Red April 2015

CONRAD ONGLAO

www.inquirer.net/red APRIL 2015

Art and Architecture

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EDITOR'S NOTE

@riaprieto: Checking out @silverlensgalleries tomorrow for @jakeverzosa's Kalinga Women. #FilipinoArt

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Some people get into collecting art because of the high resell value that artworks could have in the future. It’s an approach I don’t so much as judge as I rather find hard to understand.

Personally, I choose the artworks I buy because of the effect they have on me. It can be as simple as aesthetic pleasure or something as profound as an emotional and philosophical reaction; the economic appreciation of their value through time is always the last and the least consideration.

This issue, we put the spotlight on Philippine art and the different folks who make it the vibrant scene it is. That means not just artists of different mediums but also the gallerists and art connoisseurs who provide a platform for talents to showcase their works. Learn about them in our special feature “Blue Sky Nation,” starting on page 15. We open that story with our cover subject, architect Conrad Onglao. Lived-in spaces are his domain, and while his clientele includes some very important people, all of them rely on his expertise for a simple thing: to make their homes not only beautiful but also livable. “They’re just like you and me,” he tells us.

Speaking of beautiful homes, we visited the residence of someone whose appreciation of art is matched with an impeccable eye for design in the InspiRED section. More than the luxury furniture and accents that fill her rooms, the framed art on her walls draw the eyes. From oil paintings by art world icons to photography pieces by modern-day masters and even framed cultural artifacts—plus an Instagram picture thrown in with good humor—her art collection reflects the owner’s pointof-view and personality, and that’s what makes it priceless. That, I believe, should be the determining factor in acquiring a work of art: if it resonates with you.

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16 Conrad Onglao

CONTENTS

6 inspiRED

Photography Johann Bona of At East Jed Root Creative Direction Nimu Muallam Styling Ria Prieto and Meg Manzano Grooming Amanda Padilla Assisted by Angela Manuel Go

A chic gallery space disguised as an apartment

On the cover: Collared shirt, Joseph, SM Aura This page: Long-sleeved polo and trousers, Joseph, SM Aura

10 acquiRED Adora’s new visual narrative

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squaRED Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre’s idea of window shopping

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attiRED Easy elegance with cool hues and pops of print

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exploRED Loralee Baron-Soong’s encounter with one of India’s most sacred spaces

18 art

A roster of Manila’s new breed of intelligentsia

Group Publisher Bea Ledesma Editor in Chief Ria Prieto Creative Director Nimu Muallam Associate Editor Meg Manzano Copy Editor September Grace Mahino

Editorial Assistant Angela Manuel Go External Relations Officer Sophie Villanueva Contributing Writers Pristine de Leon, Petra Magno, Abba Nappa, Bea Osmeña Contributing Photographers Tim Arafiles, Johann Bona, Edric Chen, Geric Cruz, Regine David, Tammy David, Miguel Nacianceno, Artu Nepomuceno, Mariona Otero Intern Jem Mirador

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Board Chairperson Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez SVP and Group Sales Head, Inquirer Group of Companies Pepito Olarte Sales Director Ma. Katrina Mae Garcia-Dalusong Business and Distribution Manager Rina Lareza

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INSPIRED

WHITE BALANCE An apartment populated by conversation pieces WORD S M ARA M I AN O P H OT OG RAP HY ART U N EP OM U CEN O

The owner, who has worked in different industries, from publishing to film to I.T., designed this apartment herself. “You should get into interior design” RED editor in chief Ria Prieto tells her.

“I can’t. I'm too selfish,” she replies.

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This newly renovated loft apartment is a picture of an endearingly subdued panache—like Holly Golightly, without the naiveté. Upon entering the indistinct door at the end of the hall of the 30th floor, I see a generous covering of stark white wood panel walls and a 180-degree display of the Makati Central Business District. Welcoming me is a scattering of Fornasetti, arranged as if the owner started collecting them in heaps then got tired of it when everyone started doing the same. I look to my left and on the wall hangs a vignette of art meant to make an impression, so I indulge and count clockwise: Neal Oshima, MM Yu, is that a Salvador Dali? (yes, it is.) And… a photograph of a crystal so square and deliberate it could actually be an Instagram shot. “It is an Instagram shot,” she corrects me nonchalantly. “I took it and had it framed. My friends didn’t think I was serious.”

