In celebration of the Chinese New Year, black truffle chicken soup dumplings at Red Farm. Get ready for the Year of the Dragon!
(Source: CoolHunting Instagram)
Fashion, media, beautiful moments.
A blog of quintessential creative finds.
By Rebecca Prusinowski.
Visit my website at rebeccaprus.com.
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Quintessence Is
A blog of quintessential creative finds.
By Rebecca Prusinowski.
Visit my website at rebeccaprus.com.
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Quintessence Is
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City rooftops in the snow.
(Source: TheGlamourai Instagram)
New York is cold and wet right now. Overlooking Columbus Circle from the Museum of Arts and Design.
(Source: HarryBeeNYC Instagram)
Weekly visits to MOMA just got way less expensive. I’m officially now a member. Thanks Mom for the great Christmas gift!
Matisse and the Model
I made it Eykyn Maclean just in time to see “Matisse and the Model,” an in-depth survey of Henri Matisse’s unwavering commitment to the subject of the human figure throughout his career. The 46 works in the show present the primary models Matisse worked with from 1900 until his death in 1954 and represent the various media Matisse utilized – painting, sculpture, drawing, print and cut-outs. Matisse has always been among my favorite artists, and the show – though small – was outstanding.
One of Matisse’s early models was his daughter Marguerite (with the model Caroline Joblau, of course). This early painting is a favorite – the disparate shape of her eyes transfixed me.
Henriette Darricarrère, Matisse’s principle model during the 1920s, was a dancer and musician working in the Nice film industry. Grand Odalisque à la Culotte bayadère, the most monumental of the odalisque prints, represents the artist’s aim to inspire an atmosphere of luxe, calme et volupté. I adore those striped culottes!
Such expressive, bold portraits with but a few thick strokes of Chinese black ink is nothing short of extraordinary. Lydia Delectorskaya, a Russian woman hired in 1932, was a longtime model for Matisse, a companion and caretaker for his ailing wife, and ultimately his secretary and studio manager.
“I depend entirely upon my model, whom I observe at liberty… Then I decide on the pose that best suits her nature… And then I become a slave to that pose.”
Perfect end to my weekend. A chocolate chai latte and macarons at Bosie Tea Parlor, tucked away on Morton Street.
Sleep No More
I’d been wanting to see Sleep No More for ages, so I was thrilled to learn it’d be our company holiday event! ‘What in Hecate’s name is Sleep No More? A dance-theater horror show? A wordless, nonlinear mash-up of Macbeth and the darker psychosexual corners of Hitchcock? A six-story Jazz Age haunted house for grown-ups and anyone who’s ever entertained sick cineast-y fantasies of living inside a Kubrick movie? ’Tis all these, and more.’
Every detail, every dark corner, every sound was conceived with great specificity and meaning.
It’s a feast for the senses. I mean, I popped in to the sweet shop on floor four and had a nosh before continuing onward after Macduff!
By the end of the evening, I was covered in champagne and fake blood, but it was among the more electrifying theatrical pieces I’d experienced in some time. Go!
Gaga’s Workshop
Gaga’s Workshop at Barneys New York. ‘The designs are fascinating and slightly demented, as seen in an $85 box of cookies shaped like her outfits, including a meat dress.’ They’re also colorful, loud and go toward a good cause.
And the selection is random. Didn’t expect to see one of my childhood favorites, Matilda, by Roald Dahl, among the 220 Lady Gaga-themed gifts. I should’ve known better.
I do love a snowglobe, but I ultimately went home empty handed. Neither here nor there. It was a surreal retail experience combining Gaga’s wild imagination with that of holiday folklore, and I admire Barneys for continuing to push the yuletide envelope.
I love a floral headpiece, no matter what time of year. Try one for holiday soirées. Pictured with my friend Stanley Wong of BEASTSOCIAL.
Scenes from the New York Chocolate Show
I love chocolate. Like, too much. I also love packaging design, and chocolatiers have been raising the bar (zing!) the past few years with their beautiful, old-timey wrappers and presentation. So I was eager to check out the Chocolate Show New York once again. I attended last year and discovered some tasty new companies. This year I wasn’t as impressed with design, but chocolate will always hit the spot.
This looks like a boule of soft, feather-light chocolate, no?
Pretty paper from Pyramide des Tropiques. They group together ten different single-origin chocolates from around the world in one beautiful package.
And I love No Chewing Allowed. After all, I probably looked like this kid at the show.
My favorite room at the de Kooning exhibit.
Patti Smith outside of CBGB’s, at the corner of Bowery and Bleecker, 1976. This picture is everything to me.
CBGB’s and Blondie Vibes
I ran into Blondie a few weeks ago! The Bowery has changed so much, I’d kind of forgotten she was also once a denizen of skid row. Above, Blondie performing at CBGB’s in 1977. Below, me on the day of the landmark’s final farewell in 2006 – the end of an era. Ensembles purely coincidental.
