This is like, insane in the membrane nice. [via Lonny Magazine]

[images via yotel.com]

Today, I got invited to a lunch at Yotel, unfamiliar to me, yet somehow enticing. Or maybe we walked past it recently and I noticed the font. I wouldn't say it's fontastic, but it certainly catches your eye. So anyway, Yotel is a new hotel on 10th & 42nd (new as of mid-June, 2011). I checked out their Website, and I have to say, the place is right up my aesthetic alley. Futuristic, Japanese-ish, clean and modern.

Color me excited when I found out their restaurant, Dohyo, is designed after a sumo wrestling ring. Excellent. Seating is communal yet spacious. And color me even more excited when I found out the chef is Richard Sandoval of Zengo (my current absolute favorite restaurant in NYC)! Latin American-Asian fusion. Yes and yes.

Check out this quote:

DohYO is part of FOUR, YOTEL New York's 18,000 square foot series of dynamic, connective spaces, that fulfills YOTEL's vision of a flexible meeting and entertainment space where guests and locals can interact, lounge and dine.

The space is apparently modular too! I must pay a pre-visit with my camera. The lunch isn't until Thursday, September 22.

Costume National sandals, available on Yoox

How cool are these sandals from Costume National? Comfortable. Stylish. Designer. Within the realm of affordable. The only catch is you have to be a size 8. Which I am not. Have at it someone!

The first Ruben: Veggie Ruben at Foodswings -- rye bread, faux swiss,
sauerkraut, mustard, the works. oh, and grilled tempeh.


Foodswings, Grand Street, Williamsburg


The second Rubin, 17th Street, Manhattan


Mongolian mask, 19th century, lion protectorate deity


This one was made of coral.

Costume National kimono-style dress, $236 (reg. $590) on yoox.com

The details on YOOX are great! Ultra-close-ups give you the true detail on the fabrics.

I just love the designer selection on YOOX.com. Love love love it! Where else can you really find Costume National and Martin Margiela? And a lot of it. And on sale. This kimono-style dress is so amazing. Both the cut and the fabric are so striking.

Feast your eyes on the Lychee Lassi from Curry-Ya
[image via Serious Eats]

The word sappari in Japanese may have many meanings, including "completely; entirely" or "not in the least; not at all." For the purpose of this post, I mean it to mean "refreshing; light; clean." And so, I point you all to Curry-Ya, a Japanese-style (not Indian-style) curry restaurant on E 10th Street in the East Village for a totally sappari cold drink. A Lychee Lassi. Yes, lychee! I don't know about you, but this lassi has my name all over it. Particularly between the hours of 4pm and 7pm when it is half-price. I love a good Lassi Happy Hour, don't you?

The Lychee Lassi is normally $4. During Happy Hour, it is $2. Tell your friends!


Curry-Ya
214 E 10th Street (1st/2nd Avenues)
East Village
New York (map)
212.995.2877

This is what I would call an annoying gloss-over of meaning. The host got caught up in the fabulousness, and forgot about the content. Dear host, the word is kawaii (cute), not kowai (scary) as you said. Hahah. But whatevs.

Definitely some interesting imagery here. And I see Murakami made a Louis Vuitton logo into a 3-d mythical Japanese creature called a kappa. His work is so saturated with references. I love trying to decode it.

Jonathan Adler Rising Sun Needlepoint Pillow, $165.00

I want this. But I am not buying anything in February. Too much stuff. I've been having fun shredding instead. But this pagoda pillow by Jonathan Adler is really right up my alley. Funny, I was thinking of stopping by his site today. Instead I stopped by BussBuss and found it there.

This pattern combo reminds me of this outfit.
And this outfit.
And this tee.

I'm getting really inspired to redesign my Website. Can I do it? How long will it take? I would like to base it on this image. When you think about it, it's what my clothes are really all about. Graphic pattern mixing, rich colors, largely inspired by architecture, interior design, and furniture. I am really getting excited about this idea.

[L] Labyrinth Tee, $20 on sale in February (reg. $46)
Red Swirl Winter Obi, $96
Silk Pinstripe Skirt, $168
[R] Cascade Top, $68
Silk Obi Sash, $66
Chrysanthemum Skirt, $168

Nana Shiomi, Mitate 41 Tea Whisk, from the series 100 Views of Mitate,
woodblock print, edition of 10, 18"x18"


Nana Shiomi, Mitate 46 Teabowl, from the series 100 Views of Mitate,
woodblock print, edition of 10, 18"x18"


Nana Shiomi, Mitate 62 Caddy Spoon, from the series 100 Views of Mitate,
woodblock print, edition of 10, 18"x18"
[images: wills-art.com]

Speaking of Zen contemplation with a twist, the woodblock prints pictured above feature traditional Japanese tea ceremony accoutrements -- tea whisk, tea bowl, tea scoop and caddy -- in the style of Edo period Ukiyo-e prints from the 1800s. But these prints also have a twist.

Japan-born, London-based Nana Shiomi makes mitate-e (pronounced mee tah tay-ay), which are "parody" or "replacement" pictures. Artists of the Edo period, including Ukiyo-e artists, employed mitate to make playful or ironic connections between the contemporary and the historical, or the exalted and the banal. And the audiences got all the references. Having seen Nana Shiomi's work for the past three years at the Affordable Art Fair, and now investigating what she does more thoroughly, I have a deep desire to acquire one of her mitate prints.

