The disappointment of auction season aside, Phillips de Pury was most definitely kickin’ last Tuesday evening for the launch of Timo. Neckwear, a new luxury neckwear label from designers Timo Weiland and Alan Eckstein. Models lined the main party room while attendees sipped on Brazilian-themed cocktails and danced to peppy tracks (MGMT anyone?) provided by DJ MessKid.

Image: Model Aleksandra Orbeck Nilsen and desiger Timo Weiland

Standard: Assorted fabrics, machine and hand stitching on canvas, 56 x 61 inches

Temple Fair: Jakkai Siributr, the inaugural show at Tyler Rollins Fine Art, a new West Chelsea gallery dedicated to Southeast Asian contemporary art, showcases thirteen fabric collages by renowned Thai artist Jakkai Siributr.

Siributr, who works exclusively in textiles, is less interested here in pretty wall hangings — although his collages are indeed eye-catching — and is more concerned with critiquing the state of his native Thailand. Specifically, Siributr is frustrated with Thailand’s corrupt political and religious affairs and its decaying traditional culture, during a time in which the Kingdom is struggling to reframe its present-day national identity. “Temple Fair” refers to the seasonal fundraising fairs which take place at Buddhist temples all over the country. Events that were once fun and chaste, temple fairs have now become breeding grounds for drinking, gambling and prostitution. The degeneration of this formerly innocuous religious celebration serves as an ideal metaphor for a debased country at odds with itself.

Upon entering the show, you are introduced to “Standard,” Siributr’s collaged rendition of his country’s tri-colored flag, which is intentionally constructed out of unwanted material. Siributr’s usage of discarded fragments is telling: The tricolor (or the harmonious union of Thai peoples) is merely a visual construct. Further, the flag bears a striking resemblance to that of France, which, according to Siributr, is no coincidence.

“The President of Thailand literally put two French flags together to create the Thai flag,” said Siributr. “This country is so confused that we have to borrow the flag of another country.”

Works like “Hopes and Dreams I” reveal another sort of hypocrisy. Here, Siributr attaches little appliqués — similar in sprit to the trinkets you’d find at a market — onto pieces of shiny, mass-produced textiles. “The people think glitzy means it’s worth more, which just isn’t the case. The old Thai culture has vanished in favor of a new, empty culture,” said Siributr.

The exhibition will run until December 6.

Image courtesy Tyler Rollins Fine Art.

Last Thursday, I attended the Apartamento Issue #02 launch party, which was, surprisingly, not held at an apartment. The crowd, primarily European art types, gathered at downtown design store Matter to sip on what seemed like an endless supply of Peroni, and toast the second-ever issue of a magazine exclusively devoted to “everyday life interiors.” Also on view at the party: a sneak peek of new furniture designs by Finnish design firm Artek.

In a time of financial woes, it was nice to see the continuance of such a wonderfully niche publication, which documents the relationships of real people with the intimate spaces in which they reside. Notable subjects from Issue #02 include Interview magazine editor (and Dossier contributer) Christopher Bollen, artist Terence Koh and DJ Erol Alkan.

Images via Apartamento.

Using the Frank Lloyd Wright Rotunda (both its interior and its exterior) as their medium, the ten artists showcased in theanyspacewhatever, the latest exhibition at the Guggenheim, experiment with the gamut of artistic methods and techniques in one, cohesive exhibition. Among them are Rirkrit Tiravanija, Philippe Parreno, Angela Bulloch, Carsten Höller (with his now infamous “Revolving Hotel Room” positioned on the Rotunda’s top ramp) and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster (you may recognize her name as the force behind the new futuristic breed of Balenciaga boutiques.).

From Parreno’s site-specific illuminated marquee, “label,” affixed to the Rotunda’s entryway façade and Gonzalez-Foerster’s ersatz rain storm installation, “Promenade,” which is achieved by operating eight channels of booming sounds on the Rotunda’s third ramp, to Angela Bulloch’s LED-powered, “night sky,” located way up in the Rotunda’s oculus, the artists (and artworks) in this exhibition all share a common desire: to extend beyond the boundaries of typical museum practice.

The term “any-space-whatever” was coined by French philosopher Gilles Deleuze to describe a cinematic moment of assorted viewpoints, and the phrase is used here to proclaim “the exhibition environment as a dynamic arena.” Translation: The museum, instead of just a place for exhibiting artwork, is employed as the actual catalyst for creating artwork.

Further pushing the defined artistic boundaries (and providing me a much-needed caffeine fix!), Douglas Gordon and Tiranvanija joined forces with illycaffè to create the multi-media installation, “Cinéma/Liberté/Bar Lounge,” which is exactly as stated: a cinema that screens only previously-censored films, a coffee bar and a lounge dotted with comfy bean bag chairs. The bar portion of the installation comes equipped with a friendly barista who offers your choice of a complimentary espresso, latte or cappuccino.

Last but not least (of my notables): Pierre Huyghe’s “Transfer Book,” a book of iron-on transfers illustrating various images of the Guggenheim, is presented to every visitor upon exiting. Did somebody say tee-shirt-making party?

On view until January 7, 2009.

Image courtesy the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 2.55 quilted Chanel handbag (and in an effort to further blur the lines between fashion, commercialism and art), Karl Lagerfeld has done the unthinkable — he’s created a movable homage. Chanel Mobile Art, a 7,500-square-foot traveling art pavilion, designed by celebrated starchitect Zaha Hadid, includes twenty commissioned art installations — a mixture of sculpture, video and photographs — all of which were inspired by CoCo’s iconic 1955 bag. Starting yesterday, CMA, the first art installation to transitorily grace our beloved Central Park since “The Gates,” will be sited in New York, the third stop on its two-year world tour, which also includes Tokyo, Hong Kong, Moscow, London and Paris.

