Albers Automatic by DuFa Watches
Deutsche Uhrenfabrik (DuFa Watches) launched their first Automatic watch at Baselworld, 2016. The Albers Automatic pays homage to the great German designer Josef Albers, if only just in spirit, with a Miyota powered automatic movement.
It's a grand leap in the right direction for this brand that was born in the 1930's.
Albers Automatic
MOVEMENT: Japan Automatic Multi-function with Power Reserve and Date
CASE: Stainless Steel
CASE DIAMETER (mm): 42
CASE THICKNESS (mm): 12
CASE SHAPE: Round
CASE COLOUR: Stainless Steel
DIAL COLOUR: Beige
BAND: Genuine Leather Strap
See the companion illustration post
Five Four at Rowster Coffee
The threat of torrential snow fall was everywhere, except out our back window. My mother texted me 'are you still coming into the city?' the weather channel posted warning, all local news made clear the danger. But in our backyard the skies were only thinly veiled with clouds.
So we drove the 35 minutes or so into Grand Rapids for Ruth's salon appointment and I stopped at Rowster Coffee. Snow was falling but the roads were fine.
Rowster Coffee is a favorite stop of mine in Grand Rapids. The coffee is exceptional and the space is exactly what you would expect from a third-wave coffee shop almost anywhere in the world. Lot's of wood with exposed construction. It's a great place for emails, for thinking and for sketching.
I knew I would be spending time drinking coffee while Ruth had her hair done at the salon a few blocks down the road so I left the house prepared with Brew Watches on my wrist. It's a favorite watch in my collection, designed with inspiration drawn from industrial espresso machines.
After an hour I had to move the car under threat of ticketing. In only an hour's time the roads had devolved into slip-n-slides, complete with water running down hills and that terrible feeling you get in your tummy when you go belly-down.
There was one thing I had to accomplish before we made the terrifying journey back home. I had to shoot my Five Four jacket and shirt.
Five Four recently partnered with Robert Geller to produce an exclusive line. I was first exposed to Robert Geller at the inaugural NYFWM several months back and have continued to love his work (see the illustration here). I consider it a great honor to sport some Robert Geller design from Five Four.
Five Four is a unique and altogether interesting menswear label out of LA. They offer collections on a subscription basis. For $60 a month you receive 2-3 exclusive designs delivered right to your door. The only way to snag Five Four is by signing up.
#SunflowerSessions
For the last year and half I have enjoyed the experience of live drawing and painting at PROJECT trade show in New York and Las Vegas. This season (F/W16) is the point where I finally hit my stride. My look has come together, my confidence is at it's highest and my productivity live is insane!
15 paintings at one show sounds like so few when I compare myself to an illustrator like Richard Haines, but when I consider the styles in which we work I realize that his advantage is flow. My advantage is detail and rendering. It's this detail matched with speed that gives me my unique advantage.
SHOP THE LOOK
Jacket- Andre Phillipe Inc
Hat- Goorin Bros.
Watch- Deutsche Uhrenfabrik
Pocket Square- Ikire Jones
Kehinde Wiley at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Over the holidays I visited three of the greater Art Museums in all of America. Fort Worth boasts three significant museums within a few block's radius in what's aptly called the Arts District. I will be presenting each in three upcoming posts including this, featuring the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
-Oldest Museum in Texas. Dedicated to collecting, presenting, and interpreting international developments in post–World War II art in all media.
-Chartered in 1892, going through several name changes until being name Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in 1987
-Architect, Tadao Ando
The Exhibit, 'Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic'
I first saw the works of Kehinde Wiley when I entered Kendall College of Art and Design. Way back in 2007 I was in awe of his work but did little in researching or understanding the body of work or the man who created it.
photograph by Chad Batka for the New York Times
Shortly after earning an MFA from Yale, Kehinde stormed the art world with his signature imagery of black men and women set against the backgrounds of ornate tapestry or in place of the figure in an Old Master painting.
The paintings take on overt political and social overtones. Kehinde is open and unashamed of his championing of black people in painting. Where the Western world has consistently excluded black men and women from painting, Kehinde has flipped the script and drawn attention to the terribly obvious omission.
The Two Sisters, (2012)
Anthony of Padua, (2013)
Shantavia Beale II, (2012)
Leviathan Zodiac, (2011)
My intent here is not to give a complete synopsis of the artist or an in depth take on the Museum but to make an introduction, one that hopefully entreats you to discover more about this important artist and institution. Get a quick, but more in depth overview here- Kehinde Wiley, and here- Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
The Modern does not allow photography inside traveling exhibits but they do allow photography of their permanent collection. Franz Kline and Motherwell are two of my greatest inspirations, so standing in front of these masterpieces by Motherwell at the Modern was an opportunity I couldn't miss.
Shop The Look
Jacket- Ace Rivington Cafe Racer
Shirt- Mizzen and Main
Jeans- Jean Machine
Boots- Tawny Goods
Eyewear- Classic Specs