Art & Toys/ Berlin

Cover of the Program and Portrait of Selim Varol

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Picture of Gallery Space

I recently got back from another yearly adventure in Berlin. As usual I was struck with the raw energy and ideas in abundance that engulfed me. On the streets, in the galleries and in the stores, new exciting product and art seemed endless. One exhibition I saw was Art & Toys. Having been a fan and a much smaller collector of collectible toys, this exhibition blew me away! Two levels of the most fantastical collection of toys and artwork. Collected in themes and sometimes within a body of a particular artist, it made realize the relevance and power these supposedly simple childlike (but not so childlike) toys had. There is and has been a movement that revolves around the clever designs of collectible toys for some time, this exhibition seemed to encompass all of this and more, It was way beyond what I see at my local Urban Outfitters Store.  

me Collectors Room Berlin have one of the largest collections of figurines/toys and street art in Europe, if not the world – collected over the last 20 and more years by Selim Varol.The exhibition is incredibly large and it includes a total of 3,000 works by more than 200 artists and designers from over 20 countries. Works from KAWS, Shepard Fairey, Banksy, Futura, Jose Parla and tons are on display. 

Selim Varol, known amongst the toy collectors community as the owner of Toykio in Düsseldorf. He is also a huge art collector and has been supporting contemporary artists from around the world in building a huge collection. He is also, of course, a huge fan and collector of vinyl toys. The exhibition brings together the two elements of Art and Toys.

I really love the curation of this exhibition, The way it was laid out, The different rooms, The viewing chairs and seating areas, Most of all as a fellow collector of objects I was just gob smacked by the sheer volume of this collection and I thought I had a lots of vases!  

If in Berlin, Try and see this amazing exhibition, It is on till the 16th of September

Life is a Vase, In Berlin!

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

My what a year in Berlin can produce! My dear friends Neill Seeto and Damien Miller celebrated their first year living in Berlin and I was lucky enough to be able to meet many of their friends in Berlin and celebrate it with them in their amazing apartment located in Mitte, In Eastern Berlin just last week on my European vacation. I had visited them last year also in 2010, but as yet they had not moved into their current apartment, nor did they have many belongings or furniture either having waited to set up home officially in their new space.

Last year Neill and I had trawled the Flea Markets in Berlin, Having been a seasoned Flea Marketer I was ready, willing and able to collect as much German ceramics as I could stuff into my hand luggage, I would never have expected however a somewhat newbie like Neill to have amassed in a year such a passion for collecting and a knowledge of German ceramics that maybe even surpasses my own. Now I knew there were bargains to be had but with a keen eagle eye and an ability to haggle like there was no tomorrow, Neill has collected and cleaned up with such speed and tenacity, it is truly admirable.

In their Berlin apartment once habituated by German Fashion Designer Wolfgang Joop, Neill and Damien have carefully curated collections in themes of prized Rosenthal in particular. Pieces by Bjørn Wiinblad, Tapio Wirkkala and Bele Bachem. Also acquired in Berlin a fabulous Ingo Maurer bamboo fan light fitting, plenty of Royal Copenhagen, Poole, Murano and beautiful Danish furniture pieces, some bought indirectly from pieces that once sat in the Danish Embassy in Berlin.

I was blown away, I thought that I had the bug, Neill used to tease me about all my “dust collecting” collections but it seems times have changed, ha ha! : ) I certainly felt right at home surrounded by this mass collection of vases and I am so glad to have a fellow appreciator and collector, We joked that we now live our lives through vases, Can a type of spirituality be found in these vessels for flowers, what is their appeal? ..Perhaps I will save this concept for another post : )     


PS: Neill, a Fashion Model expert also has an amazing knowledge of fashion models and has a blog devoted to the subject, check it out at inoubliablemodelarmy.blogspot.com  

Berlin/ Bode Museum

ceiling photograph by Martin Sasche

architectual photographs to left by Martin Sasche

architectual photographs by Martin Sasche

Berlin, a city with many contrasts, it's hard in parts, incredibly beautiful in others. A city that was torn apart by war, divided, held hostage and then set free. There is evidence of it everywhere. One can only imagine pre Nazi, what Berlin was like. The architecture was monumental and what is left still is, even in part ruins, Berlin has rebuilt and is still building. With so many museums, shops and parks,it's hard to believe it is only a city of 3.4 million. Berlin as many would know is the capital of Germany and one of it's 16 States. Around one third of the city's territory is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes so even if hard and severe in parts, nature is still a big part.

On a recent trip and Thanks to my local friends Neill & Damien who showed us it's many incredible sights, On Berlin's "Museum Island" sits Bode Museum, The museum was originally designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904, Closed for repairs since 1997, the museum was reopened on October 18, 2006, It is now the current home for a collection of sculptures, Byzantine art, coins and medals. It is in this remodelling that I most intrigued, Of course the structure and the design of the building is amazing anyhow but with a new palette and approach, the Bode Museum has this clash of old meets new. The majestic entrance hall is just amazing with sweeping staircases and a huge domed ceiling which is dazzling but inside the museum itself, endless displays of sculpture is set against the most amazing color palette of cleverly chose hues of pale sky blue, kelly green, red, neon and pale musky pink. To some this may seem garish but for me, a color freak, It brought these sculptures into a whole new light, Their silhouettes enhanced by their surrounding colors. The cu ration and design is so thought out with a very graphic eye in mind, rows of columns, segments of broken sculpture placed graphically on the wall and in display cases. In some rooms the wooden ceiling is exposed bare and is just breathtaking.

I have to say I went crazy with photos, Here is a sample of how I saw the museum through my eye. As a Stylist I was really inspired by the purity of the sculpture on display and the clever and daring use of color, The Bode Museum is a must see! I applaud the design team behind this remodelling.