The Vitrine and Specific Merchandise are pleased to announce POP UNDERSHOP, a 4-day presentation of limited editions, handcrafted furniture, and unique works of art made by our favorite artists, designers, and architects.

Fitzroy Gallery Basement, 77 Mercer Street, SOHO

Opening Reception:
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 6-9 PM

POP UNDER SHOP Hours :
Thursday, April 14th – Sunday, April 17th, 11-7 PM.

Featuring work by:
Sarah Crowner
Workstead
Dino Sanchez
Amanda Keeley
Andrew Zarou
Fern
Jamison Carter
Dina Weiss
Yahia Ouled Moussa
Rachel Peloquin
Jason Rosenberg
Denyse Schmidt
Quinnford + Scout
Winter Session
JP Thurlow
Morgan Maclean
Tanya Aguiñiga

POP UNDER SHOP marks the debut of a new edition by Sarah Crowner. She created an original watercolor/collage drawing that was then printed onto 36” square silk charmeuse scarf. Edition size of 100. This is the first limited edition project published by The Vitrine label. Sarah Crowner is a visual artist living in Brooklyn, NY. Her artistic practice is a multi-disciplinary one, moving between painting, sculpture, book making, and textiles. Working with the traditions of the early 20th C, like the Bauhaus, this silk scarf is both a functional, usable item, but also an artwork and part of her ongoing body of work as a contemporary artist. The original watercolor / collage drawing will be on display and the scarves will be offered at a special reduced price for the pop_under.

POP UNDER SHOP will also feature new handcrafted furniture by New York based Jason Roskey and Maggie Goudsmit of Fern; new wall-mounted lighting by Brooklyn architects, Stefanie Brechbuehler and Robert Andrew Highsmith of WORKSTEAD; stackable birch plywood lamps, produced in three sizes and in an edition of 20, by Dino Sanchez; A one of kind quilt by Denyse Schmidt and High-End Handmade Accessories by Rachel Peloquin, Tanya Aguiñiga, Yahia Ouled Moussa and Winter Session. Limited editions will be available by artists Amanda Keeley, Jason Rosenberg, J.P. Thurlow, Quinnford + Scout, Dina Weiss, and Andrew Zarou as well as unique works by Los Angeles artists Jamison Carter, and Morgan Maclean.

The Vitrine is the Paris based online boutique and dream project of Blaire Dessent. Specific Merchandise is the store-front-project-space curated by Brooks Hudson Thomas. Specific is proud to show new work by artists, designers, architects and musicians along with unusual found objects.

RUTH BACHOFNER GALLERY AND WORK MAGAZINE

REQUEST THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY TO CELEBRATE THE PREMIER OF LIVING WITH ART

A NEW LINE OF LIMITED EDITION SCULPTURAL FURNITURE BY AZADEH SHLADOVSKY

PROMISE WINE RECEPTION: MARCH 19, 2011

RUTH BACHOFNER GALLERY @ BERGAMOT STATION ART CENTER

5:00-7:00PM

2525 MICHIGAN AVENUE, G2, SANTA MONICA, CA 90404

RSVP: rsvp@theculturecreative.com

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: sean@theculturecreative.com

Hello Gypsies,

Thank you for finding me on my new platform. As you probably know, my namesake blog is now redirecting here: THECULTURECREATIVE.COM/BLOG

This change is long overdue for me. I decided to consolidate everything I do in the world of content creation and creativity under the name THE CULTURE CREATIVE.  The name explains it all – This is a space to share, communicate and discuss the greater culture that encompasses every facet of the current design administration.  It’s never been about me, so the move is to establish a site that exists outside of my name.

I’ve tried to upload my archive of posts onto this site, but there are a few glitches with it. For a complete archive of posts, please feel free to refer back to my old blog, which will now be at seanyashar.blogspot.com.

Here we go!

Sean

Check out my latest interview with the boys of Costello Tagliapietra. Let it be said that my original title for this piece was “Ready-to-Bear,” but the editor made a final switch…C’est la vie!

