Yayoi Kusama is one of the most exciting and prolific artists working today. With a practice encompassing performance, film-making, painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, fashion, poetry, fiction and public spectacles (or ‘happenings’) over some 60 years, this leading Japanese practitioner has been widely acknowledged as a major influence on several generations of contemporary artists.

Here on the picture she is round the age of ten. During this age Kusama begins using polka dots and net motifs in her drawings, watercolours, pastels and oils. She later attributes this to a series of hallucinations, the result of a volatile family environment.

I would like to present you ‘Look Now, See Forever’, a major solo exhibition featuring new and recent work by Kusama, at the Gallery of Modern Art from 19 November 2011 to 11 March 2012, builds on the Queensland Art Gallery’s long-term engagement with the artist. Her vibrant, consistently surprising work continues to captivate audiences around the world, and this exhibition – featuring many works presented for the first time in Australia – allows visitors an insight into current strands of Kusama’s highly respected oeuvre. The exhibition is also one of many special programs marking the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA).

Recent works signal new directions for the artist, but continue to explore her long-term fascination with pattern, reflection and infinite space. The Gallery is pleased to present this online interactive publication, which demonstrates this continuity by contextualising Kusama’s new works within her extraordinary practice as it has evolved over six decades. It features expanded commentary on the works in the exhibition, newly commissioned scholarship on aspects of the artist’s practice, and an in-depth timeline of her life and work. To take advantage of the dynamic nature of web-based publishing, new essays will be added during the course of the exhibition, and viewers will be able to track the evolution of The obliteration room 2011, the artist’s specially-commissioned interactive project.

Mounting this exhibition has been an exciting and rewarding project for the Gallery, and it would not have been possible without the enthusiastic involvement of Yayoi Kusama and the generous cooperation of her studio. I therefore extend my sincere thanks to the artist, her assistants, and her representatives at Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo. The project has also benefited greatly from the dedication and commitment of the Gallery’s staff, including Reuben Keehan, Curator, Contemporary Asian Art.

I wholeheartedly encourage Gallery audiences to explore Yayoi Kusama’s love of colour, light and form presented in ‘Look Now, See Forever’, and to immerse themselves in the artist’s unique and compelling world view.

The retrospective ‘Yayoi Kusama’ opens at the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, travelling to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. A three-hour special on the artist is broadcast on Japan’s NHK in August and, in October, the English-language version of Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama is first published by Tate Publishing, London. ‘Yayoi Kusama: Look Now, See Forever’ opens at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane in November.

These days DESIGNSIGH favorite work so far is from William and his unique “triangular” cabin called the Allandale House. It is a modern version of the forest cabin based on an extruded A-frame that was constructed for an idiosyncratic connoisseur and her family. Along with its occupants, the Allandale House also provides space for an eccentric collection of artifacts that resist straightforward classification. Wines, rare books, stuffed birds and an elk mount are among the relics on display in this small vacation house. Step inside and find out more after the jump!

The house links three horizontal extrusions of “leaning,” or asymmetrical A-frames. The skinny A-frame on the western side contains the library, wine cellar and garage. The wide A-frame in the center of the house is dedicated to two floors of bedrooms and bathrooms.

The medium A-frame on the eastern side consists of living, kitchen and dining areas. The house aims to undermine the seeming limitations of a triangular section by augmenting and revealing the extreme proportion in the vertical direction, and utilizing the acutely angled corners meeting the floor as moments for thickened walls, telescopic apertures and built-in storage.

The relationship between the need for exposed storage and the interior liner of the house is a reciprocal one. Ostensibly problematic head-height limitations posed by the angled ceiling/wall planes are resolved by allowing the interior surface of the ceiling/wall to deviate from the roof surface as it nears the floor plane to become plumb.

The inclusion of a second floor is only possible in the widest A-frame extrusion. Therefore, the desire to centralize the location of the bedrooms positions the wide A-frame extrusion second in the sequence. Lastly, in tandem with the geometric principles associated with the severity of rotation, the variable location of the apex acts as the formal smoothing agent between tube segments allowing the roof planes to fold along single seams.

