Something special… An artist that uses only paper to create his works. Cologne artist Simon Schubert creates intricate images of stately homes and palaces simply by folding plain white sheets of paper. Great job!

Papier arbeiten.

During the month of April, I’ve been to an Art conference given in the Musée van Buuren by Olivier Duquenne (who is one of my favorite “art person”, he is so passionate that the time flies way to fast). He spoke about 3 artists, women; Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer & Laurie Simmons.

BARBARA KRUGER

is an American conceptual artist. She lives and works in NYC and LA. Much of her work consists of black-and -white photographs overlaid with declarative captions in white-on-red Futura Bold Oblique or Helvetica Ultra Condensed. Much of Kruger’s work engages the merging of found photographs from existing sources with pithy and aggressive text that involves the viewer in the struggle for power and control that her captions speak to.

All the women know this sentence… And now you know where it comes from !

For men ;-)

JENNY HOLZER

is an American conceptual artist. She lives and works in NYC. Holzer belongs to the feminist branch of a generation of artists that emerged around 1980, looking for new ways to make narrative or commentary an implicit part of visual objects. Her contemporaries include Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, Sarah Charlesworth, and Louise Lawler. Holzer is mostly known for her large-scale public displays that include billboard advertisements, projections on buildings and other architectural structures, as well as illuminated electronic displays. The main focus of her work is the use of words and ideas in public space. Originally utilizing street posters, LED signs became her most visible medium, though her diverse practice incorporates a wide array of media including bronze plaques, painted signs, stone benches and footstools, stickers, T-shirts, condoms, paintings, photographs, sound, video, light projection, the Internet, and a Le Mans race car.

LAURIE SIMMONS

is an American artist and photographer, currently working in NYC. Since the mid 1970s, Simmons has staged scenes for her camera with dolls, ventriloquist dummies, objects on legs and occasionally people, to create photographs that reference domestic scenes. Simmons’ first mature works, shot in 1976, were black-and-white images taken in a dollhouse, un-peopled variations on each room in the house, particularly the bathroom, using sunlight and different angles to create a “dazzling, dreamlike stage set.

Last violin session it was Ray Chen, this year ANDREY BARANOV wins the Grand Prix International Reine Elisabeth, Prix Reine Fabiola !!!

I went to Bozar to listen to him during the finals on Thursday May 24.
He played the violon sonata for violin & piano op. 94bis of Prokofiev. I fell in love with the 2nd movement. Then he played the imposed concerto for violin & orchestra of Sakai Kenji, which won the competition prize in 2011. And he finished with the concerto for violin & orchestra nr 1 op.77 of Shostakovich. In collaboration with the National Orchestra of Belgium and under the leading of Gilbert Varga. What a night ! Full of emotions.
I also saw him for the semi-finals where he played so beautifully and so emotionally Mozart’s 3rd concerto for violin and orchestra.
Unfortunately, I haven’t seen him during the first round where he played incredibly well Tchaikovsky’s Valse-Scherzo. Lorenzo Gatto also played it perfectly for the competition in 2009, you can listen to it here

The Prix du Gouvernement Fédéral Belge, Prix Eugène Ysaÿe goes to TATSUKI NARITA. He showed us how to play Paganini’s first concerto. Lorenzo Gatto played it beautifully in 2009 but TATSUKI just took our breathe away. Big up for his Second Prize!

HYUN SU SHIN was ranked third with the Prix du Comte de Launoit. I also went to Flagey to listen to her for the semi-finals where he played in recital Ysaÿe’s sonata op.27/3 - Kissine’s caprice - a poeme op.25 of Chausson - a variation on an original theme of Wieniawski. Magnifique ! 

We shouldn’t forget the 19 years old ESTHER YOO. She won the Prix des Gouvernements Communautaires de Belgique, which is the 4th place. Bravo to her!

And a picture of the 3 first Prizes. Baranov - Narita - Shin

And don’t forget the other laureates who arrived successfully to the finals and who should be proud of themselves : Yu-Chien Tseng, Artiom Shishkov, Ermir Abeshi, Marc Bouchkov (our Belgian finalist!), Nikki Chooi, Dami Kim, Josef Specek, Nancy Zhou.

Great year, and great violinists !

