A summer swansong
Stourhead, Wiltshire (left), Scarfes Bar, The Rosewood Hotel (right)
Melina Keays, Entertaining Director
We are standing at the junction between summer and autumn, and I’ve tasted the best of both seasons in a single week. I‘ve explored breathtakingly beautiful landscaped gardens at Stourhead, a National Trust estate in Wiltshire, complete with monuments, a grotto, and a temple overlooking a lake – all resplendent in glorious late-August sunshine. I’m not one to mourn the passing of the summer though, as September, amongst its many charms, beckons us back to the city and the indoor conviviality of restaurants, pubs and bars. In London, I enjoyed cocktails at one of my favourites: Scarfes Bar at The Rosewood Hotel in Holborn. Scarfe’s Bar regularly collaborates with other renowned bars from around the world, giving Londoners the opportunity to sample their wares. On the night of my visit, Singapore’s Cat Bite Club was in residence. I jumped at the chance to try a broccoli cocktail (actually named ‘Hulk Splash’), featuring tequila, cardamon, kiwi, pear, and roasted broccoli. It was delicious.
A tasteful tome
Anna Solomon, Digital Staff Writer
I love coffee table books, and place myself firmly in the camp of 'never being able to have too many'. So, you can imagine my delight when I received a copy of Wilfredo Lam by Jacques Leenhardt, published by Thames & Hudson, this week. Lam, born in Cuba in 1902 to a Chinese father and African mother, created a striking visual language that synthesised his multicultural heritage. He studied the European masters in Spain, moved in the same circles as Pablo Picasso and André Breton in Paris, and drew influence from surrealism, Matisse and African art. With the 125th anniversary of his birth approaching, this monograph, out 30 October, offers a timely and insightful exploration of Lam’s contributions to 20th-century art and politics. Oh, and its gorgeous burgundy cover just so happens to be a perfect fit in my living room.
A mid-week headbanger
System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian
Anna Fixsen, US Editor
What do you do when you love someone? You follow them to the ends of the earth – even when that means a Wednesday evening in New Jersey. That describes my latest mid-week adventure as I dutifully sojourned across the Hudson River to take my husband, as a very belated Christmas gift, to see nu metal legends Korn and System of a Down.
The sold-out show saw thousands of (mostly grey-templed) fans pack into MetLife Stadium for a raucous trip down memory lane. Korn frontman, Jonathan Davis, kitted out in a sparkly black kilt (he also plays the bagpipes), thanked the audience for supporting his band for a whopping 31 (gulp) years, in between face-melting renditions of A.D.I.D.A.S, Got the Life and – of course – Freak on a Leash.
System of a Down’s set, though, is what really got the multitudes moshing; their two-night appearance marked the first time in 13 years that the band’s played in the New York area. And their 26-song set – which, in addition to early-aughts bangers like Chop Suey! and Hypnotize, included an amped-up cover of Snowblind as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne – had us all head-banging in our seats. I stayed clear of the mosh pit, but I am sure you could hear me belting out Aerials from up in the nosebleeds.
A magnetising multimedia
Gabriel Annouka, Senior Designer
In the Tanks in the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Christelle Oyiri, the inaugural artist of the Infinities Commission, asks: In a Perpetual Remix Where Is My Own Song? The work, which I caught with Wallpaper* staff writer Tianna Williams before it closed on 28 August, opened with sound and lighting pouring over sculptures, before a film cut from colonial imagery to meme-age spectacle. As slick as a 1990s ad, yet far more personal, it was precise, brutal and strangely tender. Visual reflections on digital culture, beauty standards and hyperconnectivity collapsed into a loop that built up towards Squarepusher’s A Journey to Reedham, its rhythm pulling you into the dance. Grand, sublime, dizzying.
A West London hoedown
Sofia de la Cruz, Travel Editor
Who’d have thought west London’s Chiswick would become synonymous with honky-tonk? Last weekend I dusted off my cowboy boots and stepped into Lil’ Nashville, a country club and kitchen catering to every ‘yeehaw’ craving. The night was pure comedy: Johnny Cash impersonators leading line-dancing routines, live country blues humming in the background, and southern-style burgers that were as indulgent as they were delicious.
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La Monique brings the French Riviera to Santa MonicaA transportive room of velvet, candlelight, and Riviera chic, serving French favourites with a modern wink
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Kat Milne is the designer behind fashion’s most intriguing retail spacesInfused with elements of the surreal, Kat Milne has designed stores for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Sandy Liang and A24. ‘People are looking for a more tactile experience,’ she tells Wallpaper*
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A refreshed 1950s apartment in East London allows for moments of discoveryWith this 1950s apartment redesign, London-based architects Studio Naama wanted to create a residence which reflects the fun and individual nature of the clients
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Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, the Wallpaper* team had its finger on the pulse of architecture, interiors and fashion – while also scooping the latest on the Radiohead reunion and London’s buzziest pizza
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Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s been a week of escapism: daydreams of Ghana sparked by lively local projects, glimpses of Tokyo on nostalgic film rolls, and a charming foray into the heart of Christmas as the festive season kicks off in earnest
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Wes Anderson at the Design Museum celebrates an obsessive attention to detail‘Wes Anderson: The Archives’ pays tribute to the American film director’s career – expect props and puppets aplenty in this comprehensive London retrospective
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Meet Eva Helene Pade, the emerging artist redefining figurative paintingPade’s dreamlike figures in a crowd are currently on show at Thaddaeus Ropac London; she tells us about her need ‘to capture movements especially’
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David Shrigley is quite literally asking for money for old rope (£1 million, to be precise)The Turner Prize-nominated artist has filled a London gallery with ten tonnes of discarded rope, priced at £1 million, slyly questioning the arbitrariness of artistic value
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Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThe rain is falling, the nights are closing in, and it’s still a bit too early to get excited for Christmas, but this week, the Wallpaper* team brought warmth to the gloom with cosy interiors, good books, and a Hebridean dram
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A former leprosarium with a traumatic past makes a haunting backdrop for Jaime Welsh's photographsIn 'Convalescent,' an exhibition at Ginny on Frederick in London, Jaime Welsh is drawn to the shores of Lake Geneva and the troubled history of Villa Karma
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Maggi Hambling at 80: what next?To mark a significant year, artist Maggi Hambling is unveiling both a joint London exhibition with friend Sarah Lucas and a new Rizzoli monograph. We visit her in the studio
