Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s sketch of the “Vegetal Chair” (2005) Ever wondered how a designer goes about coming up with a new chair, teapot or airplane? I have, so I was curious to see “Dessiner le Design” (“Drawing Design,” through … Read More
“Perspective of Trees,Tsarskoe Selo, Russia” (1999).© Michael Kenna I have always wanted to become a good photographer so that I could capture certain magical, fleeting moments – when the light hits a building or … Favorite
Cover of the exhibition catalogue. © Rmn Astérix, the plucky mustachioed Gaul created by the cartoonist Albert Uderzo and the scenarist René Goscinny, is 50 years old this autumn. Where better to celebrate … Favorite
For “Work, Made-ready, Kunsthalle, Bern” (1996), Simon Starling turned a Charles Eames “Aluminum Group” chair into a Marin Sausalito bike and vice versa. Photo © Marc Domage MAC/VAL (Musée d’Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne) may be a short trek from Paris, … Read More
La Fontaine aux Perles near Rennes has a Michelin star and an Olde Worlde atmosphere. Like Georgia, beans have, er, been on my mind this last week or so. Beans on toast is a breakfast favorite, and the posher newspapers … Read More
“Four Bathers” (1910) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. © Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal The Musée Marmottan Monet may be a temple dedicated to the great god of Impressionism, Claude Monet, but for a short time it is showing a group of … Read More
“Four Bathers” (1910) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. © Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal The Musée Marmottan Monet may be a temple dedicated to the great god of Impressionism, Claude Monet, but for a short time it is showing a group of … Read More
Mélac is all about serious food and wine with no frills. Pros: Good food; inexpensive, well-chosen wines Cons: Slightly batty service In one of those eerie strokes of synchronicity, my date had told me, when I suggested … Read More
Mask fromTeotihuacan. © Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico. Photo: Martirene Alcantara The lost civilizations of the pre-Columbian Americas are an endless source of fascination and often great mystery. The wealthy … Read More
Emmanuel Barrouyer in one of his many roles in Misérables. It may be a testament to Victor Hugo’s greatness that Les Misérables is one of those books that looms large in the public consciousness even though few … Favorite