It’s a snarky message to the first-time visitor: I can afford great art, but I don’t need to take it so seriously.

It is the exquisite bachelorette pad of an exsociety girl turned all-grown-up-no-nonsense woman—but, you know, still rich. The floors, formerly parquet, were stripped to concrete. The living room is anchored by Kenneth Cobonpue’s Kaja table. “Cobonpue should put linings so the plant pots can be taken out,” she says. Sitting on its stonecast are Kelly Wearstler ashtrays and antique silvers, and a coral sculpture from fine furniture maker Arden Classic in Cebu. The couch, accented with Jim Thompson pillows, is custom, designed by the owner herself. She expresses regret over choosing white. “It’s gonna be a problem,” she says. Since the renovation, no

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The vintage inlaid shell table is from her grandfather, and the paintings are Picasso.

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“I STRIPPED THE STAIRCASE AS AN EXPERIMENT. NO WAX, NO VARNISH. I WANT TO SEE HOW IT AGES. I'M LIKING IT SO FAR.”

Left: On the walls hangs a framed dress of the panchama, the lowest caste member in India. “It’s an ordinary dress I found in a flea market, but it looks exquisite. That just shows their regard for beauty.”; Right: “The Souper Dress”

by Andy Warhol. Below: Frames of reference: Neal Oshima, MM Yu, and Salvador Dali

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drinks have spilled on it… yet. The rug and the malachite table from Russia, along with other antique objets d’art, are hand-me-downs from her mother.

Leading to the upstairs loft is a stripped narra staircase. “It’s an experiment, and I guess an ode to my years in Denmark—that bare wood, Scandinavian thing. I want to see it age naturally, with no wax and no varnish.” The den is the most lived-in part of the apartment. “It’s like a

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bomb shelter. It’s where I eat, it’s where I… it’s practically where I live. It’s disgusting,” she says with a sniff. Clearly her favorite spot, it is where she has put her most personal—even more so than the Instagram photo downstairs—framed art: a collection of Penguin book cover postcards.

I descend and watch her pet her large golden retriever. “Can I light a cigarette?” I ask. “Please do,” she says without looking up from her phone.

“I would smoke with you but I’m currently

obsessing over egg recipes.” I take a drag as I sit down gingerly on one of her zebra chairs, careful not to burn anything.

“What’s your favorite piece in this apartment?”

I ask.

“My dog?” she chuckles. “And… well, I guess my pushcart bar.”

“Do you push it yourself ?”

“No, of course not,” she replies. “It just sits there.”

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ACQUIRED

A TASTE FOR RESTRAINT Adora’s visual narrative in the virtual space W ORD S P RISTINE D E LEON

With the approach of this year’s summer, luxury retail store Adora stunned its followers with a revamped online aesthetic: styled pieces set against a backdrop of playful hues, clean, lively, and restrained—showing no hint of the clutter that characterizes most posts on Instagram. Call it a minimalist statement of some sort; Adora’s catalog passes off as the commercial counterpart of art curation.

“The store feels like an old world museum,” affirms Erica Ilacad, communications manager of Adora, “and in some way, that has inspired us to collaborate with young artists and curate the

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Instagram feed as a mini art show every month.”

The retail house pairs up with industry creatives the likes of photographer Chris Yuhico and set designer Geo Custodio. “We’re infusing a lot of fresh blood to it,” Ilacad adds. Gathering artists, stylists, and a lot of designers on the rise, Adora’s IG page proves to be as much a display of branded pieces as it is a platform for creative novelty.

Similar to most artistic ventures, Adora’s online repertoire runs on a simple, familiar motive: to tell a compelling story. For April, the theme was travel. With white noise dispelled by solid color, Adora lays down

the elements that constitute an inspired lifestyle: crisp white shirts and chambrays, colored oxfords, and a Rimowa suitcase with which to trot the globe.

“As a brand that doesn’t have an online store, what we wanted was to showcase the curated items found in Adora, tell a beautiful story, and [spread] it [through] our online spaces,” shares Ilacad. As its minimalist design is wont to do, each post puts focus on only the essentials. It’s as if to say we can do away with unnecessary flash, the fancy clutter and excess, so long as the statement piece—or the latest online post—speaks volumes.

