian vision since he started up his eponymous fashion label in 1997, three years after graduating from Central Saint Martins in London. His debut collection was given the tantalising name Electric Angels and featured a series of bejewelled neon silk slip dresses worn on 70 Baku.

I ask him about the boho style for which he has become so well known. “Bohemian is a way of expressing yourself that is never going to date,” says Williamson, sipping fresh mint tea. “It’s an aesthetic that genuinely I have always been drawn to – it’s what I love. Look at the champions of that style like Anita Pallenberg and Kate Moss – they don’t wear what’s at the pinnacle of fashion, they wear pieces that they love. It might be a vintage Ossie Clark dress or a Celia Birtwell blouse; a leather biker jacket or a slip dress. The essence of the style is always rooted in the same thing and I think there will always be that pool of people who gravitate towards it. It’s a zone that I am comfortable in.”

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/MARTIN HAYHOW/AFP/JUSTIN GOFF/UK PRESS/ NEWSMAKERS/NICK HARVEY/JAMIE MCCARTHY/WIREIMAGE/ GARETH CATTERMOLE/DAVE M BENNETT/GETTY. PAUL HACKETT/REUTERS/CORBIS.

1. Prince performs at the Matthew Williamson show at London Fashion Week 2007. 2. A Williamson design for Pucci. 3. Kate Moss and Jade Jagger. 4. ‘Matthew Williamson 10 Years in Fashion’ exhibition at the Design Museum, London, 2007. 5. Jade Jagger and Kate Moss and Williamson.

Global party people now not only migrate to Ibiza every summer, they fock to resorts near Bodrum in Turkey to party on the beach; to Lake Tahoe in California; to islands in northern Brazil and to José Ignacio in Uruguay in winter. The lifestyle with which Williamson connects appears in various parts of the world at different times of the year. That migration (whether you are a part of it or simply an observer) has helped maintain the allure of his brand. He is a survivor in the fckle, ruthless fashion world where the demand for The New has rocketed and brought down many small businesses in the process. Over the years, Williamson has built up a lexicon of signs and symbols, silhouettes and colours. Throughout his designs you will fnd the world of birds – hummingbirds, peacocks, feathers, ostrich plumes – mirrors; stars; hothouse plants and fowers; tigers; rainbow waves; psychedelic patterns; all described in scintillating colours. Every season, those patterns and rhythms mutate. From the pre-fall collection 9. 10.

Matthew Williamson with (6) Mischa Barton in New York City; (7) Lily Allen at the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party, London, 2014; (11 & 13) Poppy Delevingne; and (12) Jade Jagger. The designer (8) at home; and (9 & 10) Jodie Kidd in his a/w 2001 show, London.

BOHEMIAN IS A WAY OF EXPRESSING YOURSELF THAT IS NEVER GOING TO DATE. IT’S AN AESTHETIC THAT GENUINELY I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DRAWN TO – IT’S WHAT I LOVE. you will fnd a strapless, minicrini dress covered in fronds and wild fowers. “Prints play such an important role in my work. I love creating them as they really help to tell a story and are so expressive. My inspirations come from far and wide – here, I focused on nature and the idea of an autumnal English picnic in the forest.” And from the mainline winter collection, you will fnd a hologram star mohair jumper and a handcrafted black and white ostrich feather gown. “It’s a piece to keep forever and has been created with endless hours of skill and passion,” says Williamson proudly of the artisan methods he employs. Ankle-skimming ‘Gigi’ dresses are a must at Williamson,

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who can also turn his hand to brilliantly hued knitwear and covetable tailoring in jacquards and wools. You are not going to fnd groundbreaking conceptual design at Williamson but you will fnd evergreen pieces that exude a sense of escapism. The seduction factor reverberates on the same frequency as the work of Roberto Cavalli, Isabel Marant and Peter Dundas’s Pucci, all of whom riff on the fantasy of staying up till sunrise, dancing barefoot and loving with abandon. In our 24/7 connected lives, this dream is now ever more alluring. Through the inevitable good and bad collections, and the ups and downs of business, Williamson has become a master of reinvention. He is

currently creative director and acting CEO of his own company and employs a modest staff of 40 who work in a studio in Queen’s Park in west London and at the fagship store in Bruton Street, Mayfair. Now 43, Williamson was born into a middle-class family in Manchester in northern England and his upbringing had a signifcant effect upon his later success: “I have a dogged work ethic. My parents instilled that in me – you work, you get paid and you focus on how to make things better. I might not be at the epicentre of fashion and I’ve learnt to be comfortable with that,” says Williamson. His frank attitude and laconic charm have helped cement friendships with some of the brightest beauties of a 72 Baku.

I have a dogged work ethIc. My parents InstIlled that In Me – you work, you get paId and you focus on how to Make thIngs better. 1–3. Models on the catwalk at Williamson’s a/w 2014 show at London Fashion Week.

generation, including actress Sienna Miller and model/actress Poppy Delevingne. These are the types of celebrities who are just as happy backpacking in Peru as they are going to a pub in Primrose Hill or being the subject of a million Instagram shots on the red carpet. The leggy, blonde Delevingne (supermodel Cara’s older sister) was very much on Williamson’s mind earlier this year when she married businessman James Cook in London followed by a three-day party in Marrakech. Williamson designed a dress for Poppy for her Talitha Getty-themed evening party, held at the exclusive hotel La Mamounia. What better theme for a party in Marrakech than the boho pin-up who, before her untimely death, seduced Rudolf

Sinead Lynch/aFP/Mike MarSLand/WireiMage/Bauer-griFFin/gc iMageS/carLo aLLegri/dave M. Benett/ dave hogan/Ben a. Pruchnie/Stuart c. WiLSon/getty. FairchiLd Photo Service/conde naSt/corBiS.

Nureyev, John Paul Getty and was muse to Ossie Clark and Yves Saint Laurent? “It was ink-blue sequins with chain mail stars,” says Williamson of his design that no doubt looked the part when Poppy danced barefoot on the tabletops. He also created the dress for bridesmaid Sienna Miller. “She came to me for something with ‘cheeky milkmaid vibes’,” laughs Williamson who concocted a saucy baby-doll in white cotton trimmed with vintage lace he found at the antiques

fair at Kempton Park in south-west London. “And I also made a coral gown with hand-dyed ostrich feathers futtering from a chiffon cape for James Cook’s mother. She used to work for Ossie Clark and apparently I remind her of him,” he says smiling and waving an imaginary scarf over his shoulder. Then there was the small but not insignifcant task of hand-painting pocket squares with the couple’s initials for all 14 ushers. “It was

no holds barred,” he says of the giddy event, for which he packed a white tuxedo suit, a few T-shirts and jeans. His mission now is to refocus on the collections and up the ante on the lifestyle appeal of the store. He is currently redoing the Bruton Street fagship to create a more ‘at home’ feel, curating a mixture of vintage, reclaimed and contemporary pieces, and ousting the uniform fxtures. “With the rise of online shopping, when a customer comes to a store she wants to

I LIVE AND WORK IN LONDON BUT PULL MY INSPIRATIONS FROM AN EXOTIC MELTING POT OF DESTINATIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. THE RESULTS ARE OFTEN VERY ECLECTIC, WHICH IN ITSELF IS A VERY BRITISH SENSIBILITY.

be seduced by smell, the touch, the intimacy – qualities that you cannot replicate in the digital universe.” He has also designed two collections entitled Eden, one of wallpaper and the other a companion series of fabrics, for traditional English furnishings company Osborne & Little. There’s a dazzling array of decorative designs from baroque curlicues and tigers leaping through grass to a hummingbird print and a rococo 9.

Matthew Williamson with (4) Gwyneth Paltrow; (5) Sienna Miller; (6) Elle Macpherson; (7) Jude Law; and (8) Keira Knightly. Designs (9) from Williamson’s a/w 2004 show in New York and (10) his s/s 2014 show in London.

pattern in velvet fock. The coowner, Peter Osborne (brother of George Osborne, chancellor of the exchequer), and a rather ‘proper’ English gentleman, loved the collection so much he and his wife decided to have the ground foor of their London home decorated with the designer’s exotica. “It’s a lovely project – I just feel very much at home doing interiors work,” says Williamson. His fondness and talent for this particular line of work is leading him towards a lot of travelling: “I’m always drawn to 7.

countries which are culturally rich and expressive across the arts. Azerbaijan is next on my list of places to visit. I live and work in London but pull my inspirations from an exotic melting pot of destinations from around the world. The results are often very eclectic and rich in pattern, texture and style, which in itself is a very British sensibility. If a woman feels comfortable and confdent in one of my pieces, I feel like we have done a good job.”

10.

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The Insider’s Guide to

t’s the world’s most lavish art fair, set against the backdrop of a tropical beach in December, when much of the planet is shivering. It attracts the biggest guns from private equity, entertainment and media in the US, and collectors, dealers and gallerists from around the world, as well as a million hangers-on. The casual visitor, even one accompanied by a resident curator and with money to spend, can feel overwhelmed by the fair venues, the people and the partying. As much as Art Basel Miami Beach is a serious fair where more than $3 billion worth of art is on sale, it is also party central, a place to enjoy a fnal burst of sunshine before, er, spending Christmas in St Kitts. So whether your spending power is in seven fgures or no fgures, this guide will get you through.

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Winter’s most important art fair is also its most spectacular networking session and a non-stop fve-day party. Here are 10 tips for thriving on South Beach. Words by FRANCESCA GAVIN

COURTESY ART BASEL. BRIAN CAHN/ZUMA PRESS/CHRIS GORDON/ SPLASH NEWS/CORBIS. MIREYA ACIERTO/GUSTAVO CABALLERO/ FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY. HEMIS/ALAMY.

BEACH 1. Party

2. Eat

3. Buzz

Soho Beach House

Mandolin

Coffee Bar at The Raleigh

This space, an offshoot of the London-NY-Berlin Soho House members’ club, is so popular during Basel that they erect a huge beach bar to make more room (above). Here, during the day, you can catch YBAs off duty preparing their livers for nightly excess. (Yes, that is Tracey Emin over there.) The White Cube party (left) takes over the whole poolside and garden (grab a hand-rolled Dominican cigar by the pool), but the real A-listers go to White Cube owner Jay Jopling’s private dinner. Every year, there are rumblings that the Cube party will not take place. To get on the list you need to be art-hip or a big spender – being a Soho House member won’t help. sohobeachhouse.com

Despite the city’s increasing internationalization over the years, you still don’t go to Miami for the food. Mandolin is an exception (see above and below). This home-style GreekTurkish restaurant in the Design District gets insanely booked up during Basel. The place for Jonathan Yeo’s annual celeb-heavy lunch, and an antidote to the show-off venues in the major hotels. Book early, like a year early. mandolinmiami.com

This out-of-the-way spot in a delightful retro hotel is a lifesaver (its pool is pictured here). Not too far from the fair, it is the little bar at which gallerists can often be spotted mainlining iced coffee on their way to a day at the booth. raleighhotel.com

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4. Chill The Pool at The Standard This is an oasis of calm and class in a brash city. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made your decisions on the VIP day, chill out here the next morning until the parties begin. Enjoy the Sound Pool (left and below) with its very own underwater sound system. Expect to see some very late night dips from semicelebrity partygoers who have just watched the latest Spike Jonze or drunk their weight in Absolut. standardhotels.com

5. Discover NADA There are a lot of so-so satellite fairs during Basel but NADA is where serious curators like Beatrix Ruf and young Hollywood collectors like Reese Witherspoon go to investmentbuy from hot new galleries such as Stephan Stoyanov (left), seen here with the flm arts consultant Fanny Pereire, or the Bellwether Gallery (below). newartdealers.org

6. Explore

7. Snack

The Rubell Collection

Sultan Miami

This incredible private collection is the place to discover artists such as Oscar Murillo or Rashid Johnson before they blow up. The Rubells (Jennifer and Mera, right), who are part of the extended family of Studio 54 co-founder Steve Rubell, throw a brunch opening each year which is a must for adventurous collectors. Once they flled a room with bananas. rfc.museum

This place, on Collins, is a serious secret. Grab a quick, tasty plate here, such as a salad or falafel in between parties. Everyone comes here on the down-low, from Paris Hilton to Artforum critics. sultanmiami.com

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BARBARA P. FERNANDEZ/NYT/MARK PETERSONREDUX/EYEVINE. CHARLOTTE SOUTHERN/BLOOMBERG/ LOGAN FAZIO/WIREIMAGE/ GETTY. INF PHOTO. GEORGIOS KEFALAS/EPA/NEIL EMMERSON/ ROBERT HARDING WORLD IMAGERY/CORBIS.

8. Browse

Basel Miami veteran Kenny Schachter shares his view on how the event has reshaped a city.

Design Miami This fair always has a great atmosphere: chilled and chic in contrast to the high-octane zing of the main fair. Its focus is on furniture and design objects, from boutique jewellery to installations like Guilherme Torres’s Mangue Groove for Swarovski. It’s full of collectors calmly choosing chairs such as Maria Pergay’s for Fendi (right) for their summer homes in the Bahamas, darling. The snappy offerings, from well-curated shops around the world, like Galerie Maria Wettergren (top right), are delightful and often surprisingly expensive. designmiami.com

9. People-watch Living Room Bar at the W Hotel This bar (below) within the labyrinthine W Hotel attracts the big real estate money on the opening evening of the fair. Observe the big cheeses of US property circle each other and sip Martinis at the bar, as they are carefully sized-up by glamorous Cougar-type American ladies who have made the trip from Chicago or Des Moines precisely for the opportunity. wsouthbeach.com

10. Enjoy The Beach At some point everyone jumps in the sea – or at least rents a cabana to lie next to it. The walk along the beachfront off Collins is lovely, but hardened fairgoers swear by the 7am sunrise swim as a perfect hangover cure. You’d be surprised who paddles up alongside you.

“Who the hell wants to visit an art fair in a paradise for retirees that Europeans know only from Miami Vice? Cheesy American taste!” declares Swiss gallerist Stefan Hildebrandt down the phone to me. “In other words, we Europeans were so blasé that we couldn’t ever imagine that anything of quality or style could come out of Miami.” Hildebrandt is speaking retrospectively, of course, hilariously summing up the wider European perspective on Miami pre-Basel. Everything has its context and an art fair in the holiday destination of Miami, Florida was always going to have an underlying (hip) thrust of fun in the sun and dancingon-table parties served in equal portions with art and culture. The rushing to make buy-and-sell decisions inherent in collecting from fairs is softened by the heavenliness of the climate, levity of boozy social events and intensity of the everincreasing celebrity quotient. The once cheap hotel rooms are nothing but a distant memory. And today Miami and the fair have morphed into a multiheaded beast that forms the backdrop to an extended Jay-Z, Puff Daddy and Kanye West music video – sans the music. Art Basel Miami Beach is, in fact, a perfectly mixed cocktail of seriousness and celebration. It debuted without much fanfare in 2002, and now attracts some 50,000 visitors annually. Since its inception it has boosted value in the art market by $500 million. And it has created a veritable boom in real estate development – a new condo on every corner – whereas before the fair this was virtually non-existent. And it’s the South American (fnancial) infuence that really sets this fair apart. It’s shocking, actually, to think of the state of some downtown Miami neighbourhoods, plagued by social unrest and violent drug gangs, only a short time before the fair began. The contrast today, with the Rubell Family Collection and other private museums in a previously derelict area, speaks volumes about the effect art can have. Of late, some fair fatigue has set in with the forced march from party to party, to the point where many have lost the appetite to tick the social boxes. Naturally, it attracts wannabe art-world types, and undoubtedly some are there to fsh for rich partners – male and female alike – perhaps in the same way others are there to buy art. Will there be a backlash? We’ll see. Prediction: this December’s fair will be the most moneyed and star-studded yet. After 12 years, it has never been on stronger footing – and it looks set to thrive further still as this bullish art market continues its historic high. My only regret? Not grabbing a bargain when there were still some to be had back when it all began. 77 Baku.

