L'OFFICIEL USA 27 - Spring/Art

During his first and only visit to Venice in 1908, Claude Monet famously told his wife that the floating city was “too beautiful to paint.” Yet, few works are as recognizable as his piece, “Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute,” a stunning interpretation of the city’s luminescence. In honor of the opening of the Venice Biennale, premier auction house Sotheby’s brought “Le Grand Canal” back to where it all began, with a special exhibition at the historic Gritti Palace on April 20. Guests could see the iconic view almost exactly as Monet did a century prior. After a year of anticipation due to pandemic delays, Sotheby’s curated its events and exhibitions in line with this year’s Biennale theme, “The Milk of Dreams.” Celebrations at the Biennale continued with an elegant…

Curator Legacy Russell grew up in the East Village, being dragged to the same institutions she now programs. So, if you’ve been going to exhibitions in New York and are reading the introductory plaque text, you cannot have missed her—Russell is a force in the city, of the city. Last June, experimental art venue The Kitchen announced Russell would be their new Executive Director and Chief Curator. In September, she unveiled a sculpture with Thomas J. Price in Marcus Garvey park, and then followed that up in November with four exhibitions at MoMA PS1 for this year’s Studio Museum artist-in-residence cohort: Jacolby Satterwhite, Texas Isaiah, Widline Cadet, and Genesis Jerez. December was Russell’s solo exhibition with Kahlil Robert Irving, curated in partnership with The Studio Museum Chief Curator Thelma Golden. In…

HEVEN, USA Founded by musician, actor, and director Breanna Box and model Peter Dupont during the Covid lockdown (when they were trying to make their home “heaven”), Heven features vases, glassware, and signature devil-horned carafes, all hand-blown in Brooklyn. The multi-hyphenate couple recently collaborated with Coperni on blown glass Swipe bags, and look forward to further expansion: “Expect more pieces for the home besides glass; we want to make a world people can be fully immersed in.” Portrait and bags photographed by Richie Talboy. Makeup by Julian Stoller. Carafes photographed by DEADHUNGRY. ZANINI DE ZANINE, Brazil Since 2003, Zanini de Zanine has produced furniture and other design objects with a deep appreciation for Brazilian culture, processes, and raw materials. Committed to sustainability, the designer uses sustainably sourced wood and discarded plastic, metal, and consumer…

Luxury, wellness, fitness, and Michelin-starred cuisine come together in France’s celebrated Champagne wine region at the Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa in Champillon. The Modernist wine-country boutique hotel and wellness destination has set out to improve the holistic experience of its guests through brand new collaborations and special services. Leading French beauty brand Aime has partnered with the hotel to support a good night’s rest with the Royal Sleep Experience, which includes soothing essential oil spray, melatonin-based drops, a meditation box, satin face mask, luxurious linens, a dinner with a dedicated menu, and a massage aimed at improving sleep quality. The hotel’s spa now provides two Japanese massage techniques—Kobido and Shiatsu—performed every weekend by one of the masters of the Kobido practice, Jo de Carvalho, and renowned chiropractor and Shiatsu specialist Master…

This year’s Spring Art Issue is dedicated to the fearless women who are fully inhabiting the worlds of art and culture in imaginative and transgressive ways. From Cecilia Alemani’s visionary curation of the Venice Biennale, to abstractionist sculptor Kennedy Yanko’s audacious, almost otherworldly communion with Hilma af Klint, women are occupying their rightful bold stances. Our cover star Gillian Anderson is also no stranger to strong positions, having so memorably inhabited the persona of “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, and now taking on Eleanor Roosevelt. But her boldest move yet may be her willingness to lose herself in the presence of others’ creativity: “I’ve stood in front of art and wept before.” A strong statement of vulnerability, and a fitting introduction to L’OFFICIEL’s art pages. Enjoy, and feel free to lose…