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ATTIRED

Step out in the season’s marine hues and stark whites

Brunch City PHOT OG RAPH Y ART U NE POMUC E NO S T YL ING ME G MANZANO

Top worn as vest, Paul Smith, Greenbelt 5; long-sleeved polo, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Greenbelt 5; blue trousers, Tory Burch, Greenbelt 5; heeled sandals, Hermès, Greenbelt 3

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Above: White long-sleeved sweater, Jaspal, Adora, Greenbelt 5; tweed skirt, Tory Burch, Greenbelt 5; black oxfords, Tod’s, Greenbelt 4.

Left: Blue sleeveless dress, Tory Burch, Greenbelt 5; Alma Vernis BB bag, Louis Vuitton, Greenbelt 4

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Collared dress, Paul Smith, Greenbelt 5; blue dress, Harlan and Holden, Adora, Greenbelt 5

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MAKEUP CATS DEL ROSARIO OF AT EAST JED ROOT FOR SHU UEMURA HAIR JAN EDROSOLAN PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTED BY IGNACIO GADOR STYLIST ASSISTED BY ANGELA MANUEL GO AND JEM MIRADOR MODEL KAT OF ELITE SHOT ON LOCATION AT WHITESPACE, 2314 DON CHINO ROCES AVENUE EXTENSION, MAKATI CITY

SQUARED

A GENTEEL REMINDER Window-shopping takes on a whole new meaning W O R DS ANG E L A MANUE L G O

In the midst of one of the busiest shopping centers in the metro sit AC+362 and FIRMA, two specialty stores known for their eclectic and eccentric selection of artifacts, accessories, and decorative pieces alike.

Chito Vijandre and Ricky Toledo make up the twoman team behind the boutiques, and together the duo imparts their own outlandish taste and opulent decorative skills into meticulously crafting grand visual tours for their visitors.

The famed window displays are a not-so-subtle hint at what customers have to expect from the store experience—described by Vijandre as “lavish, lavish, lavish!”Their elaborate designs are far from your usual mannequins and product displays, and their chosen materials and themes nothing short of stunning extravagance. The pair cites their favorite artistic

works as a source of inspiration. Vijandre narrates, “We look through our library; from art books to interiors and architecture, film, even biographies and ones on history. Aside from books, we get a lot of inspiration from the performing arts—musicals, plays, ballet, and the opera.”

To state the obvious, the execution is no easy feat; for their current display entitled “Rose Safari at AC+632,” they even had paper flowers made by the same craftsmen of carrozas used at processions.

It’s hard to imagine what other concepts are left for Toledo and Vijandre to accomplish—perhaps something kinetic, or a collaboration with designers and artists of all sorts as the couple suggests—but given their track record of decorative feats and artistic triumph, it’s something worth looking forward to. •

Below: “Medusa’s Cabinet of Curiosities” window, AC+632 façade; Right: “Neptune’s Holiday Sleigh” window, AC+632 façade

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ART

Blue Sky

To create, to justify humanity.

To envision a future not quite there is to think beyond the blue sky— without limit, without boundaries.

RED celebrates the right-brained, the left-leaning, the talented, the creative, and the magical few who shape the way we live today—whether it's the space we inhabit, the art we enjoy or the products we consume.

The future is led by blue-sky thinkers.

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Nation PRODUCED BY NIMU MUALLAM AND ANGELA MANUEL GO

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EYE OF THE ARCHITECT Exploring the private world of the man behind towering residential structures W O R DS PR I S T I N E DE L E ON

A

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rchitect Conrad Onglao literally lives in a glass house, with no curtains save for the blinds in the bedrooms, and no fences save for bamboo shoots. Much like his famed four-storey residence, his life has consistently caught the public’s notice. The press, for instance, details the ongoing romance between him and singer Zsa Zsa Padilla, and his profession—or more precisely, his clientele—has granted him more media publicity than what his line of work can typically account for.

“The entire house all the way to the front is entirely visible from outside,” he says, his calm voice betraying none of the flashiness that a house so open would imply of its designer. Think back to Philip Johnson’s celebrated glass box in the ’40s; it had the world wondering whether the architect had a craze for exhibition. Here in Onglao’s home are massive windows and sliding doors, the glass enticing one not only to look at the façade, but to stay and watch the curious goings-on inside.

“But I thought you were a very private person?” I ask. Onglao, who rarely discusses his projects publicly, who avoids going to functions to keep his life more private, and who stays in a quiet corner whenever he’s off our lensman’s leash, merely smiles. “Well, I still think it’s a private place. . . The [rooms are] quite far and secluded so even if it’s a glass house, no one really sees you.”