T-shirt by SPORTMAX CODE. Shirt by BACK. Skirt by BCOLLIDE. ‘Thumbprint’ (2007) by RON ARAD.

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Designer, architect, artist, curator, producer – Ron Arad is an influencer in every field he touches. ‘Baku’ creates a fashion fantasy land in his London studio. Words by HERVE MIKAELOFF & NADJA ROMAIN Photography by SUZIE Q & LEO SIBONI Styling by NOBUKO TANNAWA

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EVERYONE IS SO MARKED BY THE PERIOD IN WHICH THEY GROW UP, AND I AM VERY MUCH A SIXTIES CHILD. I ACCEPT THAT EVERY GENERATION IS DIFFERENT.

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isiting Ron Arad’s studio is an extraordinary experience. You never know what to expect, but you do know you will be challenged, surprised and inspired. To get there, you frst arrive in Camden, one of London’s most vibrant areas with its fea market, its canal, its junk shops selling everything from second-hand clothes to organic beauty products, and of course the Roundhouse, one of the best performance venues in the world. Just 10 minutes’ walk away is the bohemian-chic neighbourhood of Primrose Hill and Regent’s Park. Heading up Chalk Farm Road, a beautiful fairy-tale tree soon signals that you have arrived at the sculptural gates – designed by Arad himself – of the studio. By the time you have walked down the alley and the stairs to the courtyard, and knocked on the heavy wooden door, it already feels as if you’ve entered some magic world. And indeed you have – the world of Ron Arad, where bric-a-brac, mock-ups, books and objects sit alongside some of his museumowned pieces of furniture. The place is charming by its lack of pretence, and a profusion of ideas and creativity emanates from all corners. It’s like being in a think tank, or possibly inside the head of Arad himself. Along with his collection of distinctive hats, Arad’s signature brand of creativity is a blend of advanced technology,

a constant challenge of forms, and a deep sense of humour. Together these qualities make him one of the most infuential architects and designers of our time. This reputation was sealed in 2009 by a travelling retrospective shown at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Barbican Centre in London. Yet Arad rejects such categorizations and labels, and would never claim any exhibition as a retrospective – he sees every gesture as a beginning, a move towards the next idea and the next project. Arad was born into a family of artists, in Tel Aviv. “My mother is a great drawer, my father a sculptor and a photographer,” he explains. “They’re still doing things – my father’s nearly 97. They didn’t teach me how to draw, but it was there, I always remember making drawings. We used to go to gallery openings in Tel Aviv every Saturday and that was part of life. In the same way my brother was a violinist so there was always music around.” The three of us are seated in a relatively quiet part of the very busy studio, while the striking photo shoot on these pages is played out in the background, among various other goings-on. Arad leans

back in his chair, looking almost uncomfortable, when he emphasizes how lucky he was to grow up in such an inspiring environment. It is almost as if he feels guilty that, for him, “art was taken for granted”. In 1973 Arad arrived in London to study architecture. “The Architectural Association back then was more like Anarchic Artists than [anything to do with] architecture,” he recalls. “No one was building anything in London, so they had to invent conceptual architecture with pencils and paper, not concrete.” Having been so active on the scene for several decades now, Arad can take the long view and see how tastes and styles change from one generation to the next over time: “Everyone is so marked by the period in which they grow up, and I am very much a sixties child,” he continues. “I accept that every generation is different. It’s funny that Matisse was super advanced in his time. He said in an interview that he can’t see any value in the work of Jackson Pollock. ‘I just don’t get it,’ he said. I mean, here’s one groundbreaking artist failing to see how another generation’s artist is groundbreaking.” He pauses, then adds, “I prefer Matisse.”

Today, Arad is one of the most inventive product designers alive, famous for such objects as the widely known and widely bought Bookworm bookshelves. Yet this was never his intention: “I became a designer in London not because I ever planned to be a designer. I was sucked into it. Somehow, my frst piece ever, the Rover Chair [1981], made the owner of Vitra refer to me in a journal as one of the best designers to come from London.” Coming back to the immediacy of Arad’s studio again, it has a look of belonging to a sculptor, a painter or a craftsman, and certainly Arad is all of those. He is also a curator and a producer; he makes things happen. Today his team is busily preparing for a showing of his 2013 project Last Train, which will take place in his studio, so there is a hive of activity all around us. “I was approached by Steinmetz Diamonds who asked me to do an art piece incorporating diamonds,” Arad says of the project. “I was interested in diamond as a material rather than its value or ‘bling-ness’. As I was talking to the guy who came here to commission me, I came up with this story about missing the last train from Naples and seeing a guy in a carriage with a ring on his fst, doing amazing drawings on the glass, reminding me of Picasso drawing in the air with a light.” Train windows the world over are scratched with messages but Arad has appropriated the custom in his own style, creating a model of his fst wearing a diamond ring which is controlled by a specially adapted iPad. Arad has invited the who’s who of the art world – Ai Weiwei, Robert Wilson, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Cornelia Parker, Christian Marclay, Francesco Clemente, to name just a few – to scribble on the iPad, which then moves the fst so that the diamond ring etches their drawings into the glass. Our conversation is interrupted every so often as Arad gets up to join the engineers to do a test drawing on the iPad. Working with other artists on this has been an important facet of the project for Arad: “I want to share that not only with viewers but other creators. The nice thing is that everyone came to it completely different. No two people acted

OPPOSITE. ‘Visitors Book’ (2014). TOP. Glasses for pq Eyewear by RON ARAD. ABOVE. ‘Well Tempered Chair’ (1986) by RON ARAD.

in the same way, or took it in the same way.” Ron Arad is always reinventing himself and pushing his boundaries, and ours. His most spectacular collaborative project to date is Curtain Call (2011), the perfect example of how Arad creates a work. The project brings together experimental design, flm and live performance. Curtain Call started almost as a joke with Marcus Davey, artistic director of the Roundhouse in Camden, who wanted Arad to do a project there. The Roundhouse, once a turntable for steam engines, has been famous since the 1960s as a venue with an innovative programme of arts events. For Curtain Call, Arad used technology developed by his studio to make a curtain of silicon rods to serve as a screen that was the shape and size of the building it occupied. “As it is a place for performances I thought the installation should incorporate performances,” he says. Then he invited his friends to each come up with a work for the 360° interactive installation: Babis Alexiadis, Hussein Chalayan, Mat Collishaw, Ori Gersht, Greenaway & Greenaway, Christian Marclay, Javier Mariscal, SDNA, David Shrigley and students from the Royal College of Art all became part of the piece. “Everybody worked so hard but we didn’t know how good it was, even 24 hours beforehand. Or that it was going to be fantastic. Normally you bring the pieces through development and here it was all unknown,” Arad explains. As it turned out, the project was a great success. “When you penetrate the installation crossing the moving images to get inside the cylinder you are engulfed by images – a captive, but also a creator. It’s amazing what exciting things happen on both sides of the curtain.” Curtain Call then travelled to Jerusalem where it was installed in the Isamu Noguchidesigned Art Garden of the Israel Museum. New flms and performances were developed by local artists and it was renamed 720°. None of the events was announced to the public in advance, making each evening a spontaneous adventure. “When we did it at the Roundhouse I thought there could be no better place, because it was born here,” he says. “And I was wrong. 81 Baku.

THIS PAGE. Vest by PRADA. ‘Hot Tango’ (2012) by RON ARAD. OPPOSITE. Vest by PRADA. ‘Gomli’ (2008) by RON ARAD.

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THIS PAGE. Coat by PRADA. ‘Even the Odd Balls’ (2008) by RON ARAD. OPPOSITE. Trousers and shirt by BCOLLIDE. Socks by FALKE. ‘Moreover’ variant of the ‘Rover Chair’ by RON ARAD.

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Outdoors in Jerusalem it was equally amazing. It had advantages that we didn’t have here. It had wind. It had landscape. It had to wait until the night, which we thought would be a bad thing, but it was a good thing in the end.” With his well-known distaste for retrospectives and his boundless curiosity, Arad had a recent exhibition that returned to his love of metal, repurposing and cars. The exhibition, ‘In Reverse’, was frst presented last year in Israel at the Design Museum Holon, then relocated to the Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin where it was on show until March this year. Featured were several examples of his fattened Fiat Cinquecentos, crushed using massive industrial presses. Telling us a childhood story about his own father’s car crash in a wooden Fiat, Arad says his father had told him, “had my car not been made out of wood, I wouldn’t be alive now”. With that memory in mind, for ‘In Reverse’ Arad built a wooden Fiat body and placed it opposite another formed of hundreds of interwoven steel rods. On the walls hung six of the fattened Fiat Cinquecentos, titled Pressed Flowers. With a kind of magic, Arad made these substantial industrial objects foat like fower petals in vibrant blue, yellow and red. The entire exhibition considered the concept of reversal, looking back, compressing and undoing, as he stopped repurposing scraps into design and began to deconstruct the car into an ultimately useless art object. This blurring of practicality in art and design has always been a trick of Arad’s. He happily confesses his favourite moment at a show at the Royal Academy a few years ago. “Anthony Caro comes to me, ‘This is a marvellous sculpture,’ he says. ‘Thank you, Sir Anthony.’ Then: ‘I think we should play ping-pong on it.’ He didn’t see it as a ping-pong table; he saw it as a sculpture. For me that was one of the best compliments I could have got. But I enjoy playing ping-pong on that table.” Arad’s genius lies in his ability to see things for their potential. Looking around his studio, everything is given new life by him. His collaborative works invite friends and fellow artists to produce image and art, but it is Arad who reinvents the wheel.

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Coat, blouse and trousers by CELINE. ‘Rod Gomli’ (2009) by RON ARAD.

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OPPOSITE. Dress by RICHARD NICOLL. ‘2 R Not’ (1992) chair by RON ARAD. ‘Red or White’ double-headed glass for Nude (2014) by RON ARAD. THIS PAGE. ‘Pirouette’ spoon for WMF (2009) by RON ARAD.

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THIS PAGE. ‘2 R Not’ (1992) chair by RON ARAD. OPPOSITE. Tops and skirt by PHOEBE ENGLISH. Trousers by BCOLLIDE.

Hair by NAO KAWAKAMI at SAINT LUKE. Make-up by LAURA DOMINIQUE at STREETERS. Model CHRISTINA CAREY at VIVA. Prop stylist TARA HOLMES. Digital technician EMMA GIBNEY. Fashion assistant ANYANO SANTANDA. Lighting assistants ANDRE LAING & PANI PAUL. Thanks to LGA MANAGEMENT.

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ne of Paris’s most treasured cultural institutions has fnally emerged from an epochal makeover. The Musée Picasso, home to Pablo Picasso’s personal collections, reopens its doors this autumn after a fve-year, €52 million redevelopment. The refurbished 17thcentury hôtel particulier now houses nothing but art: offces, storerooms and technical units have been moved to two newly purchased buildings or to freshly excavated underground spaces. Visitors can access more than twice as much museum space as before, including a new ticketing hub and a terrace with a cafe. Some 850,000 visitors are expected annually, compared with an average of 480,000 before the revamp. For anyone even remotely interested in art, the Musée’s long-awaited renaissance is cause for celebration. Yet the rebirth has come at the tail end of a bitter drama involving some of the most prominent fgures in the Parisian art establishment. The Musée’s long-time president Anne Baldassari, a prominent Picasso scholar who masterminded the redevelopment and raised 60 per cent of its cost, is no longer in charge. She was dismissed by the then culture minister Aurélie Filippetti in May, a month before the date she had set for reopening. Baldassari showed no lack of dedication in her 22 years at the Musée. Shortly after becoming director in 2005, and confronted with signs of wear and tear in the museum’s interior, she proposed a redevelopment plan that the ministry endorsed. Yet she was required to raise most of the money herself – by curating Picasso exhibitions around the world, for a fee. It was a painstaking process that led the museum to be shut for longer than expected. Baldassari was blamed by the media for the delays, and for sending the collection around the world. From early 2014 the culture ministry itself began to question her leadership and her ability to deliver. She stood her ground, demanding the right to reopen the Musée she had worked hard to modernize. She lost the battle, and was discharged. The departing présidente remains unfustered by the denouement, and declines to comment any further on her removal. “I was in charge of redeveloping a museum in the midst of a major economic and institutional crisis, and that distracted me from what has been my core practice for 30 years,” says Baldassari. “I can now go back to being an art historian.” Her next

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The Musée Picasso in Paris reopens its doors this autumn after a fve-year redevelopment riddled with beau-monde intrigue and controversy. Words by FARAH NAYERI

PORTRAIT OF LAURENT LE BON: JEROME BONNET. HORST TAPPE FOUNDATION/CAMERA PRESS.

Opposite: Laurent Le Bon. This page: Pablo Picasso, Cannes, 1963.

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big project is to produce the catalogue raisonné of the 5,000 works in the Musée Picasso, which the ministry has invited her to do, a job which she says will take three to fve years. Her plans also include publishing more writings and curating exhibitions around the world, focusing on Picasso but also on contemporary art. In Baldassari’s place is Laurent Le Bon, previously the head of the Pompidou Centre’s offshoot in Metz, eastern France. Le Bon invited Baldassari to complete her vision for the reopening and to rehang the collections as 3.

