Atomium - ArtView2 - Arik Levy - Rockgrowth

THE ATOMIUM & ARIK LEVY

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The Atomium The Atomium commission Important figures What is the Atomium Its shape Expo 1958

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Arik Levy About the artist The RockGrowth series The Craters series Exhibitions & installations Selected solo & group exhibitions

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The letter of invitation

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THE PROPOSAL The permanent installation The exhibition The RockGrowth 808 Atomium commission 2014 RockGrowth Description of the sculpture The know how

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CONTACTS

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PRESS REVIEW Arik Levy

Photo © Atomium

THE ATOMIUM

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THE ATOMIUM COMMISSION Photo © Atomium

The Atomium is an iconic building in Brussels originally built for Expo ‘58, the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn with interiors by architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 m (335 ft) tall. Its nine 18 m (59 ft) diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.

Photo © Atomium

Tubes connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all eight vertices to the center. They enclose escalators and a lift to allow access to the five habitable spheres, which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels. CNN named it Europe’s most bizarre building.

View of an Atomium sphere 4

IMPORTANT FIGURES The building

INTERNET

The Atomium represents the molecule of crystal, magnified 165 billion times, in the form of a centred cube standing on one of its corners. The complete Atomium is made up of 9 spheres (1 at each vertex plus 1 central sphere), connected together by 20 tubes (12 edges and 2 tubes for each of the 4 diagonals. The whole structure stands on 3 pillars, known as “bipods”).

· 873.000 references on the Internet · 221.000 sites with direct links to the Atomium site · 48.000 shared photographs on Flickr · 60.000 shared photographs on Picasa · more than 29.000 fans on Facebook · more than 30.000 check-ins with Foursquare · 2.300 individual visitors every day to the Atomium site

Total height

102m

Diameter of spheres

18m

Every day statistics

Diameter of tubes

3m30

· 600.000 paid entree visitors per year

Surface area of spheres

108m2 / 240m2

Length of tubes at edges

29m

· One of 5 European institutions providing visitors with audio-guides in 13 languages

Diameter of pavilion at base

26m

· 100 private events per year, with 11,000 participants

· 1.200.000 passing-by visitors per year · Record number of visitors in one day: 4,700 on 17.08.2008

· Approximately 10 visits by Heads of State each year, both private and official · The Atomium is also used in dozens of photoshoots for fashion, design and architecture magazines · A number of national and international radio and TV broadcasts are recorded each year, either at the foot of the Atomium or inside

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WHAT IS THE ATOMIUM VISIT

PART 1: THE PANORAMA LEVELS 0 & 7 - VIA LIFT

PART 2: EXHIBITIONS LEVELS 1-6: STAIRS & ESCALATO RS 8

TOILETS

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LEVEL 8

PART 1: THE PANORAMA (LEVELS 0 & 7: via the lift )

Restaurant

PART 2: EXHIBITIONS (LEVELS 1-6: via the stairs) PART 2: EXHIBITIONS (LEVELS 1-6: via the escalators) OFF THE TOUR TICKETS / ENTRANCE / SHOP / TERRACE

FOR HIRE 5 4 FOR HIRE

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Prigogine Room

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Waterkeyn Room

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MAIN HALL (LIFT / ESCALATORS / SHOP )

CHILDREN'S SPHERE

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PERMANENT EXHIBITION

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PERMANENT EXHIBITION

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TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

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TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

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TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

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VIEWPOINT

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360째 PANORAMA & TOILETS

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RESTAURANT

Accessible only to primary schools (booking required or during shcheduled activities)

2 1 ENTRANCE

TERRACE 0

Sandwiches & drinks

EXIT

TICKET OFFICE

Via the shop

Audio guides & Toilets

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ITS SHAPE why Has the atomium that shape?

It all began in 1958, when Brussels was preparing to host the Universal Exhibition which became known as Expo 58. A Universal Exhibition is a great global gathering, taking place every four years, where countries build Pavilions to present their culture and expertise. Each Pavilion is, in a way, a showcase for the country. Each Universal Exhibition has a theme and a symbolic building.

In 1958, science was given pride of place: at that time, everyone was convinced that thanks to scientific progress we would soon travel in capsules rather than cars, everyone would have robots to do the housework, no one would ever be ill, and living in space would be possible. In 1958, unlike today, the whole world was convinced that science would solve all our problems and improve our lives. The challenge for Expo 58 was to find a means of celebrating the atom and its applications by inventing an exceptional Pavilion.

