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OKUDA SAN MIGUEL
In November, Mirus Gallery presents the pop surrealist artist, known for his street installations, on a more manageable scale Okuda San Miguel is perhaps best known for his conversion of an abandoned Spanish church aptly named Kaos Temple, which has become a new icon of contemporary art. Highly sought after for large scale projects, Okuda brings his smaller scale work to a solo show at Mirus Gallery this November. Born in Santander, Spain, Okuda lives and works in Madrid, Spain. His unique iconographic language of multicolored geometric structures and patterns on the streets, railroads and abandoned factories around the globe have made him one of the world’s most recognizable street artists of today. Parallel to his work outdoors, in 2009 Okuda started his own studio practice and his fine art has been exhibited in galleries from India, Mali, Mozambique, United States, Japan, Chile, Brazil, Peru, South Africa, Mexico and the European continent among others. In his work, rainbow geometric architectures blend with organic shapes, bodies without identity, headless animals and symbols that encourage reflection in artistic pieces that could be categorized as Pop Surrealism with a clear essence of street forms. His works often raise questions about existentialism, the universe, the infinite, the meaning of life, and the contradictions of the false freedom of capitalism, showing a conflict between modernity and our roots; ultimately, between man and the same. Okuda's distinctive style of geometric harmonies emboldened with intense
Okuda San Miguel, Creation Light, 2018 colors can make his artworks feel like they're from a parallel universe. His large-scale murals and street sculptures can be found dominating parks and squares in towns around the world. Okuda's mixed media approach to works on canvas and paper is diverse with elements of embroidery, collage and wood, highlighting his insatiable thirst for creation and multitalented ability. In the forthcoming exhibition “The plas-
tic island”, Okuda has relocated the characters with whom he has traditionally given life to his creations. Far from the context in which they use to live, now they become part of a landscape of plastics on which the only thing that stands out is a few meager palm trees. And to which a new species has been added, a hybrid of human and plastic, fruit of our passion for PVC. The exhibition opens at Mirus Gallery in Denver on November 28th.
Magazine Cover Image: Okuda San Miguel, Lost in the Dump
(above) Kid Koala Playing God & Kingaroo, 2017 ; (left) Free Love (Moscow, Russia), 2018 ; The International Church of Cannabis (ceiling), 2017
Okuda San Miguel at work in his studio
“The Plastic Island “ Welcome to this incomparable place, it is a pleasure to receive you in the wonderful Plastic Island. We have been told that plastic is necessary for our daily life... what we have not been told is that plastic will kill us. Once it has reached our lives and begun to be received with open arms we fear it will not be easy for us to get rid of plastics. As useful as they are toxic in the long term, they have become omnipresent and it seems impossible to imagine life without them. We find them at home, on the street, and increasingly in our seas and rivers. As if it were not already with us and its consequences were not affecting us, the plastic islands in our oceans grow at the expense of our waste. They are becoming a threat to the ecosystem, causing risks to our health and leading to economic and moral ruin. What may seem the fantasy of a twisted mind, in the not too distant future may be a reality: “The plastic island” as a tourist destination.
MIRUS GALLERY
Opening earlier this year, the gallery is a new highlight of the Denver art scene and connected to an innovate nightclub
After five years of championing new contemporary art movements in San Franisco, Mirus Gallery expanded to Denver this spring with a space near in the Civic Center. Center. The The original gallery gallery is part of San Francisco part ofZen a larger space a larger spaceiscalled Compound called Zen Compound that operates during thethat dayoperates as Miduring the day Mirus Bar, Gallery, rus Gallery, HiveasCoffee and Hive also Coffee Bar, anda also ECO-SYSTEM, ECO-SYSTEM, co-working space
a co-working space thatincubator also serves that also serves as an for as an incubator startups takes in which startups in whichforHemming an HemmingBytakes interest.anByinnovanight, interest. night,anTemple, Temple, innovative known for tive cluban known for itsclub entertainment its entertainment programming, programming, production feats proand duction feats and legendary legendary hospitality, thumpshospitalas paity, thumps as the patrons provide thethat kitrons provide kinetic energy netic energy that lights lights up the dance floor.up the dance floor. Temple also joins Mirus at the
new space’s Denver location. The owner and gallery’s guid The space’s owner and gallery’s ing light, Paul Hemming, sees Mirus guiding light, Hemming, sees as an space for Paul international emerging Mirusmid-career as an space internationand artists,forreflecting the al emerging and mid-career artists, gallery’s name, which means “astonreflectingextraordinary, the gallery’s and name, which ishing, strange.” means exhibitions “astonishing, These striveextraordinary, to engage and strange.” These exhibitions viewers on a sentient, emotionalstrive and to engagelevel, viewers on also a sentient, emoevocative while pushing the
boundaries in remarkable tional and evocative level, technical skills and prowhile also pushing the cess. boundaries in remarkable
technical skills and proHemming, born to a Chicess. nese mother Ameri Hemming, and born to can father, has spent his a Chinese mother and life traveling father, between has two American worlds. He has built an spent his life traveling beeclectic business that retween two worlds. He has flects noteclectic only the duality built an business in himself but also the yin that reflects not only the and yang of Zen philosoduality in himself but also phy. the yin and yang of Zen philosophy. Regading Regading Zen Zen ComCompound in Denver, pound in Denver, he he says, says, ““Though ““Though each each business business is is vastly vastly different, different, the the funfundamentals behind damentals behind each each are are the the same: same: responsiresponsibility in all bility in all forms, forms, to to each each other and our other and our planet; planet; constant constant evolution; evolution; and and a a drive to create something drive to create something meaningful.” meaningful.”