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she’d planned. “My detailed plans for the rehang of the permanent collection were accepted by Laurent Le Bon, and I thank him for it,” she says in an interview before the museum’s reopening. “I secured the right to work with teams of my own choosing. These are all conditions that suit me.” Thus, the reborn Musée Picasso bears Baldassari’s signature in more ways than one. The story of the Musée Picasso began on 8 April 1973. Shortly before noon that day, the 20th century’s greatest artist Pablo Ruiz y Picasso drew his last breath at his 35-room villa in Mougins, near Cannes. Newspapers hastily reshuffed their front pages to eulogize him, and Picasso was laid to rest in the grounds of his chateau at Vauvenargues, in southern France. For the Picasso family, the loss of a father, grandfather and husband was compounded by one major complication: the artist died intestate. His legal heirs – widow Jacqueline, children Maya, Claude and Paloma, and grandchildren Marina and Bernard – were left to battle over a considerable fortune and settle an astronomical inheritance tax bill. Thanks to legislation passed only fve years earlier, they were allowed to give artworks to the state in lieu of inheritance tax. France was given frst choice over the thousands of artworks in the Picasso estate. In 1979, six years after the artist’s passing, the heirs made their dation (payment in kind): 203 paintings, 158 sculptures, 16 papiers collés (pasted-paper collages), 29 relief paintings, 88 ceramics and more than 3,000 drawings and prints were handed over without so much as a centime of taxpayers’ money being spent. As the collection’s home, the government chose the Hôtel Salé in Le Marais district, built in 1656–59 for Pierre Aubert de Fontenay, a salt-tax collector (hence the building’s sobriquet, which translates as ‘salted house’). The Musée Picasso opened in 1985 with treasures in its

collections such as Still Life with Chair Caning (1912), the frst modern-art collage; The Pipes of Pan (1923), a neoclassical work that Picasso kept in his atelier; and the bronze The Goat (1950). “It was an extremely complex operation, at the time, to set up this institution and this very rich collection spanning Picasso’s entire career,” recalls the artist’s grandson Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, one of the heirs who made the gift in lieu. “Looking 2. back today, we get a sense of the importance of the decision that the French government made to accept the payment of inheritance duties in artworks.” The year 1986 brought another death in the Picasso family: the artist’s widow Jacqueline took her own life. Four years later the Musée Picasso received a second dation comprising, among other gems, 47 paintings and two sculptures. Finally, in 1992, the Picasso archive of 200,000 items was handed over. By this time, in accordance with the artist’s wishes, his personal collection of works by other artists – Matisse, Cézanne, Modigliani and others – had also been donated to the state (the collection now occupies the entire top foor of the renovated Musée). Predictably, the Musée Picasso met with instant success with Parisians and tourists alike. It also became the most comprehensive Picasso collection anywhere, a distinction it retains to this day. From a sculpture standpoint alone, “there is nothing to compare with the Musée Picasso anywhere else in the world, it’s absolutely fabulous,” says Elizabeth Cowling, a retired University of Edinburgh senior lecturer

THE MINISTRY MADE BALDASSARI LEAD THE RENOVATION PROJECT WITH A VERY SMALL TEAM, AND RAISE TWO-THIRDS OF THE FUNDING HERSELF. “that small group of scholars who are shaping how we understand Picasso.” While blockbusters were pulling in crowds off-site, the Musée itself was starting to wilt. Lifts and restrooms were out of date, as were the wiring, climate control and security equipment. Within two years of taking the reins, Baldassari set her redevelopment project in motion, funding it through exhibitions. Between late 2007 and 2013, she organized 20 shows in Helsinki, Sydney, Taipei, Abu Dhabi, Seattle and Moscow, among other destinations, drawing some six million visitors and raising €31 million. The museum shut its doors in 2009. “It was

PIERO OLIOSI/POLARIS/EYEVINE. BÉATRICE HATALA/MUSÉE PICASSO PARIS. FRANCK FIFE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES. HEMIS/JOHN KELLERMAN/ALAMY.

who was one of the co-curators with Baldassari of the 2002–03 ‘Matisse Picasso’ exhibition shown in London, Paris and New York, which demonstrated the uncanny links between the two artists’ output. Equally exceptional, notes Cowling, are the drawings, constructed sculptures (of cardboard, wood, and so on) and ceramics. “You can make sense of Picasso the painter from elsewhere,” says Cowling, “but not in these other areas.” She regrets that, during the works, outside scholars were unable to access the collections: “a huge, huge loss.” Baldassari, who joined the Musée in 1992, had previously been a culture ministry offcial in charge of commissioning artworks for public buildings, then a Pompidou Centre modern-art conservator and curator. The Picasso archives arrived the same year as she did, and she used them extensively. Photographs, postcards and letters helped to inspire groundbreaking shows on the artist’s relationship with photography, with bullfghting, with his partner Dora Maar, with the photographer Brassaï, with surrealism and cubism, the viewer being shown the world through Picasso’s eyes. As well as ‘Matisse Picasso’, which was for Baldassari her frst international

1. Anne Baldassari at the Musée Picasso loan exhibition at the Milan Royal Palace, 2012. 2–5. External and internal views of the newly refurbished Musée Picasso in Paris. 6. ‘L’arlesienne’ by Van Gogh next to Picasso’s ‘Lee Miller in Arlesienne’ at the ‘Picasso and Masters’ exhibition, Grand Palais, Paris, 2008. 7 & 8. Musée Picasso in 2008 before its current refurbishment.

blockbuster exhibition, in 2008–09 there came an even bigger show, ‘Picasso and the Masters’. Baldassari and a cocurator persuaded institutions including the National Gallery in London, the Prado in Madrid and New York’s Metropolitan Museum to part with masterpieces by Titian, Goya, Velázquez and Ingres for a spectacular demonstration of how Picasso cannibalized them to make his own art. Why did the National Gallery agree to lend to that exhibition? “Because we saw that it was a brilliant idea, and one central to Picasso studies: understanding how this omnivorous creature used the entire history of art,” says Christopher Riopelle, the National Gallery’s curator of post-1800 paintings, who put on a version of the same show in London. Was he happy with the Paris result? “Very much,” replies Riopelle, who views Baldassari as part of

necessary for the museum to be renovated, its amenities modernized, its spaces expanded, and the offces moved elsewhere,” notes RuizPicasso, the artist’s grandson. In his 2013 memoir La Récréation, Frédéric Mitterrand (culture minister from 2009 to 2012) remembered attending the opening of a Baldassari-organized show at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. “Anne Baldassari’s little business is working marvellously,” wrote the minister in a June 2010 diary entry. “She has to somehow bring in the cash that the ministry isn’t giving her for the renovation of the Musée Picasso.” Meanwhile, Baldassari was held responsible for the museum’s prolonged closure. She was also blamed for the touring shows, for refusing loans to international museums during shutdown (a ministry 95 Baku.

requirement), and for the departure of two general managers, both technocrats appointed by the ministry. Baldassari (whose title changed to president in 2010, when the Musée was granted more autonomy) involved herself in every aspect of the refurbishment. She helped to draw up architectural plans, oversaw building works, fundraised, curated the travelling exhibitions and cowrote catalogues. She worked around the clock, aided by a small team. “We owe the renovation of the Musée Picasso principally to her,” explains France’s leading contemporary artist Daniel Buren, who has known Baldassari for 30 years, and considers her to be one of 1.

the world’s top two or three Picasso specialists. “It is she who, through her own efforts, managed to raise the better part of the millions of euros necessary for this transformation.” Buren worked closely with Baldassari in 2008–09 when he created an installation, Daniel Buren: La Coupure at the museum. “To describe her as a workhorse is to state the blindingly obvious,” he says. “Consequently, she demands a lot from those who work with her.” To some, Baldassari’s workload got too big. “The fundamental problem was the excessive responsibility given to a single person,” says Olivier Widmaier Picasso, the artist’s grandson and a producer whose documentary Picasso: The Legacy is being aired and released on DVD to coincide 96 Baku.

with the museum’s reopening. “When the problems came, that there were delays and that everything from artworks to electricity to the alarm system to the windows had to be managed, the same person had to answer for everything.” By January 2014, months from the reopening, Baldassari’s position started to weaken. Libération published a couple of damaging articles, and in the spring, reports by workplace inspectors pointed to “a poor working climate inside the museum, bad personnel management, and Anne Baldassari’s authoritarianism,” according to Le Monde. In March, she gave journalists a hard-hat tour of the Musée, confrming the June reopening. By early May, however, word spread that the museum would not open in June after all. Board member Claude Picasso, the artist’s son, was enraged. “I have the impression that France is making a mockery of my father,” he protested in an interview with Le Figaro on 2 May. He then launched into an impassioned defence of the museum chief. “Like everyone else, Anne Baldassari has qualities and faws. She requires precision and speed, and doesn’t delegate very much,” said Picasso fls. “Yet Anne Baldassari has been fghting for 10 years to make sure that the reopening of the Musée Picasso, which is tripling in size, is a celebration to be shared with the whole world. She has done as she was told.” 2.

Claude Picasso demanded a June reopening with Baldassari at the helm. Shortly after the interview, he was received by prime minister Manuel Valls, himself the son of a Spanish painter. Nevertheless, in a press release dated 4 May, the culture ministry delayed the reopening until September, saying 40 security agents were yet to be recruited, and a key technical wing was still unfnished. Baldassari kept her job. Within days, a group of museum employees put out a statement demanding her departure. According to Agence France-Presse, the group (who said they numbered 25 in all) listed grievances including “frequently modifed decisions, non-reply to emails and notes addressed to the president, authoritarianism, nonmanagement of problems, denial of reality.” (Most of the complaints, it was said, were from new staff members who were loyal to a departing director-general.) On 13 May the culture ministry announced that Baldassari’s mandate had been terminated by Filippetti. Citing inspection reports, the communiqué described “an extremely deteriorated professional climate, profound suffering on the job, and a stressful environment that is a danger to employees”. The statement added that “out of respect for the scholarly work conducted by Anne Baldassari,” the minister had asked her to rehang the collection.

FRANCOIS LOCHON/ ALAIN BENAINOUS/GAMMA/GETTY. SEBASTIEN CAILLEUX/SYGMA/ CORBIS. HEMIS/ALAMY. SIPA PRESS/REX. BÉATRICE HATALA/MUSÉE PICASSO PARIS.

TO DESCRIBE HER AS A WORKHORSE IS TO STATE THE BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS. CONSEQUENTLY SHE DEMANDS A LOT FROM THOSE WHO WORK WITH HER.

Baldassari, interviewed three days later by RTL radio, was livid. She revealed that she had repeatedly been asked to resign, refusing each time, and forcing the ministry to use “heavy artillery” against her in an “eviction process” that began in November 2013. As for the invitation to rehang? “I am not the in-house grunt,” she replied. “I’m happy to do this rehang if the conditions are appropriate.” A week after her dismissal, another group of staff members petitioned in her support, saying that they had been “taken hostage” by their mutinous colleagues. Outside the museum, many of Baldassari’s peers were stunned. “The challenges imposed on Anne Baldassari were almost unprecedented: the ministry made her lead the renovation project with a very small team, and raise two-thirds of the funding herself,” says Didier Selles, who was general administrator of the Louvre from 2000 to 2009. While the Musée Picasso received only €19 million in state subsidy, 5.

8. 7.

the government was “sinking hundreds of millions of euros into grands projets elsewhere, some of which had substantial cost overruns, covered mostly by the taxpayer,” notes Selles. To Le Monde’s Harry Bellet, “Anne Baldassari’s departure took place in uncommonly violent circumstances,” given her academic credentials and ability to fundraise. Admittedly, “she has a strong personality, and was probably

10.

not very soft on all her administrators.” Yet the same is true of other, male, museum directors, he says, still in their jobs despite staff complaints. Back at the culture ministry, Baldassari’s replacement, Le Bon, was appointed less than a month after her dismissal. In a Le Monde interview, he announced that he had pushed back the reopening of the Musée until 25 October, Picasso’s birthday, and had invited Baldassari to rehang the collection in the interim. Le Bon has plenty to do. As well as curating various large-scale exhibitions,

11.

Picasso’s children (1) Paloma, (2) Claude, and (3) Maya; and his grandchildren (4) Bernard and (5) Marina; external and internal views (6–11) of the newly refurbished Musée Picasso in Paris.

he is striving to restore calm to an institution still reeling from the events of the frst half of 2014. His personal grand projet is to dig deep into the Picasso archives and demonstrate the Spaniard’s art-making process. “There’s a tendency to reduce him to the masterpieces. In fact, the genius of Picasso is in little things.” Filippetti herself is now gone; she quit three months after sacking Baldassari, citing differences with the government, and having received bad press for her handling of dossiers including that of the Musée Picasso. “I do hope that this episode will be resolved in the best possible way,” concludes Bellet of Le Monde. “France has an altogether different image to project to the rest of the world.”

97 Baku.

It’s a Small World

One woman’s unusual passion led her to open the only miniature book museum in the world – in Baku’s Old Town. Join us on a grand tour of tiny tomes. Words by CAROLINE EDEN Photography by RICHARD HAUGHTON Illustration by BEN CHALLENOR

98 Baku.

ithin the walls of Baku’s honey-coloured Old Town – a historical cluster of observatories, labyrinth lanes and tiny mosques – blue tourist signposts announce the 18th-century Aga Mikayil bathhouse and the towers of the Qosha Qala Qapisi (the main gates). In the same direction as Shirvanshahs’ Palace, another arrow points towards the Museum of Miniature Books. To get there, you start at the south-east corner of the Old Town then, keeping the cylindrical Maiden Tower to your left, you walk under rows of latticed hanging balconies and follow the curve of the thick defence walls, built under Shirvanshah III Manuchokhr in 1138–39. Finally, a shady alleyway opens up and there is the museum. Past its heavy wooden door, in the cool of the air conditioning, stand rows of glass cabinets, 37 in all. Each one is flled with tiny books. Famous works of literature in a multitude of languages from Azerbaijani to Vietnamese sit next to biographies of Communist Party leaders, books of famous speeches and classics by Shakespeare, Jack London and Ernest Hemingway. On top of each cabinet a fag hints at the origin of its books. Canada, Britain and the US share one cabinet; Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel another. Japan and Russia share, too. The latter has the monopoly on the most curious titles, but more on that later – this is a place that reveals its secrets slowly. In the corner, behind a small desk, the museum director Suad Aladdin sits hunched over a VIP visitors’ book. Above, photographs of her mother, Zarifa Salahova, hang on the wall. Salahova, the founder of the museum, stands with former president Heydar Aliyev in one photograph and in another she poses with the current president, Ilham Aliyev. Turning the pages, Aladdin pauses and beckons me to look. She points to a photograph of a smiling Boris Yeltsin, the former Russian president, dressed in an aviator-style brown leather jacket. She tells me that Yeltsin booked a private tour of the museum in 2005, two years before he died. On the opposite page is his enthusiastic handwritten note. It reads: “It is simply fantastic. I’ve never seen anything like it in the world. Glory to Zarifa and Heydar Aliyev!” Standing behind Yeltsin in the photograph, dressed in a smart black suit, Salahova looks on confdently. She, of course, knows that Yeltsin is right. Like all visitors to the museum, Yeltsin makes reference to the fact that Baku’s Museum of Miniature Books is the only one of its kind in the world. There is a similar collection in Ukraine, but it isn’t private like this one. I mention the Ukranian museum and Aladdin raises a pitying eyebrow.

Salahova’s collection includes miniatures ranging from classic works of literature to political speeches. This Koran (far right) was worn for years as a pendant by an elderly woman who donated it to the museum.

