Please don't touch

Sorry I can't bring you any photos of this.
But the staff at Serpentine Gallery repeated again and again that both photos and touching are not allowed at the current Jeff Koons exhibition.
I really wanted to do both.
The inflatable kid's toys made of metal are so extremely life like that you can hardly resist touching.
My five year old was not the only one who felt her hands moving towards the fascinating art pieces shaped like caterpillars, lobsters, dolphins, monkey etc.
All details are so accurate that you keep thinking they can’t be made of metal, but your brain tells you that of course they are; how else who could they penetrate a chair and still stay inflated.
Neither of us touched anything and still had a great time. At one point Luna said: He really must love lobsters!
There are quite a few of them in the fascinating and iconic Pop Eye Series, which is the first major Koons exhibition in London.

2 July – 13 September 2009
www.serpentinegallery.org

Art in all the right places

I have been exploring New York again in the name of research and came across a couple of super interesting art projects.
One of them was unusual and completely weird and made us go "wow I have never seen anything like it" the whole time, we were there. So check out the art gallery Deitch Project's exhibition "Black Acid Co-op".
Seriously I have never seen anything quite like that.
They have transformed an old warehouse on 18 Wooster Street in Soho to a labyrinthine of hallways, burnt down rooms and tons of stuff in jars. You'll be in for a surprise walking through holes in walls and at one point even through an old fridge!
Two artists and a bunch of helpers went through a lot of work to set up this exhibition, which sadly is only on for a month.
15th of August is the last day.

Another great art project is No Longer Empty, a group that has specialized in finding empty properties and turning them into temporary galleries. At the moment they occupy several locations in Chelsea - one of them is next to legendary Hotel Chelsea, which also takes part in the current exhibition.

www.deitch.com www.nolongerempty.com

Join the circus of cool

A phantasmagorical cabaret of physical theatre and puppetry brought from the other side of life, a show inspired by circus, love, life and death with a hint of Latin humour.
I didn’t come up with this amazing sentence, but I am definitely curious to see what it’s all about. For a start I can tell you that it is just one of the interesting events taking place in the basement of the coolest shop in East London. Just of Brick Lane you’ll find this rare independent boutique Beacon Street Project. With a lot of different and unique design which you don’t find in every other shop.
They stock my favourite American designer Jane Moyle, who accordingly to rumours sadly has decided to end her busy soon.

Sign up for the newsletter and check out this fabulous place on:
www.baconstreetproject.com

Stir me!

Remember the fascinating art piece with the spinning teacup and stirring wooden spoon at the charming Notting Hill café Tea’s Me I once mentioned?
The British artist Kathy Taylor has created it and I suggest you check out her website. She makes the most unusually installations with built in lights and motors. The piece Carla, the owner of Tea’s Me, bought is both beautiful, fun and meaningful. Some of the others are a bit more bizarre – like a dancing toothbrush in a glass and a little dessert trolley.
This is surely art that makes a point of our daily routines and habits.
Great to look and makes you think...

www.kathytaylor.co.uk