Latest news with #VADundee
South China Morning Post
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
How Scottish whisky brand The Dalmore redefines culture through art and design: its 3rd Luminary Series edition was unveiled at the 2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture, in partnership with V&A Dundee
There's plenty to say about what it means to be cultured in this day and age – one of the few words in our modern vernacular which invites some debate depending on who you ask. Perhaps what comes to mind is less a description and more a feeling not too far off from the first sip of a cool glass of aged and refined whisky – something which feels fresh and evocative, deeply personal and always thought-provoking. For the previously uninitiated such as myself, entry into the world of whisky came naturally thanks to the cultural touchstone that is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, where Scottish whisky brand The Dalmore unveiled the third edition of its Luminary Series last week in partnership with V&A Dundee – Scotland's very first design museum and the first prestigious Victoria & Albert museum outside London. The Dalmore unveiled the third edition of its Luminary Series in partnership with V&A Dundee. Photo: Handout Advertisement Marking a marriage between whisky-making and taste-making, these releases are available exclusively as limited-edition collectibles and one-off versions made for auction. They are presented as luxurious art pieces co-created by the design luminaries of our time. Previous collaborators include legendary Japanese architect Kengo Kuma , who designed the V&A Dundee, and protégé Maurizio Mucciola, along with Melodie Leung of Zaha Hadid Architects , whose portfolio includes Hong Kong's very own Henderson Building. And in keeping with tradition, The Luminary 2025 Edition, The Rare – both whisky and accompanying sculpture – will also be auctioned at Sotheby's, this time in Hong Kong, on Friday, May 16, with all proceeds going to V&A Dundee. The Dalmore event unveiling the third edition of its Luminary Series. Photo: Handout In these capable hands, it's easy to see how The Dalmore aims to cultivate a more cultured world, one drink at a time. In its over 180 years of making whisky in the Scottish highlands, the brand has sought to challenge the conventions of its craft and bring new meaning to that tricky term. While some may call cultured a state of being, others a state of mind, the curated, complex tastes involved in bringing The Dalmore's latest release to life say something else entirely – to be cultured is less a choice and more a mandate to push the boundaries of what we think to be possible in today's climate, to pursue thoughtfulness in everything we do. Ben Dobbin (right), with Maurizio Mucciola and Melodie Leung, The Dalmore's Luminary Series designers in previous years. Photo: Handout That's precisely what Ben Dobbin, this year's luminary designer, had in mind when conceiving and developing the latest chapter of The Dalmore's ambitious arts and design project. Dobbin built his sculpture using the principles of tensegrity, which essentially boils down to finding structure through tension – a delicate balance which applies to many other disciplines beyond architecture, including human anatomy, art history and now, whisky-making. Ben Dobbin's sculpture is built on the principle of tensegrity. Photo: Handout 'Taste and smell are really rooted in some of your earliest memories,' says Dobbin, who grew up around apples and whisky-infused desserts. Unsurprisingly, both played a huge role in formulating the 52-year-old single malt whisky that is the 2025 Edition of The Rare. It is the oldest of the brand's whiskies currently available for purchase and the oldest so far in the Luminary Series, which houses a blend of tastes and smells made possible only by its time spent maturing in exceptionally rare casks. The aroma of warm spices like vanilla and cinnamon, which have become The Dalmore's signature, opens up to deeper tasting notes of baked brioche, apricots and apples. The strictly limited-edition collectible version of the whisky, aged 17 years but no less refined in its palette, offers a hint at what this singular whisky has to offer for non-auction prices.
Times
12-05-2025
- General
- Times
Monty Don: A window box can be as joyful as a big garden
His two-acre plot in Herefordshire is one of the most beautiful gardens in England, but Monty Don insists there is just as much joy to be taken from a window box. Don, 69, said gardening, which has helped him to deal with both grief and depression, can be a huge source of pleasure, and urged people not to be put off just because they do not have a garden. Speaking to Kirsty Wark on the V&A Dundee podcast today, he said: 'I completely support that whole view of getting people to garden something, anything, anywhere, anyhow. 'When you have a window box, the pleasure that you can get from seeing something grow is just as great as seeing what I do in my garden outside
The National
12-05-2025
- General
- The National
Tiles from 17th-century Iranian palace to go on display in Scotland
Rare tiles from a 17th-century Iranian palace in Isfahan will go on display for the first time in a generation at a new exhibition at the V&A Dundee. The panel dates from the reign of Safavid ruler Shah Abbas II (1642-1666) and originally decorated the wall of his private hammam (bathhouse) within the now-demolished Haft Dast Palace in Isfahan, central Iran. The 4.5-metre wide tiles depict a garden paradise with fruit trees, flowering plants, and an ornate blue and yellow border. Among its details are pomegranates, flower species accurate down to their horticultural usage and climbing gourds that wrap around fruit-bearing trees. James Wylie, project curator at V&A Dundee where the items will go on display this month, explained the significance of this "masterpiece" of Safavid art. "This extraordinary tile panel from ancient Iran is a stunning embodiment of the garden as a symbol of power, paradise and cultural identity," he said. "We are thrilled to display it at V&A Dundee for the first time in over two decades, following its meticulous conservation by our colleagues at National Museums Scotland [NMS]. "Including this rare treasure in the exhibition expands the story well beyond contemporary design, offering a rare glimpse into the universal and enduring human impulse to shape nature into meaning. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to experience a masterpiece of Safavid art in a new light and to consider how gardens have always been spaces of imagination, beauty and political expression." The display follows conservation work of the tiles by NMS – which acquired the items in 1899 – to remove 100-year-old overpainting and reveal more of the original design. Conservators also reduced the weight of the supporting frame, making it possible to lend the item to another museum for the first time. Friederike Voigt, principal curator of west, south and south-east Asian collections at NMS, described the piece as the only one of its kind to show "a complete composition" of the garden motif. "Beautifully painted and rich in symbolism, it offers a tantalising glimpse into the splendour of the gardens at the Haft Dast Palace," she said. "Extensive conservation work has revealed it in its full glory and I'm delighted that it's going on display for the first time in a generation as part of this major exhibition." The panel will form part of the V&A Dundee's Garden Futures: Designing With Nature exhibition that opens on May 17. The exhibition is designed to take visitors on an "illuminating journey" through key moments of innovation in garden design from the 20th century to the present day, as well as offering a glimpse into the future.