MY MOTHER IS NEVER SORRY FOR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT SHE SPENDS ON BOOKS. SHE IS A CHARITABLE AND MODEST WOMAN. THERE ARE NEVER ANY $500 SHOES FOR HER, OR EXPENSIVE JEWELLERY. JUST SMALL BOOKS, AND LOTS OF THEM. “We don’t know what happened to that collection after the recent events. My mother was friends with the collector, Mr Razumov, who has now passed away. There was no competition between them.” Aladdin stands and leads me along the polished marble foor to the cabinets. There she tells me the story of this family-run and privately funded museum. 100 Baku.

Salahova, an 83-year-old philologist, opened the doors of her museum on 23 April 2002, on World Book and Copyright Day. “The same day that both Shakespeare and Cervantes [author of Don Quixote] died,” Aladdin notes. In recent years friends and visitors have mailed books to the museum, helping it to grow, but it began with Salahova bringing books home from her own travels. “As head of the Azerbaijani chapter of The Soviet Society of People Who Love Books, she travelled a lot to Moscow,” Aladdin recalls. “In November 1982, during a bookshop tour, she laid eyes on a miniature book by the Russian author Ivan Krylov. It was a complete collection of his famous fables, published in 1835. She paid 23 rubles for it and from that moment on fell in love with small books,” Aladdin says. Today the museum has more than 7,000 books, 5,500 of which are on display. They have been sourced from more than 70 different countries and all vary slightly in size. Under Soviet rules, for a book to be genuinely miniature it should measure no more than 100 x 100mm, whereas in Europe

it should be no larger than 58 x 76mm. Standing under the Azerbaijani fag we admire a miniature version of Kurban Said’s internationally acclaimed love story Ali and Nino and a selection of miniature works that Salahova printed herself through her own publishing house, Indigo. The most important Indigo book of all is a book of speeches by Heydar Aliyev, beginning with his inaugural speech in October 1993 (‘Vow of Fidelity to the Country, State and People’). Unsurprisingly, it caught the eye of the former president when he attended an exhibition of miniature books at the Mirza Fatali Akhundov National Library of Azerbaijan in the same year. Aliyev, impressed with the collection, vowed to help Salahova realize her dream of opening the museum. “Under Aliyev’s instruction, the mayor’s offce actually helped my mother choose the location where the museum stands today,” Aladdin confrms. For many books in the museum, the story of their admittance to the collection is as interesting as the text within. A favourite of Aladdin’s is a mini Koran that hangs on

a gold chain. The well-thumbed book was given to Salahova by an elderly woman in a tiny village on the outskirts of Baku. On hearing about Salahova’s collection, the old lady had unclasped the chain and insisted she took custody of it. The villager later visited the museum and saw her book lit up and centre stage in the Azerbaijani cabinet. Next, we move on to the Japanese case. The cabinet is the museum’s showstopper, which is not surprising given that Japanese culture is awash with all things tiny, from bonsai trees to netsuke sculptures. Aladdin tells me that Japan is the only country in the world to have a dedicated miniature bookshop, called Lilliput. It is there that, along with 4,000 miniature titles from 20 countries, a 1sq mm micro-book of the British nursery rhyme Old King Cole is on display. We pause to squint at the smallest books in the museum’s collection: Alphabet of Flowers, Symbolism of Precious Stones and Signs of the Zodiac. These three Japanese micro-books, each just 16 pages long and printed on wooden pages, were published (in English) by Toppan in Tokyo.

A microscope is needed to view the pages within a minuscule sheepskin cover. Despite being just 2 x 2mm, one book still has room for a surprise. Aladdin tells me that there is “an extra, hidden text on page four” – although she can’t recall in which one and for the untrained eye it is hard to see. The British case is no less peculiar. “This recent addition has a good story,” Aladdin says, pointing to a three-tier miniature bookcase holding several 19th-century Shakespeare plays, displayed above several books dedicated to various royal weddings. “Mother was in London for the 2012 Olympics and was accompanied on a shopping trip by a friend from the Embassy of Azerbaijan. In an antiquarian bookshop they found several mini Shakespeare plays. Mother made the bookseller an offer but he wouldn’t discount. However, once he was told about the museum he kindly reduced the price – and she received a special dispensation letter to get the books through customs,” Aladdin says. The Cuban case further highlights Salahova’s appetite for collecting. Aladdin points to an Indigo book of Castro’s speeches, which Salahova made after receiving a recording of them from the Cuban ambassador. “In 2011 she few to Cuba and gave the tiny book to Castro for his 85th birthday. He was ill but he was grateful and signed a couple of copies, one of which you see here.” With only minutes left before closing time, visitors continue to wander in. Aladdin holds a ledger and points to fgures that say that between 2002 and 2013 almost 39,000 foreign visitors, from countries as diverse as the Philippines and Qatar, have come to the museum. A couple huddle by the newest case, which contains several miniature Chinese poems and philosophical works, part of a collection recently donated to the museum by the Embassy of China. The generous investment of time and money into the museum is undeniable but Aladdin laughs when I ask about fnances. “We all help but my mother is never sorry for the money she spends on books. She is a charitable and modest woman. There are never any $500 shoes for her, or expensive jewellery. Just small books, and lots of them.”

101 Baku.

From cream to beige to silver, autumn’s neutral palette is perfect for layering up fine wool and sheer fabrics. Our story’s backdrop is the Caucasian city of Ganja. Photography by LAURA SCIACOVELLI Styling by MARY FELLOWES

103 Baku.

PREVIOUS PAGE. Dress by ACNE. Trousers (as belt) by VIKTOR & ROLF. Cardigan by JUST CAVALLI. Tights by FALKE. Sunglasses by LINDA FARROW. OPPOSITE. Jumper by KRIS VAN ASSCHE. Neckpiece by CHRISTIAN DIOR. Skirt by EDELINE LEE. THIS PAGE. Dress by EDUN. Culottes by ACNE. Tights (over boots) by FALKE. Boots by PRADA.

105 Baku.

OPPOSITE. Dress by SONIA RYKIEL. Shirt by JH ZANE. Tights by FALKE. THIS PAGE. Shirt by JH ZANE. Neckpiece by CHRISTIAN DIOR.

107 Baku.

Dress by RALPH LAUREN. T-shirt by BLACK DENIM. Jumper by DKNY.

109 xx Baku.

THIS PAGE. Top by J BRAND. Neckpiece by CHRISTIAN DIOR. Trousers by VIKTOR & ROLF. Tights by FALKE. Boots by PRADA. OPPOSITE. Dress by ACNE. Cardigan by JUST CAVALLI. Trousers (over shoulder) by VIKTOR & ROLF.

110 Baku.

111 Baku.

THIS PAGE. Dress by ZEYNEP TOSUN. Top by J BRAND. Neckpiece by CHRISTIAN DIOR. Coat by FELDER FELDER. Tights by FALKE. Boots by PRADA. OPPOSITE. Top by HELMUT LANG. Neckpiece by CHRISTIAN DIOR. Sunglasses by KRIS VAN ASSCHE.

112 Baku.

OPPOSITE. Top by MONREAL LONDON. Jumper and leggings by ZADIG & VOLTAIRE. Neckpiece by CHRISTIAN DIOR. Trousers by HUNTER. THIS PAGE. Top by PATRICK LI. Tank top (underneath) by J BRAND. Neckpiece by CHRISTIAN DIOR. Silver skirt by ANDRE COURREGES. Knitted skirt (underneath) by HELEN LAWRENCE. Tights by FALKE.

Hair by JOSE QUIJANO using CATWALK BY TIGI. Make-up by NICKY WEIR at SARAH LAIRD & GOOD COMPANY using NARS COSMETICS. Model ALEXANDRA MARTYNOVA at STORM. Photographer’s assistant ALIOCHA MERKER. Fashion assistant COLINE BACH. Producer MARIA WEBSTER. Shot on location in the new HEYDAR ALIYEV PARK, GANJA. Special thanks to HAJIYEV SANAN ZAHID.

115 Baku.

Baku's panoply of colour, architecture, design and verve were captured by British artist and film-maker Jimi Crayon on a recent visit to the city.

116 Baku.

xx Baku.

Made in Italy

The sharpest tailoring is no longer rooted to the spot. Whether you’re by the Caspian Sea or Santa Monica Bay, a new generation of tailors is bringing Neapolitan chic to your doorstep. Words by ROBERT JOHNSTON Photography by NIGEL BENNET

eapolitan tailoring may well be a very different proposition to Britain’s renowned Savile Row style but there is no doubt that it is just as rich in tradition and quality. And speaking as a man who lives in London and who was brought up with classic British style, I should know. But don’t just take my word for it. Naples’s most respected tailors are now travelling round the world to make suits for gentlemen who recognize the very best when they see it. Unsurprisingly for the country that invented la dolce vita and sprezzatura (an Italian term that comes from Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier in the 16th century to describe that archetypal Italian air of nonchalance and appearing effortlessly stylish), the tailoring that has become synonymous with Naples is the lightweight suit. This is essentially British tailoring that has been adapted for ease of movement and for keeping cool during the long, hot days of southern Italian summers – unstructured jackets with curved sleeves, high armholes 126 Baku.

and soft shoulders, scooped pockets and rounded shoulders. It also tends to imply trousers cut somewhat slimmer than the old guard of Savile Row would deem strictly decent. In short, it is all about a style that is relaxed in appearance but where every nuance has been considered to create suiting that is as at home in the waterside cafes of Amalf or Capri as it

is in the boardrooms of banks in Milan or Moscow. Rather than advertise their wares in a shop window like their London counterparts, the best Neapolitan tailors operate behind closed doors in small apartments in the grand palazzi of the historic centre of the city – the largest of its kind in Europe and a Unesco-listed World Heritage Site. Having crossed the courtyard and climbed the stairs you will be greeted by the maestro – the Neapolitans are nothing if not dramatic – with his tape measure around his neck, who will invite you to be seated and to share with him a tazzulella (an espresso in the local dialect). Here in Naples you have to observe the social niceties. And while being ftted for a suit is very much a case of give and take between maestro and client, there are lines which you do not cross and there comes a time when the best Neapolitan tailors will be

Leading the way in Neapolitan design are (opposite) shirtmaker Salvatore Piccolo, pictured with his mother; (right) shoemaker Paolo Scafora; and (below) tailor Pasquale Sabino, founder of Sartoria Sabino.

polite but frm – for your own good, of course. Visit Rubinacci, for example, in the 16th-century Palazzo Cellamare, just a stone’s throw from its original London House premises (more on this later) on the Via Filangieri, and you will be greeted with an incredible choice of colour, cloth and linings. For the shape of the breast pocket you will be asked if you prefer a pignata (brandy balloon) or barchetta (boat). But ask for a one-button jacket or a central vent and you will receive a respectful “no”. It is all about service and, after all, with that wealth of experience it is worth taking the tailor’s word for it. As Nick Foulkes, writer and author of Rubinacci and the Story of Neapolitan Tailoring, says, “Rubinacci has defned the now much imitated Neapolitan cut; a masterpiece of unstructured excellence, in which the tailor is able to conjure shape and silhouette without recourse to padding or to excessive canvas. It is really remarkable how they can disguise a waistline and emphasize any anatomical qualities (should one possess them) using little more than the suit fabric, needle and thread.” Today Rubinacci is particularly popular with a new generation of Azerbaijani customers. Luca Rubinacci himself has no doubt of the reason of the appeal of his family’s handiwork. “They love the construction of lightweight jackets in fne materials that make it feel like a second skin and more like wearing a sweater than suit. This is why gentlemen from Baku come to Rubinacci.” If you are a time-poor Azerbaijani businessman, however, you don’t have to jump on a plane to Naples to enjoy this level of service, as the cream of Neapolitan tailors are happy to come to you. For

example, since Sartoria Sabino was founded in 1958 the company has grown into a huge international business. From 2000 it has been overseen by Michele, the son of Sartoria Sabino’s founder Pasquale. “My father always searched for new clients outside of Naples, but mainly in Italy and in Geneva,” explains Michele. “Our real advertising has always been word of mouth. Fifteen years ago we met our frst Italian-American customer, who started to publicize our work among his circle of friends. One of them in particular wanted to meet us, but it just didn’t happen, at frst, as we were too busy. It felt like we were being diffcult, until the point he contacted us directly, offering to pay for everything for us to go to New York, to do a ftting with him. Obviously our answer was yes.” But whether the client is in Baku or Boston, the service is pure Naples. “Everything is made in Naples,” says Michele. “I travel to our international clients on a regular basis, organizing trunk shows for the fttings and to take the orders. After that, I see the client another two or three times, and even if a sleeve needs shortening, the suit comes back with me

IF YOU ARE A TIME-POOR AZERBAIJANI BUSINESSMAN, YOU DON’T HAVE TO JUMP ON A PLANE TO NAPLES, AS THE CREAM OF NEAPOLITAN TAILORS ARE HAPPY TO COME TO YOU. WHETHER THE CLIENT IS IN BAKU OR BOSTON, THE SERVICE IS ALWAYS PURE NAPLES. to our factory.” The fnal product is always delivered personally. “I need to see with my eyes how it looks on,” insists Michele. “If there is something I am not sure of, I won’t hand it over.” Azerbaijan has rapidly become one of the most important destinations for the travelling Neapolitan tailors – and it is still growing. The Rubinaccis, for example, are planning their frst trunk show in Baku. “Every time I go, I fnd a different city,” says Michele. “Where there were old buildings, new ones have sprung up. It is visibly pulsing with life. The big luxury

brands have all opened up there with huge, glittering stores.” But it’s not just the sight of the familiar brands such as Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo along Neftchilar Avenue, or even some of the most recognizable names from Naples such as Kiton, that strike the visiting Neapolitan. “There is an emotional factor, too,” Michele explains. “The seafront promenade along the Caspian reminds me of Naples.” Of course, Naples isn’t just famous for its suiting. Not surprisingly for such a sartorially minded city, you can also fnd the fnest shirts, ties and shoes there, too. Shirtmaker Salvatore Piccolo has been described by Barney’s New York as one of the world’s best shirtmakers. He inherited his talent from his mother: “I frst began working in a shirt factory at the age of 13,” he explains. “After a while I encouraged my mother to open our own shop in Naples’s historic centre and within a few years we had the best clientele in town. This job was in my veins.” His signature trick is to hide pleating inside the elbows, allowing the sleeve to follow the contours of the body. The shirts also have a higher armhole than normal and this allows greater ease of movement. Collars and cuffs are always hand-stitched – never glued. Today Piccolo supplies bespoke and ready-to-wear shirts to clients in Baku, and it was he who introduced Sabino to the city. “I was the frst to venture to Azerbaijan,” Piccolo claims, “as I had a big client from Baku who I would normally catch up with in Capri or in London. After about seven years, however, after missing him a couple of times, I offered to go to him for a ftting. He very much appreciated the gesture!” 127 Baku.