Architects, I had forgotten, are trained in the art of optical illusion.

The point of the design was to see much of the outside, rather than to allow the onlookers an uncensored view of what’s within. Living in his modern opus, Onglao revels in the natural panorama. It’s a house expressing how the architect has always liked to live: by watching closely how the world around him did.

“I think one of the traits of an architect is [his] sense of observation. It’s just a matter of

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observing how [people] live [and] move.” Among the luminaries for whom he has worked are a vintage car collector, a horse collector, and, quite amusingly, Sharon Cuneta. He also renovated Bahay Pangarap of Malacanang, what is now the official residence of President Aquino. Beside me, though, he lightly laughs at how his clients are regarded: like decors embellishing an architect’s A-list resume. “When you get to know them,” he says, “they’re just as real as you and me [sic].”

“Real,” though, can be a little subjective. It may be that he perfectly understands their tastes because he’s lived a lifestyle the same as theirs.

“On the contrary,” he says, “my lifestyle is very simple. I started from such humble beginnings. I even went to public school.” After saving enough to move to California, Onglao worked abroad, starting from the bottom as a draftsman. “For a time, I worked for a company called Langdon and Wilson, doing high rise buildings. Then I worked for the company Lee and Sakahara, doing a lot of restaurants.” After being involved with designing different establishments, working on the first Chanel boutique in Rodeo Drive marked his foray into interior design. Succeeding projects saw him designing hotels until he and his thenwife started their own company called ADR. “We were on our own for five years,” he recounts. “We were living in Bel-Air; we had our own office in Beverly Hills. It was like—if you could call it—an American dream.”

It was cut short, however, but not by some tragic turn of fate. Working with Japanese developers in Tokyo made it convenient to open an office in Manila. By then, while his hometown’s culture had for him acquired the strangeness of a foreign country—“What’s so special about Narra?” he used to ask—it was where he found projects that would, as he puts it, “feed his artistic soul.”

When the firm CT Onglao was established, he thrived in designing a lot of residential spaces.

“When you are doing a hotel, once you’ve done the second floor, [it’s] the same from the third [floor] all the way up. . . there was not enough artistic challenge.” In a residential project, he explains, with different owners come different aesthetics. He encourages the tastes of his clients, catering to a wide range of designs. Observation ultimately became his chief device, deciding which aesthetics work based on how these owners lived. “I’m just a medium to people’s dreams,” says the architect. “I’m not here to build monuments for myself.”

While we’re so used to seeing households that display modern or classic designs—and then eclectic and post-modern to downright muddled and confused—Onglao admits, “I’m happy that I don’t fall into a category that can pigeonhole me to a particular style.” Rather than always following a format, he returns us to the core virtue of design: style that isn’t restricted to a category, architecture that comes from the understanding of a lifestyle.

If the houses he builds express the individuality of their owners, his home, then, serves as an interesting self-portrait. To borrow his words, Conrad Onglao is “as real as you and me.” We’ve only to look at the glasshouse to see more snippets of his private world. There may be silhouettes of his sons moving about in the sala or perhaps even a glimpse of Zsa Zsa in the breakfast room—but whatever these details show, it’s the glass that represents what the architect is most known for; overlooking the city, the glass house stands as his ever keen and discerning eye.

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Collared shirt, Jaspal, Adora, Greenbelt 5; sweater, Joseph, SM Aura PHOTOGRAPHY JOHANN BONA OF AT EAST JED ROOT STYLING RIA PRIETO AND MEG MANZANO GROOMING AMANDA PADILLA CREATIVE DIRECTION NIMU MUALLAM ASSISTED BY ANGELA MANUEL GO

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“I’m happy that I don’t fall into a category

that can pigeonhole me to a particular style.”

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“I encountered art aficionados who would ask me questions about an artwork’s

“Flag Studies 2” and “Flag Studies 3” by Jayson Oliveria

TINA FERNANDEZ Owner and Creative Director, Artinformal Artinformal started as a way to help serious students learn in a casual setting, and later expanded to becoming a gallery on its own. “It started as an artists-run space as I was getting a lot of help from the artist-teachers who were part of the workshop,” recalls founder Tina Fernandez.

