Vicente Wolf

Over the Thanksgiving weekend I went shopping in Paris. (How bad can things be?) I found the city as beautiful as ever with, and, as always, so inspiring.

On Sunday I went to see four shows – one was Le Plaisir by Raoul Dufy at the Musee d’Art modern de la Ville de Paris and it revived my desire to use bright colors in spaces. Yes, I know I don’t do bright colors, but after seeing the whole show on his world of color I was truly inspired. To see his usage of color in such graphic ways really got my mind going…
From there I went to a new show on Picasso and his inspirations at the Grand Palais and I found it to be a truly impressive show. The quantity of paintings by him and the other artists including Velasquez, Poussin, Delacroix and Manet was really impressive to see and I found his process of dissecting someone else’s work and reinterpreting it in his own way resonated with me. There was a one and a half hour wait in line, but it really was worth every tiring minute of waiting. (I’m not a patient individual, by the way.)

From there I went to the Pompeido where they had a show on Italian futurist paintings which is something I have a passion for. I’ve been collecting futurist photography for the past 25 years and it was wonderful to see such a complete collection of something the public is usually not exposed to. I then had a leisurely lunch at Restaurant Georges, which was really a highlight. I drank a whole bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau (the French wine of the season) by myself and felt no pain.

From there I went to Notre Dame and there was an amazing organ concert for an hour with a performance of Bach and other pieces. A great culmination of a lazy Sunday.

Another highlight of my trip was a show on David Seidner’s photography at the Fondation Pierre Berge Yves Saint Laurent. It was really exquisite.
But the main reason I was in Paris was to buy for VW Home. It wasn’t easy as most dealers are holding back because of the poor economy in France. However, I was able to buy a cross section of pieces from 1920’s and even mid-century, so the trip was definitely worth my while. The pieces are en-route and will be in the showroom early in 2009. I’ll be sure to post some pictures when they arrive.

While in Paris I went to see an artist friend of mine Philippe David who is a textile designer and, dare I say, I saw some textile designs that I’m going to incorporate into the showroom early next year. So graphic! I think it’s time for me to start incorporating some pattern (gasp!) into my collection. These are very textural in look with great usage of color. Watch this space…

Yesterday morning after a jog on the bank of the Seine at 7am (Paris time), I got on a plane and landed in New York at 5.30pm. By 7.30 I was in Madison Square Garden to see Tina Turner in concert as Preston Bailey’s guest. It was amazing! She’s 66 but her voice is as raw and exquisite as it’s always been and her energy and performance was superb. I’ve seen her before, the first time was 28 years ago, and she’s still as electrifying as the first time.

Today, Tuesday morning, I have a large client presentation. It seems my life at the moment is a non-stop whirlwind which will culminate on December 16th when I get on a plane and get out of here. Phew!