In my first semester at college, it was a lecture on mitate by Dr. Tsuji Nobuo, the leading Japanese art scholar on the subject, that convinced me to pursue Japanese art history as a major, which in turn lead me to study in Japan. I could get into a lot more detail here, but suffice it to say, mitate is somehow responsible for where I am today, and will always have a special place in my heart.

I have two choices I suppose. I can wait until next year's AAF and hope Will's Art Warehouse, the London gallery which represents Shiomi, will participate again, or I could order one online for 180 pounds. They have a shopping cart. How convenient.

Tee Haus by Tokyo-based Kengo Kuma & Associates, was created for a recent exhibition of applied art from Japan at the Museum of Applied Art Frankfurt. Kuma describes the inflatable 9-mat Japanese teahouse, made of a double-membrane material called Tenara, as "breathing architecture," a dynamic structure that "becomes small as it holds its breath, and at other times breathes in deeply to become grander." [from Architectural Record, June 2008]

[image from pillowsandthrows.com by way of decor 8]

It is a snowy day, best for staying under the covers. I need a soothing interior and some muted colors on which to meditate. Blissliving Home's Ashley Citron collection is just what I need today. I think I like the colors so much because they match the blog. gee

Blissliving Home also makes some sexy throw pillows. Check out this pillow. And this one.

[image by way of emmas designblogg]

A placid meditative image for this snowy day. This reminds me of the kind of stylized waves you can find on Japanese screen paintings, lacquerware and textiles in the 18th century. I will look through my Japanese art books and try to find some good comparative images for you. Here is one for now.

Masayuki Yoshinaga, Roadrunner ST-01, 1999, C-print

Please excuse the light reflecting off the surface of the photograph.
I love samurai-ness of his pose with his bike, the incredible lines of the bike itself,
and that the subject matter is presented so starkly frank and devoid of context

Before I got into fashion, I studied Japanese art history in college and worked at the Asia Society and The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I have a particular fondness for Asian art, and design-wise, I am completely inspired by the minimalist Japanese aesthetic to this day.

So I was excited to attend the Asian Contemporary Art Fair this weekend at Pier 92. It was a great exhibition, with galleries from Japan, China, Korea, India, Indonesia, as well as England, Germany and good old New York. I took a lot of photos of the pieces that struck a chord with me. I wanted share them with you, with gallery links where possible. Note: I will be adding the works gradually tonight and tomorrow. Enjoy!

Ma Jun, Television, 2007, porcelain, from the 'New China Series'
Krampf Gallery, New York

Possibly my favorite piece from the show.
It is incredible how this artist has combined traditional
Chinese ceramics with contemporary electronics.
The extra layer of droll is that this and most televisions
are made in China.


Ma Jun, Television (back), 2007, porcelain, from the 'New China Series'
Krampf Gallery, New York


Ma Jun, Radio, 2007, porcelain, from the 'New China Series'
Krampf Gallery, New York


Long-Bin Chen, Guan Yin Manhattan, 2006, phonebooks
Frederieke Taylor Gallery, New York

You may think this sculpture is marble, but amazingly
this Guan Yin (Kannon) is carved out of a Manhattan Phone Book.


Liang Kegang, Buddha, 2007, tea leaves
Beatrice Chang Contemporary Art, New York


3 of 6 shiny Mao's at the entry to the show
I cannot tell you how many versions of Mao there were,
which was right up my alley. Chairman Mao is so graphically pleasing.
In fact there were many pairings of Mao and Marilyn (Monroe), a la Andy Warhol.

the juxtaposition of patterns really appeals to me

a slightly more traditional look

downright British and downright amusing

again, the patterns are great.
this one is almost Magritte-like

I was so excited by these paintings by Riyaz Design this past weekend at The International Asian Art Fair that I just wanted to share them with you. These East-meets-West contemporary takes on traditional Indian miniature paintings are by Alexander Gorlizki, an English artist, and Riyaz Uddin, a master Miniature painter from Jaipur, Rajasthan. The two met in 1997 and together formed Riyaz Design.

"Alexander wanted to combine the superb technique and sensibility of Indian Miniatures with a more modern approach to painting and design: to introduce new subject matter, compositions and colour palettes as well as new narratives. He tried to imagine the Surrealist painter René Magritte working centuries ago in the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar.

"When Alexander met Riyaz he found an artist who was old enough to have developed amazing levels of skill and concentration — he had been painting for 13 years — yet was young enough to be willing to experiment and even subvert his own tradition."

It helps to know a bit about traditional Indian miniatures so you can see how and where Gorlizki's and Riyaz's unique examples depart. You may want to take a look at this link or this example at Prahlad Bubbar Ltd. from London. At the Fair, Prahlad Bubbar's miniature paintings were museum quality. Now mind you, when I worked at at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, it was in Japanese Art, not in Indian miniatures. But I picked up certain information from the curator and the conservators. Prahlad Bubbar had very beautiful pieces indeed.


[images from riyazdesign.com]