Haven’t you ever dreamt about your perfect friendship bracelet? When I went to Mexico (Quintana Roo & Yucatan) I found lots of them, each more beautiful than the other.
Well, now, if you’re looking for a bracelet and a watch, ToyWatch Maya is the perfect match ! They are just stunning ! I will wear it all summer long…

Judd isn’t only an awesome artist, it is also my dog. A fabulous dog that I love so much. My dog I named after this famous artist, unfortunately, died on the 24th of May.
It is a huge loss in my life. Even though he was only mine since January and he was still a baby, he’s so a part of me. We buried hum in my garden and we planted flowers on it, so that they, and we, keep an eye on him all the time.
I’ll miss him really much.

Rest in peace my love.

If you don’t know who Donald Judd is … It’s time for a little lesson !
Donald Judd was an American artist associated with minimalism. In his work, he plays with the “full” and the “empty”, he explains that both takes the same place, both exist, and they exist thanks to each other. He is the leader of minimalism. 

Both taken at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago.

We all know that Munch made several versions of The Scream but check out this rendition which we recently came across made entirely out of pencils, created by the art directors of Ogilvy & Mather for a Faber Castell campaign.

And we also know that the work was sold for 119,92 millions of dollars some weeks ago. A price never reached for an auction sale ! Article here.

Juliette et Victor asked my mom to make an article in their magazine about our house. She designed the interior architecture with the help of an architect of course, but she choose every detail; the decoration, design, colors,… And everything is based on her imagination. I’m so proud of her !

Of course, she said yes and…  here’s the result !

The living room (with a Kendel Geers I love)

The hall (with the “shocking” Gilbert & George) and the stairwell

Living room (with a nice Sicilia’s work)

My sister’s room (Clara) and my parent’s bathroom.

The bar

The kitchen

My mother and her good addresses.
The ones I like too. 

Didier & Rosalinde : My hairdresser, the best in town. It is a beautiful house with nice people.

Smets Premium Store : Awesome concept store with art, fashion and design. Nice brands, a delicious restaurant and a nice bar.

Gypset Style : Beautiful deco objects and jewelry, vintage!

Crossword : The best gentlemen’s fashion stores in Brussels. Classic, Italian, colors, … All made in Europe. The scarfs are also pretty on women !

Le Wine Bar : A nice wine bar @ le Sablon.

Enjoy : Classical food in an arty-trendy bar-restaurant.

Kelly : My favorite little shop, in Uccle, next to the Place Brugmann which is a pretty square with a lot of nice places to discover. Kelly offers you many brands chosen with a really good taste. Plus, they opened a little “Repetto Store” where you can find all the shoes you want…

Pop it Rock it Art it : Well, if you read me…. You know why ;-)

Jean-Luc Moerman is one of my favorite Belgian artists. He is now known not only in Belgium or Europe, but also in Japan and the USA. He paints on walls, on pictures, he tattoos,… And this is his new work, there is a real evolution in his work. I really like it.

J-L Moerman & Advertising. So cooool !

Stunning detail of his drawings on pictures.

Little stop at this huuuuuge poster on the ING bank in Brussels, You can find them a bit everywhere; Place Royale, Avenue de la Toison d’Or,… Amazing ! He is in collaboration with the bank and you can win a Moerman’s bag.

The famous Costume Institute Gala, known as the Met Ball and nicknamed the “Oscars od the East Coast”, is an annual ball that celebrates the annual opening of the Metropolitan Museum’s fashion exhibit at the Costume Institute.

The red carpet.

What I liked and what I didn’t.

Sarah Jessica Parker in Valentino, my favorite ! I love her dress, it’s so her, so Sex and the City. I definitely could wear it.

Renee Zellweger in Pucci of course. I love Pucci and this back is fabulous !

Diane Kruger in Prada. The color, the bottom, the necklace,… Everything looks great and even greater on her. Big like !

Anja Rubik in Vaccarello. This is too much. The top is ok, but the bottom… Come on, we don’t have to know you’re not wearing anything under your dress… But she’s pretty.

Gwyneth Paltrow in Prada. I love the back but I don’t like that much the front.

It’s the time for the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition !

Among the 78 candidates we have some Belgians and some students from the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. This year the competition takes place in Flagey!

I’ve been listening to 6 candidates on Wednesday May 2 in the evening. I went with my friend Elsa who is a music critic and who works for Musiq3.

Sergey MALOV, Louise CHISSON, Daichi NAKAMURA, Maria MILSTEIN, Jolente de MAEYER et Kristi GJEZI played that night.

