BRIEFLY, AT THE OPENINGS LAST WEEK.

I love this Viv Westwood number  that Deborah is wearing sooo much that I gotta make you look at it twice.

The pics immediately below are of Zimbabwean artist Portia Zvavahera. I didn't know her prior to seeing her work at the opening which was held at the Stevenson gallery. I totally fell in love with her work. Also opening on that night and currently on show at the Stevenson were Viviane Sassen (Highly recommend you click on this link if you haven't seen her work before, I think it's amazing), and works from the Estates of the Mancoba family (Ernest Mancoba, his wife Sonja Ferlov and their Wonga), it was quite a treat to work from all three family members in one room, it's definitely worth a visit. Go, the exhibition runs till 22nd Feb. And visit the Stevenson here to see online pics of the works.

Portia Zvavahera

EXCUSE MY REFLECTION ON THE GLASS

This past Thursday there was also an opening at Blank Projects or Blank Gallery, I'm not sure what the correct one is these days. The kinda main installation was by a visiting artist, Andrew Gilbert. Askies, fucking idiot that i am left without taking a pic of the installation, which i meant to, but I snapped these two Michael MacGarry pieces below, which some of you might be familiar with. 

Is this not the best tee shirt? Yes, that is LiLo's face. Thank you Roger Young, sorry bout the cut off face, we couldn't have your beautiful visage competing with LiLo Mother of god.

Friday, SMAC gallery in town also had an opening, which was a bit challenging. No, not because of the art, but rather because there's always so much food and drank. The beverage situation is an annoyance at the Stevenson and Blank because they charge for booze (to be fair tho, i read somewhere that the money goes to charity), and food is not an option. SMAC does the exact opposite, always so much food and drink, and in a variety of options. Not really a good thing for me as I am once again taking one last calorie restricted stand against unnecessary munching, and if you remember from last summer, I also don't drink during the months of Nov, Dec and Jan. So it was rather challenging saying no to the food and saying yes to water, but hey, for art's sake. Also, the exhibition was of works by  contemporary British artists curated by SA born British artist Helen A Pritchard together with artist and curator Keith Coventry, so it was kind of a rare opportunity to check out that scene.

Sophy Rickett

Jonathan Yeo

Make sure to take a second look at these two. I also thought they were just leaves, until I came around again and looked again. Look

Ed Young (obvs not a british artist, or is he?)

It wasn't part of this exhibition, it was in a separate section of the gallery, but i love it so much. Ed lives in Cape Town. 

BAREND DE WET (ALSO NOT BRITISH)

BUT I STILL LOVE THIS SCULPTURE SO MUCH, 

James Nilsen's gorgeous mini greyhound. Not to be a gossip, but I should tell you I overheard him saying that he would be taking the dog to all the upcoming art openings, so this will be a regular feature on the Cape Town art opening scene. Just letting you know.

JONTÉ IS GIVING ME SO MUCH LIFE RIGHT NOW

FRIDAY // AT THE LAUNCH OF RENASCENCE ONLINE MAGAZINE

It’s always awesome to go to an event and leave feeling excited, expectations exceeded and shit. Even more so when it’s a friend’s event. Seriously, who doesn’t like to say their friends are them people who make cool shit happen? Early Friday evening I went to check out my dear friend and fellow blogger Monde Mtsi’s online magazine launch on Long street, at The Shebeen (formerly known as Merchants Café or known as Merchants Café again, not sure).

Through his blog Renaissance Men SA, his work with designers and the damage he brings when he puts together a look, I’ve always known that Monde is passionate about menswear, but now working together with a variety of contributors, he has taken that fascination, knowledge and experience and launched Renascence, a beautifully designed men’s online fashion mag.

It’s highly focused, with articles covering a range of subjects such as fashion photography, online shopping for men and more. There are also several profiles on hot South African menswear designers, and some beautifully shot fashion spreads. Check right at the bottom of this post for screenshots of my favourite fashion shoot  from the mag. As mags go, I find it’s format makes it familiar and yet fresh, without being a repetition of the same old same old, a quality which I think will make it hold it’s own amongst the titles out there. As Monde himself says in his editor's letter, "this is a subliminal test to see whether we can really take our work to next level." I say go on with your bad self boo, we watchin, we rootin for you.

Okay Imma stop now so you can go check the mag out for yourself. HERE. Sometimes outchea in the land of air kisses one develops friendships with people, but still doesn’t quite know what creative visions keep them up at night and busy in the light. It is always so nice when their work is revealed and it turns out to be a thing of beauty. Such was Monde’s event and the product that he and the team involved put together. Well fucking done guys.

THE WEEKEND, COURTESY OF L'ORMARINS QUEEN'S PLATE & PERONI

This past Saturday marked one of my favourite annual events, the L'Ormarins Queen's Plate. It's not that I care much for horse racing, but I can't resist a social event that calls for a bit of dressing up, although that call fell on several deaf ears. Don't get me wrong, the majority of people looked lovely in the blue and white theme, if a bit on the safe side. It must also be said that one of the reasons I like the LQP so much is its much smaller size compared to the other event, and its sophisticated vibes. 

But you mos know I like a bit of drama, a bit of danger, and a lot of ratchetry, and while most of the outfits were pleasant and sophisticated, they lacked the adventure that I love and I landed up with far fewer pics than I'd hoped for. Then there were the tiny pockets of guys in flip flops. really? WTF? That shit is disrespectful. There are two kinds of shoes that I strongly believe one should not buy in order to steer clear of temptation, crocs and flip flops. No. Don't do it. Nobody needs to be that comfortable in footwear. Ever.

I spent most of my time at The Stud Club and Peroni marquee, and if you read my LPQ post last year you might remember my disappointment with Peroni's VIP within a VIP section. Well, I am happy to announce that this year it was a far better set up, in both size and location. It was proper. A good thing considering that Peroni flew some 80 Johannesburg guests for the occasion. As part of their Cape Town weekend I also joined them on Sunday for a lunchtime cruise, which was actually the perfect way to finish a fantastic weekend and holiday. And now, I head back to work. Thank you summer. 

SUNDAY WITH PERONI