Radisson Blu Hotel Nantes opened recently in the old courthouse, located in the heart of the city. What an original place! I was thrilled to enjoy the design and colorful atmosphere, which contrasts with the architecture of the nineteenth century, with its  dizziness  heights under ceiling. The comfort was at the rendezvous, and the restaurant l’Assise (located in the old Court of Justice) is to die for!

The hotel is an ideal accommodation for both leisure and business travellers alike. Its location in Nantes city centre offers the ultimate convenience to guests who wish to explore the sixth largest city in France. This Nantes hotel offers plush, comfortable rooms with the finest amenities as well as delicious dining options, an on-site spa and flexible meeting facilities.

Somewhere in Ethiopia, are the Simien Mountains, which are mazes of full deep gorges canyons. The mountains are home to the gelada, sometimes called bleeding heart baboons because of a red patch on the chest of the males. (They are actually not baboons, though they are closely related.) They live exclusively on the short, tough grasses that grow on the Simiens’ slopes.

The gelada baboons are so used to visitors that they hardly notice people anymore. They move in large bands from one patch of grass to another, and you can walk alongside the group and watch a complete range of social behavior unfold right in front of you. You can see the delicate dance between male and female that defines their social structure, and watch the alpha males defend their territory and their harem from aggressors.

If you have the luck to be there or somehow you are there on vacation, you must go next to a band of those monkeys often grazing in a small field of grass near a cliff edge. After watching for about an hour in the field, the entire band of geladas will shift their positions and will encircle you. Then you will be like a part of the landscape.Do not hesitate anymore and grab your backpack, your best friend and go to Ethiopia….a wonderful majestic country with wierd species and so much good vibe and energy..!

How cute is the latest campaign from Wildfox Couture? Shot by Mark “The Cobrasnake” Hunter, the models channel their inner granny, knitting, gardening, playing tennis and more.

These days people all over the world get outdoors more often, because it is quite easy and comfortable to do so. You just need a tent, a sleeping bag and a good mood. Everywhere you go, it will be unforgetable experience, because our Planet Earth is Eden. That’s why I decided to meet you with one wonderful project, because I am huge fan of outdoors experiences. And let me introduce this clever idea….Marijn Beije Floating Eco Lodge!

This wonderful floating cabin features a bedroom with two beds that fold down and look out over the water. During the day, the beds can be pushed into the wall to provide plenty of space for lounging and observing. The other side holds a spa-like bathroom, which is connected via a covered and open living space. A top-level deck provides space for sunbathing, and a crow’s nest 6 meters above the water is a perfect spot to catch a better glimpse of the birds.

Beije partnered with Ap Kremer from APHoutconstructies, a company from western Holland, to build the lodges. Sustainable materials and manufacturing processes were used to realize the design and construct the catamarans. By crafting a comfortable and sustainable place to rest, stay and sleep, Beije hopes to inspire more people to get outside and take advantage of the parks in his country.

This awesome Free Floating catamaran suite is a mini eco lodge designed and built for visitors to national parks in The Netherlands. The lodge gives to its visitors splendid views over the beautiful nature. A total relaxation and connection to the divine, a spirtual travelling to your inner soul…

Have a reason to celebrate? A child’s birthday party, a graduation, an anniversary? Maybe, you don’t need a special reason and just want to decompress and escape city life, have a romantic weekend or want a quiet place to finish that novel you’ve been writing for years? Welcome to The Cottage Moja Kucica! 

Spend a pleasant day at The Cottage or stay the whole weekend. Need help with food and drinks? The staff is there at your service. Arrival is not a problem; come with your vehicle or they will organize the easiest transportation for you (good idea for all that enjoy wine and grappa). Moja Kucica is a wonderful holiday cottage nestled in the beautiful mountains of Croatia. The bungalow can host up to 7 guests…

The atmosphere there is amazing, so peaceful and close to the nature. The whole cottage and the furniture are quite old, but they are all restored and looks fabilous in their new looks, so retro and fresh….It will remind you on your grandma place…!