ELEMENTARY IRON CRYSTAL

ATOMIUM

Atoms of iron: The Atomium has 9 sppheres

A basic unit of iron (which naturally structures itself in a cubic network) made up of 9 atoms.

This was when engineer-architect AndrĂŠ Waterkeyn observed that, in nature, atoms of iron organise themselves in a regular cubic structure which could easily be reproduced in the form of a building. He then made an elementary unit of iron (9 atoms), magnified 165 billion times, to give the Atomium its shape of a cube standing on one corner, with nine atoms (one at each corner) connected together by 20 tubes, the whole structure standing on 3 giant pillars. Thus the Atomium was born with its unique shape. Although the Atomium was not intended to outlive the Universal Exhibition of 1958, its popularity and success quickly made it a major feature of the landscape, both in Brussels and further afield.

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EXPO 1958 A POST-WAR EVENT On 17 April 1958, on the Heysel site, the Brussels Universal and International Exhibition was inaugurated. This huge event was intended to be a showcase for Belgium and nearly 40 other countries, out of 70 being part of the UN.

Photo © Atomium

With the slogan building a world for the modern man, the event sent out a message of boundless optimism and attempted to reflect a society that was confident in its future and enthusiastic

about the future of humanity. A real promotional campaign for a nation, a lifestyle and an era, Expo 50 undeniably left its mark in people’s memories and became a major event in the Belgian national history. With its style and its appearance, the Atomium, one of the only remaining iconic traces of this event, plunges you into the heart of the prestigious, unforgetta

Statistics concerning Expo 58

The Lucien De Roeck star

· 20,000 meals each day in the 70 restaurants on the site

If Expo 58 left its mark in our hearts and minds, so did its logo the Lucien de Roeck star, named after its designer. The star-shaped logo has become one of the legends of graphical design.

As a professional designer, Lucien De Roeck looked for a single graphical element, simple and clear, to bring together components to suggest the exhibition, taking account of its universal nature and the city in which it took place. He considered several possibilities, including that of a tree with no leaves, the branches supporting the symbols which characterised the Exhibition. The winner, however, was the Star, which he cleverly distorted to represent the dynamic nature of the Exhibition. He also added the concept of universality in the form of a globe, and anchored the whole design in the time dimension, in a manner which was both symbolic and paradoxical, by using the number 58, which marked the whole Exhibition.

· 60,000,000 hours of work to create the site · 41,454,412 visitors · 4,500,000 entries to Joyful Belgium · 3,000,000 visitors travelled in the cable car · 713,664 was the record number of visitors in one day · 20,000 workers · 2,000 journalists covered the event · 500 gardeners looked after the green spaces on the site · 220 motorised tricycles · 8 babies born

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Photo Ian Scigliuzzi: RockGrowth 140 Š 2011 Arik Levy

ARIK LEVY

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ABOUT THE ARTIST “Creation is an uncontrolled muscle” Arik Levy (born 1963).

Artist, technician, photographer, designer, video artist, Levy’s skills are multi-disciplinary and his work can be seen in prestigious galleries and museums worldwide. Best known publicly for his sculptures – such as his signature Rock pieces -, his installations, limited editions and design, Levy nevertheless feels “The world is about people, not objects.”

Hailing originally from Israel and moving to Europe after his first participation in a group sculpture exhibition in Tel-Aviv in 1986, Levy currently works in his studio in Paris.

The creation of his firm then meant a foray back to his first love, art and industrial design, as well as other branches of his talents.

Respected for his furniture and light designs on all continents, Levy also creates hi-tech clothing lines and accessories for firms in the Far East.

Considering himself now more of a «feeling» artist, Arik Levy continues to contribute substantially to our interior and exterior milieu, his work including public sculpture, as well as complete environments that can be adapted for multi use. “Life is a system of signs and symbols,” he says, “where nothing is quite as it seems.”

Photo Ian Scigliuzzi © 2012 Arik Levy

His formation was unconventional where surfing, as well as his art and graphic design studio, took up much of his time back home. Following studies at the Art Center Europe in Switzerland, he gained his BS in Industrial Design with distinction in 1991.

After a stint in Japan where he consolidated his ideas producing products and pieces for exhibitions, Levy returned to Europe where he contributed his artistry to another field – contemporary dance and opera by way of set design.