Above: Scenes from Mirus Gallery and Temple Left side: sice: Photos from opening night of Mirus Gallery’s exhibition of Hueman’s Juliana Hueman’s work work Opposite page: Scenes Photos from fromMirus MirusGallery’s Gallery’sGrand GrandOpening Opening Credit: Juliana Moskow Photography / Tye Idleman Photography
WOMEN IN PARIS
Travel Sister, a Denver-based travel company curates the best excursions exurcisons Women are shaking up the travel industry like never before. Boomer or millennial, married or single - women are grabbing their passports and jetting off to explore the world in record numbers. Spending more time and money than ever on travel, women are broadening their geographic horizons by venturing to diverse locales in pursuit of out-of-the norm experiences; often travelling alone. According to Trip Advisor, 74% of women worldwide claim to have travelled solo or planned to travel solo in 2015. Some gutsy gals embark on their journeys unaccompanied organizing everything themselves, while others, gravitate toward large established group tours. Others still, long to get away but have no one to go with them finding the idea of solo travel incredibly freeing yet also daunting. These women seek a balance of feeling independent and adventurous, as well as safe and connected. Throw in a broad spectrum of elevated activities that immerse them in rich culture, options to customize free time, and the ability to share these moments with a select group (who possess similar aesthetics and curiosities) and you have the idea behind Travel Sister – Luxury Larks for Spirited Women. You won’t find mega-buses or faceless guides sporting raised flags on a Travel Sister trip, but rather an exposure to place that is deeper, more irreverent, more personal, and at its core more meaningful. Travel Sister, is a Denver-based boutique travel company that curates nuanced excursions for women to some of the world’s most sought-after destinations. Travel Sister arranges for small groups of 10-12 women
to take in the landscape, cuisine, history, art and culture of each locale through privately guided tours, exclusive tastings, impromptu detours and unusual classes. Travel Sister is dedicated to creating and fostering a community of friends who seek to explore and experience the world together. Travel Sister founder Carmel Scopelliti — a longtime world traveler well-versed in food, wine, fashion, and cultural amenities — has a mission: to create once-in-a-lifetime adventures for like-minded women who want to feel inspired by new surroundings, genuinely connect with one another, and experience the freedom of independent travel with the security of exploring new places in a small group setting. Tours are customized to the preferences of women. Everything from choice of accommodation to each carefully selected activity must meet Travel Sister’s high standards for elegance, comfort, safety and most of all ..fun. To Travel Sister, just like to most women, age is irrelevant. If you are drawn to journeys of substance and have the energy and optimism for an on-the-go deep dive into a city, Travel Sister is for you. The debut Travel Sister excursion, “Paris A La Mode,” took place Oct. 8-14, 2018, and was a fashion focused fling through the City if Lights. At the top of the trip travelers set their own intentions and got to know one another over cock-
hottest clubs and restaurants, gourmet cooking classes and wine tastings, vintage and boutique shopping in the choicest arrondissements, and more.