Jeffrey Costello & Robert Tagliapietra: The Furry Fashionistos

By Sean Yashar

Gays in the fashion industry is anything but new, but when burly, bearded and flannelly-clad design duo, Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra, came on the scene in 2005 with their first runway collection, their own bearish appearances became as much a cause for intrigue and admiration as their signature vision for modern femininity. With their namesake line, Costello Tagliapietra, now coveted by celebrities from Madonna to Angelina Jolie, fashion spreads gracing the pages of Vogue and ELLE, and a sold-out collaboration line with international retailer UNIQLO, Jeffrey and Robert have found themselves in the limelight with a significant opportunity to bring awareness for bear culture and the many faces of gay to a mainstream audience.

Let’s face it, even as we see more gay characters infiltrate shows on major networks in recent years, we’re also seeing the prevalence of those characters typecast as hyper-effeminate nymphos, perpetuating misconceptions of homosexuality to a predominately straight viewership. As is the case in high-fashion, gays are expected to be more Goldilocks than the three bears. Jeffrey and Robert have experienced that first hand:

“There were people earlier on in our career who thought we would be more successful […] if we were thinner and ‘looked the part,’ but that wasn’t an option and we felt the work would speak for itself,” says Robert. “It was also important to us from day one to be open about the fact that we were a long-term monogamous couple. In terms of role models, this was something that we saw so little of, and after 16 years together it makes a lot of people happy to know that this can be found in the LGBT community.”

Even in the gay community itself, the boys of Costello Tagliapietra have found great fulfillment in taking an honest approach to their identity in the public eye. Unexpectedly becoming bear ambassadors, Jeffrey and Robert have been able to connect to a generation of gay youth who feel alienated by images of homosexuality in the mass media. As Robert puts it: “Growing up as a fat kid, I was out when it was hard to envision myself belonging to the gay community. I felt like an outsider. Now, we get letters from kids all the time and that feels really rewarding.”

As if breaking stereotypes for the gay community wasn’t enough, Jeffrey and Robert are currently pursuing another critical challenge to the system. Costello Tagliapietra’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection is in many ways a call for action against the way women are dressing today. Though their own aesthetic may be more John Goodman than Elton John, Jeffrey and Robert’s chic and undeniably feminine sensibility has ushered in a return to stylish sophistication – a campaign challenging the chronically casual dressing habits of today. As the duo explained, their goal with the latest line was to bring “elegance back into daytime dressing, […] a return to a time when people took pride in what they wore to work.” Already lauded by the industry’s elite as a standout of the Spring/Summer collections, it seems that these fashion bears have the Midas touch in everything that they set their sights to accomplish.

Call it a response to the hairless metrosexual era of the 90’s, or a new appreciation for the masculine archetype, but whatever the case may be, Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra are two lumberjack, teddy bear designers on a significant journey. People may think it’s ironic that two burly men could succeed in the ways that Jeffrey and Robert have, but with sheer talent, clear vision and a little fur, Costello Tagliapietra are the unlikely heroes for our community at large.

About Costello Tagliapietra:
Spring 2005 fashion week marked the Costello Tagliapietra premier on the New York runways. Growing up, Robert in Westchester, New York and Jeffrey in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, both had grandmothers who worked as seamstresses for iconic, American designer Norman Norell, yet they had never met. Initially meeting through a friend at New York’s Sound Factory in 1994, the duo’s first project was working on the set of Madonna’s Bedtime Stories music video. Costello Tagliapietra went on to win the 2005 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award and presented their second well-received collection, of twenty-four looks, in which Style.com called “expertly executed”. Finalists of the prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2005 and now in 2006, both designers were elected to the CFDA in 2006. The Costello Tagliapietra collection is sold at Barneys New York and select specialty boutiques worldwide. Their recent collaboration with UNIQLO is also currently available around the world.

