opening on sat - jul 10 at galeri salihara is wall street arts, an exhibition of works by graffiti artists from jakarta and paris. participating artists include bujangan urban, ceet, darbotz, colorz and nsane5. mind you, on tue - jul 13 [4pm] there’ll be the graffiti asia book launch + movie screening and a talk about ‘graffiti as part of subculture movement’ with rolling stone editor wendy putranto. location: jalan salihara 16 [pasar minggu].

party: respect is burning
date: sat - jul 3 [11pm-late]
dj lineup: tiga + brodinski…all night long!
location: 1515, 32-34 rue marbeuf [champs-élysées].
click [here] for tickets

awesome! london’s kkoutlet teams up with colette, the mother of all concept stores, for a unique shop swap. on thu - jul 1 it takes control of colette’s premises in the french capital and installs a kooky showcase of products, books, and artwork which best reflects the multi-faceted nature of the company and its output.

on mon - jul 5 the paris-based store reciprocates, setting up shop at kkoutlet in london. it will not only bring a slew of hypercool products, books, music and art work, but will also stage two not-to-be-missed exhibitions by artists andré saraiva a.k.a. andré and darcel. paris location: 213 rue st.-honoré [st.-honoré]. london location: 42 hoxton square [shoreditch].

party: dirty #12 - invite gigolo
date: fri - jun 25 [11pm-late]
dj lineup: hell, pilooski, hard ton, dirty sound system
location: social club, 142 rue montmartre [étienne marcel].

french-latin rocker adanowsky plays la maroquinerie on thu - jun 17 [10.30pm] and he brings along the crew of fine musicians that accompanied him on his latest album amador. and all you soccer addicts need not worry, a screen will be put up for you to follow the game. location: 23 rue boyer [ménilmontant].

hot on the heels of the launch of a hong kong store, luxury cobbler rupert sanderson opens up shop in paris. located at the impressive palais royal, along with a string of other prestigious brands, the new boutique occupies the space of a former antique shop and just as other stores, the interior design includes rupert sanderson’s signature horizontal wooden panelling off-set by white walls, creating a contemporary and somewhat nordic vibe. location: 5 rue des petits-champs [étienne marcel].




© rupert sanderson

this year designer’s days, an annual design manifestation at various leading design stores, art galleries and other venues across central paris, celebrates its 10th anniversary. ever aiming to increase and share knowledge of design, this year’s edition kicks off on wed - jun 9 and is once again packed with interesting showcases. participating retailers and venues include alessi, parsons paris school of art + design, l’éclaireur’s espace sévigné, kartell and institut suédois. click [here] to download the program [french only].

south african photographer pieter hugo’s exhibition tribes recently opened at global trend hub colette [on until jul 3]. with a knack for africa and a sharp eye for its cultural diversity and splendour, he displays fascinating series of portraits of three different groups or ‘tribes’: congolese wrestlers, boy scouts and football supporters. location: 213 rue st.-honoré [st.-honoré].



© pieter hugo

supergig: we love sonique [villette sonique invites we love art] part 2
date: sat - jun 5 [11pm-3am]
lineup: vitalic, james holden, danton eeprom, marc houle, cassius + visuals by 1024 / exyzt
location: grande halle de la villette, 211 avenue jean jaurès [porte de pantin].

check out the showcase of the limited-edition collab tee collection of illustrator extraordinaire geneviève gauckler and japanese brand publik: on thu - jun 3 [from 6pm] at lieu commun in attendance of the artist! location: 5 rue des filles du calvaire [marais].



© geneviève gauckler

thai artist rikrit tiravanija has a show at galerie chantal crousel [on until jun 17]. for this show the artist built a pavilion architecture [while exploring le corbusier's work l'asile flottant along the way] to showcase an anthology of political t-shirts. the artist uses these to create popular cultural awareness and interaction, and have people look closer at explicit messages. location: 10 rue charlot [marais].



© galerie chantal crousel / rikrit tiravanija - untitled [floating asylum] [2010]

the second chapter of the room book art launches at l’éclaireur’s marais store on tue - may 25 [6pm-9pm]. what’s to be seen? a hybrid interactive sound installation dubbed superfluidity, created by artists naziha mestaoui + yacine kaït aci. location: 40 rue de sévigné [marais].



© electronic shadow

the i love america exhibition just kicked off at studio 55 [on until may 22]. this group show explores american popular culture and its many icons that have infiltrated all over the planet through works of various urban artists, including speedy graphito, paul santoleri and zevs. these not only come from europe but also from the u.s., giving the show a special edge. location: c/o 3, 5 and 9 rue de duras [st.-honoré].



© speedy graphito - yes! we can spray [2010]

opening today [6pm-9.30pm] at acte2galerie is high glitz, a new documentary portrait series by l.a.-based photographer susan anderson. she traveled across the u.s. to capture the ultrabizarre world of child beauty pageants. location: 41 rue d’artois [champs-élysées].