It may perhaps seem strange that the epitome of male elegance should come from a city that has a reputation for chaos, economic stagnation (at best), uncollected rubbish and pickpockets on every street corner – as well as being, to be fair, the birthplace of pizza and Enrico Caruso. But in fact, Naples has had a reputation for setting the style for the well-dressed gentleman dating back to the 1300s. Indeed, one of the most ancient tailoring guilds, the Confraternita dell’Arte dei Giubbonai e dei Cositori (Brotherhood of Jacket Makers and Tailors) was founded here as far back as 1351, and would meet in a chapel of the 13th-century Gothic church of Sant’Eligio al Mercato. By the 14th century the Kingdom of Naples was an important centre for the early Renaissance, attracting writers and artists such as Petrarch and Giotto. By the end of the 15th century Naples had one of the most glittering courts in Europe. Alongside this cultural explosion, the wool and silk industries fourished to supply the local aristocracy as well as the rich Genoese merchants and Florentine bankers who focked to the city. It was in this period that the Renaissance tailoring school fourished and, as well as local talent, tailors from around Europe came to set up shop in the city. For example, from contemporary records we know that a certain French tailor referred to as Bernardo Plastet was in the personal employ of King Ferdinand I, while his fellow countryman Giovanni Peticto became the personal tailor of the Duke of Calabria. Before long, Neapolitan tailors were in demand by all the major European courts of the time. Historians of the period even claim that Neapolitan tailors invented the concept of ready-to-wear. Inside the tailors’ church of Sant’Eligio al Mercato there are portraits of

Angelo Sicignanno and Romano di Stefano who would make up suits and then sell them to clients in different cities – each time a suit was sold, a percentage of the takings would be donated to the church in thanks. The tailoring industry in Naples fell into something of a decline during the 17th and 18th centuries. But by the 1900s a new relaxed Italian style was beginning to break down the stiff sartorial designs of the previous century. Indeed, one of the earliest photographs of what we now call the lounge suit shows one being sported by Italian prime minister Vittorio Orlando at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 – while his fellow delegates, such as US president Woodrow Wilson and British prime minister Lloyd George, were still in Victorian-style frock coats. What we recognize today as the classic Neapolitan style is usually traced back, however, to the creations of tailor Vincenzo Attolini in the 1930s. Back then he was working as a cutter for Gennaro Rubinacci, a wealthy silk merchant who had founded his tailoring shop in 1932 and named it London House, as a tribute to the style of Savile Row (although this may well have been slightly tongue-in-cheek). Attolini

ONE OF THE EARLIEST EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE NOW CALL THE LOUNGE SUIT WAS SPORTED BY ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER VITTORIO ORLANDO AT VERSAILLES IN 1919 – HIS FELLOW DELEGATES WOODROW WILSON AND LLOYD GEORGE WERE STILL IN FROCK COATS.

was inspired by the suits being created by tailors in Rome to come up with an alternative to the stiff (and stuffy) English tailoring that had been the norm since the lounge suit had become the standard dress for gentlemen at the beginning of the 20th century. This was the beginning of the golden age of Naples style and when Rubinacci became the frst of what is recognized today as a Neapolitan tailoring house. Rubinacci now fourishes under the direction of Gennaro’s grandson Mariano and is widely perceived to be one of the world’s best bespoke tailors. Mariano’s son Luca is one of Naples’s greatest style ambassadors, whose instantly recognizable Rubinacci style has made him a favourite of street photographers round the world. Attolini himself left Rubinacci to found his own tailoring house, named in honour of his son Cesare Attolini, which, today, is run by Cesare and his sons Giuseppe and Massimiliano (two or three generations working together is the Neapolitan norm). As is evident, tailoring is very much a family tradition. It is also a skill that one has to learn the hard way. As Pasquale Sabino explains: “This is a job you must learn step by step,” he says, revealing his genuine desire to pass on the knowledge with the pride of the master disclosing his secrets. “Firstly, you need to learn sewing, by making every type of item: jackets, coats, trousers, waistcoats… all the way up to tuxedos.” But tailoring demands not just sewing skills. “The most challenging part of this job,” Sabino continues, “is knowing how to measure when you put a suit on a client. It is more a gut feeling, and you either have it or you do not. Almost like the diagnosis of a doctor: if he has good intuition, supported by knowledge, he’ll save your life. Otherwise…” The other great names in the ready-to-wear tradition include the famous tie-makers E. Marinella, as well as tailors Kiton and Isaia, all of whose fame has spread worldwide. Indeed, Gianluca Isaia, head of the family business, is a classic example of Neapolitan style. After a foot injury he had to wear fip-fops, even with a suit. He was surprised at how many compliments he received so he still wears them to this day. And guess what? It really does look great.

128 Baku.

Eye.

OUR GLOBAL CULTURAL BAROMETER

CULTURAL MRI The allure of Peckham.

MEME Virtual reality.

ARS LONGA Fashionable art.

SCI-ART ILLUSTRATIONS BY PIERLUIGI LONGO.

Long live the birds.

ART AGONY UNCLE Making a good investment.

ANATOMY OF A GALLERY Inside Tate Modern.

1 Cultural MRI

When a Londoner thinks of Peckham, images of brutalist dilapidation come to mind. And that’s wrong, says Farah Nayeri, who charts the area’s rise.

nown to some as ‘Little Lagos’, Peckham in south-east London has a wide ethnic mix and was one of the capital’s historic working-class districts. Yet over the past decade it has made a name for itself as a go-to place for edgy art. A generation of young artists and gallerists – many of them graduates of nearby art schools – has been enticed by low rents to set up studios and selling spaces amid the discount shops, hair-extension salons and pool halls. They’re following in the footsteps of the sculptor Antony Gormley, who for a long time worked in a sky-lit studio in 129 Baku. Eye.

her frst Peckham gallery in an empty warehouse in 2008. The gallery is now in a much bigger space beside the railway station, after a two-year period operating a parallel gallery in Mayfair. Shrewdly, every summer, Barry puts on a sculpture show, ‘Bold Tendencies’, on the top

video art. Another is Arcadia Missa, a non-proft organization focusing on digital work founded by a Peckham native, Rozsa Farkas. A third, Millington Marriott, held pop-up shows in the tiny living room and kitchen of a rented Peckham fat until last summer, when the landlord’s plans led them to relocate to south Bermondsey. “A city always needs an alternative scene,” says Stephanie Rosenthal, chief curator of the Hayward Gallery in central London, who has included the Peckham-based LuckyPDF artists collective in the current ‘Mirrorcity’ show, on until January 2015. “When Peckham developed it felt as if all the galleries in London were very established. Even the east London scene was in the limelight. Peckham was the place where I felt there wasn’t a huge commercial gallery that would proft from this in the end.” Even today, she says, the Peckham scene has not become “commercialized”, hence its enduring appeal. Peckham’s arty aura has helped send property prices soaring to the point at which a mere garage has been sold for an astonishing £550,000. Shifting demographics have spawned a rash of hip food places along the residential streets around Bellenden Road: Artusi, for example, is a stylish

co-ordinates the Peckham Vision community action group. “They make that potential become real, and then they have to be expelled. There are ways in which prices of things can be controlled and not go into this escalating spiral.” Hannah Barry is optimistic that Peckham’s personality will prevail. “I believe it’s a situation of possibility rather than ruin,” she says. “I think there’s a moment of opportunity to do something more important as an example of how to promote transformation, but also to tether it in a way that does not make those who were a part of its genesis unwelcome.”

The pastry chef Mel Southerden – an ex-lawyer who earlier this year opened the Southerden patisserie – also insists that long-standing local outlets will continue to thrive alongside upmarket boutiques like hers. “I’m a young black woman who is starting her own business, so if anything, this is exactly the market for me,” she says. “Peckham will always ofer a mix of businesses. I’ll always be able to buy hair extensions, but now I can also have a nice cocktail. As a person who lives here, I want all of that.”

foor of a multi-storey car park with panoramic views and a pop-up watering hole – Frank’s Cafe – that has generated much of the Peckham buzz. Her pop-up pavilions of Peckham art at the 2009 and 2013 Venice Biennales (the 2013 space was dubbed “Palazzo Peckham”) have also raised the district’s profle. Other galleries have sprung up since. One is The Sunday Painter, a walk-up space just of Peckham’s busy Rye Lane shopping street, which shows sculptures, installations and 130 Baku. Eye.

Italian with octopus on the menu and rave reviews from The Guardian’s Jay Rayner; the equally well-reviewed Peckham Refreshment Rooms, where you can fnd Bayonne ham and roast quail; and the Anderson & Co Cafe, whose gourmet ‘Peckhamburgers’ come with Bloody Mary-salted fries. Local campaigners worry that gentrifcation will price out the talent. “It’s a fact of life that artists fnd places which have more potential than other people think they have,” explains Eileen Conn, who

1. Flat Time House, with its giant book sculpture by John Latham, whose house this once was. 2. ‘Barbican 5 – The Conservatory’, by LuckyPDF. 3. Peckham Library. 4. Leo Fitzmaurice exhibition at The Sunday Painter gallery. 5. Arcadia Missa Gallery. 6. KERB street food market came to Peckham in 2013. 7. The view from Peckham towards central London. 8. Frank’s Cafe on the top foor of the multi-storey car park.

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HOMER SYKES/ALAMY. KEN ADLARD/COURTESY FLAT TIME HOUSE. JOSEPH POPPER/ COURTESY LUCKYPDF. VIEW PICTURES/ARCAID/UIG/GETTY. DAVID LEVENE/EYEVINE.

Peckham. These young talents are helping to improve the area’s reputation, for so long marred by gun crime and poverty. A key catalyst of this change is the gallerist Hannah Barry. Now in her thirties, she was drawn to the area in her midtwenties by the Peckhambased painter Shaun McDowell, a Chelsea College of Arts graduate whose work she admired. He invited her to a disused industrial building, Lyndhurst Way where artists were living and working. Barry became a regular there, and organized on-site shows for young artists who later joined her stable when she opened

NAMES TO KNOW HANNAH BARRY Ringleader of the Peckham art scene, her new gallery is based in a former blacksmiths’ workshop and represents a dozen artists including James Capper, who had a show in 2011 at Modern Art Oxford. WILL JARVIS A Camberwell painting graduate and co-founder of the Sunday Painter gallery, initially an artistled space with studios for hire. The gallery now has three artists in its stable, including 51-yearold Leo Fitzmaurice, known for his site-specifc installations. SHAUN MCDOWELL This Peckham-based painter’s swirling Twombly-esque canvases have won him praise from the Financial Times and Prospect magazine. OLLIE HOGAN Along with John Hill and James Early, Hogan co-founded the LuckyPDF collective, which creates platforms (parties, workshops, television shows, websites) for artists’ projects and is part of the Hayward Gallery’s ‘Mirrorcity’ show. JAMES BRIDLE This artist turned heads in the summer by fying a giant tethered balloon at ‘Bold Tendencies’, the rooftop sculpture space next to Frank’s Cafe.

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PLACES TO GO 1. FRANK’S CAFE Peckham’s best-known hangout is a summer pop-up on the top foor of a multi-storey car park with 360° London views. The café was co-designed by the architect Paloma Gormley (daughter of Antony). frankscafe.org.uk 2. PECKHAM LIBRARY This eye-catching piece of architecture, shaped like an upside-down L, is Peckham’s most distinctive modern cultural landmark. It won the Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2000. southwark.gov.uk 3. ARCADIA MISSA GALLERY A non-proft gallery opened in 2011 by Central St Martin’s graduate Rozsa Farkas, it shows works that have gone through some digital process – video, 3-D printing, or internet art. arcadiamissa.com 4. SOUTHERDEN This pastry shop would put many a Paris patisserie to shame. The speciality is the Choumert bun, a crumble-topped chou that comes in multiple favours. southerden.com 5. FLAT TIME HOUSE The cosy, sky-lit studio home of the late artist John Latham, is now a non-proft gallery and artists’ space with a cantilevered book sculpture by Latham jutting through its front window. fattimeho.org.uk 131 Baku. Eye.

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t frst it takes some adjusting and some fddling with the straps, as your eyes calm and the jitter recedes. From the outside, you’re a grinning weirdo, swinging a thick black clunky headset with your face. But inside, you’re in – and you’re somewhere completely other. The launch of the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift in 2013 was the beginning of a small, specialized renaissance, as digital artists, technologists and experimental media-makers grabbed developer kits. Some of them already had their own universes, ripe to burst into a 3-D landscape that wasn’t just interactive, but fully penetrable. They were waiting. Now they’re in bloom. The gallery booth attendant at Frieze Art Fair in London suggests you sit down before getting inside Ian Cheng’s Entropy Wrangler. Cheng broke the rules before they had time to settle. In his Oculus Rift landscapes, the classic notions of place don’t exist. There is no ground or familiar video game dollhouse structure to run

through. Just sit down, and you will foat through a fickering black landscape, as crisp renders of humanoid shells, ofce chairs, potted plants, big shiny gold Arabic fonts, cinder blocks and sword-sized sparks pummel you. The sound is like chains rattling, or a heavy object hitting a metal

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surface. It’s beautiful and chaotic at the same time, and totally disorientating. Some cross-media projects want to make things feel real. Nonny de la Peña is a pioneer of immersive journalism. She uses the sounds, sights and feelings of the news to convey real-life situations in 3-D environments. The current digital art world gravitates to smooth surfaces, surreal open felds, alien assemblages of everyday objects, all of which translate beautifully to Oculus Rift environments without the need for photorealism, which current virtual reality technology render rates can’t quite deliver yet. Peña’s work is at the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s alive beyond its rough, comparatively low-tech surfaces. Her project Use of Force was showcased at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City next to several Oculus Rift simulation programs that whisked you of to imaginary lands. Peña was using the suddenly outdated, pre-Oculus technology developed by Oculus’s founder Palmer Luckey. Peña put the viewer side by side

with the observers of the Tasering and deadly beating of Anastasio Hernández Rojas by a US-Mexico border patrol in 2010. In a world of crime show re-enactments, this felt real and confusing. You were up close, a powerless observer of an epidemic of brutality. In the future, Peña hopes that real-life events will be told this way, a sombre variant of the buzz phrase ‘transporting experience’. While the Oculus Rift was anticipated by some earlier technologies, it’s notable that there comes with it a culture of inventors, hardware hackers and storytellers who are eager to add it to their arsenal. Alexander Porter, James George and Jonathan Minard were already

making a documentary that was experimental on a whole host of levels when the Oculus launched a few months after their crowdfunding on Kickstarter went live. The documentary Clouds features various talking heads, such as the cyberpunk hero Bruce Sterling, narrating the charged present and wild future of coding and new media, accompanied by visualizations and a soundtrack of electronic music created using the Csound programming language. The interviews were shot entirely using the RGBDToolkit. An invention of their own, the kit is

an ordinary DSLR camera adapted with a Microsoft Kinect depth sensor, commonly used in gaming. It rendered their subjects as a dense 3-D feld of points and surfaces. Not only did this allow them to manipulate the perspectives of their shots in post-production, but their viewers could do this, too. “We never imagined developing Clouds for a virtual reality platform,” said Jonathan Minard, “but it came naturally with Oculus Rift. The documentary is a kind of computer application, but it’s not classically linear. Instead, its parts rest on a complex 3-D map of points, interconnected by its topics and themes. If a subject mentions virtual reality, for example, you can use a mouse or a motion sensor to manually navigate to other interviews about virtual reality.” When their documentary went to Sundance New Frontier labs, the makers of Clouds hooked up with the Oculus Rift team. They were already working with the openFrameworks online community of developers, and with the Oculus collaboration, it was a perfect match.