Upon entering the pavilion, you are outfitted with a headset from which echoes the breathy prose of your virtual tour guide, French actress Jeanne Moreau. Moreau’s sotto voce will henceforth usher you through a thirty-minute “experience” inside of the pavilion, a synthesis of music, art and Hadid’s wonderfully deconstructivist forms. And if you happen to get lost and confused (or forget which brand you’re being accosted with), don’t fret: An aloof army of Chanel-clad “guides” are on hand at every single installation.

The twenty installations, which explore different meanings and elements of the famous bag, were conceived by an international cadre of notable contemporary artists like Sophie Calle, Subodh Gupta and Yoko Ono, to name only a few. My personal faves were Leandro Erlich’s “The Pavement,” where the facades of buildings on an ersatz Rue Cambon are reflected in puddles of water, and Sylvie Fleury’s “Crystal Custom Commando,” a video documenting the perpetual execution of Chanel handbags (think Annie Oakley on speed) that is projected on the inside of a giant powder mirror.

Despite the somewhat hackneyed marketing pitch, the artworks were actually very appealing and the artists embraced the challenge at hand. Furthermore, the opportunity to be inside of an elusive Hadid “building” is not to be missed.

Images courtesy Chanel

Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton is the first-ever survey of the artist’s work, which includes over 100 portraits — paintings, drawings and prints — of icons ranging from modern-day musical legends like Kurt Cobain and Liam Gallagher to historic figures and revered monarchs like Napoleon and Queen Elizabeth. Armed with only a petite canvas and an equally small network of colors, Peyton is able to capture the very essence of a person: You will know almost immediately whom you’re looking at.

The show, despite comprising two whole floors, retains a cozy and intimate feel, almost like you’re peaking into someone’s family room — due in large part to Peyton’s usage of miniature canvases and frames. “[The portraits] are beautifully painted and the format is so small –- they’re almost like little baubles,” said Laura Hoptman, the show’s curator.

What is perhaps the most interesting feature of this exhibition, however, is that which can only be revealed in a survey: After walking through the show for no more than ten minutes (or less), one senses a conspicuous commonality between many of the works. The portraits of men (which make up the bulk of the show) are overwhelmingly androgynous, and if you’ve ever seen a photograph of the artist herself, they all a bear a striking resemblance to Peyton. “When looked at as a whole,” said Hoptman, “this show is, in many ways, a collection of self-portraits of the artist.”

Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton is open until January 11 at the New Museum.

Image: “Kurt” (detail), 1995, oil on board, 25.4x 20.3 cm. Collection Glenn Fuhrman. Courtesy the FLAG Art Foundation.

Wall Rockets: Contemporary Artists and Ed Ruscha, currently on view at the FLAG Art Foundation, is an homage to one of America’s most beloved artists. Named after Ruscha’s celebrated canvas, Wall Rockets (2000), which sits front-and-center at the elevator entry, the exhibition includes a multi-media mixture of works by over seventy international artists — including John Baldessari, Tom Friedman, Juergen Teller and Mark Bradford, among others — who were influenced, in one way or another, by Ruscha’s iconic pop art style. (The vernacular of Southern California and Los Angeles in particular have played a major role in Ruscha’s oeuvre.)

Highlights include what the curator once referred to during the installation process as the “Los Angeles wall” (the long wall in the gallery’s main space that’s guilty, in a good way, of horror vacui), where one can find Israeli artist Nir Hod’s intoxicating, “The Night You Left” (2007) (pictured above).

Despite leaving her director’s position at the Guggenheim for Sotheby’s Auction House, Lisa Dennison, the show’s curator, seems to have lost none of her mojo. She did a seamless job organizing the show between two floors as well as the 9^th floor terrace, where resides a gorgeous Ugo Rondinone tree sculpture.

The FLAG Art Foundation can be found on the 9^th and 10^th floors of the Chelsea Arts Tower, which boasts interminable views of the city. (I personally like to think of the FLAG as a precious, unadulterated gem as well as the-best-New-York-City-art-gallery-that-you’ve-never-heard-of!)

For a bit of background, New York-based art collector Glenn Fuhrman founded the FLAG in January of 2008 as a space to showcase emerging contemporary artwork. The FLAG makes a practice, however, of only displaying works from private collections. This is its third-ever exhibition. The FLAG’s previous show, Attention to Detail, which was curated by none other than Chuck Close, received critical acclaim.

Image: Nir Hod, The Night You Left, 2007, oil on black mirror, 47 x 64 inches. Courtesy of the Collection of John and Amy Phelan.

Before Phillip Johnson’s Glass House and the lucid frenzy that ensued (not to mention the one presently taking place in New York), there was the Farnsworth House. Arguably Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s most famous structure and a beloved National Historic Landmark, the Farnsworth House set the standard for pared down, minimalist style that continues to beguile and influence architects and designers to this day.

So it is with great sadness that I report that this icon of the modernist movement is currently in a state of distress as the result of the residual flooding from Hurricane Ike in mid-September, when flood waters rose nearly two feet above the top deck and seeped into the building. The Farnsworth House, which is located in Plano, Illinois, suffers from severe flood damage.

According to a press liaison at Landmarks Illinois, they have already estimated a $90,000 revenue loss from the house’s closure, and the damage to the building and grounds has yet to be calculated. Fortunately, a recovery effort is already in full swing. If you’re interested in donating to the Farnsworth House recovery effort, please click here.

Photo courtesy of Landmarks Illinois.