Basel is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine and the third most populous city after Zurich and Geneva. Basel is commonly considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland and the city is famous for its many museums, including the Kunstmuseum, which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum in the country.
Netherlands’ under-the-radar fourth city has quietly built a reputation as the relaxed alternative to Amsterdam. The medieval centre is the heart of this compact city renowned for modern architecture, abstract art and furniture design – thanks to its close association with the “De Stijl” art movement. Centraal Museum, the oldest in the country, is eclectic- mixing golden age paintings with contemporary art.
Fourth trip back to this loved City – friendly people, walkable, and so much to appreciate. I haven’t been here in the wintertime, but it does make it less crowded. I headed back to the Rijksmuseum, one of my favourites. Rembrandt’s The Nightwatch is under study and conservation since 2019 – and is behind a glass chamber.
A brief 3-day / 2-night trip to Miami to attend my first Art Basel. It was overwhelming at times – sensory overload – yet a wonderful and awe-inspiring visit. There were several other art and design fairs taking place in the city at the same time – Art Miami, Untitled, Design Miami, among others – that caused a deluge of visitors (and party-goers) to Miami and Miami Beach. The causeway to Miami Beach had heavy traffic every day and local police was out in full force. For food: first dinner was at Lucali, a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant serving 20-inch…
Opened in 2009, Wynwood Walls has evolved into a globally renowned street art museum in Miami. This open-air gallery is visited by three million people each year.
The 22nd edition of the premiere art fair in the Americas with 286 galleries around the world participating. The fair is both large and popular and held in Miami Beach.
A long weekend back in New York – for 72 hours this time. It has been awhile since I have been to the Guggenheim Museum so I decided to pay a visit on this trip. I decided to go back to Momofuku Noodle Bar for my first meal, as it has been years, compounded by the closing of its Toronto outlet. I also headed back to the one star Michelin rated Estela in SoHo. The arroz negra still tastes as good as I remember it. One new restaurant I tried is DomoDomo and ordered their “Domokase” tasting menu. Food and…
Third time a charm they say. My last visit to the Chicago was more than ten years ago and thought of another weekend getaway, as that is the only time off I can take these days. Went back to one of my “Happy Place” – the Art Institute of Chicago. There was a special exhibit on, entitled “Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan”. I tried out two Michelin Bib-Gourmand restaurants: The Purple Pig and Perilla (serving Korean-American cuisine – contemporary take on familiar Korean food). Both were outstanding. My lunch break from the museum was at The Gage –…
A weekend getaway – mainly to checkout this year’s Whitney Biennial 2024. The eighty-first edition of the Whitney Biennial—the longest-running survey of contemporary art in the United States—features seventy-one artists and collectives grappling with many of today’s most pressing issues. The exhibition’s subtitle, Even Better Than the Real Thing, acknowledges that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is complicating our understanding of what is real, and rhetoric. I took the opportunity to re-visit the permanent colllection of the Whitney, as it has been years since I have been. And of course, no visit to this city is complete without trying out restaurants for the first…
Located on central Chile’s Pacific coast, the colonial city of Valparaíso represents an extraordinary example of late 19th century urban architectural development in Latin America. Only 120 kilometres (an hour and a half drive) northwest of the capital Santiago, Valparaíso is Chile‘s main port and known for its bohemian and artistic vibe. Hosting one of the few UNESCO World Heritage sites in the country – Valparaíso is an open air museum full of art, graffiti, and colourful houses displayed within the hills.
