Latest news with #FrankGehry
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Surprise Guest Nancy Pelosi Honors Frank Gehry at MOCA Gala
Surprise Guest Nancy Pelosi Honors Frank Gehry at MOCA Gala originally appeared on L.A. Mag. "MOCA, thank you so much for the diversity that you brought to the legends that you honored tonight," said surprise guest Nancy Pelosi upon taking the stage at the Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Little Tokyo on May 2025 gala, presented by BVLGARI, introduced a new format — whereby which three MOCA Legends from different areas are honored annually. The first three honorees were artist Theaster Gates, recognized by Ava DuVernay; philanthropist Wendy Schmidt, praised by Jane Fonda; and finally, Frank Gehry, whom Pelosi came to honor."Listening to — even the presenters, Ava and Jane, and Wendy and Theaster — it reminded me of something that our founders said," Pelosi began. "John Adams wrote to Abigail Adams, and he said to her, 'I must study war and politics, so that our sons can study agriculture, science.' So that their children will have the freedom to study music and poetry and architecture, and he even said tapestry at the time."Pelosi went on, "But the connection of all of these disciplines through the eyes of art is so important, because what John Adams was talking about was the expansion of freedom, and that is what art is about — freedom.""So tonight, I'm here to talk about Frank Gehry," said Pelosi, who remarked how she left her grandson's high school graduation to be there because of how much she respects and loves him. "Frank Gehry — you think of him, I think of him, as a genius. But he's more than a genius. ... Frank Gehry is a magician. Because with his architecture, he enables people to see the art differently. To hear the music differently. To understand the education differently." Pelosi continued: "He has said, 'architecture speaks to its time and its place, but yearns for timelessness.' And that's what he has been about. ... The architecture is art for the community. He has always listened to the community about what this structure will be. He designs it around the community. So it's about culture, it's about community, it's about communication to everyone as to what the purpose is of the design, of the art, that he has created." She concluded, "The poet [Percy] Shelley once said, 'The greatest force for moral good is imagination.' And Frank Gehry is the personification of imagination."The 96-year-old MOCA culture legend Gehry — who renovated MOCA Geffen in 1983 prioritizing adaptive reuse — made remarks from his table after a standing ovation. "I owe a lot to this place," Gehry said. "When I graduated architecture, I met with the undergraduates and by luck, I designed a little building on Melrose and artists started to come to the construction site. And I couldn't understand why they were there!" Gehry continued, "They had brought me into their club, and it's where I wanted to be. And it opened my eyes to another world — which is more relevant than where I was coming from. So, MOCA means a lot to me. I was on the board a long time ago, but I didn't have the body to keep up with it! I've always been a supporter. I'm so honored to have Nancy here — she's so important in my life. I believe in her so much, Thank you. Let's go on and make this place really important — it is important, we got to build it, we've got to build on it. I'm here to help ... Let's do it!" The festive evening — attended by 600 art lovers, including Sarah Paulson and Mayor Karen Bass — featured a performance by Tierra Whack and raised over $3.1 million in support of the museum. Following a cocktail hour outdoors in the Aileen Getty Plaza, guests explored the immersive current exhibit Olafur Eliasson: OPEN en route to dinner, where this year's "legends" received toasts."This is my fourth gala, and what I had realized as I got to know the institution was how many people — from 50 years of history almost — we have to look back to, in order to look forward," Maurice Marciano Director Johanna Burton told Los Angeles. "And this idea of storytelling became very important because of the historical moment we're in, where we should really be reminding ourselves and each other of the kind of radical, really caring gestures that have happened in his space and lay ground for what comes ahead."This informed the gala's new format. "We came up with this three-part structure, where there are three visionaries each year: one is an artist; one is a cultural visionary, that could be a filmmaker or a fashion designer or a dancer; and the third is a philanthropist," Burton said. "So it became this really beautiful way of tapping in people who have helped write the history of this place — and the people who support them are also legends."MOCA Board Chair Maria Seferian and Burton began the program by addressing the room. "This