Year in Review

I have to admit that if it wasn't for the 3,287 photos on my phone I would forget all about everything that happened during the year and about all of the places I visited on 2013.

It was a great year in a lot of aspects. I changed my logo and branding. I got my strategic/business plan in action. I met really nice people, some clients, some not. All became friends. Some stayed and some moved to other countries to get on with their lives and dreams. I traveled. A lot. The end of the year was not as good, but the balance is definitely very positive.

So a quick balance:

- saw a bunch of very good friends in LA, Tucson, Barcelona and Lisbon. There's nothing better than seeing good old friends and catching up with them.

- Added some new states to my list of US states visited, which now counts up to 28 (and hey I'm not counting 3 that I only briefly drove through…).

- Finally completed the pacific northwest drive that we didn't finish in 2008 and I have to say that Oregon is still my favorite state.

- Global warming made Vancouver and London an awesome place to visit in the summer and Shanghai and Hong Kong a true sauna.. But totally worth it.

- On the other hand the weather wasn't very cooperative in Croatia and Jamaica, but seeing an old friend getting married and seeing the fortress of the series "Game of Thrones" made it all worth while.

- Saw an alligator in the wild in the Florida keys. I'm still wondering why people live there...

- Berlin was absolutely awesome, forget Barcelona, this is the creative place to be in Europe.

Let's see what 2014 brings on…Happy new year!

Barcelona and Dali's "taller"

If you travel to Europe from the East Coast you might as well maximize your trip. While in Lisbon I managed to get away one weekend to go to Barcelona with 3 goals in mind:

- see very good friends which I haven't seen since 2009;

- visit Salvador Dali's summer house in Cadaques (Costa Brava/Girona),

- Eat extremely well, this is after all the place where all Ferran Adria disciples opened their restaurants.

I have to say the mission was accomplished and other resolutions came out of this visit. The first one is that you should see good friends more often than every 4 years. The second is that 3 days is not enough to try every restaurant I wanted. Next year, it's a promise.

December in Lisbon

Lisbon still has it charm, even in the winter, between rain showers and with a terrible economic depression.

It's one of the most beautiful cities I visited and combines balmy weather with urban and ocean views, mixing it up with lots of history. If you have a chance go and visit, it's still cheap and people are nice even if the economy is down. Plus, you'll be doing them a favor by increasing their tourism revenue. And you'll have fun, promised.

JAR exhibition at the MET, NYC

Sharing soon all my favorite pieces from the JAR exhibition...

in the meantime if you have the chance go check it out at the met museum

Let's put our heads together

Getting ready for the holidays?

Our Holiday newsletter is out!

Go and check it out - http://bit.ly/18jgAT9

The Friday smile

If you haven't experienced I'm sure you saw somebody who has.

Have a great weekend!

Damien Hirst & Alexander McQueen collaboration.

I love Damien Hirst. And most of the time for all the wrong reasons. Let me explain, I love the controversy and commercial part of his work. And of course, the skulls. I had the chance to see his "For the love of God" skull at the Tate museum a couple of years ago as well as a retrospective of his work and it was totally worth it to wait hours in line for the tickets and to get in.

But I'm diverging. The point is Damien Hirst has a scarf collaboration with the brand Alexander McQueen. And this is a perfect match. Not only is the collection a lot of fun ( you'll find Hirst's work printed in the fabrics) but the video that goes with it is whimsical and ethereal. Absolutely worth seeing.

You can see the collaboration here : http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/alexandermcqueen/archive/damien-hirst-alexander-mcqueen-collaboration/

And the video by SØLVE SUNDSBØ here:

Monolith Series by Reynald Drouhin

Multimedia French artist Reynald Drouhin works with many media like photography, sculpture and video just to name a few. His latest work "Landscape Monolith" consists in a serie of digitally manipulated landscape photos.

And just for the fun of it, try to understand where the monolith comes from....

More on his work can be found here: http://www.reynalddrouhin.net

Cold as in the winter

Today is cold outside. It's the first day that doesn't feel like fall...

Arik Levy sculptures

I cannot define what I like most about the work of Arik Levy. The fact that he wears many hats (designer, sculptor, filmmaker, artist, photographer) only makes his work better.

His sculptures have weigh, shapes and reflections that I'm really attracted to. And the idea to share it in a garden and reflect the beauty of the place around it is just brilliant.

My favorite pieces are below and you can find more about the artist here: http://www.ariklevy.fr

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Kaplinski short film

When architecture meets fashion and it's splendidly done into a movie.

More about the filmmaker Benjamin Serroussi can be found here:

http://benjaminseroussi.com

Tokujin Yoshioka ''Crystallize'' Exhibition

Tokujin Yoshioka solo exhibition at the MOT / Museum for Contemporary Art in Tokyo, Japan showcases crystallized paintings drawn by the vibration of music, amongst other pieces.

You can find out more about the exhibition here: http://www.tokujin.com/en/news/