Images | Ashkahn.com

The 2nd Annual Renegade Craft Fair in Los Angeles is July 24 + 25 @ Los Angeles State Historic Park (AKA The Cornfield, located at 1245 N Spring Street.) Always free to attend, this DIY spectacular will feature over 250 of today’s finest indie-craft talents from all over the nation, free workshops and entertainment! Make sure to check out the curious work of my friend, Ashkahn …such a talented young chap!

1st try at this by seanyashar featuring Balmain

…”since sliced bread.” Just found out about Polyvore.com, and I’m in ecstasy over it. My new obsession in life is creating electronic mood boards. So much fun, and so handy if you’re in the business of design.

The best part about creating a board is that every item is hyperlinked to the website it came from, making it commerce friendly and great for shopping online.

Amazing!

-S

Todd Williamson is an abstract American painter shown internationally for his ability to establish a harmonious meeting of reality and imagination. His latest exhibition, “Blurring the Lines,” is a personal favorite of mine. What I love about Todd’s latest series of work is the emotional polarity that exists in every piece. The works are undeniably moody and powerful, and at the same time they somehow bring peace and calmness…like a question that’s answered in a single work of art.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Todd to dig a little deeper about his work:

SY: I believe that artists are Sociologists. They have an innate ability of feeling where society is at and where it’s going. Are there any particular shifts that you’re feeling right now, and would you forecast for us?

TW: Artists always seem to have an innate ability to feel the pulse of the world. I think the entire world is in flux right now. We are all still getting our balance from the economic meltdown. I think this will have a huge effect on the art world as we recover.

SY: The first time I saw your work, I immediately felt a connection with the work of the Italian Artist Lucio Fontana, especially his “Concetti Spaziali” series where he puts slash marks on monochromatic canvases to create an actual dimension of space. How does the concept of space inspire you in your work?

TW: Big compliment! I love Lucio’s work…he is a master! Space is vital, but for me it’s more about balance within the space. To be successful the work has to have a balance to the eye. It must feel complete and it must be pleasing to my sense of structure. My work is really more about light and the use of it in the fields of color and the way they interplay together.

SY: Color affects mood. Is there an emotion that you are trying to evoke in your audience with your current color palettes?

TW: LOL, they change ever day and with every work! I have always been known for my reds and blues. Fitting huh, hot and cold. I am an Aquarius! Usually the venue that I am preparing a show for dictates my use of color. New York is bolder than Tokyo, LA is brighter than Naples.

SY: What is your artistic process? Are you regimented, or do you only pick up the brush after any provocations (love/sex/fight/eat/sound/memory)?

TW: I’m both. Anything can inspire me as well as an underlying feeling just to put paint to canvas. I don’t paint well when I’m not happy and it shows.

SY: Professionally or in the everyday, what are you excited about?

TW: I’m starting a new group of Los Angeles artists. We are going to create a group that works together, drinks together, supports each other, etc… It’s something that is needed in LA and it’s time has come. I know more artists in Europe than I do in LA…

SY: Your paintings are divided with several horizontal lines like the staffs from a sheet of music, and there’s a vibrational feeling like that of sound waves in your brush stokes. Is it safe to say that music fuels your work?

TW: Yes I was a voice major in undergrad. I graduated from a small private university (Belmont) with a very important music department. I did a show at the university in January. Music is always playing as I work. The titles of my work come from whatever catches my attention within a song lyric. Alternative rock and country are my main things.

Reflecting the spirit of Armani’s haute couture, the Armani Casa 2009 collection interprets the Art Deco period in a contemporary way with textural variety, a geometric sensibility and an affinity for a restrained palette, creating a point of view that is both consistent and connected. Imitating the movement of one of his pleated garments, Armani applies a glossy, pleated surface to the geometrically styled doors of the black lacquered Bach bar, finishing it with lobster-colored fabric.

Favorite Giorgio Armani quote: “The difference between style and fashion is quality.”

www.armanicasa.com

Dear record companies & music video directors,

Please watch this video.

You see, you don’t have to throw tons of money at big-budget ‘concept videos’. All you need is to enhance the song with a simple piece that inspires emotion.

With love,

Sean

ps- no more back-up dancers