© susan anderson - savanha [see those nails? eeek!]

supergig: we love sonique [villette sonique invites we love art] part 1
date: sat - may 8 [11pm-3am]
lineup: plastikman, magda, troy pierce, marc houle
location: grande halle de la villette, 211 avenue jean jaurès [porte de pantin].

brachfeld gallery hosts a funky launch party in honour of issue #4, the open landscapes - closed rooms issue, of hybrid art magazine livraison on thu - apr 29 [8pm-1am]. the magazine will be available at the party at a reduced price of eur 30. mind you, there’ll also be a live gig by stockholm’s jackpot. location: 78 rue des archives [marais].

since the aesthetic experience is ruled by mechanisms that act as art works [think of conceptual art, a happening, an installation, a performance etc.], art hasn’t ceased to produce mythical accounts that investigate the limit between art and the banal. the something, nothing, anything group show, opening at la 3ème porte bleue on wed - apr 21 [6pm], is built around the polemic that contemporary art is a space where opinions and judgements clash regarding the works that are put on display.

the show features a series of works that relate to banality, insignificance, extravagance, simplicity, uselessness, absurdity or the comic aspect, and focuses on the reactions of the public. participating artists include nikolas fouré, pauline bastard and bertrand planes. location: 24 place ste.-marthe [canal st.-martin].



© bertrand planes - broom [2008] - broom and helium baloon

london-based artist will sweeney’s solo show as above, so below opens today at the lazy dog [6pm]. on display are a series of original drawings and prints that he made for an eponymous book published by nieves and birdy nam nam’s video the parachute ending. location: 2 passage thiéré [bastille].

a hybrid design show for generation next. we’re talking the poetics of miscegenation, the exhibition of brazilian designer rodrigo almeida, opening at fat galerie on sat - apr 3 [5pm-10pm] in attendance of the master himself. on display are a series of hybrid designs inspired and conceptualized by miscegenation, an important aspect of brazil’s multi-ethnic society. location: 1 rue dupetit-thouars [marais].



© fat galerie / rodrigo almeida - toquinho coffee table [2009]

brit artist nick walker put up this intriguing, if not slightly controversial, wall painting in paris earlier this week. dubbed le corancan, it’s a visual amalgamation of the islamic veil and french 19th-century dance, the can can. the wall painting is a pre-taster of the i love america group show in which the artist participates, held next may at studio 55. wall painting location: quai de valmy [canal st.-martin].



© studio 55 / note: click image to enlarge

another great exhibition arrives at galerie des galeries! opening wed - mar 24 [6pm-9pm] is space for fantasy, a show that focuses on the mind-blowing creative forces of five contemporary creatives that are known to circumvent the boundaries of their craft: fashion designers manish arora and henrik vibskov, artists thomas lélu, vincent olinet and industrial designer jerszy seymour. on display is a selection of work of each artist that illustrates how their artistic vision and humour relate to their creative output. gallery location: 40 boulevard haussmann, 1st floor [st.-honoré].



© akatre

yiiiiikes! pierre hardy launches this limited-edition [only 40 pairs!] cube perspective canvas high-top on fri - mar 5. mind you, this trophy model is only available in paris at the two pierre hardy stores. location [1]: 156 galerie de valois [étienne marcel]. location [2]: 9-11 place du palais bourbon [invalides].

he’s a multi-tasking cult phenomenon and a fixture in paris’ fashion + clubbing scenes. we’re talking olivier zahm, editor-in-chief of purple magazine and related purple diary blog. he now has an exhibition, his very first in france, at colette [on until apr 3]. on display is a vast selection of many of his signature photos, depicting sexy girls, street life, nature, food…and more sexy girls. location: 213 rue st.-honoré [st.-honoré].



© olivier zahm - self-portrait [2009]

french designer yves saint laurent was a fashion force to be reckoned with from the mid-1960s until his death in 2008. he created several iconic designs and was the first couture designer to launch a ready-to-wear line. opening on wed - mar 10 [2pm-8pm] at petit palais is the massive rétrospective yves saint laurent. the show features some 300 models, drawings, documents and films, marking an impressive 40 years of creation. location: 2 avenue winston churchill [champs-élysées].

event: sang bleu #5 launch party
date: mon – mar 8 [6pm]
location: 0fr. galerie, 20 rue dupetit-thouars [canal st.-martin].

the derrière l’horizon exhibition just launched at le cube in the paris suburb of issy-les-moulineaux [on until jul 24]. the show focuses on the near future and far beyond, the role of mankind in an environment that is increasingly dominated by technology, and puts forward the question: what will planet earth look like tomorrow? showcased are works of six artists in reply to this question, including frank theys, david löhr and christophe luxereau. location: 20 cours st.-vincent [issy-les-moulineaux].



© frank theys - technocalyps [2006]

it’s the final week of the live alive exhibition at brachfeld gallery [on until feb 28]. on display are a series of rather cool tour tees by swedish design duo henrik timonen + johan sandberg that feature a few of today’s fashion icons such as karl lagerfeld, marc jacobs and rick owens. priced at eur 50, all proceeds will go to médecins sans frontières‘ haiti relief fund. location: 78 rue des archives [marais].



