This weekend’s highlights include London’s Festival of Architecture, Carlos Suarez’s new restaurant in Manhattan’s West Village and the latest album by Peaking Lights.
1 EXHIBITION: LONDON
—Trilogy of Moderns: Wonderful World
London’s Opera Gallery hosts the third and final instalment of Gérard Rancinan’s Trilogy of Moderns project – a seven-year long journey of his tragicomic photographic tableaux undertaken with author Caroline Gaudriault. In this segment, named Wonderful World, the French photographer engages his audience and passing visitors into a special shot. For a once in a lifetime opportunity to be immortalized in Rancinan’s work, don’t miss the exhibition.
Opera Gallery, 134 New Bond Street. Open 10.00-19.00 Monday to Saturday, 12.00-17.00 Sunday. Until 24 June
operagallery.com
2 FOOD: NEW YORK
—Rosemary’s
With its large industrial windows and a pleasant open-air feel, Rosemary’s in Manhattan’s West Village might just be the perfect restaurant for these warm summer days. Restaurateur Carlos Suarez of West Village establishment Bobo brings together rustic Italian cuisine with fresh ingredients drawn from the restaurant’s rooftop garden. We recommend the Porchettina, a true star served with fennel and a delicious frutta mostardo.
18 Greenwich Avenue near W 10th. Open 18.00-0.00
(212) 647-1818
3 ARCHITECTURE: LONDON
—London Festival of Architecture
Kicking off this weekend is a design frenzy in the UK’s capital. British architects show off their creativity with futuristic models of London in 2050 at The Developing City exhibition in the Walbrook Building. The show’s theme this year is “The Playful City”, and there’ll be plenty of opportunities for visitors to indulge a sense of fun. Saturday’s events include a brutalist cycle tour and “Bauhaus By Day, Bauhaus By Night” at the Barbican, that will teach everything from stage design to kitemaking in the German design style.
At various venues until 8 July
lfa2012.org
4 EXHIBITION: TOKYO
—Beat Takeshi Kitano, Gosse de peintre
Japanese film director Takeshi Kitano’s solo exhibition held at the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in Paris in 2010 has made a triumphant return to Japan with its 80 pieces intact. Although widely recognised as a comedian and a film director at home, Kitano is an artist too. The exhibition is a rare opportunity to explore the distinctly humorous world not only of his paintings but also in animal and flower-shaped vases and large installations. Works such as Tyrannosaurus interpret his take on the truth about Dinosaurs’ extinction.
Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, 3-20-2 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku. Until 2 September
operacity.jp/en/ag
5 MUSIC: GLOBAL
—Peaking Lights: Lucifer
That devlish title doesn’t fully represent the at times pretty and twinkling synth pop on offer here from husband and wife duo Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis. But Peaking Lights’ homemade electro clatter does have a slightly less sugar coated side than other boy/girl poppers currently doing the rounds. The duo formed the band as an escape from the harsh winters in Wisconsin and both come from backgrounds serving in far more experimental and noisy bands. The odd strange creak or crack still pops up on “Lucifer”, making it an analogue-sounding treat in a slick digital world. Probably recorded entirely on computers.
Lucifer is available now
peakinglights.com