Latest news with #kitsch
News24
29-05-2025
- Business
- News24
Tretchikoff triumph: SA's ‘king of kitsch' breaks world record with R31.9 million sale
Vladimir Tretchikoff's painting 'Lady from the Orient' has sold for over $1.7m (R31.9m), setting a new world record. The 1955 portrait is one of Tretchikoff's most recognisable works, widely reproduced and celebrated for its global popularity. Known as 'the king of kitsch,' Tretchikoff made history by introducing his art to the masses through affordable reproductions sold worldwide. A Johannesburg auction house said Wednesday that Vladimir Tretchikoff's iconic painting 'Lady from the Orient' has sold for more than $1.7m, a new world record for the Russia-born South African painter. The 1955 portrait of a glamorous woman in a green and gold silk gown is among Tretchikoff's most recognisable pieces, reproduced the world over on items such as tablecloths and handbags. The Strauss & Co auction house said it sold to an anonymous telephone bidder late Tuesday for R31 892 000 (US$1 776 017). The company said in a statement that the final price, inclusive of commission and taxes, 'comfortably eclipses' the previous world record for a Tretchikoff work, which was £982 050 for 'Chinese Girl' (1952) sold in London in 2013. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Strauss & Co Auctioneers (@strauss_and_co) The painting of the daughter of a Cape Town grocer was a particular sensation in 1960s Britain and is among the most famous images produced by Tretchikoff, who moved to Cape Town in 1946 and died there in 2006. 'It was sold as a reproduction in London from 1962, and it was the second-highest selling print in Britain in 1962 and a massive seller in 1963, '64, '65,' senior art specialist at Strauss & Co, Alastair Meredith, told AFP ahead of the auction. Tretchikoff, whose stylised work - including the famous 'The Dying Swan' (1949) - led some to call him 'the king of kitsch', became wealthy through the reproductions and prints of his pieces. 'Tretchikoff essentially authorised huge numbers of prints of his paintings to be sold at very cheap prices in department stores and stationery shops all around the world,' Meredith said. 'Lady from the Orient' is 'part of South Africa's cultural and visual makeup, part of our country's aesthetic history. But it's also a global icon,' he said. Tretchikoff was born in what is now Kazakhstan and was then Russia in 1913. He fled with his family to China during the 1917 Russian Revolution and grew up in Shanghai before moving to Singapore and then South Africa.
Vogue Arabia
17-05-2025
- Business
- Vogue Arabia
Get Mushy: The Online Platform Elevating Design and Eccentricity
What does Mushy mean? 'Excessively sentimental', according to creative consultant Dina Adlouni and architect Tarlan Vaziri Farahani. The duo's e-commerce platform stocks everything from creatively-shaped candleholders to elaborately designed furniture, fashioned to form a geometric playground. Headquartered in Dubai, Mushy is a haven of head-turning trinkets, tableware and head-turning home furnishings. Lighting is moulded into sculptural, swirly shapes, while abstract mirrors are bordered by colourful appendages. A gold-rimmed ashtray is stamped with a Rolex logo, while the bulb of a periwinkle-coloured lamp is nestled between two ears with hoop earrings. A yellow ceramic art piece meanwhile, in the shape of a squished-up tube labelled 'Special glue for broken hearts', belongs on the coffee tables and bookshelves of self-assured connoisseurs of kitsch. Photo: Dina Adlouni and Tarlan Vaziri Farahani Such conversation-starting items target a specific type of clientele, says Adlouni, who previously worked in PR for Gucci, and then Louis Vuitton. 'They're tastemakers, rule-breakers and people who curate their spaces like they curate their wardrobes. They don't just follow trends – they set them. They appreciate design that has wit, charm and a little bit of weirdness. Whether they're collectors or just starting their interior journey, they want their space to tell a story,' she explains. Home decor in the Middle East often falls into one of two categories: pristine and minimalist, or utterly ostentatious. Between these two extremes, within its own realm of whimsy, lies Mushy, and its founders are making a strong case for enhancing your home with items that reflect uniqueness, personality and offbeat charm. 'The region has long leaned into opulence – grand, gilded and glamorous. Mushy takes a different route: playful, experimental and a little bit rebellious. We love pieces that spark conversation. It's less about 'lavish' and more about 'let's have fun with this,'' says Farahani. Design and eccentricity converge within these homeware essentials imbued with a coveted cool factor. Pieces by Persian designers, including statement furniture from Kouros Maghsoudi, stone-like resin vases by Soheil Rad and sculptural papier-mâché creations by Ali Honarvar are available through Mushy. The site also stocks quirky glassware by Polish brand Szklo, Turkish label Deya and Palestinian designer Lameice Abu Aker, while mirrors bordered by colourful glass contorted in exaggerated and almost avant-garde shapes by Jordanian designer Raghad Al Ali appear to defy gravity. Whoever the designer, their unique point of view is pivotal. 'Some lean into surrealism, some into craftsmanship and some are just wildly unexpected, in the best way. Many of them are stocked exclusively in the Middle East through Mushy, making us the go-to spot for design lovers who want something they won't see in every other home,' emphasises Adlouni. One popular piece sold by the duo is the melting clock from Danish brand Silje Lindrup, which is made from glass and painted silver, appearing like a liquid form situated on the wall. It's a mesmerising marriage of modern design with traditional functionality, and has reached cult status among design aficionados across the globe. 'People love it for its surrealist aesthetic – it's a bold statement piece that feels like a dream, or a Salvador Dali painting come to life,' she shares.
Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Brighton's original boutique hotel is voted its best still
I've woken up next to a knitted GPO 706L telephone and underneath a hand-knitted bedspread. Knitted seagulls dangle from a mobile above my head and elsewhere in my 'Do knit disturb' room at the Pelirocco. Artist and knitwear designer Kate Jenkins has created a plate of fish and chips, flowers and er, the curtains. Design trends have come and gone, but 25 years after it opened, Brighton's Hotel Pelirocco is still the queen of kitsch. Guests step through the hotel's Regency Square façade into an intoxicating pink-and-gold explosion of modern and retro art. At the turn of the millennium, the 'Peli' opened on a budget. Its website calls it Brighton's original boutique hotel – though so does that of Blanch House, which opened around the same time. In the late 1990s, its creator and former owner Mick Robinson (AKA'Ginger Mick') had stayed in the Oscar Wilde room at another Brighton hotel and checked out disappointed. He began looking around and found a run-down property in a central location close to the seafront. 'When we turned up on our first day, the balcony had fallen off,' Robinson tells me at the hotel's 25th birthday party. Robinson named Pelirocco after his DJ name. At that time he had a radio show called Pelirocco Platters. Pelirocco channelled Brighton's music scene with a record label and one of the earliest, if not the first, hotel soundtracks. Primal Scream, Howard Marks, Irvine Welsh, Carl Barât, Eddie Izzard, the Happy Mondays, New Order, Tim Burgess, the Scissor Sisters, Mr Scruff, Jessie Wallace and Gilles Peterson have all checked in. Fatboy Slim, the Cuban Brothers and Asian Dub Foundation have performed in the bar. The 19 themed rooms pay homage to cultural heroes (Leigh Bowery) and musical subcultures (Modrophenia). The country cabin-style Dollywould and Rebel Rebel have fancy dress kits, so guests can get their Dolly or their Bowie on before heading to the bar. Some are more risqué than others. Botanica has a dancing pole. Taboo, a collaboration with a local adult boutique, has a bed with anchor points. Nookii has other surprises in store. The building's transformation into a hotel was facilitated through sponsorship with companies including PlayStation, Nokia and Kraken. Robinson spent £40 on the art. 'We trolled Brighton's junk shops and car boot stalls and kept adding to it.' Profile shots of Bowie, Paul Weller, the Specials' Terry Hall and Brighton's own Fatboy Slim stare from hall landings, while film and gig posters and memorabilia celebrate punk, ska, reggae, dub, jazz, country and house music. Mark Gibson has been here since the hotel opened and has worn many hats. Since taking over as manager 12 years ago, he has navigated a slew of competitor hotels, the advent of Airbnb, a global pandemic and, more recently, a generational shift away from excessive behaviour. Maturing Gen-Xers have creaky hips and Gen Z's idea of Friday-night fun is a low-impact workout and a kombucha. That the Pelirocco is consistently voted Brighton's top boutique hotel on Tripadvisor is testament to its continued success. How does a hotel rooted in hedonism and fading subcultures stay relevant in the face of stiff competition? 'Guests have calmed down a little over the years,' says Gibson. 'There were times when we partied to the max, bands came back after their gigs, TVs went through windows, the bar didn't close and people partied until the sun came up. That was a weekly occurrence.' The team is always looking ahead to the next room re-theme, art launch or collaboration. Décor in the hotel's lounge and bar is constantly refreshed with bi-monthly art exhibitions, while annual upgrades keep rooms fresh. Gibson admits Airbnb has posed a challenge, but 'service' scores highly on the hotel's Tripadvisor rankings. 'We've got lots of staff who came for a 'short time' and are here a decade later, so often a guest's breakfast or cocktail is served by the same person they met years ago.' Pelirocco has not stopped partying. At its birthday celebrations, DJs include Don Letts, the Grammy-award-winning documentary maker and musician credited with walking a generation of punks down the reggae path. In the Rebel Rebel room, one half of street-art collective the Postman, whose pop-art murals are dotted around Brighton, is showing guests how to create their own piece of pop art. Pressure Sounds – which doubles as a small recording studio – has become a reggae room for the night and musicians are setting up in Bettie's Boudoir. On my way out I see Letts, talking to camera. 'I've had a long-standing relationship with the joint. And in a time where we are all glued to screens, places like this, where people can come together for a creative, collective, synchronised experience, should be treasured,' he says. The next morning I message Gibson. Has anything gone through a window? 'TVs are safe. All body parts are working,' he replies. The Peli tastes different to when it was bottled, but there's plenty of fizz in the old bird yet.