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Photo Ian Scigliuzzi © 2011 Arik Levy

Photo Shauli Landner © 2011 Arik Levy

THE ROCKGROWTH SERIES

RockGrowth 172 / 2011 / mirror-polished stainless steel / L206 x W161 x H172 cm / private collection, Israel

RockGrowth 140 / 2011 / mirror-polished stainless steel / L140 x W114 x H83 cm / private collection, Israel 11

Photo Arik Levy Š 2011 Arik Levy

RockGrowthGiant 514 / 2011 mirror-polished stainless steel L510 x W401 x H514 cm private collection, France

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Photo Shauli Landner Š 2012 Arik Levy

THE CRATERS SERIES

CraterCorten 300 / 2012 / Corten steel L320 x W178 x H300 cm / private collection, Israel 13

Photo © 2013 IMIB

Photo Ian Scigliuzzi © 2011 Arik Levy

EXHIBITIONS & INSTALLATIONS

Chaton Superstructures, installation / London 2011 Photo Eric Mercier © 2009 Arik Levy

Photo Ian Scigliuzzi © 2012 Arik Levy

HumanCanyon, installation / Milan 2013

Nothing is quite as it seems, solo exhibition / Paris 2012

RockGiant 600 / private collection, France 2009 14

SELECTED SOLO & GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2014 Atomium, Brussels / RockGrowth 808 Atomium, permanent public installation and exhibition 2013 Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris / AbstractRock, series and other artworks alongside the exhibition “Dans la ligne de mire” Vitra Museum, Weil am Rhein / RewindableLight, art video / Lightopia, group exhibition Galerist, Istanbul / Activated Nature, solo exhibition Enclos des Bernardins, Paris / RockGrowth 400, installation Galerie Maubert, Paris / Nouvelle Lune, group exhibition

Jardin du Hauvel, Saint-Hymer, France / Art et Nature, group exhibition curated by Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand Hedge Gallery, San Francisco / Flections, group exhibition curated by Sabrina Buell Priveekollektie, Heusden aan de Maas / EmotionalDeflection, solo exhibition Galerie Maubert, Paris / Le Sacre du Printemps, group exhibition

No Holds Barred, Art Amsterdam / Personality Disorder Social Codes, installation Eighth Veil Gallery, Los Angeles / Out there logging, solo exhibition Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica / Luminescence: between Fire & Ice, solo exhibition Lambretto Art Project, Milano / 13 798 grams, group exhibition

Alon Segev Gallery, Tel Aviv / Arik Levy & Guy Yanai

2009

2011

Slott gallery, Paris / Confessions, solo installation in Préliminaires exhibition

Natural History Museum, London / Regeneration: Chaton Superstructures, installation

Kenny Schachter/ROVE, London / Fruit & Flowers, group exhibition

JGM. Galerie, Paris / M+C, group exhibition

Liechtenstein Museum / Chaton Superstructures, installation

Mitterrand+Cramer, Geneva / New Sculptures, solo exhibition

Galerie Pierre-Alain Challier, Paris / Un regard d’obsidienne, group exhibition

Art Garden of Superstudio Piu, Zona Tortona, Italy / Bathing in the light, HumanCanyon, installation

Design Museum Holon, Israel / Post Fossil: excavating 21st century creation, group exhibition

Swarovski Crystal Palace, Ex Magazzini di Porta Genova, Milano / Osmosis, solo exhibition

2012

21_21 Design Sight, Tokyo / Reality Lab, group exhibition

Galleria Nina Lumer, Milano / Love, group exhibition by Slott gallery

Passage de Retz, Paris / Nothing is quite as it seems, solo exhibition (up to 2013)

2010

2008

Bisazza Foundation, Montecchio Maggiore, Italy / Experimental Growth, solo exhibition (up to 2013)

Alon Segev Gallery, Tel Aviv / Natural Disorder, solo exhibition

Design Miami, Miami / Beyond Organic: In the State of Nature, group exhibition

Galerist gallery, Istanbul / Le Jardin de la Spéculation Cosmique, group exhibition curated by Fatos Üstek

Mitterrand+Cramer, Geneva / Geotectonic, solo exhibition

Kenny Schachter/ROVE, London / Diversion, group exhibition

Swarovski Crystal Worlds, Wattens, Austria / Transparent Opacity, solo exhibition (up to 2017)

Priveekollektie, Heusden aan de Maas / My Name Is Arik, solo exhibition

Chatsworth, UK / Beyond Limits, group exhibition in partnership with Sotheby’s

Alon Segev Gallery, Tel Aviv / Genetic Intimacy, solo exhibition

Istanbul Modern, Istanbul / Log Forest installation in Dice Kayek’s Istanbul Contrast exhibition