1. James George and Jonathan Minard accept an award for ‘Clouds’ at the TFF Awards Night during the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. 2 & 3. Stills from ‘Clouds’. 4. Trying out the Oculus Rift headset at the Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, 2013. 5. A visitor using a virtual reality headset at SITEC 2013 in Singapore. 6. Nonny de la Peña at the New Frontier Press Preview during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Utah. 7. The Oculus Rift headset in use during a game at E3, the trade show for computer and video games in Los Angeles.

ROBIN MARCHANT/FRED HAYES/GETTY. WINNI WINTERMEYER/THE NEW YORK TIMES/ALLEN J. SCHABEN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/POLARIS/EYEVINE. HOW HWEE YOUNG/EPA/CORBIS.

Technology and art are becoming ever indistinguishable, as Marina Galperina discovers when she dons a 3-D headset.

“Rift let the viewer look around. Your gaze direction is the camera,” Minard explains. “It’s a naturally intuitive way to experience the flm. There was no learning curve, unlike with gestural controls. You just dive in.” Since integrating, the Clouds team now sets up an Oculus Rift station at their presentations and events. “It works really well in a

social environment,” Minard says. “They’re perceptually isolated and can engage really quickly.” Perhaps Oculus Rift developers are helpful to those working independently on experimental projects because they are all working towards similar goals. It’s an exciting time, with all sorts of possibilities, such as gaming, going beyond mainstream entertainment. Every year, the project showcase at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University turns cutting-edge technology into weird and wonderful things. Naturally, the student body has really taken to it for many projects, but Yang Wang and Zhenzhen Qi’s Sukhavati is a strange breed of special.

slowly rippling, not particularly realistic but terrifying all the same as it crawled up my legs. I felt Yang spray me lightly with water. I went with it. The water swelled and engulfed me and I could hear the artist’s voice telling me to not be afraid and to breathe. As I did, the water sank back out of view. As long as I remained calm, it wouldn’t come back, but the more I feared it, the more it came – the self-compounding efect of anxiety. There are practical applications for this technology, too. Among many of his interests, Ian Cheng spoke about virtual reality treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder already being a reality. He cautiously anticipated new therapeutic contraptions, “brimming with contingency and algorithmic anxiety,” all the while making

jarring, stimulating, original works of art, utilizing and subverting the tech community’s newest toy. There are hundreds of

“Which experience do you prefer?” Yang Wang asked me. I chose the one that simulates everyday anxiety. Strapped with a breathing monitor around my waist, with my hand fxed on a keyboard trackpad for controls, I was walking along grey abstract streets and turning sharp corners of buildings that reached towards a bleached sky. As my breathing intensifed, water rose up from the ground, greyish and

Oculus Rift projects in development. Many are gimmicky, sleek and fashy parlour tricks. Many are struggling to fnd a purpose or are stuck obsessing over polishing their edges. But some want to take you deeper into everything – greater knowledge of new media, their art, our news, your own emotions. There is no fourth wall. There are no walls.

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Fashion now feeds of the art world like never before. British GQ’s editor-in-chief, Dylan Jones, contemplates whether there are any boundaries left.

hese days you can see fashion and art collide and collude every day. You only have to spend an hour at Frieze Art Fair, or 20 minutes at Art Basel Miami Beach, to see that the conjunction of style and the art world now manifests itself in so many ridiculously fendish ways. Take a look at what the women are wearing and they’ll look like they walked straight out of a work by Richard Prince, Michael

Craig Martin, John Currin, Roe Ethridge or Jef Koons. Peek for a moment at the gallery walls and you’ll think that Franco Moschino has been born again as a painter and imagine that Jonathan Saunders has taken up industrial silk screening. Of course, you’ll also see dozens of recently enriched dotcom billionaires wandering around looking like extras from an Ed Atkins video, but then the originals themselves just look like grunge mannequins from a 30-year-old episode of Max Headroom (the explosion of the art world in the past 15 years is proof positive that anything – and I really do mean anything – is ripe for plunder). The fashion world has never fed of the art world as much as it does today and vice versa. Take a wander around your friendly local news vendor and you will see dozens and dozens of sparkling fashion magazines 134 Baku. Eye.

with deliberately obtuse or confrontational names – for argument’s sake, let’s say they are called things like Handlebar (a Victorian-style men’s biannual), My Little Tramp Stamp (a high fashion bi-monthly fresh out of Stockholm) and Only Buy This Magazine If You’ve Stolen Some Art Today (a trashy fashion manifesto disguised as a cloth-bound hardback book). These magazines are of the fashion world but not from it. They are produced in small numbers – this is an artisanal world we now live in, remember? – on heavy paper stock, full of beautifully shot fashion stories that veer towards the dark, the conficted and the sexual; contrary celebrations of the kind of artists you fnd displayed in the gallery in 10 Corso Como in Milan (Urs Lüthi is a favourite here, as are Jacob Holdt and Toshio Saeki); and ferce literary criticism from the kind of people you occasionally

sent models down his London catwalk wearing huge planks of wood attached to their faces, as though they had all just walked into a collapsing garden shed. To the uninitiated this may have looked like a crass attempt to co-opt the front page of the Daily Telegraph (sample headline: “And they call this menswear?”), whereas in fact it was anything but. When Green started at Central Saint Martins on his foundation course he originally wanted to be a painter or, more pertinently, a sculptor, mainly because he liked to make things. “I accidentally ended up going into a fashion textiles pathway for my BA,” he says. In Paris, meanwhile, the creative directors of Valentino, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, described their new spring/summer 2015 men’s collection as “Reality, with a dash of magic”, and although there was little about the collection that was based

wade through in The New York Review of Books. These fashion magazines are sold in the ICA and the Serpentine bookshop, as well as Selfridges, and fulfl a need for the fashion industry (forever embarrassed about appearing trivial or shallow) to display its innate smartness as well as the art world’s current obsession with taste and cool. Hey, it’s a codependent world. The fashion world used to use charity to semaphore its ability to feel, but now it uses art. Last June, at London Collections: Men, there was as much art on the catwalk as there was fashion in the audience, and you only had to see the extraordinary creations by the likes of JW Anderson, Craig Green and the Chinese designer Sankuanz to see that this confuence has turned into an extremely rich seam indeed. A few seasons ago Craig Green

1 & 3. Sankuanz spring/ summer 2015 menswear show at the Old Sorting Ofce, London. 2. The spring/summer 2015 Valentino show as part of Paris Fashion Week Menswear. 4. ‘Zugunruhe’ (2009) by Rachel Berwick, Smithsonian Art Museum. 5. ‘Indigo Bunting’ (2003) by Barbara Bosworth, Smithsonian Art Museum. 6. ‘Regalia’ (2011) by Laurel Roth Hope, private collection.

in reality – not when the tote bags start at £6,000 a pop – there was certainly something magical about it. This is a couture collection where the customers are encouraged to come all the way to Rome for a ftting, furthering the relationship between bespoke tailoring (although they call it men’s couture) and the gallery. These are one-of pieces, the kind that won’t just be seen at fashion balls, but in slightly more prosaic circumstances. The clothes themselves have a heavily prescribed ‘art’ bias, too, with patterns, motifs and prints all sourced to create a sense of retro glamour as seen through a vortex of indefnable modernity. The inference is simple: if we are what we wear, then to wear Valentino is to be your very own art avatar. Go fgure. Screw art, let’s go and buy some really expensive trousers.

FAIRCHILD PHOTO SERVICE/CONDE NAST/CORBIS. PHOTO BY VICTOR VIRGILE/GAMMA-RAPHO VIA GETTY. BARBARA BOSWORTH/LAUREL ROTH, IMAGE COURTESY OF ARTIST AND GALLERY WENDI NORRIS. JOHN GROO/COURTESY RACHEL BERWICK/SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM.

Ars Longa

Science and Art In a world increasingly perilous to birds, scientists and artists together can help endangered species survive. Michael Brooks fnds that the Smithsonian American Art Museum in DC is at the forefront.

t is hard to imagine a world without birds. We should be thankful to the environmental activists who campaigned against the indiscriminate use of insecticides in the 1960s. This was an era when even children at the municipal swimming pool would be sprayed with DDT by US public service workers. (You can see the archive footage on YouTube if you fnd that hard to believe.) It was Rachel Carson who blew the whistle on the devastating efects that this practice was having. Whether by poisoning or starvation, American bird populations were being eradicated. Her 1962 book Silent Spring has been credited with kickstarting the environmental movement. The title invites us to contemplate the idea of a springtime stripped of birdsong, but scientists at the time were largely dismissive of Carson’s claims. One who railed against her on television said, “The modern scientist believes man is steadily controlling nature”. Many people, though, realized the folly of that goal. In the years that followed the publication of Silent Spring, the US government signed a furry of environmental protection regulations into law.

habitats and remind us of our dependence upon the natural world. If the birds disappear we – rightly – worry. When it was discovered in 2000 that London’s sparrow population had almost disappeared, the Independent ofered a £5,000 prize for a scientifc explanation (the prize is still unclaimed). The Smithsonian exhibition will remind us of some of what we have lost, and what we must fght to save. One of the exhibitors, Rachel Berwick, has already entered this territory: her work A Vanishing; Martha (2003–05) comprises 500 cast amber passenger pigeons as

a reminder of the extinction of this species. This year is the centenary of the death of Martha, the last of these birds. At frst glance, it seems we are doomed to repeat history. In July, Nature published a study showing that bird populations have fallen fastest in regions where neonicotinoid insecticides are found in highest concentrations.

6. And what does all this have to do with art? Well, one of those regulations was the 1964 Wilderness Act, which is being celebrated with an exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC. ‘The Singing and the Silence: Birds in Contemporary Art’ includes the work of over a dozen artists who use bird imagery. And you could be forgiven for seeing the exhibition as purely artistic – these are, after all, beautiful pieces. Nonetheless, it has signifcant scientifc merit, too. The Smithsonian’s curator of contemporary art, Joanna Marsh, sees the exhibition as “a collective portrait of our own species as informed by our relationship with birds”. It is a view that makes sense: birds are perhaps our strongest connection with the natural world. Most cultures celebrate birds, sometimes as national emblems or religious icons but often simply as fascinating creatures for enthusiasts to observe. No matter how urbanized we become, birds remain part of our

These chemicals have already been linked to bee deaths. But all is not lost. Perhaps the greatest cause for optimism is that scientists are now the ones issuing the warnings about the dangers of overusing chemicals. It is hard for people to process ‘bare fact’ claims, though; artists can make us think about the issues in diferent ways and elicit deeper responses, which will let the birds fourish in the increasingly dangerous world we have created.

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4. The gift shop An awesome array of art books, many of them too outré or risqué for usual retailers, plus some wacky gift ideas such as a Grayson Perry scarf, Matisse cufinks or even a Turner handbag.

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Art Agony Uncle Confused about art? Kenny Schachter is pleased to help out. If a respected gallery gives an emerging artist a solo show, is that artist a good investment? The only surefre life events are death and taxation, so no. Even the heavyweights, such as David Zwirner, have had artists that have dropped as swiftly as they had risen. However, the gallery that represents an artist is almost as signifcant as the work; and in the case of younger, emerging practitioners, the quality of representation could be said to be more important than the art itself. Artist and dealer friends often give me paintings as gifts, which I don’t like and stick in the garage. What should I do when they come round? Hang the painting-dogs for the relevant guests then put them back in their cage. Beware: you had better have good notes and not hang the wrong crummy work for the wrong crummy artist. That could really kill the vibe of your next dinner party, so proceed with caution. I want to buy some street art. Do I have to buy the wall too? Street artists today are savvy, and wouldn’t expect collectors to be inconvenienced. So, not only will you be spoiled for choice of domesticated-scaled urban art, but also you will be presented with a wide array of size, colour and medium options such as painting, sculpture, prints. Not to mention mugs, key chains, T-shirts and bags to carry it all in. The market sees hardcore street attitude and swallows it whole.

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5. Cafe The demographic here is split between art students from south-east London sharing one cappuccino between four of them; high-profle curators from LA steadying themselves before meeting their clients; sulking Italian teenagers eyeing up hearty all-American girls on an exchange programme; and video bloggers planning to make the documentary that will earn them worldwide fame. 6. Level 2 This is the star attraction which has staged a series of staggering retrospectives of Matisse, Lichtenstein, Richter and Hirst since 2011. Tate Modern’s ability to manage shows of such signifcance is matched by very few institutions in the world. 7. Level 3 A global leader in compelling photography shows such as the William Klein + Daido Moriyama spectacular last year. 8. Very long escalator. It only goes up. A good way to lose your friends/kids/dates.

Anatomy of a Gallery London’s Tate Modern is not just the most visited gallery of modern and contemporary art in the world, it is also a key voice in defning the relevance of art to society today. And it’s a great place to take a date. 1. Turbine Hall When Tate Modern was frst designed, the idea was that it would work like a decompression chamber, an empty space to create a transition between the city and art. The art crept in and now it is the iconic space every artist

wants to be commissioned for. Now it’s easy to wonder if the vast crowds of French school kids are an installation or just in the way. 2. Clore Learning Centre A Thursday night frst date at the Tate is a London mainstay; go one better and nestle down at home watching a live performance art stream from here to your Mac. You will end up enlightened (or alone). 3. The river The Millennium Bridge is a seamless and surprising connection to St Paul’s Cathedral over the grey Thames. There’s also the river bus to Tate Britain every 40 minutes. Which Tate do you prefer?

Having your own artist-in-residence. Sofabed, maid’s quarters, wherever.

9. Restaurant and bar There is a meme among London’s art elite that Tate Modern has deliberately kept its restaurant in a rather harsh space with so-so food in order not to infate visitor numbers to an unmanageable level. Maybe its caterers aren’t up to the standard of its curators. Either way, there’s a great opportunity to create a new Noma here. 10. Private members’ area This is where you could rub shoulders with the super elite of the art world or a jolly gaggle of aunts from Wales, depending on the day. Great views. 11. Starr Auditorium Go to a private view and see who’s there. If that’s who you think it is, you’re right.

Buying online art. Gotta touch it!

The Transformer Jean Nouvel is the architect changing the face of Paris. In an exclusive interview, he tells us how he now has his sights set on the rest of the world. Words by CLAIRE WRATHALL

o man has had as great an impact on Paris’s urban landscape as the French architect Jean Nouvel — with the exception of Georges-Eugène Haussmann, the prefect chosen by Napoleon III to renovate the capital in the 1850s by razing its chaotic centre and imposing on it an ingenious and, by the standards of the time, radical scheme. But unlike Baron Haussmann’s cohesive interventions — those uniform streets of mansardroofed buildings interrupted by sweeping axial boulevards — Nouvel’s landmarks paradoxically both stand out from and seem to melt into the surrounding street scene.