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Located in a gracious old house in Greenhills, the place even has its very own special resident to add to the space’s cozy charm: a 10-year-old Husky named Leo. “There are times people would pay more attention to Leo than the art, I seriously considered him hiding for a while.”

Things got so busy that Fernandez eventually had to give up her day job, which has certainly paid off in so many ways. An artist herself, Fernandez

says that the expansion has contributed to her craft and in turn, she is mindful of curating exhibits that are less commercial and more focused on what she feels the art-viewing public must see. Artinformal continues to flourish and progress, only getting bigger and better as time passes; a Greenhills gallery makeover is currently in its planning stages, and Fernandez is excited to be venturing into starting a backroom shop somewhere in Makati.

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work’s aesthetic value. We concluded that education was key.”—Tina Fernandez

PORTRAITS TIM ARAFILES (MARILES GUSTILO AND TINA FERNANDEZ), MIGUEL NACIANCENO (FERDIE ONG)

MARILES GUSTILO Director, Ayala Museum Gustilo sat comfortably as president of a successful multinational ad agency with no plans to retire, but in what she describes as a moment of “serendipity,” a completely different opportunity presented itself. “You could say that it started as a joke,” she explains. Without much thought, it took a quick email reply—typing “Me,” after she was asked by Vicky Garchitorena to refer someone to run the museum—to change the course of her career. With the blessing of her company, Gustilo embarked on a new adventure and took over the helm of one of the country’s most progressive museums. Bringing a more diverse, strategic, and inclusive approach to audience interaction, Gustilo’s art residence flourished. “We need to develop a museum-going public and be truly of service to the community by making more accessible the appreciation of the soul of a people as expressed through its art and culture.”

FERDIE ONG General Manager, Minotti Philippines Owner, Living Innovations Convinced there existed an avenue for luxury furniture in the Philippines, Minotti Manila GM and Living Innovations president Ferdie Ong focused on the evolution of luxury outside of the automobile and watch industries. “People are entertaining more in their own homes and have taken on culinary, so a well-designed living space has become essential to accommodate that lifestyle.” With the desire to build a well-curated response to a need, Ong set on orchestrating a coveted lineup that saw luxury labels Minotti, Dedon, Bulthaup, and Gaggenau on display. “My main goals in the next few years,” declares Ong, “would be to create a lifestyle store to complement our furniture store”—testament yet again to the curator’s pursuit of becoming one of the country’s leading tastemakers for function and design.

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“Buying a piece of art is not a one-night stand—it becomes a relatio

SILVANA DIAZ Art Director, Galleria Duemila

“Haliya” by Dudley Diaz with Duemila’s muse

There’s an authoritative air that surrounds Silvana Diaz as she poses on the massive pedestal built for Felix Bacolor’s monumental exhibit. “You have to always try and find a new angle or style. You cannot just follow the normal,” says the art world veteran. Since Galleria Duemila’s beginnings in the 1970s, the art aficionado has borne witness to the highs and lows of the Philippine art scene, captivating the industry with her sharp-witted mind, unbeatable skill, and enthralling charm. “I like to be different—working in art, there’s a lot of room for that. You must learn to express yourself and be what you truly are.”

ISA LORENZO AND RACHEL RILLO Partners, Silverlens Gallery Strong voices are the driving force behind Silverlens, foremost of those being those of Isa Lorenzo and Rachel Rillo. Over the years, the gallery has expanded to become an avenue to explore further creativity of various forms.

“We met more artists that we really believed in and wanted to grow with,” shares Lorenzo.

As artists and collectors themselves, they have brought both sensibilities into the management of the gallery, representing the artists from the perspective of one of their own, and managing collectors as they themselves would want to be managed—not in passing but for the long haul, with support and regard for the artist’s career, and the care and management of their work.

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VITA SARENAS Owner, Finale Art File Asked what the gallery owner thought of superstitions that surround certain pieces of art, Vita Sarenas talks about a certain canvas she acquired that, strangely enough, gave her anxiety attacks one night mid-slumber. “When you put that much of yourself into your craft, you’re bound to give life to it,” muses Sarenas.

On her knack for uncovering talent, the gallery girl shares: “It’s my intuition—I can just feel it. I’m very persistent, I think to myself ‘I believe in this artist, so I give [them] a try.’ It’s to encourage them to work, because I know they have something to show.” Clad in her gold Doc Martens, electric blue glasses, and neon-streaked hair, Sarenas exudes the same fervor she wishes to impart to her protégés. “Really, it’s my love and my passion,” she muses earnestly. “What we show are things that I truly like and believe in.