Sudeley Castle, UK / The Artist’s Playground, group exhibition in partnership with Phillips de Pury

Sotheby’s, Vienna / TableScapeSpace

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Wright20, Chicago / Absent Nature, solo exhibition

2002 and before

Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston / Imperative, group exhibition

Hertzliya Museum, Israel / VideoZone – 1st Biennale for Video Art / Two stars hotel – in collaboration with Sigalit Landau, 2002

Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris / Propositions lumineuses 2, group exhibition 2007 Dialogues méditerranéens, St. Tropez / BigRock, installation Centre des arts Enghien-les-Bains / L’Autre, solo exhibition 2006

Gallery Pascale Cottard-Ollsson, Stockholm / solo exhibition, 2000 Isart Contemporary Art Gallery, Munich / Virtual/Religious, group exhibition Passage de Retz, Paris / Light-Light, solo exhibition, 1998 4th Sculpture Biennale, Ein Hod, Israel / Humanism 2020, group exhibition, 1997 Sculpture Park Jaffa, Israel / group exhibition, 1986

Passage de Retz, Paris / BigRock, permanent installation 2005 Passage de Retz / Mouvements modernes, Paris / Du Bois Dont On Se Chauffe, group exhibition Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris / Propositions lumineuses, group exhibition Centre Pompidou, Paris / D.Day – From Primitive to Virtual, installation Garanti Gallery, Istanbul / Feel before you see, solo exhibition 2004 Park Ryusook Gallery, Seoul / Love counts, solo exhibition Victoria & Albert Museum, London / Brilliant, group exhibition 16

The RockGrowth 808 AtomIUM project

THE LETTER OF INVITATION

! see last page for full size letter 18

THE PROPOSAL

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THE PERMANENT INSTALLATION

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THE EXHIBITION

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THE RockGrowth 808 AtomIUM commission 2014 When I met with Atomium Director Henri Simons and Arnaud Bozzini, Exhibitions Curator (to whom I was introduced by Lise Coirier), they informed me that they had chosen me as the first artist to have a sculpture exhibition with the eventual acquisition of a monumental sculpture to be permanently installed on the Atomium site.

This was a great moment for me and it gave me a feeling of utter recognition and great honor.

My work turns around technology, science, social codes and emotional ergonomics, as well as reinvented nature and alternations of natural processes, relationships and feelings. All of these aspects have for me a direct relationship to the atomism, with its sculptural appearances and its idea.

After our meeting, during which we discussed possible directions and went out to see the location, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do as the designated location was right under the Atomium edifice and on its grounds.

Upon my return to Paris I started working on a very largescale sculpture from the RockGrowth family. Very quickly I realized that what would be best in this location was a colored piece that would get reflected in the Atomium spheres again and again. Part of the Atomium visual identity incorporates a red color that I selected for my sculpture.

The Atomium building is similar to a “cage structure” (expression used in research for dodecahedral and other mineral atom structures). The sculpture I have created is the exact opposite of this kind of structure: it has a center from where all arms and facets are growing in their relative angles and extending into space.

The piece will be made in stainless steel and a major part of it will be painted in red. All the ends of the growth arms will be mirror polished so that images of the surroundings will reflect within: people, light, sunset, trees, clouds etc. This reflection will appear as if coming from the inside of the sculpture and will give the idea of being able to look into its DNA structure -our social structure-, as if using an atomic microscope. The reflections that represent our life, society as well as the environment will become the initiator of any reason of being. The RockGrowth represents development and changes, innovation and emotional growth at the same time….the reflections will be forever dynamic and animate the piece endlessly.

Arik Levy

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RockGrowth

RockGrowth represents the evolution of the Absent Nature, (ongoing project) : the impossible assumption - from a biological point of view - of planting a “Rock� (mineral) as a vegetal seed and observe, as a witness, its germinating process and growth, taking part in the genetic intimacy of its evolving nature and natural process, and have it interact with my own thinking. I feel the need to create my own world of possibilities and projections, assumptions and axioms.

When the Rock is planted or put in the ground the mineral transforms by bio-mimicry, adopts a vegetal DNA and germinates. It grows, erects and develops both over and under ground. Each and every one of its facets grows

and develops at its own speed, direction and dimension, giving birth to a faceted tree trunk that later, when cut, becomes a faceted Log. Simultaneously, both bulbs and roots produce branching points of growth where the developing facets will extend.