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His frst great project, the Institut du Monde Arabe (1987), on the Left Bank, is celebrated for its beautiful south-west facade, which is covered by tiny motorcontrolled shutters that open and close according to the brightness of the sun like a huge moucharabieh screen. His next monument — one hopes not his last, though he will turn 70 next year — will be the 3.

Philharmonie de Paris, a €387 million, 2,400-seat concert hall on the edge of the Parc de la Villette in the north-east of the city. In between he designed the 400m-high, 100-storey Tour Sans Fins (Tower Without Ends, 1989) at La Défense, intended as Europe’s tallest building, an apparently solid form that became ever more transparent until it seemed to fade into the clouds. It was never built. Since then, however, the Musée du Quai Branly has opened by the Seine and 20 years ago saw the unveiling of the Fondation

FOCUSCULTURE/PHOTOS 12/ALAMY. PETER RIGAUD/LAIF/CAMERA PRESS. ARTON FILE/CORBIS.

1. Musée du Quai Branly. 2. Philharmonie de Paris. 3 & 5. Institut du Monde Arabe. 4. Jean Nouvel.

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Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in Montparnasse, a structure of which, he says, “I am particularly proud. It is an important building. It has an incredible site, and the design was very specifc to it.” Alain Dominique Perrin, founder and president of the Fondation Cartier, who commissioned the building, concurs: “I told Jean, ‘I want a monument de Paris, a building that will be there forever like the Eiffel Tower.’ And that is what he made. What he created is beautiful, perfectly balanced; not his biggest building, but probably his best.” This is the building I am in Paris to talk about, a majestic, transparent, eight-storey structure, fronted by three immense glass screens, one of which extends 10m beyond each side and above the parapet of the gallery itself, and two of which stand before the building, each 18m high, in order to unite this taller structure with what he calls the “Haussmannian buildings” opposite. His intention was to refect the surrounding trees – “to give the impression that it is the facade of a building with trees inside it” – and in doing so cause the building to seem to disappear into its sylvan setting. This autumn also marks the 30th anniversary of the launch of the philanthropic Fondation Cartier. Since its inception the foundation has commissioned more than 800 works and staged more than 150 exhibitions, an achievement it is celebrating with a programme of special events. Perhaps the most dramatic of these is an installation by the New York-based design and architecture practice Diller Scofdio + Renfro that will transform the ground foor into a giant aquarium. Both Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofdio are familiar with the space, having exhibited there in 1999, when they flled the ground foor with robots; and again 140 Baku.

IT’S A BUILDING THAT PLAYS ON A NUMBER OF FURTIVE AMBIGUITIES AND EMOTIONS, ON THE IMPRESSION OF DISINTEGRATION. in 2008, with their high-tech show, ‘Native Land, Stop Eject’. “It will play on the power of refection,” says Chandès. “It will provoke further dialogue between the building and nature and the air that will add to the mystery of the building.” For, far from considering the building as a “monument” or a piece of trophy architecture, its role, Nouvel contends, is to “absorb” its surroundings, to “merge with the clouds and the mist, to experience the sky and refect the trees. I wanted to create a mysterious effect. “It’s a building,” he continues, warming to his theme, “that plays on a number of furtive ambiguities and emotions, on the impression

grew, like Chateaubriand’s cedar, both above and below, into the ground and into the air. When the tree sways in the wind it creates a blurring effect. This phenomenon brings it alive. The building belongs to the rain and the wind. Playing on the limits of its contours, on refections within refections,” he adds, “it is a tissue of ambiguities.” Tall, severe, shaven-headed and intense, Nouvel, the son of two teachers, originally wanted to be a visual artist, though one senses he might equally have become a poet or a philosopher. His parents had other ideas, believing engineering to be a more sensible career choice. Architecture was the compromise. And so Nouvel enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Before he had even graduated he secured a job at Architecture Principe, the practice run by Paul Virilio and Claude Parent, where within a year Nouvel had been appointed project manager of an 80-apartment development. By the time he was 25, when he qualifed, he had his own practice in partnership with François Seigneur. But he doesn’t want to talk about his life, only his buildings. So we touch on their transparency, their play on light and, by extension, dark, which brings us to the fact that though it is a bright late-summer Friday and Paris is en fête, he is, as he almost always is, entirely in black: suit, T-shirt, the works. Prosaically, I ask the question Chekhov poses at the start of The Seagull: “Why do you always wear black?”

1-3. Musée du Quai Branly. 4 & 5. Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain. 6. Nicolas Sarkozy (left) and Jean Nouvel in Paris, 2010. 7. Brian Eno with Nouvel in Louvain-laNeuve, Belgium, 2013.

of disintegration. It is a play on illusion, on presence-absence, thesis and antithesis, the absence of limits. It is there and it is not there, and the refections are very contradictory.” So that’s all clear then. Nouvel’s sternness turns to impatience, though, as I press for clarifcation on the issues of materialization and dematerialization inherent in its design. Earlier this year, he told the celebrated curator Hans Ulrich Obrist that one of the challenges he’d faced in designing the Fondation Cartier, was “to locate on this site a building that [was] not exogenous”. He is speaking English admittedly and has signalled via his PA that he is tired and would prefer to speak French, but continues all the same, his accent pronounced but his fuency faultless even if he’s inclined to intersperse his bursts of stream-of-consciousness with unnervingly long pauses. “My prime ambition is to make buildings that stand in a spatial continuum, that belong to the air,” he eventually pronounces. Of course. This then is architecture as art, and the Fondation Cartier building is intended to mess with one’s perspective. “It plays with the idea of large formats,” he continues. “It is all about impressions and refections. When you’re on the roof terrace you see double: two Eiffel Towers, two Domes des Invalide … The theory behind it puts into practice a simple principle that consists of superimposing the object and its refection. The protected cedar of Lebanon that stands before the building, for example, is known as the Tree of Liberty and was planted in 1823 by the Romantic poet François-René de Chateaubriand, who once lived on the site. It is the real monument here. The whole project was designed around it and its archaeological premise. The building

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THE WIND, THE COLOUR OF THE SKY ... BUILDINGS SHOULD BE BEAUTIFUL, AND THEY SHOULD ENHANCE THEIR SURROUNDINGS. “I have a lot of reasons,” he responds, engaged again. “Black is the strongest colour. It is like the night. When you look at something against daylight, everything is black in contrast to the light. It exists only because you have light. If you want to create contrasts with light, you need a lot of black.” He does also concede a fondness for green, or rather greenery, for gardens are another defning characteristic of Nouvel’s architecture. Above the main entrance of the Fondation Cartier, for instance, there is a small vertical garden designed by Patrick Blanc, but the real glory is the park in which it sits, landscaped by the conceptual artist Lothar Baumgarten, and which contains 21 species of tree and 194 native French plants, from violets, lilies of the valley and wild strawberries to herbs such as rosemary and mint. It is rich in wildlife, too, home to birds, insects and even bats. The importance of all this planting is, says Nouvel, “to accentuate the ambivalence between exterior and interior” because buildings should not simply echo their surroundings. “Generally, when you say context, people think you want to copy the buildings around, but often context is contrast,” 142 Baku.

Designs by Jean Nouvel: (1) KKL Culture and Congress Centre, Lucerne; (2) Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul; (3) Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid; and (4) Koncerthusets, Copenhagen.

he has said. “The wind, the colour of the sky… Buildings should not only be beautiful, they should enhance their surroundings. It’s a dialogue.” He revisited the idea of a perpendicular garden on the Musée du Quai Branly almost a decade ago, the building that could be said to have kickstarted the whole vogue for vertical verdure. Indeed, Nouvel himself continues to develop it: witness the cascades of greenery that tumble from the balconies on Tower 25, his recently completed 62m high-rise apartment block in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia.

GAETAN BALLY/KEYSTONE/CORBIS. PHILIPPE RUAULT.VIEW PICTURES/MICHEL DUFOUR/WIREIMAGE/GETTY. MATTEO COZZI/ALAMY. CHRISTIAN RICHTERS/VIEW/JEREMY BEMBARON/SYGMA/CORBIS.

7. 8.

But if the Fondation Cartier was a game changer in design terms, it also established Nouvel as the go-to designer of cultural centres the world over, from the KKL in Lucerne, the Reina Sofa Museum in Madrid, and the torpedo-shaped, 144.4m-tall Torre Agbar in Barcelona, to the forthcoming National Art Museum of China that will stand next to the Bird’s Nest Stadium in the former Olympic Park in Beijing. There are also plans for an outpost of the Louvre on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, and a National Museum of Qatar in Doha. Said to be the most geometrically complex project currently on site, it is a vast, low structure inspired by the desert rose, the clusters of fattened discs of crystallised sand found in the desert, comprising circular planes set at angles to one another and extending out from the gallery in order to maximize shade. “Buildings need to be symbolic to have meaning,” Nouvel says, acknowledging that his popularity in the Gulf states is largely a legacy of the success of the Institut du Monde Arabe. So has Islamic architecture been an infuence? He demurs. “I do like to play with light and with geometry,” he says, but Christian architecture, too, has made

9. 10.

5 & 6. Torre Agbar, Barcelona. 7. Jean Nouvel (second left) with Ron Arad and their wives at an exhibition at the Pompidou Centre, 2008. 8. With Issey Miyake, 1998. 9. National Museum of Qatar, Doha. 10. Concept for the Louvre project on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi.

an impression on him – certain churches where he has been thrilled by the “architecture of light”. Is there a particular example? “La Sainte Chapelle in Paris,” the exquisitely beautiful, ornate, Gothic chapel on the Ile Saint-Louis, noted for its detailed and colourful stained glass. The other building he has been “touched” by, more predictably, is Pierre Chareau’s Maison de Verre, or House of Glass, in St-Germain-des-Près, the infuential modernist steeland-glass house completed in 1932. It taught him, he says, to “see directly the correspondence between metal and glass”. That said, the projects he is currently working on are mostly opaque. Take the forthcoming Philharmonie, which opens in Paris in January 2015. Clad in aluminium, a material he favours “for its ability to pick up light and colour”, he calls it “a little Pompidou Centre for music”, not because its silvery form evokes Richard Rogers’s and Renzo Piano’s cultural hub, but for the way that building transformed its surrounding area, and attracted people who might not hitherto have gone to galleries. The Philharmonie won’t, he stresses, be like a traditional concert hall. For a start, its programme listings will be projected on to a 52m-high vertical plane that rises from its huge sloping roof, which the public will be able to ascend. The idea is that people stuck in traffc on the nearby Péripherique (ring road) will be able to see what’s on and this will pique their curiosity. It’s an engaging ambition. Whether its auditorium fnds an audience or not, the building surely cannot fail to make an impression on Paris’s gradually evolving skyline.

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PROFILE : Turning

Heads

With her distinctive grey quiff and Italian fair, hair stylist Samanta Iacumin has been drawing attention in Baku. Laura Archer fnds out why her clients love her.

said yes. I didn’t even think about it,” says Samanta Iacumin of the moment hairdressers Aldo Coppola asked her to uproot from her native Italy to open a salon on the shores of the Caspian. “I didn’t even know where it was!” she says, laughing. “But when I found out Baku was on the sea, I knew I could live there.” Iacumin had been a hair stylist in her home town of Udine for 20 years and felt ready for a change. “I’d worked with Aldo Coppola for years,” she recalls, “so I asked if they had any places I could go.” But arriving in Azerbaijan wasn’t plain sailing. “The salon wasn’t ready,” she laments, bangles clinking as she waves her arms in mock despair.

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Samanta’s Baku bites: where to work, rest and play EAT My favourite restaurants are Chinar and Firuze (below). They’re at totally different ends of the spectrum. Chinar is very elegant and serves fusion Asian food; Firuze is simple and traditional – a place where everybody feels relaxed.

PARTY During the summer I go to Amburan Beach Club (below), a short drive from Baku. It’s a huge resort with bars, a great restaurant, and the pool is just wow! There are loads of parties. SHOP If I need something special I go to one of the multi-brand designer boutiques such as Emporium (above) or Avenue in the Port Baku mall (below).

CHILL One of my favourite places is the Boulevard on the seafront on a sunny day. An early morning walk along there, before it gets too hot, is a wonderful start to the day.

NATAVAN VAHABOVA.

And her distinctive look drew a lot of attention. “I felt like an extraterrestrial!” she says. “The culture is different but they love everything about Italy, so there’s respect for the way I am.” This respect manifests itself in her high-end clientele who have grown to trust her advice. “We champion a natural look so I encourage my clients to stay closer to their own colour. I don’t push them too much, but we change it little by little.” Iacumin works hard, so her time off is precious. “Baku is really jumping!” she says. “I’m a party girl, and there’s always a party somewhere.” Now she is thinking about where to head next, with Istanbul and Hong Kong top of the list. But she’s not leaving quite yet. “Baku is still developing,” she refects. “It’s an exciting time to be here.”

The Excelsior Hotel Baku is a beautiful ďŹ ve-star luxurious hotel in Baku city. It combines tradition and innovation with modern luxury and a touch of antiquity. The hotel is furnished with a melange of classical architecture and contemporary design elements. Being conveniently located near the cosmopolitan downtown area of Baku, the Excelsior Hotel oďŹ&#x20AC;ers easy access to business, shopping and entertainment centres. Heydar Aliyev International Airport is only 20 minutes away fom the hotel.

MY ART : Mother’s Has art always been a part of your identity? Both my parents have a good eye, and they own lots of art but not necessarily by wellknown artists. My father (Andy Garnett, an engineer) had many friends who were prolifc artists in the 1950s. His best friend was [the jazz singer and surrealist] George Melly.

Chagall

Stylist, author and fashion pioneer Bay Garnett collects art that is both aesthetic and emotionally signifcant.

What was the first piece you bought? About 20 years ago I bought a sketch of the Reichstag in Berlin by Christo and JeanneClaude. They were an artist couple my family used to spend time with. Their best-known work was wrapping things in fabric – fountains, towers, a coastline and, perhaps most famously, the Reichstag. My father helped with the project so this is a reminder of it. What makes a particular piece a must-have? I’m drawn to colour and pretty things. But I’m really only interested in having art around me that has personal meaning and is full of memories.

INTERVIEW BY CAROLINE DAVIES. DAVE M BENETT/GETTY.

What’s the most unusual place in which you have discovered a favourite work? On a road trip around New Mexico my friend and I stopped at a thrift store in the desert run by a trust for people with special needs. It was a strange yet amazing place – like being in a Gus Van Sant movie. I found a tapestry of the word ‘Love’. My friend tried to pretend she didn’t like it in the hope that I would leave it and she could pick it up, but I bought it. And I still love it. Tell us about your mother’s Chagall. My mother, Polly Devlin, gave me a small blue painting by Marc Chagall that had been a wedding present. She also gave me an original photograph by Joe Tilson of Jean Shrimpton’s lips – part of a series of 70 – that she was given when she worked at Vogue.