I’m just so amazed at what they can do.”

Renato Ong’s “Apocrypha” exhibition curiously beholds the gallery owner

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PORTRAITS TIM ARAFILES (SILVANA DIAZ); TAMMY DAVID (ISA LORENZO AND RACHEL RILLO); EDRIC CHEN OF AT EAST JED ROOT (VITO SELMA); ARTU NEPOMUCENO (VITA SARENAS)

elationship with the artist's history, present, and future.”—Isa Lorenzo

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“Making art allows me to present history in unexpected ways, to ch other truths that may have been obscured or erased.”— Pio Abad

GREGORY RAYMOND HALILI Artist “The idea of home always comes back to me,” mentions artist Gregory Raymond Halili, incidentally in the comforts of his new hometurned-studio in Laguna. Before sculpting skulls out of mother of pearl shells, Halili once played with ivory and now looks at the possibility of using corals as a new medium. Seemingly drawn to the provincial setting and the mood of reminiscing, Halili admits a certain dedication towards fleshing out childhood memories and creating an allure for what is faintly remembered. “I guess it has something to do with making the home more universal,” says the artist. Beyond familiarity, strangeness, and vague memories, Halili’s work continues to fuse elements of nature with the most intricate and technically challenging methods.

“Once you’ve mastered the material and you’ve learned the lessons, it makes no more sense to stick to it, doesn’t it?”

“These have been brewing for a while. I’m still waiting for the ideas to come to surface.”

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PORTRAITS GERIC CRUZ (GREGORY RAYMOND HALILI); ARTU NEPOMUCENO (GERIC CRUZ AND GELOY CONCEPCION)

to challenge official representations, and to shine a light on

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GERIC CRUZ AND GELOY CONCEPCION Photographers The surroundings are dull and gray, the air thick with dust and humidity, but Geric Cruz and Geloy Concepcion emit a special energy that can turn any gritty situation into something creative. Masters of their craft, the photographers stand out in an industry that has seen a sudden influx of talent and technique in the past few years. The shutterbugs share a similar take on the art, driven by their own upbringings: capturing raw emotion, true-to-life experiences, and highlighting people in their natural forms. On thriving in a highly competitive trade, Cruz quips, “Everyone's a photographer now! Which is good, because it means more curiosity and exposure. There are new perspectives waiting to be explored.” Concepcion adds, “The Philippines definitely appreciates photography as an art form now. It’s not just for the sake of documentation; now it’s worth hanging on a gallery wall.”

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BY THE NUMBERS A BRIEF HISTORY OF ART

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Number of galleries that showcased at Art Fair Philippines 2015

$300M

Amount that a painting of two Tahitian girls by the French artist Paul Gauguin was sold for at an auction last February 2015, making it the most to ever be paid for a work of art.

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PORTRAIT MARIONA OTERO (PIO ABAD)

PIO ABAD Artist “I knew I had adjusted to my new city when I could finally watch Trainspotting without the subtitles,” quips Pio Abad of his move to Glasgow in pursuit of art. Abad, who took up art studies at Glasgow School of Art in Scotland, has been based in the UK since his departure, but continues to watch the local art landscape from a very unique perspective.

Citing 2015 as a crucial year for Philippine art, Abad mentions the opening of Paul Pfeiffer’s show at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design.

“I think that show should be seen as a turning point [not only] in the level of ambition and scale but also brevity that is possible in cultural institutions in Manila.” A self-declared student of politics, history, and art, the artist continuously beholds one brainchild after another that thoughtfully depicts history in unexplored ways. Ever the curious storyteller, Abad employs the use of wallpaper, silk scarves, and even postcards as vehicles for his narratives that pay illuminative homage to the decorative and often controversial political histories.

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Right: “Every Tool Is A Weapon If You Hold It Right XVI”; Below: “The Collection of Jane Ryan and William Saunders” with Ricardo Manapat’s octopus pattern

Number of years since Art Cologne was established as the world’s first trade fair for classic modern art, post-war art, and contemporary art.

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Number of years since the first major Asian art fair, Art Taipei, was founded.

127

Number of years since the first major Asian art fair, Art Taipei, was founded.