past year has been one of extraordinary growth and meaningful momentum MOCA," Burton said, calling out Eliasson's exhibit (and presence in the room). She also cited the collaborative efforts to fundraise following the wildfires through the Los Angeles Arts Recovery Fund led by the Getty. Burton also spoke to future exhibits: Nadya Tolokonnikova (of Pussy Riot)'s Police State "staging a durational performance that highlights human resilience in the face of state power," from June 5-14; the third presentation of MOCA's relaunched Focus series with Takako Yamauchi at the end of June."And in October, the long-awaited Monuments exhibition, co-presented with The Brick,: Burton said. "Conceived nearly a decade ago, Monuments brings recently decommissioned Confederate statues to the museum, displayed alongside contemporary artworks — many created for the exhibition, by 15 of the most compelling artists working today. The show explores how public monuments have shaped national identity, historical memory and ideas about power and belonging."Fonda praised Schmidt, citing her environmental activism work (protesting oil drilling and promoting ocean conservation) and her newly-founded Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize — which will present its first artist projects by Cecilia Vicuña and Julian Charrière at MOCA next year. "There are people in the world who do good things, and seek and receive a lot of attention, and there are people who have a profound impact and they do work quietly — without notice and fanfare, and Wendy Schmidt is the latter," Fonda said. "But the work she has done for two decades should be known by everyone in this room. ... She sees the big picture; she sees how the world can be, while the rest of us just see a mess.""There was a clear distinction between science and art," Schmidt said. However, she noted, "In a world of increasing convergence, science and art actually need each other. ... Where art meets science, great things happen."DuVernay took the stage to honor Chicago-based artist Gates, who held his first solo museum exhibition on the West Coast at MOCA in 2011. "I'm here to speak to you about sound," DuVernay began. "The sound of a man who walks into an open space and hears something that others cannot. ... I've been out on the town with Theaster ... and I've shared contemplative times with him, where the world slows down and we talk, not just about what we're making, but why. And in these exchanges, there's a beautiful truth I've come to realize: Theaster Gates is the whole band." "In growing up, this [idea] was important to me, that you enter the world, you enter a circumstance with something — or maybe with nothing," Gates said. "And that, life feels like it's about the attempt at making that nothing something. ... You take your talent, and you multiply it."He also made a plea: "I feel like I'm constantly looking at Black and brown talent in my neighborhood, and no one's invested in them — and in fact, they are burying Black talent all the fucking time! And is it possible that we would just take a moment to imagine that the talent around us has the capacity to do greater than it does?"Gates ended: "My job is to make talent. To be talented. To multiply talent." This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Web Release
29-05-2025
- Business
- Web Release
GEHRY PARTNERS DESIGNED NEXT PHASE OF BPS DEVELOPMENT TO PROGRESS FOLLOWING PLANNING CONSENT
Planning consent for the next phase of Battersea Power Station has been granted, marking another major step in delivering the vision for the 42-acre regeneration project. Battersea Power Station is to bring forward a new phase of residential, retail, community and leisure development having secured detailed planning approval from Wandsworth Council, completing Electric Boulevard, London's newest high street. This latest phase adds two new Gehry Partners designed residential buildings comprising 306 new homes. They will form an extension to the highly recognisable existing two buildings at Prospect Place, which are fully sold and occupied, and remain the only residential buildings in the UK designed by Frank Gehry, the world-famous architect and designer of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The ongoing focus on sustainability means these latest designs have a more modern aesthetic to reduce the carbon footprint while green roofs will also be present throughout both buildings, contributing to a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain. Gehry Partners' latest additions to the Battersea Power Station streetscape will juxtapose white sculptural facades, in a postmodern interpretation of John Nash's neo-classical terraces that are stereotypical of Regency London, in contrast to the stark industrial brick architecture of the historic Power Station. In a first for Battersea Power Station and in line with the project's objective