Top: pictures from Bay Garnett’s collection. Above: Garnett’s selfe with her Sony Alpha 7R. Below: Garnett with (left) Charlotte Tilbury and Kate Moss, and (right) Jade Parftt, Katie Grand and Luella Bartley.

Do you think your art reveals anything about you? It says that I’m not pretentious. There is nothing on my walls because I want to show off or project something about myself. It’s all genuinely personal.

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DESTINATION:

Hillside Hideaway

WHERE IS IT?

North-east Azerbaijan on the southern side of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. The track to the village, just off the main route connecting the bigger cities of Shamakha and Ismayili, winds for 19km between mudslide-prone slopes until you reach the fagstone road at the start of the village.

WHAT’S IT LIKE?

Azerbaijan’s version of a French artisan village without the medieval-branded cafes. The village of Lahic was founded more than a millennium ago and is almost untouched by the 21st century. Stone walls with layers of wood between the bricks – an old method of earthquake protection – line the cobbled paths, and are dotted with polished wooden doors that lead to hidden courtyards. Shepherds can be seen trotting through the streets on their horses or donkeys with colourful saddle rugs. On a night-time walk your path will be lit by a vast sky full of twinkling stars and the warm glow of the gaslights that hang above every doorway.

RUSSIA

LAHIC CASPIAN SEA

BAKU

50km

150 Baku.

EMIL KHALILOV.

AZERBAIJAN

Main image: the Lahic suspension bridge; view from the village through the mountains (top right); copper workshops line the streets (right); shepherds on horseback (far right).

Hikers and copper afcionados will feel right at home in Lahic, one of Azerbaijan’s oldest mountain settlements. Caroline Davies treads the cobbles. DO

Mornings in Lahic are best spent browsing the street stalls that sell dried herbs and jams claiming to cure any ailment, from a liver condition to a receding hairline. Keep an eye out for lemon or mint thyme, which grows rampantly in the region. Pounding metal on metal can be heard echoing down every alleyway; Lahic’s main trade is copper. Head to Kablei’s workshop for bespoke creations. His family has been in the town since 1725 and Kablei himself has been pumping the bellows since he was fve. His workshop is full of 120-year-old urns, plov warmers, wedding platters and, bizarrely, a mummifed cat that was discovered in an attic. It isn’t for sale, but ornate copper bracelets are easier to get through customs anyway. The village’s museum, formerly a mosque, houses some intriguing antiquities – including rusting 18th-century gun barrels, pots dating back to 2000 BC, and portraits of legendary heroes who stare down from the walls with righteous determination.

EAT

Mikail’s, on the edge of a gorge overlooking the valleys and rivers, is regarded as the best restaurant in town. Lahic is perfectly positioned for hiking and most evenings the tables are flled with ravenous walkers, tucking into plates of fsh, lamb and thick fat bread. Mikail is known for his generous helpings and for holding court about the old days, switching between Azerbaijani, Russian and English.

STAY

Just across the road from Mikail’s is the Evim hotel, where the owners take great pride in its upkeep. Although homestays are available, it is a particularly popular place to stay. With its fragrant gardens and staircases decorated with swirling copper balustrades, it has the feel of an old Swiss chalet. Like Lahic, the charm of the hotel is that it’s rustic and unfussy. Breakfast is simple; fresh honey, milk and bread, overlooking the river as it surges down from the peaks.

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THE BUZZ: Coming

in Threes

This season sees three new openings on the Baku culinary scene, including an outpost of Paris’s Buddha-Bar and an art-and-culture cafe. Paris Bistro

Mesdames et messieurs, écoute. The entente cordiale between France and Azerbaijan has been further cemented with the opening of this stylish Parisian bistro (left). Located in Baku’s Old Town, it’s not quite boho Paris (far left) but it could be after a few glasses of pastis. All the essential ingredients are present: a wooden semicircular bar with gleaming brass fttings, white metro-tiled walls and a pleasingly extensive wine list. Bien.

EMIL KHALILOV. INGOLF POMPE 39/ALAMY. BRUNO DE HOGUES/GETTY. JOSE FUSTE RAGA/CORBIS.

Buddha-Bar The original lounge bar – long favoured by the international cognoscenti – fnally arrives in Baku (above), bringing with it its signature pan-Asian style. As in its other global outposts (right, in Paris), a giant Buddha presides over the handsome redand-gold space (in the JW Marriott hotel), while an arty, sushi-nibbling crowd offers ample people-watching opportunities. Cool tunes and cocktails complete the Zen vibe.

Baku Cafe Inspired by this very magazine (we blush), art, fashion and culture collide in cafe form at this new, industrial-chic space (left) in Port Baku, moments from the Caspian Sea (above). The all-day offering spans coffee, fresh juice and cupcakes to vodka and DJs – something to whet all appetites. Plus, you can swot up on all past issues of Baku, placed in glossy installations throughout.

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Here Today... Peter Blake Stephanie Quayle Gavin Turk Ackroyd & Harvey Douglas Gordon Mari Mahr Jacco Olivier Andy Warhol Rashad Alakbarov

AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION CHAMPIONING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES The Old Sorting Ofce, London 25 Nov 2014 - 17 Dec 2014

MAVEN:

Geek Chic

Caroline Davies meets the artists among the scientists at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. DANIEL MARCUS CLARK

ANGELA OGUNTALA

Designer, USA How many times have you been to Ars Electronica? This is my frst time. I was invited to take part in the Future Innovators Summit. What impressed you most? The reception I received after my talks. My work deals with emotionality, which I wasn’t sure would appeal to scientists, but they’ve been very open. In the worlds of art or science, who do you admire? Hiroshi Ishii, a computer scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Canvas or iPad? Canvas. I remember more when I write things down – something about working with my hands. When does science become art? When you take the objective and make it subjective.

Founder of EarFilms, UK What do you do? I run ‘ear flms’, which are flms for the ears and the imagination. We blindfold the audience and use live storytelling and 3-D soundscapes. They only ‘see’ the story in their minds. What has impressed you? The giant projection on the front of Linz cathedral. What technology will soon be part of the mainstream? Tactile technology. The sense of touch has yet to be thoroughly explored in media. I saw an innovative walking cane for the blind. The handle fed directions to the user to help them navigate a city’s streets. Canvas or iPad? Canvas. I’m old school. You need to start with a great idea. There’s nothing better, if more terrifying, than a blank page to realize it. When does science become art? As soon as scientifc ideas are incorporated into anything that might resemble or be referred to as art.

ANDY BATES

Interactive artist, Australia What technology will soon be part of the mainstream? New concepts using digital mapping have been huge at the festival this year. The projection on the cathedral was spectacular. In the worlds of art or science, who do you admire? David Bowen. He was the frst artist to use data visualization and give it an alternative meaning. What’s your favourite medium? Silicon or plastics with embedded electronics to create sculptures. If you could, which piece here would you take home? Ars Electronica isn’t really about collecting, but if I could own one piece it would be the installation by Nils Völker using plastic bags (Ninety-Six). The bags infate and defate in waves, making it appear as if it were a living, breathing creature.

CECILE GABRIELLA

Performance artist, Belgium How many times have you been to Ars Electronica? I’ve never been before, but it appealed to me as I like to use electronic elements in my work. In the worlds of art or science, who do you admire? Olafur Eliasson, the Danish-Icelandic sculptor and installation artist who incorporates things such as light and water. And Jan Fabre, a director, choreographer and artist – and a fellow Belgian. What’s your favourite medium? My body. When does science become art? When you take creativity and put it at the centre of science. 155 Baku.

wouldn’t actually call myself an artist. It immediately puts you in a box, and I try to avoid boxes. For me, art is not art at all, but rather a way of living. I just get on with my life – enjoying it, sometimes visualizing the process, sometimes writing about it or expressing feelings and ideas through different media. Reality is all I have for inspiration and by highlighting certain elements of it through art I am able to share my view with others. My ideas, my works – they show 156 Baku.

NATAVAN VAHABOVA.

THE ARTIST : A Life Less Ordinary

my personality. But I’m also inspired by my two favourite artists: my sons, Amin, 13, and Jamal, 6. Many of my happiest moments have been in my little studio in Baku; it’s a place where magic happens! There, I’ve made sculptures from wax and plastic, assembled installations from a great variety of materials and media, created drawings using different techniques, paintings, photo-based works, video, philosophical writings and poems…

In the late 1990s I worked for Madame Tussauds wax museum in London as a sculptor. While there I certainly learnt a lot about creating wax portraits, and I’m using those skills at the moment for some sculptures. I’m also curating a show at the Museum of Modern Art in Baku called ‘Stone’, which opens in November. MoMA Baku holds quite a few of my works in its permanent collection, but the best place to see them is in my studio – come visit!

From painting, sculpture and photography to writing poems and curating, the multitalented Chingiz Babayev fnds his inspiration in everyday life.

Clockwise from far left: Chingiz Babayev at work in his Baku studio; ‘Flesh Crown’ (2008); wax heads of Stevie Wonder (1999) and Henry Ford (1998); ‘Author of the Wall is Our Brain’ (2014), an installation including a wax self-portrait.

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HISTORY LESSON :

Crown Jewel An ancient superfood, the pomegranate is celebrated each autumn in Azerbaijan with its own festival.

FOTOSEARCH/GETTY.

hy pomegranates? The distinct jewel-like fruit grows rampantly in Azerbaijan, and a special variety found only in the central, subtropical city of Goychay deems it the pomegranate capital. It is here that the annual Pomegranate Festival – now in its ninth year – takes place, attracting about 20,000 visitors, with farmers offering their wares. Besides eating its red seeds and drinking the syrupy juice it produces, the fruit has been used for centuries in cooking, for dyeing threads and as an early form of fake tan (it’s still infused in many tanning lotions). Plus, the Koran praises it, the Torah refers to it as a symbol of righteousness and some scholars even think it was a pomegranate, not an apple, that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Why autumn? Pomegranate season runs from September to February, and harvest time kicks off with the festival, usually in late October. Let the festivities begin! It starts with food and fun in Goychay’s main square. Creative dishes incorporating the fruit in every conceivable way are in abundance: jelly, jam, sherbet, sorbet, cake, dumplings, stews, salad and, a particular speciality, narsharab, a sour sauce served over fsh. Add to that some wacky costumes and competitions: the biggest pomegranate, the smallest pomegranate, and who can juice a pomegranate fastest using just their hands. Party on!

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THE ILLUSTRATOR : By Leyla Aliyeva

160 Baku.

Autumn

THE CIRCUIT

Elchin Shirinov’s band.

Cannes Festival

A cultural celebration on the Côte d’Azur.

David Lisnard.

Denis Masseglia.

The First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.

Ahead of the inaugural European Games next year, Azerbaijan, the host nation, held a festival in Cannes. Days of Azerbaijani Culture took place over a week by the pristine beaches of the French coastal city, where the wellheeled crowd basked in the July sun while taking in the fashion, history, art and music on display. Items on show included traditional Caucasian outfts and Azerbaijani art inspired by France. At a gala dinner, the First Lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, gave a presentation on the forthcoming Games, Elchin Shirinov’s band provided jazzy beats and freworks drew the event to a close.

DANIELE SALVADORINI. AZERTAG.

Marianna Vardinoyanis & Rachida Dati. Aida Mahmudova, v Arzu & Leyla Aliyeva. va, v va.

163 Baku.

THE CIRCUIT

The Gabala & Repton boxing teams.

Rumble in the East

Tony Adams, Darren Barker, Frank Bruno & Jerome Albarus.

Fight for a good cause.

Charlie Sims, Elliott tt W Wright & Chloe Sims.

Asef Aslani & Tony Adams.

Samy my Ghiyati, Jacqueline Rabouan m & Caroline Moussion.

The ringside was packed for the European Azerbaijan Society’s Gala Charity Boxing Match in east London. The pugilists of Gabala Sports Club put up a (gloved) fst fght against the UK’s renowned Repton Boxing Club at York Hall in Bethnal Green to raise funds for the Mo Farah Foundation. Sky Sports presenter Gary Newbon hosted the star-studded event.

Alex Ipatovtsev. v v.

Farid Rasulov

The Azerbaijani artist presents his first solo show in Paris.

164 Baku.

Farid Rasulov. v v.

Patrick Florentini & Azad Asipovich.

PAOLO VERZONE. ALEX RIDLEY.

Following his acclaimed installation at the Venice Biennale last year, Farid Rasulov exhibited his latest work at Galerie Rabouan Moussion in Paris’s third arrondissement. The medicalstudent-turned-contemporary-artist covered every inch of the space with traditional Azerbaijani carpets, to dazzling effect. The opening night drew in collectors, curators and other artworld VIPs. Rasulov credits his upbringing in the carpet-weaving region of Karabakh for his work’s focus.

Flore Durand.

Ekow Eshun.

Leyla Aliyeva & Zaha Hadid.

An a Hindmarch. Any

Heydar Aliyev Centre Wins Top Prize

ANTONY MEDLEY AND DAVID M BENETT/GETTY.

Design of the Year Award goes to Zaha Hadid.

Lily Cole.

Architect Zaha Hadid’s now iconic building was up against stiff competition at these uber-prestigious awards, held at the St Martins Lane Hotel in London. Rivals for the coveted title included a foating school in Nigeria and Prada’s spring/summer 2014 collection. The Heydar Aliyev Centre won best overall design and topped the architecture category. Saffet Kay a a Bekiroglu. ay

Gerardine e&W Wa ayne Hemingw ayn g ay gw ay. y.

Toby Stephens & Anna-Louise Plowman.

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168 Baku.

space was extraordinary; my sound engineer was astonished. There is something about the beauty of jazz that can connect with people. Some of the audience were well versed in it, others said that they had no real appreciation of music, but I think that jazz can transcend that. And it seems it did – we received two standing ovations. I knew very little about Azerbaijan before I visited. I’d

done some travelling close to the region – Serbia, Ukraine, Croatia – so I wasn’t entirely ignorant, but I was fascinated to see this beautiful city on the Caspian that I’d heard so much about. Of course, I bought a carpet in the Old Town that now lives in my New York offce. Sometimes, when the city gets too much, I turn on my mugham CD, sit on my carpet and drift away.

Dee Dee Bridgewater is a Grammy-winning American jazz singer-songwriter.

INTERVIEW BY CAROLINE DAVIES. CHARLEY GALLAY/GETTY.

Tabula Rasa DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER

henever I arrive in a new country I immediately ask my taxi driver to put on some local music. It’s so easy to visit somewhere, jump into a car and be cut off from the real noises of the city that surrounds you. I don’t want to hear pop music from back home; I love to hear the music of the people of my host country. It was my driver in Baku who introduced me to mugham; I found it incredibly soothing. I was in Baku with my band to perform at the Heydar Aliyev Centre. The sound in that

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