Brazilian artist Wanda Pimentel’s “Envolvimento” paintings (1968-84) are hard-edged domestic vignettes — kitchens, bathrooms, car interiors — done in a lean, almost festive palette of mostly red , green and yellow. In these claustrophobic spaces, feminine-looking thighs, ankles, feet and hands make fetishistic cameos, jutting out at awkward angles or lingering near water puddles and toilet-paper rolls. Sometimes, they are framed by thick, windowpane-like lines that cast the viewer as a peeping Tom. “The house is not only a space of intimacy but also of fear,” said Alexandre Gabriel of São Paulo’s Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel gallery, which will show Pimentel’s work at the Independent 20th Century art fair in New York City next month.
If Pimentel’s scenes are meant to suffocate, those of the American abstractionist Mildred Thompson, who died in 2003, let us out. His Independent 20th Century show, curated by Mary Sabbatino of Galerie Lelong & Co., is the first time his 1970s “Window Paintings” will be on public view. Thompson’s most famous canvases are filled with marks that resemble bursts of confetti and colliding tornadoes, meant to show what is invisible in our world — particles, energy, the vibrations of sound — as a great that cosmic funk. The motifs in the “Window Paintings” are easier to recognize: Made in Tampa, Fla., they appear to be psychedelic beachscapes. In one from 1977, a vast green sky and block of sand are framed by beach-towel-bright curtains. It was an idyllic, open landscape, not a person in sight. The Independent 20th Century runs from September 7 to September 10, independenthq.com.
Eat Here
Korean Coffee and Delicate Home Goods at a New Cafe in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens
On a sunny corner in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, Suea and Carol Song opened Dae, a space inspired by Korean cafe culture. With backgrounds in food and fashion, respectively, the duo wanted to create a casual spot for coffee, cocktails and small plates, while also featuring their favorite homewares creators. The window seat in the entranceway is cozy under a white cushion installation by artist Terry Park that flows from the ceiling. Music plays softly from transparent acrylic speakers created especially for the space by Seoul-based designer Erika Cox. For refreshments, you can choose coffee from Korean roaster Anthracite, teas harvested on Jeju Island by the company Osulloc or cocktails such as the Maesil Spritz (fermented green plum liqueur and yuzu). Dae’s seasonal menu also includes milk bread and butter, and pita with kimchi labneh. And for those looking to capture some of that serene aesthetic, Dae sells a selection of homewares such as incense from Toronto-based Korean bathing brand Binu Binu and hand-hammered metal coffee filters and hanging forks to the charms of the Studio. Yeo Dong Yu. daenewyork.com.
Loro Piana, the Italian tailor and textile producer, is known as one of the leading manufacturers of cashmere wool in the world. Every year, the company harvests it from long-haired goats living in Central Asia, usually in early spring when the animals naturally shed their fur. Almost a century after it was founded in 1924 in the Piedmontese village of Quarano, Loro Piana introduces Loro, a seven-piece capsule collection of clothing and accessories made from recycled cashmere fibers obtained from the surplus production of knitwear by house, a fabric that is defined by the brand. in as re-cashmere. The process, designed to minimize waste and salvage material, begins with the manual removal of zippers, closures and sewing on leftover garments and accessories such as sweaters, gloves and scarves. Fabric scraps and knitwear are sorted by color, washed, stripped, then mixed with undyed cashmere, resulting in a quality that is indistinguishable from a brand new knit. The yarns are not overdyed (a common technique to achieve bright colors), resulting in an earthy palette that includes colors of oatmeal, rust and a smoky gray. Pieces include turtlenecks, V-neck sweaters, scarves and hats in a wide range of sizes from M to a child’s 4XL. The entire collection is gender inclusive; after everything, parrot translated from Italian to the neutral “they.” From $450, loropiana.com.
Visit It
A Spacious French Brasserie Opens in Detroit
Detroit is sometimes called the Paris of the Midwest and, last week, the city had a new brasserie that could easily fit in the French capital: Le Suprême, located in the Book Tower, a recently restored mixed-use building downtown. Method Co., the company behind the Pinch hotel in Charleston, SC, and the Quoin in Wilmington, Del., among others, is in charge of the concept and design, which includes a green-tile cafe and barroom, a main dining room accented with oxblood. leather booths and antique sconces and a 24-seat private dining room. The breakfast menu includes homemade pastries and bread, which guests can eat while sitting on wooden benches designed to mimic seating in Paris Metro stations. Eclectic artwork displayed on the walnut-paneled walls includes old jazz concert posters from Detroit and photos inspired by France’s Le Mans car race. The restaurant’s menu features seafood towers as well as a range of Parisian specialties, such as moules frites, soupe à l’oignon gratinée and steak au poivre. lesupremedetroit.com.
Over the past decade, Paris and Marrakesh-based communications consultant Pierre Collet has worked with Swiss art patron Maja Hoffmann as she oversees the transformation of an old train yard in Arles, France, which ultimately will be a 27-acre Luma museum complex. As he helped establish a new cultural center for the city, Collet noticed something was missing. “For some reason it’s hard to find good bread in Arles,” he said. When he suggested launching a bakery, Hoffmann signed on as a partner, and Le Sauvage opened this August, offering a short menu of artisanal breads and pastries, all made with organic flour. Soon Le Sauvage will also offer bouquets of local, seasonal wildflowers, as well as baking classes to local students. New York City-based Labo Design Studio created the interiors — a contrast of natural stone surfaces and a modern curved white terrazzo counter, with a wall of colored glass panels by artist duo Aurélie Abadie and Sauques Samuel . “We want to celebrate original craftsmanship in all its forms,” says Collet. instagram.com/le_sauvage_arles.
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