@ affordable art fair of battersea, london

amongst the thousands of artworks on offer, one artist caught my attention: henry fraser, a scottish young painter who portraits boys. i am really tempted to invest in him as i have a strong feeling that he is set to become *esteemed*.

as steve observed, he uses a winning formula: the stylised figures with mouthless faces, neckless bodies and pointed noses own a cartoonish element, while their empathetic gaze is at once expressive (painful) and ironic (detached):

"In my work I endeavour to paint the soul. To make the invisible, visible. I hope to engage the viewer in reflecting on their own sense of being and mortality."
Henry Fraser


(c) Henry Fraser

The Great Houdini, (c) Henry Fraser

At the Monkey Bars, (c) Henry Fraser

David Barnett's Got a Box of Matches, (c) Henry Fraser

Blest (c) Henry Fraser

Enough, (c) Henry Fraser

Disgrace, (c) Henry Fraser

At the Beach. Nearly, (c) Henry Fraser

i believe that the strong expressionist quality of these paintings lies in the mastery of colour and brush. i am not sure how acquainted this artist is with schiele's artwork, but i can see strong similarities in the use of sanguineous splashes of red or green to suggest a human condition.

Sitting Woman with Legs, (c) Egon Schiele

the use of writing to emphasise a message is not unknown amogst contemporary artists, and the parallel with stella vine comes (to me) spontaneous:

Kate Moss (c) Stella Vine

unfortunately, i don't have a photo of the three exhibited works i had the pleasure to admire live in *quasi stendhal syndrome mode*. the *boy who is about to hang himself* reminded me of one picture by nara yoshimoto (see below) - whose art shares the same sketchy, sarcastic and dark features of fraser's work. however, fraser's boys show a more resigned attiutude, whereas nara's girls seem to be partly responsible of their own disgrace. in other words, they are victims of themselves and try to scorn their pain with defying looks.

Slight Fever, (c) Nara yoshimoto

the painting i was about to (but didn't) take home with me is called Mowdie, a scottish word for mole - so, a mole boy, who i renamed *the mad boy*. another close candidate was a shy boy with a stripy t-shirt, whose colours and look reminded me of loftino. : )

i just hope that these living artists are not *one-trick ponies* and I look forward to seeing their next brain-children.

Stars

i am not sure what the point of this post is if not to list star-themed outfits, but i liked this pattern-idea very much as it makes a nice change from hearts and flowers and stars are magic.
chanel covered in stars their whole 2008 spring colletion which was so loved by celebrities. i spotted three wearing the same mini-dress, and kate moss chose the chiffon evening dress to celebrate her 34th birthday, which was planned to go on for 34 hours but lasted only 18... ehm...

jumpsuit

mini dress

coulottes

*couture*

repetto reproduced stars on their soft pumps...

and these are a pair of keds i own and love...
i stopped my research here when i realised how many designers used this same theme: Asos, YSL, Kurt Geiger, Alexander McQueen, they all copied each other quite blatantly. ah, the oddities of fashion...

The Place

friday was the end of a long and intense week at work (i am between jobs, remember?). at five thirty i left the office and walked home where my hairdresser was coming for the usual trim. {my hairstyle is still a bob, but i am slowly let it grow.} steve came home with a lovely yellow flower plant in lieu of a mimosa for International Women Day. this kind gesture was replicated by laura who brought us a bunch of yellow flowers each. four of us (vale, ele, lau & I) had a lovely dinner and a fat laugh at my local restaurant, where we stayed till the very end in true italian style.

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yesterday, sian and i went to a contemporary dance performance at The Place, a centre i have always wanted to visit. i was so pleased with myself that i managed to find a non-mainstream show in london. the Scottish Dance Company presented two performances (Tenderhook and Dog), of half an hour each, which were absorbing and intense. i cannot recall whether i have ever expressed my passion for this form of art, which started in venice while i was working at La Biennale and dealing with Carolyn Carlson and her dance academy. anyhow, what fascinates me of this discipline is that, unlike balletto, is more democratic and unites perfection of the movement with expressive randomness, order with chaos, discipline with improvisation.

