Three of my favourite brands have been making waves at this
year’s edition of Art Basel Miami Beach – MCM, Davidoff and Porsche Design.
MCM
German luxury brand MCM co-hosted a party at Soho Beach House with Harper's Bazaar to celebrate
its Autumn/Winter 2013 Beyond Snowdome accessories collection, created in collaboration with the graphic
artist duo Craig & Karl.
VIPs who attended the event included the actress Scout Willis, LA vintage store owner Cameron Silver and socialite/TV personality Tinsley Mortimer.
VIPs who attended the event included the actress Scout Willis, LA vintage store owner Cameron Silver and socialite/TV personality Tinsley Mortimer.
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| Cameron Silver, owner of LA vintage store Decades |
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| Scout Willis, actress and daughter of Bruce Willis |
DAVIDOFF
As Associate Partner of Art Basel for a second consecutive
year, Davidoff operated a VIP hospitality lounge in the Collectors Lounge,
complete with a walk-in humidor and a master cigar roller from the Dominican
Republic, who demonstrated the art of blending and the art of rolling a
Davidoff cigar.
During this year’s event, Oettinger Davidoff AG President
& CEO Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard – an avid art collector himself - announced
the first Davidoff Limited Art Edition artist, Quisqueya Henríquez, who will
create a series of artwork for the inaugural Davidoff Limited Art Edition.
These limited-edition cigar boxes will be filled with cigars specially crafted for
the limited edition. The Davidoff Limited Art Edition will be unveiled during
Art Basel in Hong Kong in May 2014.
In a second announcement, Dominican artist Pascal Meccariello
will be the third artist to take part in the Davidoff Art Residency, in
Beijing, China, in collaboration with the Red Gate Gallery Residency, from May
1 to June 30, 2014. The Davidoff Art Residency seeks to help emerging and
mid-career Dominican and Caribbean artists develop their skills, make
connections within global artistic networks, earn exposure for their work, and
share their expertise with others.
In addition, the Davidoff Art Initiative is continuing
preparations for an international Art Residency programme in La Romana,
Dominican Republic, in collaboration with the Altos de Chavón School of Design,
the country’s leading institution for art and design education. The Initiative
is planning to build new studios for the visiting artists at the school, in
preparation for the launch of the residencies, in winter 2015.
In a further announcement, Davidoff has awarded support to
two Davidoff Art Grants recipients: ARC Magazine of Saint Vincent &
Grenadines and Centro de la Imagen of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
“With the Davidoff Art Grants, we have an opportunity to
offer specialised support to cultural institutions in the Dominican Republic,
tailored to the needs of each organisation,” said Hoejsgaard. “Davidoff has a
role in ensuring the sustainability of these organisations and by extension,
the cultural community of the Dominican Republic. This is the core aim of the
Davidoff Art Initiative.”
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| Pascal Meccariello, Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard and Quisqueya Henriquez |
PORSCHE DESIGN
German luxury brand Porsche Design unveiled its art collaboration with Berlin-based
pop artist Thierry Noir at Temple House in Miami Beach. The luxury brand
created a distinctive installation called “The Heart of Freedom”, revealing a
limited-edition collection of Noir’s 200 hand-painted Porsche Design TwinBags.
Thierry Noir took the brand’s signature TwinBag and
incorporated his own signature hand-painted heart faces on this collection of
200 handbags. The event was attended by the art and fashion world’s elite.
In honour of Thierry Noir’s life and work, Porsche Design
showcased two original pieces from the Berlin Wall, which had been shipped from
Berlin for the event. They were exclusively re-painted in Miami by Thierry Noir
before the event.
Thierry Noir started to paint the Berlin wall in 1984. As
the years went by, his wall paintings were recognised among the international
arts community. His works survived the longest of any artist after the wall
fell in 1989.
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| Porsche Design's art installation for the Thierry Noir TwinBag |
