Tag Archives: Damien Hirst

Reviews, Social Commentary

Frieze Art Fair London 2017

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Damien Hirst Butterflies, Frieze Art Fair 2017. All photos courtesy of NHYM 

Last night was the Preview night of the Frieze London and it was full of bright colours and patterns. To me, it demonstrates a reaction to the difficult world we live in today with news reels filled with terrorism, gun violence and nuclear weapons waved around by complete goons, Trump v Kim. It is a dire and dark world and artists in reaction are creating pieces to take us away from it all.

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There is something to be said about going back to comforting places. The colours and techniques felt very familiar this year and less eccentric than the past years. These above Gauguin and Matisse-inspired pieces induced a feeling of comfort in me, as if I had seen them before.

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These geometrical patterns and colours above felt similarly influenced by greats like Rothko. There were a lot of cartoon-like art reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein as well.

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I particularly loved this piece, which was made up of four screens of a film of moving water, which was a soothing and peaceful scene in the middle of the crowded and frenetic art scene.

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This was an interesting political, social and cultural commentary on South Korea.

Patterns: 

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There were a lot of patterns on display which creates a feeling of routine, familiarity and comfort, which I think the world feels and needs at the moment.

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People Watching: 

Of course the people watching was almost as great as the art. Preview night always promises colourful outfits and characters and this year did not disappoint with balloon woman:

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I mean, how does she breathe??? I still haven’t figured this one out, but she was great ‘live art’ to watch, and the silver headed man was pretty entertaining too.

New To The Frieze: 

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This year, a new American Express Centurion Lounge opened at the Frieze for certain American Express card holders. They are opening airport lounges for their card members and have already 7 in the US and a few around the world like Hong Kong but plan to open them globally and this one is to showcase their new venture.

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Inside the lounge, well, it does look like an airport lounge, but it offers complimentary champagne, snacks and even sandwiches, so when you are in need of an art-break, it is definitely worth stopping by for a drink and art-discussions. There is also a new BMW lounge, which you could sign up to and a VIP Lounge at Frieze Masters by the guys behind 1 Grovesnor Square.

Frieze keeps growing year after year, with parallel art, fashion, design and architecture events around London and now even airplane lounges, cars and luxury developers have joined the party. This year, to me, it was about comfort, routine and light and bright, which feels is what we are all needing these days.

xx

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

 

 

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Reviews

Restaurant Review: Sexy Fish

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All photos are NHYM apart from this one, generously borrowed from the restaurant’s website. NHYM 2016.

Sexy Fish

Berkely Square

London W1J 6BR

0203 764 2000

http://www.sexyfish.com

Design: 4.5 stars

Food: 3 stars

Service: 3.5 stars

Atmosphere: 4 stars

Overall: 3.75 stars 

‘I have never seen a restaurant whose ethos is so clearly and comprehensively, so preeningly and unapologetically: ‘Fuck you, I’m rich and I want a golden cave and servants. I want a pony and all the hookers I can strangle. I want a pyramid of cocaine and an Audi -Quattro.’ It is like being punched in the face by Abu Dhabi.’

– quoted from the Spectator Review 28/11/15 http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/11/sexy-fish-not-so-much-a-restaurant-as-a-museum-of-londons-rich/

After reading a review like that, well, you’ve just got to see it with your own eyes. Sexy Fish opened last year as one of the hottest new restaurants in town, trying to steal the celebrity limelight away from Chiltern Firehouse, and has seen everything from Popstars (Cheryl ex-Cole, ex-Versini), Models (Kate Moss at the opening), Rock Royalty (the Jaggers were there 2 days ago for Georgia May’s 24th), to a private party full of politicians including dear old David (Cameron). Rita Ora sang at its opening party and VIP keys were handed out in advance. All ingredients to make it the latest trendsetter in the restaurant world.

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Bronze cast Damien Hirst statue on the bar. NHYM 2016.

It is the latest venture by Richard Caring (RC for this post) and his ever expanding restaurant-empire-cum-restaurant-chain. He is trying to take over the Mayfair restaurant scene and he is certainly making a statement. Firstly, we’ve got to address that oxymoronic name: Sexy Fish. A fish will never be sexy, but RC manages to make his restaurant pretty sexy-slutty: sexy bronze mermaids by Damien Hirst at the bar, climbing crocodiles by Frank Gehry, a parterre of onyx from Iran, and an actual waterfall behind his bar. Ok, completely over-the-top ostentatious, but you’ve got to love it. Downstairs in the private room are two glowing aquariums with multitudes of glow-in-the-dark fish ready for an after-party.

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Main dining room NHYM 2016. 

The Design

The dining room is art-deco, brasserie style with a large crocodile on the back wall designed by Frank Gehry, whom you will recall did the fish sculpture next to The Hotel Arts in Barcelona. It is quite a large room where you can scan your neighbours easily, with Matisse-inspired patterns on the ceilings in burgundy and gold.

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The very friendly bartender. NHYM 2016.

But the bar is by far my favourite part of the restaurant. It is large, sexy and is framed by overhanging white delicately sculpted fish above and blue mermaids on either side and yes, there is a waterfall in the back. When we arrive at the touristy hour (i.e. anytime before 8pm), there isn’t much atmosphere and it is largely catering tourists. But by the time we leave, the bar is buzzing, the vibe is cool, and the DJ has started spinning. This is really the time to show up.

