SCENE WRITTEN BY CHRISTINE DEORIO
PROPER ENGLISH KENSINGTON WALK BY ZOFFANY
When Zoffany design lead Peter Gomez set out to create Kensington Walk, the brand’s latest collection of textiles and wallcoverings, he didn’t need to look far. As a champion of emerging creatives, he first turned to an artist he’d worked with before, Royal College of Art alum Sam Wilde. It was Wilde’s drawings of koi carp (like those seen in the exotic Kyoto Gardens of Kensington) that got his wheels turning. The result was Eastern Palace (shown
ON VIEW
“ORACLES OF THE PINK UNIVERSE” Blending resin, spray paint, collage and found objects into vibrant paintings and sculptures, South African contemporary artist Simphiwe Ndzube has created an entirely new body of work—and an imaginative medium for exploring timely themes of power, conflict and the search for freedom—for his first solo exhibition at a U.S. museum. On view at the Denver Art Museum June 13 through October 10, 2021, “Oracles of the Pink Universe” explores the history of post-apartheid South Africa from the fantastical perspective of magical realism. “Transcending traditional boundaries of medium, style and space, Ndzube’s work invites audiences into an exhibition experience that hovers on the edge of the supernatural and the real, somewhere in the space where history and imagination merge,” says Laura F. Almeida, the museum’s curatorial fellow of modern and contemporary art. Most surprising are compositions that shift from 2D to 3D, occasionally leaving the wall altogether—almost as if by magic. denverartmuseum.org
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far left), a pattern taking its cues from the neighboring Japan House London and depicting the Asian nation’s main islands guarded by fauna and native botanicals. Tucked away from the flurry of urban life, yet still touting the perks of it, Kensington “carries within it a sense of escapism—a real, refined luxury we wanted to capture,” Gomez says. The collection’s remaining SKUs thus sprung from the West London enclave’s many storied sites. There is Cope’s Trail, a Jacobean floral partly inspired by the late Holland House; Long Water, an abstracted botanical based on scenery of Hyde Park; and Persian Tulip (shown left), pulling from the ornamented Arab Hall at Leighton House. If Kensington Walk sounds diverse, then so is Kensington, a melting pot of a community historically home to artists from all corners of the globe, much like Zoffany. “The English aesthetic,” Gomez explains, “is very much borrowed from worldly influences that did not originate in the U.K.” zoffany.com
proper english photos: courtesy zoffany. on view photo: simphiwe ndzube, iqhawe, 2020. mixed media on canvas; 76.5 x 112 in. (194.3 x 284.5 cm). ©simphiwe ndzube. image courtesy of the artist and nicodim gallery. photo by marten elder.
W R I T T E N B Y K AT E A B N E Y
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DESIGN OF THE TIMES
NINA GRAUER & ELEANOR TREPTE
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Not long ago, Eleanor Trepte and Nina Grauer turned traditional Palm Beach decor on its head with the debut of their design studio, Dekay and Tate Interiors (Dekay is Grauer’s middle name; Tate is Trepte’s), which quickly became known for residential projects popping with color, pattern and texture. Now, hot on the heels of Trepte’s recent move to Denver, the duo has opened a Colorado outpost, from which they’re already shaking up city and mountain homes with their vibrant, no-holdsbarred style. Here’s what’s in store. dekayandtate.com How does the Denver design scene differ from Palm Beach’s? Palm Beach and Denver could not be more opposite! It works really well for us, because no matter what we are doing, we are trying to express the client’s personality through our designs. It’s fun for us to have our brains working in two totally different niches—it keeps our work fresh.