The food at the cottage is freshly cooked complemented with natural ingredients. All the vegetables are home made and grown naturally in the mountains without any artificial chemicals……..So so eco-friendly. You will have a splendid holiday there, watching the stars almost every night, after you taste the deliciously cooked meals. For the early-mornings enthusiasts, there are regularly yoga classes with one of the best yoga teachers in Croatia…..So do not wonder anymore, take you backpack and go to Croatia, explore and breatheeee …!

It’s not super-innovative, it’s not at all avant-garde and it’s not about being trendy,” says the 24-year-old designer Maggy Schultz about her line, Maggy Frances.

The collection is made up of multiples of the same silhouette — skater dress, customizable skirt, hot pants, Italian-wool blazer, silk blouse and cashmere sweater — cut in a variety of prints, plaids and solid colors. “I became pretty unhappy with the way contemporary clothes were looking,” recalls Schultz about her time doubling as a New York University student and stylist’s assistant. “Everything was so on trend that I couldn’t necessarily wear anything in my own way without it being recognizable.”

There is nothing boring about the online-only offering: leafy Indochine printed brocade dresses and minikilts in every tartan color combination imaginable are just the kind of clothes that cool 20-somethings will see and want. Why? Because they haven’t been available en masse and outside of vintage stores until now.

This is a wonderful floating house situated between two bridges along a waterway in Hamburg, Germany. With the moorings positioned significantly lower than street level and the sloped banks lined with natural vegetation, this dwelling offers an introverted experience for inhabitants within the quiet and secluded area. The floor at the water’s surface contains the private bedrooms, offering privacy with theinherent landforms along with a living room which overlooks the gently rippling water. the upper level contains the public spaces which offers elevated views of the scenery from the kitchen and dining area.

More at Sprenger Von Der Lippe. Photos: Meike Hansen, Archimage, courtesy of Sprenger Von Der Lippe…

In Melbourne, Australia, a city of Southern Hemisphere foodies, where fetid alleys reveal the cool cafes and bars, and hip, close-at-hand inner suburbs offer as much life as the heart of the city, everyone thinks they’ve cornered the market on the best spot in town. And odds are good that at that out-of-the-way joint a local recommended the food is as casually perfect and understated as the interior design.

Visit and you’ll think that the Melbournians have taken a shine to you, that you’re getting an insider’s glimpse of the city’s hidden hot spots. Until the third night, when you realize that this—the food, the coffee, the design, and the civic pride—is Melbourne, and it thrives on just this brand of urban cool hunting.

Melbourne is full of significant buildings, but more importantly it is full of layered, rich, and varied urban spaces. Most people don’t get it when they come here because Melbourne requires discovery. It is the type of city where you need a local to help you find the important spaces, laneways, cafes, bars, galleries, and street life. You need a local to show you its rich, fine grain.

Fed Square and Southern Cross Station are interesting additions, and they may have been commissioned with the intent of creating icons, I don’t know.

Surrounding Melbourne’s vibrant heart is a ring of inner suburbs, each with a noticeably different tone, attracting a different type of resident. Previous generations’ investment in the once-wonderful train and tram system is the reason that Melbourne’s rich inner suburbs continue to thrive. The tram lines create direct links from the center of the CBD in all directions. There is a huge difference between the beautiful and eclectic villages of the inner suburbs that you saw and the vast areas of banal suburbs that surround greater Melbourne, though.

There are many young, creative, and interesting people in Melbourne, and if they have an idea for a bar or a boutique then there is simply no way that they are going to be able to afford a presence on the main street. Therefore, many important and exciting places have popped up deep within laneways and this in turn has provided a center of gravity for laneway culture.

If a bar opens on Main Street with a big neon sign, then it is bound to fail. The Croft Institute did the opposite. It opened at the end of a doglegged dead-end laneway, past all of the smelly Chinatown Dumpsters, and has been packed from the day it opened. In any other city you would only head down a nasty, dark alley like this if you had a wish to be mugged.

An astute observation. Though a number of suburbs like St. Kilda are oriented to the bay, Melbourne is a river city. Melbourne has always struggled with its relationship to the Yarra, however. Industrialization and bad planning have isolated the river from the people for over 100 years. Only in the last 20 years have efforts been made to better link up with the river. Melbournians are getting better at making the most of the Yarra, but there is still a lot that can be done through clever planning and design to make it an important public artery through the city.