Once every two weeks, Town & Country puts together an assortment of the best design news and happenings— everything from interior design projects that pique our interest and auctions of note, to any must-have products on the market.
An Upcoming Helmut Newton Exhibition Worth Visiting
What makes something everlasting? As one ponders, consider taking a look at Helmut Newton’s Le Smoking photograph shot in 1975. Half a century later, this photograph remains among the most relevant in fashion photography for its mysterious allure and glamorous appeal. Newton was a master of eliciting emotions in glamorous settings as such, and once famously said: “It’s that I don’t like white paper backgrounds. A woman does not live in front of white paper. She lives on the street, in a motor car, in a hotel room.”
Charlotte Rampling as Venus in Furs, Paris, 1977, © Helmut Newton Foundation
Karl Lagerfeld, Paris, 1973,© Helmut Newton Foundation
Those heading to A Coruña, Spain from November 18 2023 to May 1 2024 will be able to revel in Newton’s work. Spearheaded by Marta Ortega Pérez, Helmut Newton Fact & Fiction gives visitors and fans an intimate look inside the photographer’s life. Alongside portraits of world-class personalities such as Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Margaret Thatcher, Elsa Peretti, Naomi Campbell, and Karl Lagerfeld, are glimpses into intimate moments such as videos of him at work and images from childhood. This will be the third exhibition presented by the Marta Ortega Pérez Foundation following Untold Stories by Peter Lindbergh and Steven Meisel’s 1993 A Year in Photographs.
For more information, please visit themopfoundation.org.
Temple St. Clair’s First Storefront in New York City is A Plush Jewel Box
On a crisp fall day, a good plan might start with the Whitney Museum, lead to Pastis for a late lunch, and, now, jewelry shopping at Temple St. Clair. While the Florentine high-jewelry brand has opened boutiques under the umbrellas of other entities such as Tiffany & Co. and Saks Fifth Avenue, the opening of their storefront in the Meatpacking district marks their first-ever independent store. The store boasts a thorough collection of jewels– including 18k gold, the Rock Crystal Amulets, and other High Jewelry pieces exclusive to the store –and design prowess by architect Matthew Michalski and Riccardo Barthel & C. Interior designers.
The Meatpacking shop is the first for Temple St. Clair and was designed in partnership with Matthew Michalski and Francesco Barthel and Enrico Latorraca at Riccardo Barthel & C. Interiors.
The shop features ethereal Italian relics, including this antique chair.
The store encompasses the Florentine essence through brush-painted wood in “Temple Blue” (aka a light blue), Iron and Glass sliding doors that are based on Florentine winter gardens such as the Limonaia behind the Palazzo Pitti, and antique chairs. There’s a gorgeous 1950s Venetian ceramic vase found by Temple in Venice and a heavy use of marble side tables. Francesco Barthel and Enrico Latorraco at Riccardo Barther & C. commented on the design of the new store ina release: “The execution of the NYC shop for Temple St. Clair is an intimately ‘Florentine’ project … understood in the full expression of the artisan workshops where the sense of the most minute detail is combined with a vision of the whole, in an outcome that is always distinct but still distinguishable in style.”
For more information or to book your appointment, please visit templestclair.com.
The Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. Creates a Dialogue Between American and Italian Art and Design
Washington D.C. is also getting its fair share of Italy. Those interested in visiting the Tudor-style Italian Embassy are in for a treat: the newly introduced Villa Firenze Contemporanea project features 53 new art and design pieces curated by Renata Cristina Mazzantini and have been hand-selected due to the artists’s ties to the United States, from the 1950s to present day.
The embassy features work by Italian designers and artists from the 1950s to now.
The curated 52 new pieces were curated by Renata Cristina Mazzantini.
The Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. is situated in a Tudor-style building.
Expect to see art by Lucio Fontana, Maria Cristina Finucci, and Alberto Burri and designs by Giorgio Armani, Mario Bellini (yes, the designer of the plush couch that’s currently back in vogue) Alberto Lago, Marco Piva, and more. There are of course, the great art institutions in D.C. to visit, such as the Hirshhorn and Smithsonian, but for those who are curious to see and learn more about the dialogue between American and Italian art and design are surely in for a treat.
For more information or to plan your visit, please visit ambwashingtondc.esteri.it
Jake Gyllenhaal x Italian Porcelain
As the face of Ginori 1735’s newest campaign shot by Gray Sorrenti for their Oriente Italiano Gold collection, porcelain wares have seemingly never been so enticing. The new collection is comprised of two new hand-decorated porcelain patterns, Aurum in white and Rubrum in red, that follow traditional Eastern motifs. Along with dishware there is a selection of candles, candle holders, vases, and room diffusers, as well. Shop some of the new Ginori 1735 collection here.
Ginori 1735 CHARGER PLATE RUBRUMOriente Italiano
BREAD PLATES
COFFEE SET FOR TWO