281

Number of years since the Capitoline Museums opened to the public, making it the first museum in the world.

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DEVOURED

A SCENE

OF SUPERLATIVES

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Koika cuttlefish sliced into thin ribbons to resemble soba

The planet’s best restaurant decides to uproot itself and cook in the world’s gourmet capital

A nine-course “nose-to-tail” A5 Yamagata blackhaired baby “virgin” cow yakiniku degustation, anyone?

That’s the kind of extraordinary meal to be had at the roughly 160,000 restaurants throughout the Japanese capital. This is a food scene of specialties, and if any dining scene is deserving of snaking lines and threemonth-long wait-lists, it is Japan’s.

The allure of foreign cuisines does not go unnoticed by the chefs of the world, either. A long line of illustrious chefs have come to and fallen in love with this culinary capital. Rene Redzepi, the enigmatic and famous chef of Noma, the World’s Number One Restaurant today, is no exception. Noma is, after all, the one that turned age-old foraging (searching for wild food resources from Mother Nature’s pantry) into the agenda-setting culinary trend (whipping up a meal centered around such) it is today.

The 17-course degustation at Mandarin Oriental

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W ORD S A ND P HOTOGRA P HY A BBA NA P PA

in Tokyo began with unripened strawberries and sake lees or sake kasu. But this was not before we were poured the first of our many flutes of champagne and embarked on the difficult task of choosing between the sake pairing and the wine pairing.

After the hard decisions were made, we were rewarded with what is likely the most Instagrammed dish of the Noma Japan dinners—the still twitching botanebi. Then came a bowl of four types of citrus, picked at different degrees of ripeness and sliced with sashimi-like precision in order to sit almost upright in a shallow pool of the most umami-driven seaweed oil. Next came the brined then smoked monkfish liver or ankimo. Its flavor unctuous and distinct, it is sometimes referred to as Japanese foie gras, and appeared in front of us frozen, shaved, and swathed over a crisp, wafer-thin piece of sourdough toast. The fifth course was Koika cuttlefish, sliced

into thin ribbons to resemble soba and served in a neat row, dressed in all its own inky gut glory atop a slotted plate. More beautifully presented courses followed and, truthfully, very few dishes were better looking than tasting.

I actually came to Tokyo with a small sideline agenda: I had been stuck with a massive mental block from an upcoming modern casual Japanese restaurant project that I was knee-deep in.

Surprisingly, I walked out from the Noma dinner that night not thinking at all about work, and both relieved and ecstatic at that.

Perhaps taking your thinking cap off and just being in the moment are the best ways to create one—a feat the best chefs and restaurateurs are able to do. As you walk into their dining rooms, they are able to make you forget for a brief while the concerns of your world, one gorgeous course after another.

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EXPLORED

Praying in the

Ganges Of sacred spaces and artful scenes WORD S BEA OSMEÑ A P HOTOG RAP HY LORAL EE BARON - S OON G

Nothing excites Loralee Baron-Soong, the founder and executive director of SOFA Design Institute, than exploring new places. Constantly on the search for authentic experiences, Baron-Soong found her most recent adventure taking her to Varanasi in India. “We can talk about India instead,” suggests Baron-Soong one afternoon in the middle of a fashion show— with the director having just concluded trips from Myanmar, India, and South Africa.

“Majestic forts and palaces dominate the skyline, and yet it is the bazaars within the walls of the old city that create [Varanasi’s] unique energy.” Think the most colorful characters seemingly straight out of a storybook: men in turbans in vibrant hues and women clad in saris. True enough, Varanasi is known to be one of the most colorful places on earth, and its streets are the site of several religious traditions and rituals taking place all at once and unexpectedly.

In between the richest hues and the glorious architecture, Baron-Soong comments on the hints of poverty the land has been struck with.

“Varanasi is one of India’s most important pilgrimage sites,” she explains. “We took a boat with a group of pranic healers at 5:30 A.M. to watch the sun rise and experience the majestic city coming to life, see pilgrims standing waist deep in the holy river (the Ganges), offering their prayers toQueen the morning Victorian Building, Sydney

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sun.” Varanasi is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited cities in India and the world and has been known in the past as Kashi, meaning City of Life. Hindus and Jains regard Varanasi as one of the 7 Holy Cities, and it also has religious significance to practitioners of Buddhism, making it the spiritual capital of India.