of creating a truly multigenerational community around the iconic Power Station, one of the new buildings, Prospect Place 3, is proposed to include senior living apartments, to be managed by a specialist operator for over 65s and includes access to additional care and on-site facilities. The second building, Prospect Place 4, will offer 122 new homes. As with Gehry Partners' first two buildings at Battersea Power Station, every home within this latest phase will be unique in design. Both buildings will sit on a communal podium, part of which extends to form a private garden square for residents. Positioned opposite to the new office building, 50 Electric Boulevard, which is over 50% let, and the western entrance of Battersea Power Station's London Underground station that is due to open later this summer, this latest approval allows Battersea Power Station to complete the development of London's newest high street, Electric Boulevard, adding 70,000 sq ft of new commercial space for shops, cafés and restaurants. Existing shops on the high street include children's clothing brand Lindex, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Boots Beauty and Borough Kitchen with more to come including WatchHouse, The Salad Project and R.W. Wolf barbers. This newest phase further extends Battersea Power Station's objective of creating new facilities and opportunities for the local area, expanding the existing community and cultural programme with the addition of a 15,000 sq ft Community Hub. This new civic space will be designed in partnership with Wandsworth Council. Local stakeholders will be consulted on the concept, vision and on the appointment of a specialist community cultural operator, who will curate a programme offering a wide range of events and activities to complement the existing offer. To encourage sustainable and healthy travel to and from Battersea Power Station, the new community facilities include an expanded Bike Hub, adjacent to the new Community Hub, which will have 600 spaces available for all, free of charge. Through its delivery and beyond, this phase will create over 400 jobs, adding to the existing total of over 6,800 jobs Battersea Power Station has provided to date as well as adding to the 2,500 residents who already call it home. Construction is expected to start later this year with completion anticipated in 2029. Frank Gehry, Founder of Gehry Partners, LLP, said: 'I am very happy that the next phase of the Battersea project is underway. These two buildings will help our masterplan, which was designed to create the feeling of a neighbourhood, come to fruition. In keeping the same body language of the original, we have continued the white material of these buildings, referencing the incredible history of the Nash Terraces. The winter gardens help break down the scale of the facades while also giving each unit a beautiful, light-filled space. Our goal from the beginning has been to make something that is unique to London and unique to this incredible new district in the city. I hope that we make the city proud.' James Wixley, Head of Development at Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC), said: 'This milestone is the next step in realising the long-term vision for Battersea Power Station. With detailed planning consent now secured, we're extending Gehry Partners' distinctive architectural legacy, adding new homes while introducing senior living for the first time, and completing Electric Boulevard — London's newest high street. As well as lots of new opportunities in the form of shops, restaurants and jobs, the phase also includes a new Community Hub to support local events and activities which will be designed in close partnership with Wandsworth Council and the wider community. We are moving beyond the halfway point in delivering the masterplan and, together with our Malaysian shareholders, we look forward to starting on site in the coming months as we work towards another key milestone at this incredible regeneration project.' The regeneration of Battersea Power Station has created a vibrant mixed-used destination for London and a sixth town centre for the London Borough of Wandsworth with the Grade II* listed Power Station at its heart. Over 2,200 homes have been delivered to date, including 386 affordable homes at New Mansion Square in partnership with Peabody. The riverside neighbourhood is also home to more than 150 shops, bars, restaurants, and unique leisure experiences, and a thriving office community with over 3,500 office workers based across over 60 different companies, including Apple who has its 500,000 sq ft UK headquarters inside the Power Station. To be kept updated on the residential release for Phase 3C, please register your interest here – For more information about Battersea Power Station please visit and follow @BatterseaPwrStn to keep up to date with the latest news and events.
