COLOR HEAVEN: THE RAINBOW CHAPEL IN SHANGHAI









So, nearly three years ago, I had the honor and joy of marrying my husband in a gorgeous historic church in Massachusetts. And while I loved every minute of my wedding day, I have to say that if I got a chance to have a second one (to my same husband, of course!) I think I might go modern all the way. Though it wouldn't be in Shanghai, China, this Rainbow Chapel designed by Coordination Asia for the G+Park museum park is spectacular. Pretty much my dream venue. Now if we could just ship it to New England . . . 

Learn more about the Chapel here.


(Thanks to Design Milk for the tip.)


I WANT TO GO TO THERE: AIRBNB FLOATING HOUSE IN LONDON





Oh man, oh man. Life is crazy! One of my most loyal readers (hi Mom!) pointed out this weekend that I hadn't posted here in two weeks. Two weeks!, she said. Whoops! Has it really been that long?Turns out madly trying to write your dissertation before the fall graduation deadline, completing a bunch of last minute wedding calligraphy orders, preparing to move, writing conference applications and generally trying to keep your friends and family from forgetting what you look like takes some time! But I plan to keep popping in here as much as possible, don't worry!The photos above are of a cool project I stumbled across recently. AirBnB created an unusual ad campaign to celebrate London's new deregulation of AirBnB's short term apartment rental service —they built a full sized house, complete with two bedrooms and a yard and floated it down the Thames River. Apparently you could even rent a night's stay in the house (at least before it closed on May 22nd). Amazing, right? What a unique way to see the city!Learn more about the tiny floating AirBnB house here.p.s. Reminds me of this cute floating guy!

THE GREAT HALL EXHIBITIONS: FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES

great hall exhibition series at the institute of fine arts, nyu

great hall exhibition series at the institute of fine arts, nyu

great hall exhibition series at the institute of fine arts, nyu

great hall exhibition series at the institute of fine arts, nyu

great hall exhibition series at the institute of fine arts, nyu

great hall exhibition series at the institute of fine arts, nyu

This week something exciting happened. For the past nine months my colleague, Susanna Temkin, and I have been hard at work on the latest iteration of the Institute of Fine Art's Great Hall Exhibition series (this past fall we showcased the work of the fabulous Marta Chilindron). I am pleased to tell you that our work has come to fruition in a beautiful show—if I do say so myself—of the work of conceptual installation artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres, which opened this past Monday. 

The exhibition takes place at the IFA's historic Duke Mansion is open to the public every day from 1-4pm until May 1. If you happen to be in Manhattan and like contemporary art—or even if you just want to see the inside of our fancy mansion—I highly recommend you stop by and see the show.

Learn more about the exhibition and the Great Hall Series here; read a press release here.


all installation photos above taken by yours truly





THE ARTIST SPEAKS

artist quote(Check out this beautifully illustrated video of interviews with the incomparable architect, designer and visionary Buckminster Fuller here.) 

DANIEL CEREJO IS AN INSTAGRAM JEDI MASTER















Daniel Cerejo is an Instragram master. His unique experiments with architecture, shadows and an impressive toy collection make his Instagram photos a true joy to discover day in and day out.

Do yourself a favor and follow his feed here.



(Like Instagram? You can also check out my feed here. #shamelessplug Thanks to My Modern Met for the tip.)


KELLY'S CHAPEL OF COLOR AND LIGHT






I have always lovedEllsworth Kelly's work (see here!) but what if his work actually became a truly immersive experience? It turns out that Kelly recently gave the Blanton Museum of Art, in Austin, Texas, the plans for a chapel he designed in 1968. Although the chapel was commissioned by a private collector, the building was never built and the Blanton is now in talks to (hopefully!) conceive the structure itself, a la the Rothko Chapel in Houston. Like his work, the 2,175 foot stone space would be all about abstraction, color and light with geometric stained glass windows in three different chancels. Don't the mock ups above look glorious?Learn more about the project here.

I'M BACK! AND I HAVE MISSED SO MUCH!