But Varanasi is not only for those looking for spiritual enlightenment. “The bazaars of the old city [have] the best samosa, pakora, kachori, aloo tiki, and kulf i!” Baron-Soong declares.

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Clockwise from top: Cleaning ladies at Amber Fort Jaipur; the charming Indian women; Samode Palace Hotel

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EMPOWERED

WESTHOUSE STORY Karla Keskin's tale of the empire city and the business of hospitality W ORD S P ETRA MA GNO P HOTOGRA P HY REGINE DAVID

The Westhouse Hotel on 55th St. in Manhattan was built for you. The best in the business have actually come together to design every single detail in the hotel, from the custom fragrance that fills the hallways of textured walls—sweet tobacco, warm amber —to the 400 thread-count Sferra linens to the DayNa Decker bath amenities.

Easily achieving the world standard goals for guest satisfaction surveys and recently nominated by Travel & Leisure as World’s Best, the Westhouse Hotel secret lies neither in its linens nor marble, but in its hospitality. A reviewer from Boston writes

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lovingly, “Nice people are hard to find, especially in [New York City], and the hospitality business is no exception. That's because they are all working at the Westhouse hotel.”

Hospitality— the art of making people feel at home—is a tricky business, but the woman who runs it for Westhouse makes it seem effortless.

General Manager Karla Keskin, reminiscing about a childhood spent attending grand parties in hotels, reveals that this effortlessness is the secret: “It isn't obvious but there’s so much going on behind the scenes. There’s a glamor about it. ”

Keskin opened, as the term goes, the Westhouse Hotel, and today is the sole Asian woman in the Westhouse’s management meetings.

Coming off a stint in Manila with the Mandarin Oriental, and having worked for Ian Schrager himself— the hotelier who created the very concept of boutique hotels—Keskin oversaw the creation of Westhouse’s ambiance, which in turn is composed of small but very effective details.

The practice of turndown service, for example, where staff prepare a guest’s room for the night by turning down the bed linens, includes the

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“YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO DO TASKS IN A HOTEL, BUT BEING ABLE TO RELATE TO GUESTS NATURALLY—THAT HAS TO BE INNATE.”

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universal, almost cliché, detail of leaving a piece of chocolate on the pillow. Keskin remarks how illogical it is to consume cocoa’s caffeine right before bed.

“Did anybody in the world step back and ask, ‘Why are we doing this?’ It doesn’t make sense.” Westhouse retains that tradition, but thoughtfully: the chocolates on your pillow for turndown service are infused with chamomile and birds-of-paradise. “They calm your mind and promote restful sleep,” Keskin says happily.

With 172 rooms, thus officially a small luxury hotel, Westhouse is able to cater to every guest, and Keskin oversees this task every morning at staff meetings. “We personalize every single service,” she says, “[We ask] why are they here? Are they here for a honeymoon or business? How do we surprise them?” This genteel initiative for actual personal hospitality has led to wonderful gestures: a family with children will check in to find child-sized bathrobes, and baseball fans find complimentary baseball caps with their team’s logo. A couple who got engaged at the Westhouse returned to get married, and found a framed photo of their engagement signed by the staff.

And yes, Westhouse is a house. From its communal leisure area, an entrance you walk into right off the street, and coffee around the clock that one can enjoy on the terrace, Westhouse is designed to be more than a hotel; it’s the staff that makes it feel like home. Keskin is in the business of thoughtfulness, and she is thriving. Growing up as the eldest grandchild, she was often called upon to entertain guests of the family and was thus treated to a wide cultural background—reading, travel, recitals— that she hopes is a contribution to her calling.

Hospitality, however, is a gift and not a skill. “I can’t teach people to be polite,” Keskin says, recalling selecting and training her staff. “I can’t teach people how to be empathetic, to be sympathetic. You can learn how to do tasks in a hotel, but being able to relate to guests naturally—that has to be innate.”

Having brought up Westhouse Hotel from its very origins—formally part of an older hotel that was downsized and renovated—Keskin herself had had to tap into her inner workings when designing the guest’s experience, from front door to bedsheets.

“I became very true to what I like,” Keskin says, a woman who has thrived for 15 years in the city that everyone in the world wants to visit in their lifetime.

“It’s so competitive in New York. Your service has to be paramount. Of course it’s a beautiful building, but at the end of the day it’s what the guests experience [that matters].”

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