Each one of these outgrowths becomes a RockGrowth: if you dismember and section the growing parts, by separating roots, bulbs and branches from the main core, the isolated element reveals its mineral nature and goes back to resembling a unique atom or out of space formation.

Its reflection and geometry create a complex and dynamic image, like a still from a movie of an ever-growing fast-forward reality.

Arik Levy

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Description of the sculpture

Name:

RockGrowth 808 Atomium

Dimensions:

Weight:

materials:

L 1 200 x W 1 100 x H 808 cm

17 tons

all structure in stainless steel, powder coated color RED, mirror-polished ends, 35 mm

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1 200 cm

1 100 cm

top view

1 100 cm

m

c 80

8

808 cm

right view

front view

left view 26

CONSTRUCTION In a constant pursuit for perfection, Arik selects meticulously the best materials and carefully chooses the most skilled craftsmen to help him bring his creations to life.

With years of experience, he has developed an expertise in the construction and installation of monumental sculptures. Assisted by a team of engineers and experts, all the constraints of such large-scale pieces are taken into consideration.

Their imposing size, their massive weight and their complexities are studied, as well as the environment were they are installed, in order to ensure the durability and constant beauty of the sculptures in time and under all circumstances.

Photo Vincent Levrey © 2011 Arik Levy

Photo Manchinox SAS © 2011 Arik Levy

Photo Manchinox SAS © 2011 Arik Levy

THE KNOW HOW

TRANSPORT Carrying large and heavy sculptures on the roads and seas of the world in order to install them in the most beautiful locations but sometimes with very difficult access, has become another competence of Arik Levy’s studio.

Finding logistics solutions worldwide and ensuring the security of the sculptures all the way is a knowledge learned by years of shipping sculptures throughout the globe with all the technical and administrative complications it may involve.

Using the proper material and specialized manpower, we manage to overcome any obstacles the journey may put in our way in order to deliver the artwork to their final destination.

INSTALLATION May it be at an altitude of 3000 meters in the snowy Swiss Alps during winter, or in a slope with a 40-tones crane, or in the middle of a forest or a city, Arik Levy’s sculptures have been planted in the most improbable gardens and courtyards of the world.

The preliminary study of the soil, of the wind, of the temperature and of any other factors enables the installation of the artwork in any environment possible. By methodically foreseeing all technical requirements, we ensure the perfect unfolding of operations no matter the circumstances of the installation site. With our expertise built from experience, we guarantee our pledge to quality.

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CONTACTS ARIK LEVY ART STUDIO

ATOMIUM

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

ADDRESS

ADDRESS

29 rue des Panoyaux 75020 Paris France

Square de l’Atomium B-1020 Bruxelles Belgium

APR ALEXANDRA PUBLIC RELATIONS Pauline Brillouet

TELEPHONE

+33 1 44 78 61 61 FAX

+33 1 44 78 00 46 project coordination : Diane Carpenter EMAIL

diane@ariklevy.fr WEBSITE

www.ariklevy.fr

TELEPHONE

+32 2 475 47 75 FAX

EMAIL

pauline@alexandrapr.com TELEPHONE

+33 1 47 58 08 03

+32 2 475 47 79

BELUX PRESS

exhibitions curator : Arnaud Bozzini EMAIL

LTH Limited Barbara Schoen de Bruin

info@atomium.be

EMAIL

WEBSITE

barbara.lth.limited@gmail.com

www.atomium.be

TELEPHONE

+32 497 705 220

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L’OFFICEL DE L’ART / December 2012-January 2013 / France

PRESS REVIEW

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L’OFFICEL DE L’ART / December 2012-January 2013 / France

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L’OFFICEL DE L’ART / December 2012-January 2013 / France

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IDEAT / March 2013 / France

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IDEAT / March 2013 / France

GQ / May 2013 / Korea

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BEAUX ARTS MAGAZINE / April 2012 / France

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BEAUX ARTS MAGAZINE / April 2012 / France

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WHITEHALL / June 2013 / USA

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WHITEHALL / June 2013 / USA

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PALACE / April-June 2013 / Singapore

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LUXURIA / June 2013 / Indonesia

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LUXURIA / June 2013 / Indonesia

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DOM LUXURY INTERIOR DESIGN / January 2013 / Russia

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HĂ„USER / April-May 2013 / Germany

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HĂ„USER / April-May 2013 / Germany

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DISEﾃ前 INTERIOR / January 2013 / Spain

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thank you www.ariklevy.fr www.atomium.be