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The Menu. NHYM 2016.

The Menu & the Food

The menu reads like many of the Asian-fusion/Japanese restaurants that first emerged in the 90’s starting with Nobu and still keep coming (Kurobuta). There is nothing creatively new on this menu, it follows a tried-and-tested formula of Nobu-Zuma-Roka-Novikov dishes. We order a bunch of sharing plates including the yellowtail sashimi, the Sexy Fish roll, tuna tartare, maple glazed pork belly skewers, duck salad and the famous Miso Glazed Chilean Seabass.

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Miso Seabass and Maple-Glazed pork belly. NHYM 2016. 

The food is unfortunately a let-down. It all looks beautiful, sounds beautiful and should be beautiful, but sadly, there is something missing. It isn’t bad, but falls flat compared to the other restaurants I have aforementioned. Usually, when you go to Nobu/Zuma/Roka, you are enlivened by the tastes and combination of flavours, but not even the famed Miso Seabass could do that for me. The only standout dish for me was the maple glazed pork belly skewer which melted in your mouth and was perfectly sweet and salty. The rest was ‘good’ but unfortunately quite forgettable.

The service gets some low marks just because we were ‘evicted’ before we could order the molten chocolate cake which we wanted to try. Next time.

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Sexy Fish Kitchen. NHYM 2016.

The Verdict

We managed to spend 4 hours at Sexy Fish, which meant that something worked. Sexy Fish combines the right ‘menu,’ the right location, the right brasserie-style design and the right amount of slebs to make it a success. The food isn’t what you’re after here, the main attraction is the bar and of course the people-watching. It’s a fun, lively spot that starts to get going around 10pm, and if I were to go again, I’d probably skip the food and head straight to the bar for a martini while I ogle all the hedge-funders and their mistresses for entertainment purposes. After all, it’s cheaper than flying all the way to Dubai.

xx

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

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Sexy Fish Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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In the Press, Reviews

Top 10 Art Events in London, October 2014

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Bertrand Lavier Fountain at the Serpentine Gallery

ARTOBER

October should be renamed ‘Artober‘, as the line up of Art this month in London is extravagant and impressive, from the Frieze to the London Film Festival, the entire Art World will be descending unto London, competing savagely for exposure, clients and prestige. From Modern Art to Film, to the Frieze masters to fountains out of garden hoses, there is something for everyone who appreciates Art. The private view invites have been stacking up in my e/mail, enticing me to all of them but since I won’t be able to tele-transport myself to each and every one of them, I have chosen my Top 10 picks that I would go to, if a tele-transporting machine existed. I will review my Top 3 over the next few weeks.

Below are my TOP 10 Art Events going on around town this October:

1. British Film Institute London Film Festival: 8th to the 19th of October. From Channing Tatum as a wrestler, Benedicte Cumberbatch at war, a ‘Fury’ Brad Pitt, and a ‘Wild’ Reese Witherspoon, the red carpet promises to showcase some of the best emerging as well as experienced acting talent. http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff

2. Frieze Art Fair Preview day and VIP Collectors Preview:  Tuesday, October 14. Open to the pubic: 15-19th October. http://friezelondon.com

3. PAD London Art+Design Fair: Preview & Collector’s Day Tuesday October 14th. Open to the public 15-19th October. http://www.pad-fairs.com/london/en/

4. Sigmar Polke: Alibis. Opening at the Tate Modern: Private view Wednesday October 8th. October 9 – February 8 2015. http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/alibis-sigmar-polke-1963-2010

5. Rembrandt: The Late Works at the National Gallery: Private view Tuesday 14th. Open to public October 15 to January 18, 2015. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/rembrandt

6. Damien Hirst new exhibit ‘Schizophrenogenesis’ at the Paul Stopler Gallery. October 9- November 15th 2014. A pill-popping exhibit, which attempts to keep Damien Hirst relevant.

7. Bertrand Lavier Fountain Opening on Wednesday October 13th at the Serpentine Gallery. This artist uses everyday objects which he turns into art, in this case, ‘jets of water emanate from an unruly mass of garden hoses’. http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/bertrand-lavier-fountain-2014

8. Tracey Emin: ‘The Last Great Adventure is You’ at White Cube Gallery. October 8- November 16, 2014. The Last Great Adventure is You, is her latest work, and initially started as ‘a reference to the ‘other person’; however, over the two year period since she began creating this body of work, she came to realise that the implication was once again coming back to the self’. http://whitecube.com/exhibitions/tracey_emin_the_last_great_adventure_is_you_bermondsey_2014/

9. Steve McQueen at the Thomas Dane Gallery. Tuesday October 14 – November 15. The award-winning film maker and artist shows two works, a film based and an object based work which, ‘hovers between the specific and the universal, the literal and the abstract, evading definition and multiplying experiential and interpretive possibilities’. http://www.thomasdanegallery.com/artists/45-Steve-McQueen/exhibitions/

10. Self: Bacon, Hirst, Koons and Picasso at the Ordovas Gallery. October 14 – December 13, 2014. Self ‘looks at the interpretations of self-portraiture of four of the greatest artists of the 20th century, spanning the modern and contemporary eras’. http://www.ordovasart.com
xx

NHYM

http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com

@NHyummymummy

 

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