tails, one of the many forays they experienced while discovering “their” Paris. The week was spent packed with private tours of the city’s fashion hubs and museums, immersive art installations and performances, dining and cocktails at some of the
Next spring, Travel Sister takes on Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende for a transformative journey of art, design and cuisine. The group returns to Paris September 2019, followed by an extensive Viva Italia tour in October which will span the fashion houses of Milan and the food meccas of Piemonte. A rejuvenating stay in Lake Como with a final stop in Venice
for the acclaimed Biennale will round out the tour. Future plans for the company include more domestic and international tours, custom itinerary design, destination event planning, and a scholarship fund for low income girls that want to work, study or apprentice abroad. To stay up to date on future trips, events and services or to nab a few key travel tips see: ravelsister.world FB: @yourtravelsis / IG: @travel_sister
VILONA
JAMES
SCULPTURE
VILONA
JAMES
SCULPTURE
The most important parts of my life have involved my hands. I can look down at my calloused hands and see the effects of my materials, reflecting back to where I started: mining, cutting and faceting precious stones in Brazil. The challenges of mining have given me so much appreciation and understanding for the minerals I work with; it is something I am extremely thankful for. Mining in Brazil led me down a creative path that made me an artist, reflecting on this unique perspective when it comes to knowing where the materials originate. I am constantly working towards increasing my awareness that celebrates the original rawness of a mineral. My goal is to create works of art that gives tribute to these origins. My work constantly inspires me; I realized this method was beneficial for me early on in my career when I first started creating jewelry that allowed people to wear these beautiful gems and minerals. The stones spoke to me in ways that resulted in artistic themed jewelry. I was creating what I call “mini-sculptures� as my mode of relating shapes with the complimentary colors of the actual gemstones. The way opal reflects the light is something I can see within my color choice in my patinas to this day. I truly see myself in my work, and will always aim towards creating reflective work that relates to my artistic journey as an artist. I enjoy seeing my work transition into larger than life works; this is something that I always wanted to manifest. The sculptures I create now are much larger than the pendants and rings I started from, but they have so much parallel in relation to one another. Whether it is the metal or the stone, I am still working with the raw materials I started with.
I love that I get to be innovative with my artwork; everyday being able to create my visions. Making art is a privilege and I am forever working with I love that I grateful get to beforinnovative with my my hands. The dialogue between materials artwork; everyday being able to create is encouraging for me;art theis varying metals my visions. Making a privilege and in I my studio offer grateful differentfor opportunities. am forever working withLearning my about how to use a specific metal for hands. The dialogue between materialsaispiece of art has opened mythe mind to better encouraging for me; varying metalsengage in my itstudio to itsoffer fullestdifferent potential. opportunities. Learning about how to use a specific metal for a piece My goal to appreciate the to metal while of art hasis opened my mind better engage working with it to develop my art. I admire it to its fullest potential. and acknowledge the roughness of forging steel, theisdelicateness of the bending including My goal to appreciate metalit,while the harshness of the heat it takes to make working with it to develop my art. I admire itand all acknowledge happen. It is athe constant pushofand pull roughness forging with of metal. What I haveit,learned steel,the the use delicateness of bending including to do with metal in my studio will to forever the harshness of the heat it takes make be involved in myIt art I learn push moreand about it all happen. is a as constant pullthe materials. While creating manmade tension, with the use of metal. What I have learned I am allowing the raw form to act a catalyst to do with metal in my studio willasforever be to create both positive and negative spaces. involved in my art as I learn more about the materials. While creating manmade tension, I am allowing the raw form to act as a catalyst to create both positive and negative spaces. James Vilona is currently represented by these galleries: Dolce James Vilona is currently represented by Denver, CO these galleries: Telluride, CO Dolce Breckenridge Jewelers Denver, CO Breckenridge, Telluride, CO CO Ramey Fine Art Gallery Breckenridge Jewelers Palm Desert, CA Breckenridge, CO Ramey Fine Art Gallery www.jamesvilona.com Palm Desert, CA www.jamesvilona.com
Model: Eva Petric nd - Art Fashion: AngelHou tric to Wear by Eva Pe Photo: Alain Simic
EVA PETRIČ
This Renaissance woman has a new fashion line and two upcoming shows in New York
Eva Petrič is a renown artist who works in Ljubljana, Vienna, and New York City, in photography, video, installation, performance and writing. She has had over 40 solo exhibitions and participated at over 70 group exhibitions worldwide. She also has her own fashion line, AngelHound - Art to Wear, which she’s shown wearing in the pages of this magazine. And in 2019, Petrič will be featured in two exhibitions in New York. Her lace installations Collective Heart and Love-Belief-Hope, Eden transplanted, were displayed at the world-famous St.