Well, hello there! Remember when I said I would try to post while I was traveling in Italy? Ha! The moment I stepped off the plane I fell head over hells into the glory that is gelato every day, pasta at every dinner, warm sunshiney days, and long evening walks through historic town centers and, well—surprise!—I completely forgot about blogging. Isn't that a sign of a good vacation though?

Finally returning to the real world today, I am frantically trying to catch up on all the media I missed. I found all kinds of delightful things I clearly would have shared with you if I had not been in a gelato-induced haze, so here's a quick round up for your perusal. Because you weren't really planning to get any work done today, were you?


Apple debuted new iPhones (I am due for an upgrade!) and, in a development surprising to no one, an Apple Watch. But I was most impressed with the hilarious Ikea catalogue parody of an Apple announcement above.

This crazy cliff-clinging house looks like a superhero secret lair, no?

I haven't spent a weekend in NYC since April (yes, April!), so I am excited to use this cool site to explore my home city.

Love. Animated.

A very important campaign: yes means yes.

I struggle with this all the time. Great tips for saying no  . . . now I just need another version for social occasions. Because, let's face it, mostly I want to stay home in my pjs with a pint of ice cream and my Netflix queue.

I just got back from vacation but I want to pack my bags and head to this cerulean paradise immediately.

Dominatrix in a NYTimes crossword? Sacrebleu!

If only I had had this handy tool on my trip, I would have been instragraming up a storm!

Tried and tested in Italy, new favorite gelato flavor is definitely coconut. This is the best brand buyable stateside.

Cell phones have ruined our sense of social responsibility.

I want to hang this on my wall.

Lately I have gotten back into yoga and I am really reaping the benefits. These poses would be a great addition to my practice, if only to offset the hours I spend everyday trolling the internet for blogger inspiration.

Obviously in Italy, I saw Vespas everywhere. I have new respect for them (though they are still terrifying, buzzing in and out of traffic, even when their drivers are in three piece suits!) knowing their cool history.

A fascinating design dilemma—how to show people texting on tv and in movies without pulling focus from the face.

Color coded photos, appealing to my chromatic compulsions in all the best ways.


I have so many fun things to share in the next couple weeks, including photo essays from my travels and recaps from the fabulous 60th birthday fête we threw for my Mom this weekend. Lots of stuff to look forward to, I can't wait! Clearly, I missed you guys. :)


YONI ALTER








I just stumbled across these very cool city prints by London-based artist Yoni Alter. They feature all the architectural highlights of various major international cities—New York, London, Paris, etc.—rendered in exact proportional scale and gorgeously bright colors. I love seeing the different building styles in different locations all set off in colorful silhouettes. Consider these wish listed!

See all the city prints here, buy your own print here.



VIVA ITALIA!

I have some exciting news to share with you guys: the hubby and I are headed to Italy at the end of the summer! I lived in Italy for a brief time in college and it is probably one of my favorite places on earth. I can't wait to revisit all the beautiful spots I discovered all those years ago and watch my husband see them for the first time. Plus, I can't wait to eats lots and lots of gelato, of course!

So here's a quick visual tour of all the places and activities I am most looking forward to . . . 

above: hiking in The Dolomites (photo from here)


boating around the canals of Venice (photo from here)


lounging on colorful balconies in Cinque Terre (photo from here)

soaking in the panoromic views on Lake Garda (photo from here)
being awestruck by the beautiful frescoes in Assisi (photo from here)















































and last but never least, getting lost in the gorgeous medieval streets of my beloved host city Siena (photo from here)


What do you think? Anything else in Northern Italy I should add to the itinerary? All tips are welcome!


FEDERICO BABINA ROCKS





I just stumbled across the design work and illustration of artist Federico Babina. He has created several different poster series (on sale in his shop here), but my favorites are his "Archicine" works—posters featuring bold renderings of iconic buildings from classic movies—and his "Archist" works—posters that transform buildings into stylistic embodiments of the work of famous artists.






The Warhol and Fontana posters are my favorite (so dead on!). What are yours?See more on his website here.
p.s. Like colorful minimalist posters? So do I! Exhibit A, B, C, D, E, F, G . . . the list could go on and on. Go exploring in the archives (search box at right) and I guarantee you will find something fun. :) 
(thanks to Feel Desain and Dezeen for the tips)