They played a Paganini’s caprice (5th, 20th or 24th, by choice), a sonate of Johann Sebastian Bach and a concerto of Robert Schumann.

Big “coup de coeur” for Sergey MALOV! He was amaaaazing. 

And really good prestation of Jolente de Maeyer that I already knew and who is Belgian ;-) and her dress was beautiful ! (can not see it very well on this picture, unfortunately)

But my favorite remains my beautiful and amazing friend Lyia PETROVA. She made me cry for the first time during a concert 2 months ago. I will listen to her tomorrow a 3p.m. at Flagey. I wish her good luck.

The artist Keith Haring would have been 54 years old today. Made famous by its graffiti and tags, Google pays tribute to him, today, Friday May 4, by dedicating to him his homepage.

Rest in Peace K.H.

NOW @ La Monnaie

Otello est un opéra en trois actes composé par Gioachino Rossini. L’oeuvre est tirée de la tragédie de 1604 de William Shakespeare. Elle est un jalon important de l’évolution de l’opéra en tant que drame musical.

Rôles :

Otello (Gregory Kunde), Desdemona (Anna Caterina Antonacci), Elmiro (Giovanni Furlanetto), Rodrigo (Dmitry Korchak), Iago (Dario Schmlunck), Emilia (Jose Maria Lo Monaco), Lucio (Stefan Cifolelli), Doge (Tansel Akzeybek).

L’histoire : 

ACTE I

Le Maure Otello, capitaine de la flotte vénitienne, est accueilli avec honeeur après sa victoire contre les Turcs. Alors que le doge lui octroie la nationalité vénitienne, Otello se fait du souci pour Desdemona - fille d’Elmiro, sénateur vénitien - qu’il a épousée en secret, puisque Elmiro s’opposait à cette union. Dévoré de jalousie, Iago, le lieutenant d’Otello, ne se réjouit pas de l’accueil triomphal fait à son supérieur, tout comme Rodrigo, le fils du doge, éperdument épris de Desdemona.

Tous deux décident de se liguer contre le Maure et de le duper. Desdemona confie à Emilia son désespoir et ses doutes sur l’amour que lui porte Otello; elle le croit influencé par Elmiro qui le déteste. Elle redoute aussi que son père ait intercepté une lettre destinée à Otello.

Elmiro envisage de donner la main de sa fille à Rodrigo qui pourrait lui apporter un formidable soutien politique dans sa lutte contre l’ascension croissante et dérangeante d’Otello. Desdemona apprend qu’elle va devoir épouser Rodrigo, mais Otello fait son entrée et avoue son amour pour la jeune femme. Elmiro maudit la fille. Rodrigo menace Otello.

ACTE II

La révélation des liens qui unissent Desdemona à Otello plonge Rodrigo dans un état de colère et de jalousie incontrôlées. Quant à Desdemona, elle ne peut s’empêcher de douter de l’amour d’Otello.

Ce dernier est également tourmenté : sa carrière est compromise à cause de son mariage secret, et il craint que Desdemona éprouve de réels sentiments pour Rodrigo.

Iago en profite pour lui montrer la lettre et la mèche de cheveux, en prétendant que le destinataire de et envoi n’était autre que Rodrigo. Celui-ci fait son entrée. Les deux rivaux en viennent aux mains alors que Desdemona assiste impuissante à la scène, avant de s’évanouir. Revenue à elle grâce aux soins d’Emilia, Desdemona apprend qu’Otello est vivant. Elmiro, lui, est toujours furieux contre sa fille.

ACTE III

Un chant de gondolier se fait entendre alors que Desdemona épanche sa douleur auprès d’Emilia, redoutant de ne plus jamais revoir son mari. Après un grand moment de mélancolie, Desdemona prie pour se consoler.

Otello arrive dans sa chambre à coucher pour se venger, mais se retient de touer son épouse. Desdemona clame son innocence. Otello, fou de jalousie, ne veut rien entendre. Il lui apprend qu’il a ordonné à Iago d’assassiner Rodrigo et la tue.

Un officier fait son entrée et annonce à Otello que c’est Iago qui a été mortellement blessé par Rodrigo, et qu’avant de mourir, il a avoué son ignoble crime. Arrivent Rodrigo et Elmiro, tous deux décidés à pardonner à Otello son mariage caché. Le destin en a décidé autrement : Otello leur montre le corps inanimé de Desdemona et se poignarde.

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