Stephan’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, during the spring of 2016 as well as in various other parts of the world, spanning from Buenos Aires to New York and elsewhere. “My Collective Heart - acting as a Fasting Cloth in 2016 in the famous gothic cathedral of St. Stephan in Vienna, visited by almost six million people annually - is 36 feet high and 16 feet wide and spreads over 576 square feet. Yet it is without borders, accepting each and every one,” says Petrič. Collective Heart is made from over one thousand pieces of lace, collected all
over the world thus containing countless memories, millions of knots, billions of hours of sowing and infinite quantity of wishes. It is limitless in absorbing good intentions and in its spreading good will. “Indeed, it materialises a House Without Walls and the Value of Sanctuary,” the artist says. This huge art work is an assemblage of 1000 vintage doilies representing intertwined races, ages, nationalities, professions, beliefs and religions of the people of the world and those who will visit it while it on display at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Eva Petrič, Collective Heart, St. Stephan’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria, 2016, courtesy of Eva Petrič
in New York, where it will be the central artwork of the forthcoming exhibition called Building a House Without Walls – the Value of Sanctuary from February 14 - June 16th, 2019. For the first time in the history of this Cathedral, it will cover the Cathedral’s High Altar, inviting visitors to focus on their hearts and connecting and webbing them into a greater collective heart. The exhibition will also feature more than twenty artists including Kiki Smith, Francis Cape, Louise Bourgeois, La Toya Ruby Frazier, Cassils, Robert Longo, and Tomas Van Houtryve, with Petrič’s Collective Heart serving as the anchor. It represents a number of overlapping themes—relating to life, value, and human dignity—that will be addressed by this exhibition, which is the fourth in a series. Through these interlinked
exhibitions, beginning with The Value of Water in 2011, The Value of Food in 2015 and The Christa Project: Manifesting Divine Bodies in 2016, the Cathedral has worked to expand upon a vision that begins with the need people have for the understanding and respect of others, and the faith that all people have within them a divine spark. “Using the Cathedral’s sacred space as our canvas and our starting point, the exhibition will illuminate the intersections between spiritual and social identity, and the ways in which personhood and community cohesion speak to and are formed by notions of dignity, inclusion and exclusion,” according to its curators. This exhibition and public program initiative build upon the Cathedral’s ongoing exploration of seeking and
providing sanctuary in this specific and visionary space. It will encompass visual art, performance, and social outreach through all the facets of the Cathedral’s founding mission and areas of advocacy. Eva Petrič’s other forthcoming exhibition is called SafetyKnot and it’s showing at Galerie Mourlot from February 21st - June 16th, 2019 The show opens a view into Petrič’s most recent photographic work where the umbilical cord of Petrič’s artistic practice nevertheless, remains faithful and intact. In a formally unique and ever thematically engaging way, she references also her most early black and white analog photoraphy “Gr@y Matter’ language of shadows” series. Upon entering the gallery, patrons will fall into cinematic shadow imagery which echo Film Noir and which we
Eva Petrič, Mitochondrial Eve, photography in lightbox, 2018
know from Petrič’s 2006-2010 opus. Yet this time she presents them in an even more constructivist and architecturally sensitive manner: the Shadow of the Shadow triptych follows the creases and inlays of the corners, not the straight walls and is even translated into the medium of actual knots, giving a hint of the title at use. The handmade woolen Shadow Carpet presented on the wall as a tapestry, offers flight to our mind’s imagination and its comforting, soft and tactile aspect implies that the theme of sanctuary is at play. That the theme of body is in the forefront is not only evident from the subject of the images (the body is at times presented in its shadow form, then in its human flesh form and then again in its abstracted fractal web like form), but also from the form of the art pieces themselves which appear like unique “ bodies”, existing in other forms then we have known them to exist till now.