TRANSFORMATION MADELINE HOTEL & RESIDENCES, AUBERGE RESORTS COLLECTION
The Madeline Hotel & Residences, an Auberge Resorts Collection property located in the heart of Mountain Village—high above the dramatic box canyon that cradles the town of Telluride—has long lured travelers with its Heidi-esque alpine views. But after a property-wide redesign completed in May, it’s the scenery inside that’s catching eyes. Led by interior designer Liubasha Rose of Rose Ink Workshop, the refresh highlights a hygge palette of woodgrained walls, hefty ceiling beams, rough-cut marble tables, sweaterstitch carpets, and the work of more than 30 collaborators and artisans, from wood accents by Matt Downer to oversize artworks by Hanna Margetson-Rushmore. An ornate oak bar and cozy nooks in the fireplace-warmed Timber Room—the property’s new indooroutdoor après-ski lounge—nod to Megève and Gstaad, while updated guest rooms lean more modern with black steel desks, leather drawer pulls from Telluride’s Crossbow Leather, and art and accessories in bold black and white. The only thing untouched? Those storied mountain views. aubergeresorts.com/madeline
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If you could design a space anywhere in Colorado, what would it be? It would be so much fun to do a traditional ski chalet in some magical mountain town. Those spaces tend to be very predictable, and we would love putting our spin on it in a way that lets you know you’re still in a cozy mountain home.
transformation photos: courtesy madeline hotel & residences, auberge resorts collection. design of the times photos: portrait, by nick mele; vignette, by k hayden rafferty.
What do you hope to contribute to the Denver design scene? We want to continue to bring daring designs everywhere we go. Marrying our eclectic, vivid style with the traditional mountain home feel is our ultimate goal. We have some projects in the works and they are turning out groovier than we ever could have imagined.
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THE EDDY TAPROOM & HOTEL
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In Golden, one of Colorado’s oldest mining-era towns, local history has come alive in a fresh new way with the debut of The Eddy Taproom & Hotel, a 49-room boutique hotel and restaurant that opened its doors in June. Located on the former site of the Golden Fire Brick Company, which dates back to the 1860s, the new building—designed by Denver’s Craine Architecture—nods to its predecessor with a brick exterior, riveted-steel panels, rough-hewn wood floors, coffered tin ceilings and turn-of-the-century light fixtures. Within that industrial skin, Denver-based interior design firm Studio R Design mixed contemporary and vintage furnishings with Gold Rush references—from the black leather swing chairs that greet travelers as they enter the hotel, to guest rooms’ mining-cart-inspired desks and dark-as-ink headboard walls that riff on classic board-and-batten paneling. Equally unique are the room configurations, which include family-friendly suites with inviting double bunks. theeddygolden.com
POST MASTER @MARKSINK
WHAT: A self-described “gushy romantic,” Sink has always been drawn to doing work about beauty—“work that is more for the heart than the head,” he says. That’s evident on his feed, a dreamy mix of his own compositions and art that speaks to him—“often portfolioreview discoveries from various
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photography festivals,” he says. Look for Polaroid shots— Sink’s calling card in the ’80s— of Grace Jones, Keith Haring, Warhol and other luminaries; ethereal images of Sink’s wife and daughter; and the occasional self-portrait, too. WHY: Sink says he uses his feed to connect, inspire and feel relevant, and viewers can expect the same as takeaways. A scroll through is like a trip to an art gallery with everchanging exhibitions, each post revealing something unexpected, thought-provoking and beautiful. IN HIS WORDS: “Art is life ... life is art. The dark side of our society can be such an awful place sometimes when you pull back the covers. I believe art heals. Art and beauty can provide a connecting thread, a common ground, to our increasingly polarized world.”
check in photo: courtesy the eddy taproom & hotel. post master photos: top left, “inner memories” by sandra klein, 2017; top right and bottom, by mark sink.
WHO: Denver-based fine-art photographer, private art consultant and curator, Mark Sink, who began his career in the late 1970s, shooting rock bands and local happenings for The Denver Post’s society pages. He went on to photograph (and cultivate friendships with) superstars including Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. These days, he and wife Kristen Hatgi Sink—a talented artist in her own right—run a studio specializing in fine art, fashion, portrait, product and architectural photography.