South China Morning Post
27-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Louis Vuitton plans opulent, Frank Gehry-designed Rodeo Drive flagship in Beverly Hills
Louis Vuitton is gearing up to go over the top again in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. With plans for an ultra-opulent hotel on Rodeo Drive stymied by voters two years ago, the Paris fashion house's owners are back with a proposal for a theatrical flagship store designed by Frank Gehry that would anchor the north end of the famous retail corridor. Luxury goods stores on Rodeo Drive are growing larger as top-shelf retailers increasingly up the ante to dazzle shoppers, and the vision from Louis Vuitton owner LVMH is one of the biggest yet, with restaurants, rooftop gardens and exhibition space. Set to open in 2029 pending city approval, the store will be one continuous structure connected across an alley by two pedestrian bridges and a tunnel. The flagship store will be built on the site on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California (above) on which Louis Vuitton had proposed building a Cheval Blanc Beverly Hills hotel. City planners rejected that proposal. Photo: AFP Louis Vuitton's new store will be 45,000 sq ft (4,180 square metres) on the retail side fronting on Rodeo Drive and an additional 55,000 square feet on the hospitality-focused side of the building. 'The new location will take visitors into a full Louis Vuitton lifestyle experience showcasing its diverse universes of products and one-of-a-kind client experiences,' the company said.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Softbank's Son Floats Idea of US-Japan Sovereign Wealth Fund: FT
(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has proposed setting up a US-Japan sovereign wealth fund aimed at making large investments in technology and infrastructure, the Financial Times reported, citing three unidentified people close to the situation. NY Private School Pleads for Donors to Stay Open After Declaring Bankruptcy UAE's AI University Aims to Become Stanford of the Gulf NYC's War on Trash Gets a Glam Squad Can Frank Gehry's 'Grand LA' Make Downtown Feel Like a Neighborhood? Chicago's O'Hare Airport Seeks Up to $4.3 Billion of Muni Debt Son has discussed the plan with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, although it hasn't been formally proposed, the report said. The joint fund would likely need about $300 billion in initial capital, with significant leverage, to be effective, one person told the FT. According to the report, the fund would be jointly owned and run by the US Treasury and Japan's finance ministry, with each holding a significant stake. The fund could also be opened to limited partner investors, potentially offering retail investors in Japan and the US a chance to participate. Bessent has been looking for revenue streams for the Treasury that don't involve raising taxes, and the fund could potentially provide a solution, a person briefed on the situation told the newspaper. A Treasury spokesperson and Softbank declined to comment to the FT. To view the source of this information, click here How Coach Handbags Became a Gen Z Status Symbol Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center AI Is Helping Executives Tackle the Dreaded Post-Vacation Inbox Microsoft's CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Junkiest Junk Is Offering a Warning Sign for Debt
(Bloomberg) -- For much of the year, money managers have embraced optimism and snatched up corporate bonds, sending valuations to ever more expensive levels. Now, Wall Street titans are saying it's time to focus on how bad things can get. NY Private School Pleads for Donors to Stay Open After Declaring Bankruptcy UAE's AI University Aims to Become Stanford of the Gulf Can Frank Gehry's 'Grand LA' Make Downtown Feel Like a Neighborhood? NYC's War on Trash Gets a Glam Squad Chicago's O'Hare Airport Seeks Up to $4.3 Billion of Muni Debt Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Josh Easterly, co-founder and co-chief investment officer of Sixth Street Partners, are among those warning that the credit market may not be pricing in enough risk. And the lowest rung of junk bonds are flashing warnings that the US economy could soon face slower growth and higher inflation, as well as the possibility of a recession. Risk premiums on junk bonds rated in the CCC tier have widened 1.56 percentage points this year, and 0.4 percentage point in the latest week. The gap between spreads on CCCs and the next tier above them, Bs, has been widening this year and in the last two weeks, signaling that the weakest bonds are lagging. The CCC widening and underperformance are red flags, said Connor Fitzgerald, fixed-income portfolio manager at Wellington Management, a firm that oversees more than $1 trillion of assets. 'I wouldn't recommend somebody make a big move into high yield today, because spreads are tight and if you think there's concern about a recession, you risk default-related losses,' Fitzgerald said in an interview. Dimon, who was early to spot risks in the mortgage market during the US housing bubble, said on Monday that credit spreads aren't accounting for the impacts of a potential downturn. He added that the chances of elevated inflation and stagflation are greater than people think and cautioned that America's asset prices remain high. Credit is a 'bad risk,' Dimon said at JPMorgan's investor day. 