ART: LONDON
London Art Fair
This weekend marks the closing of the 25th edition of London Art Fair, featuring over 130 contemporary art galleries from the UK and abroad. The highlights this year are British galleries Wilson Stephens Fine Art, Charlie Smith and Hannah Barry (see Monocle’s February edition). Additional to the main fair is the Photo50 exhibit – a selection of 50 photos curated by art critic and founder of London-based Paradise Row gallery, Nick Hackworth, including works by Czech Markéta Luskačová, and Finnish talent Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen.
Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington. Open Saturday 11.00-19.00, Sunday 11.00-17.00. Until 20 January.
londonartfair.co.uk
DESIGN: OSLO
Norwegian Icons: Important Norwegian Design 1940-1975
In the world of furniture design, Norway is often overshadowed by its Nordic neighbours. However, the Norwegian Icons: Important Norwegian Design 1940–1975 exhibition, aims to challenge this. Co-curated by gallery and auction house Blomqvist and coffee shop Fuglen (also with outposts in Tokyo), the show focuses on mid-century designs by the likes of Hans Brattrud, Gerhard Berg and Birger Dahl, all of which will be for sale. Now in its second week, the exhibit is free to attend; after Oslo, Norwegian Icons will travel to Tokyo and New York later in the year.
Blomqvist Kunsthandel, Tordenskiolds Gate 5. Open Tuesday to Friday 11.00-17.00, Saturday 11.00-18.00, Sunday 12.00-16.00. Until 11 February.
fuglen.no / blomqvist.no
FOOD: TOKYO
Furusato Matsuri 2013
Furusato literally means “old village”, and although this name might seem somewhat out of place in conjunction with the huge city of Tokyo, bringing the spirit of the hometown to the heart of the megalopolis is what the local vendors at the annual Furusato Matsuri food fair are doing. Set in the vast Tokyo Dome, the nine-day event is entering its closing weekend, so head down this Saturday to sample Yonezawa Wagyu beef local to Yamagata or rice-filled squid from the island of Hokkaido.
Tokyo Dome, 1-3-61 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku. Open 10.00-20.00. Until 20 January.
tokyo-dome.co.jp/furusato/
PHOTOGRAPHY: LOS ANGELES
Photo LA
Now in its 22nd year, Photo LA is back this week with dealers, collectors and curators from across the globe gathering in Santa Monica to exhibit works both old and new. Exhibitors to look out for include the US-based International Cinematographers Guild and the Czech Center of Photography. There will also be a number of lectures and round-tables on offer including a discussion on Saturday with the curators of the two Robert Mapplethorpe photo exhibitions at LACMA and the J Paul Getty Museum, respectively.
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica. Open 11.00-19.00. Until 21 January.
photola.com
MUSIC: GLOBAL
Toro Y Moi
The abstractly named Toro Y Moi is actually a moniker for the equally wonderfully named Chazwick Bundick, the South Carolina musician who emerged among a glut of sleepy-sounding digital-savvy bedroom pop pretenders in 2010. He hits Europe this weekend for a string of shows starting in Bucharest on Saturday and continuing to Dublin, London, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin, ending in Vienna on 26 January. His album Anything In Return is released this Monday, mixing a more fully-formed R’n’B persona with the intelligent eccentricities of his earlier work.
Toro Y Moi will be at Bucharest Roman Arenas today and Dublin’s The Button Factory on Sunday, see website for more dates across Europe, the US and South America.
toroymoi.com