© brachfeld gallery

fashion institute arnhem, one of europe’s leading fashion colleges, presents its newest crop of fashion graduates during paris fashion week. the two-day showcase, dubbed generation 11, launches at galerie joseph on wed - mar 3 [4pm] and features designs by 8 graduates, including pauline van dongen, janneke verhoeven and nick rosenboom. location: 7 rue froissart [marais].

japanese fashion brand 20,000,000 fragments and its designer tamami akiyama come to paris for the first time, partaking in the tokyo eye style offensive at tranoï on mar 3-11. be sure to check it out while in town for fashion week! location: 10-12 rue du parc royal [marais].



© 20,000,000 fragments

we mentioned the wonderful hybrid craft of japanese flower artist makoto azuma in a previous post. well, now he comes to paris. so, while you’re cavorting around town for fashion week, don’t forget to drop by galerie michel rein on mar 3 [7pm] for the opening of his fashion in nature installation. mind you, the fashion designs of nine japanese brands have been intricately blended in this masterpiece, including everlasting sprout, hisui, kino, aphorism and evam eva. location: 42 rue de turenne [marais].

interesting! when in paris don’t miss the speed painting 01 exhibition, opening sat - feb 13 [6pm-9pm] at galerie magda danysz. only two days before, six artists were given a mere 99 minutes to create a painting. the show should question our evaluation and perception of art in today’s society. participating guinea pigs are gaël davrinche, vuk vidor, axel pahlavi, stéphane penchréac’h, p. nicolas ledoux and kosta kulundzic. location: 78 rue amelot [bastille].

it looks like surface to air tops its previous paris flagship on rue charlot with this new stunner, also in the marais area. a collab project by the creative collective and architect federico masotto, the new store is a total design upgrade and the brand’s new retail standard. the 150 sqm. store incorporates interior innovations such as moving panels and trompe l’œil flooring.

to keep things edgy, the wall decoration references a midnight juggernauts video, directed by surface to air in 2008, and a series of new age furniture pieces are placed across the space. surface to air’s new flagship features the entire menswear and womenswear collections and additionally features shop-in-shops by other brands, berlin’s bless to begin with. location: 108 rue vieille du temple [marais].




© surface to air / photography: karl hab

ohhh…a.p.c.! the brand of modern classics certainly knows how to shelter its coveted merchandise. its latest paris venture is another statement of retail cool and is designed by laurent deroo, the starchitect who has already crafted many a stunning a.p.c. store across the planet. mind you, this hyperclean, all-white outlet has a special status, selling only a selection of jeans, accessories and featuring items from special projects. location: 1 rue de varenne [st.-germain].




© a.p.c.

cult graffiti artist andré saraiva a.k.a. andré has a new show which kicks off at colette on mon - feb 1. dubbed drawings, the show actually showcases works he’s made for purple magazine and never shown before: a series of, yes indeed, drawings. these were influenced by the psychedelic love imagery of the 1960s and 1970s along with andré’s visual memories of the comic books he read back then. location: 213 rue st.-honoré [st.-honoré].

gig: punk drunk love
date: sat – jan 30 [7pm]
location: scopitone, 5 avenue de l’opéra [st.-honoré].
live gigs + dj sets: shy child, johnnyboy, buzz l’ekler, celinette

party: une nuit à la loki foundation [deep audio + ambient music]
date: sat – jan 30 [8.30pm]
live gigs include: inade, fjernlys, circular
location: kosmo kino plaza, 17 boulevard de strasbourg [canal st.-martin].

launching tue - jan 26 at galerie des galeries is picaflor, an exhibition by dior homme’s creative director kris van assche. the show is the third edition of the hyères encore series, organised by the gallery and the annual villa noailles fashion contest in southern france. on display is an installation of 12 interactive man-size ‘mirror flowers’ created by american artist matt saunders with whom the designer has collaborated on his womenswear s/s 10 runway presentation.

the core of each ‘mirror flower’ reveals multiple aspects of kris van assche’s creative universe through image, sound and smell. additionally, portraits of 22 women who participated in the runway show will also be showcased as if to counterbalance the 12 ‘mirror flowers’. location: 40 boulevard haussmann, 1st floor [st.-honoré].



© gaëtan bernard

don’t miss! quirky little aimecube throws a launch party for issue #3 of japanese fashion + food mag saji on thu - jan 15 [7pm-10pm]. the new issue includes fab new illustrations by yue wu a.k.a. nyno, phenomenon and tomontherock. location: 7 rue vauvilliers [étienne marcel].




© saji

event: kaiserin magazine issue #7 launch party
date: fri - jan 15 [6pm-9pm]
location: galerie the window 41, 41 rue du faubourg st.-martin [canal st.-martin].

event: kaiserin magazine issue #7 after party [yodel weiss #1]
date: fri - jan 17 [9pm-2am]
location: la chope des artistes [11pm-6am]
lineup: otto dicks, kebab-in-vichy
location: 48 rue du faubourg st.-martin [canal st.-martin]