Eva Petrič, Shadow Hunter 2, lambda on dibond and plexiglass, 2018
Mictochondrial WEB, the fourth of the Mourlot editions, encapsulated in the form of a lightbox is the residue of Petrič’s art performance: “Eden, transplanted” where the human body, through the symbol and object of the human heart is in foreground. “Can our hearts be transplanted also onto other planets?” echoes from Petrič’s latest 300 page art monograph WEBbing, on display and available at the exhibition. In it, the Mitochondrial WEB, this time in the form of a print, marks the 20th chapter of Petrič’s monograph. Interestingly, it stands to convey how the medium of performance is that which enabled for the development of Petrič’s new technique in photography, Mitochondrial WEB being one of the 25 chapter images, materializations of this technique. The nearby seven unique RELIC series shine in the light reflected by the lightbox, shown for the very first time and hinting back to many of Petrič’s other
photographic works, as they contain the actual objects which served as props in so many of her photographic works. They embody a real relic like quality to them, encased in double frames, creating an additional physical but also metaphorical distance of respect between the art work and the viewer. Here, the inner frames are each unique and acquired from various flea markets from around the world. After circling around the exhibition, one can’t but help and wonder whether it is safer to keep the SafetyKnot in a knot or to untie it? By viewing both this exhibiton and Petrič’s 36-foot high Collective Heart at St. John the Divine Cathedreal, with its numerous and endless knots, one can try to further attempt to unravel the mystery of this artist’s work. Find out more at mourloteditions.com/ collections/eva-Petrič and stjohndivine.org/ programs/art/upcoming-exhibitions
Model: Tori Glenn Designs: Andreas Tsagas Leathers and Furs Photography: Capturing Our Senses
30
INTERNATIONAL
SCULPTURE TO WEAR
INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART JEWELRY
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"There’s Tiffany and Cartier, and then... there’s SCULPTURE TO WEAR" - WHERE Magazine
Celebrating 20 years of
ICONIC
wearable art 1999 - 2019 Lisa M. Berman
Visionary Proprietor Barbara Stutman, Survival of the Foot-est Brooch 1999 Collection of Lisa M. Berman
T. Molsawat - Perils of a Righteous President, Collection of Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Lisa M. Berman, by Bonnie Schiffman Business Attire Necklace by Two Roses Orbit earrings by Gina Pankowski Hinged bracelet by Statements Accessories
Robert Lee Morris The Power of Jewelry Retrospective
Greg Orloff - Crystal Legacy Necklace
Thank you artists, collectors and admirers for the past 20 years!
I opened my first show on Jan. 16th, 1999 called STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY - Jewelry’s Foundation Looking forward to another two decades of inspiration!
Jeanet Metselaar
HALLIE PACKARD
Artist Portfolio
“The morning sun projects the day onto waking eyelids. In an “The morning sunhere. projects the instant, you are A tickday onto waking eyelids. In an le in the corner of consciousinstant, you are here. A tickness brings a faint memory of le in the corner of consciousa place. The tickle becomes ness brings a faint of an itch. The mindmemory stretches a place. The tickle becomes furiously, straining to retrace an itch.to The steps, pushmind back stretches into that furiously, straining to retrace otherworldly yet unsettlingly steps, push back that familiarto “place.” Just asinto pieces otherworldly yet unsettlingly begin to rematerialize, somefamiliar “place.” pieces thing slips and Just it all as vanishes begin to rematerialize, completely from beneathsomeyour thing slipsa and all vanishes feet. For splitit second, you completely from beneath your hover between two worlds. feet. split second, you For a For split asecond, it all comes hover between two worlds. back.” For a split second, it all comes back.” Hallie Packard’s works depict a place nostalgic and foreign— comfortable andworks untouchable Hallie Packard’s depict a at once. A place and through which place nostalgic foreign— the presence humanity comfortable and ofuntouchable echoes, but fromthrough a source that at once. A place which has long since expired. Manthe presence of humanity made relics interact with that the echoes, but from a source natural the has longworld, since confirming expired. Manquestion of interact previous with human made relics the existence and conforming natural world, confirming to— the even mutating to become one question of previous human with—the and wildly organic enviexistence conforming to— ronment surrounding them.one As even mutating to become reminders wildly of theorganic wonder envithat with—the abounds surrounding and the respect it deronment them. As serves, these works are dedireminders of the wonder that cated to rediscovering andit culabounds and the respect detivating magic of this serves, the these works are world. dedicated to rediscovering and culVisit halliepackardart.com for tivating the magic of this world. more information about her work.
Above: batlady, 30x40”, acrylic on canvas, 2015 Opposite page (clockwise from top): horseplay, 48x36”, acrylic on canvas, 2018; biplanes. 36x48”, acrylic on canvas, 2015; ladybird invasion, 30x40”, acrylic on canvas, 2014.