'The people who haven't been through a major downturn are missing the point about what can happen in credit.' Yet investors are still buying at least some junk bonds. CoreWeave Inc., an AI cloud hosting firm, sold $2 billion of five-year notes on Wednesday, finding enough demand to boost the size of the offering from $1.5 billion. And in the US investment-grade market, companies sold more than $35 billion of bonds this week, topping dealers' forecasts of around $25 billion. Corporate debt has rallied since the violent swings of April, partly because investors have had cash from maturing securities to reinvest into the credit market, said Blair Shwedo, head of fixed income sales and trading at U.S. Bank. But geopolitical tensions and tariff uncertainty could hurt demand for company debt and cause spreads to widen. Market sentiment can shift quickly. In April, days after US President Donald Trump announced the steepest tariffs for the country in a century, spreads climbed to their widest since March 2020. Soon after that, they tightened again. There are many risks ahead. US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50% tariff on goods from the European Union starting next month, signaling trade wars are far from settled. The Federal Reserve's interest-rate path is also unclear, as is when, or if, economic data will start to show signs of deteriorating. 'Lack of clarity on growth and trade and geopolitics should be reflected in spreads,' said Sixth Street's Easterly, who is particularly concerned about floating-rate debt. 'Risk is not being appropriately priced today in credit.' Week In Review High-grade credit derivative indexes for North American and European credits widened in the latest week, after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on the European Union, ramping up trade war rhetoric again. Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co. has secured backing from nearly 75% of bondholders for its offshore restructuring. The giants of corporate America from Pfizer Inc. to Alphabet Inc. are borrowing in euros like never before as the anxiety triggered by Trump's tariff threats pushes them to hunt for alternative funding avenues in case their home market freezes up. Apollo Global Management is financing its acquisition of PowerGrid Services from Sterling Group with a nearly $1 billion debt package from Brookfield Asset Management, Blackstone Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s direct lending businesses. US mortgage bonds weakened after Trump said he's looking at removing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government backing, yet reaction was relatively muted and reflected investor faith that any changes will come slowly and won't disrupt the market. Private capital firms are increasingly using collateralized fund obligations to raise cash, as they slice and dice private portfolios into bonds with top ratings, allowing issuers to borrow cheaply against illiquid assets. Private credit firms are seeing an opportunity to finance everything from public transit systems to local utilities as the federal government and banks pull back on funding. Sunnova Energy International, a seller of rooftop solar-panel systems, is laying the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing that could happen within the coming weeks. On the Move Former Ares Management Corp. partner Scott Graves has assembled a team to help run Lane42 Investment Partners, the asset manager he launched this year with $2 billion of capital commitments from Millennium Management. Lane42 will invest across public and private credit markets and offer tailored financing for both healthy and distressed companies. Jim Boland, who spent nearly two decades at UBS, is joining Mizuho Financial Group Inc.'s team in New York. Boland will be a managing director overseeing debt capital markets, and joins from The Benchmark Company, where he has worked since 2021. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is hiring industry veterans to bolster its emerging markets team after several high-profile traders and salespeople left in a shakeup earlier this year. Rafael Madrid, former co-head of emerging-market credit trading at Morgan Stanley, and Anton Hobbs, a London-based credit sales executive from Citigroup Inc. are set to join. Clear Street is launching a trading desk to help asset managers, hedge funds and family offices outsource some of their trading business, tapping talent from UBS Group. Barclays Plc hired Marc Warm from UBS Group as the third co-head of its global capital markets business as the British lender seeks to grow its investment banking franchise. New York-based Warm will co-head the division along with Tom Johnson and Travis Barnes. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce hired Manav Suri to lead commercial real estate credit in the US as it continues to bolster its structured-credit team in the country. Suri was managing director, head of real estate capital solutions, at MUFG Bank Ltd. until August 2023. Ares Management Corp. partner Bryan Southergill, who focuses on Asia credit, is leaving by the end of June. Hong Kong-based Southergill has worked on real estate-related credit investing at Ares since August 2022, and was previously a managing director on KKR's real estate team in Hong Kong. --With assistance from James Crombie and Dan Wilchins. Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI How Coach Handbags Became a Gen Z Status Symbol Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center AI Is Helping Executives Tackle the Dreaded Post-Vacation Inbox Microsoft's CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