Tenderhook was an exploration of emotional commonplaces, such as love, devotion, desire, grief or entrapment. the movement aimed at unfolding the fullness of such singular experience and bringing out the unutterable. the result was utterly poetic, lyrical and connecting. i could not avoid to be raptured by the aesthetic qualities of the dancers - their marble skin, and the softness and sensuality they exuded. here you can enjoy some highlights.


and this is how i dressed up for theatre yesterday:

eva's style

the sartorialist has been defined as one of time's magazines 100 top design influencer as his tagline reads. he photographs fashionistas and stylish people on the streets of NYC, Milan, Florence, Stockholm and Paris. his peculiarity is that he is very selective, always finds appropriate backgrounds (with deep perspectives whenever possible) and targets boys as well as girls of all ages!

over the years, at every fashion show in Milan, he has been immortalising a cute girl whose graceful beauty, refreshing look and full smile have been compared to audrey hepburn's. with diligent patience, i went through his archives to find all her shots and collect them in one place. i also undertook a small research to know who she is. sartorialist did not declare her identity as his blog is not about gossips, and i agree that it is part of the charm to keep his subjects' identity unknown, but i can vaguely disclose that her name is Eva and she is a journalist. the young journalist has clearly a distinctive taste and class to sell. she enhances her petite and proportioned silhouette with mini dresses and flat pumps, these latters being a recurrent item in her wardrobe, for a sweet and effortless look which is lived up by quirky details, such as feathers, henna tattoos, v. high-waisted trousers, eccentric hats, fun headbands and splashes of colour. i love the way she plays with her hair by embellishing it with pigtails and bows worn with cuteness and a bit of irony. and she is a fan of flats. thumbs up!

spring/summer flats ideas

i have been struggling to find a pair of serious flat sandals being robust, stylish and not too pricey at the same time. they are a pass-par-tout piece for any season and look particularly great with maxi dresses, minis or jeans for a understated and yet chic demure. so, this year, i browsed the infinite well of online fashion a bit ahead of time and found some exquisite samples which i played to couple with some of my latest fashion findings.

this lovely paul & joe sister blouse {it's no mystery that i have some sort of obsession for sophie albou's designs} goes very well with this pair of laced sandals in leather with suede insertions.

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i love both this top by Milly Moy (those sleeves!) and gladiator peep-toe sandals (with a rock 'n roll feel) from ModernVintage. hmm... i fear they will end up in my wardrobe pretty soon.

{they are also offered in the high heeled variant.}

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how about a vintage kimono tunic worn with a bow belt, thick black leggings and those cute patent leather sandals?

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i conclude with a pair of chained sandals which would sit very well with this antik batik shirt dress and an old flap jumbo chanel bag.

it's what i call a *day & night* look as with the right accessories can be dressed up or down. happy shopping!

Being Tati

in a few hours i have to slip into a catsuit to pretend to be Tati of Occhi di Gatto... aurelie is having a house party to celebrate her third anniversary in london, and the theme is 3...

think, think and think what a cool 3D-outfit could be... and i had an epiphany: Occhi di Gatto, one of my favourite cartoons. they are three (sisters), clever and sexy. and being tati would mean to realise my dream, as i always used to identify myself with her, although with mature eyes i have to say that Kelly, the oldest, is the sexiest one. they are unusual thieves as they steal for a good cause: to try and get back their father's art collection.

i am starting feeling a bit nervous at the idea of showing myself in a tight catsuit... oh god, i hope not to make a fool of myself... luckily i will not be alone. laura and my compagna di merende valentina will suffer with me. ah ah ah.

i cannot promise photos, but you'll give you a full report!

UPDATE

as promised, i am posting one photo from the party. well, we have not much to do with the sexy cat's eye sisters, but we had fun getting ready, learning the soundtrack, dancing the soundtrack and smashing glasses on the floor for the whole afternoon. we arrived at the party fashionably late by midnight, and our look was cheered by all the french girls there - apparently it was a popular cartoon in france, too!

p.s. it was not too bad living in a shiny and shaping black catsuit, which i will happily recycle for yoga.