Dove Bradshaw at Thomas Rehbein Galerie

Did you hear the one about the goose who laid the golden egg? It never ceases to amaze that some objects are so indelibly intertwined with a concept, an ideology, or a story that any use of their form is seen as either working with, or directly attempting to subvert, that dominant association. Much like that philosophical question about the chicken and the egg, however, Dove Bradshaw’s series of 18k gold broken egg shells Nothing gives no clear answer, but opens up a rather zen-like opportunity for contemplation. This, it seems, was exactly her intention, to conjure Buddhist ideas of form as emptiness and emptiness as form. Thomas McEvilley summarizes it quite well: “First there’s the possibility of nothing, meaning it’s possible that there would be nothing; then there’s the possibility of nothing, meaning the world of potentiality comes out of nothing.”

Not quite feeling up to an existential mental workout? You can leave all that to the side if you like, too, and simply enjoy Bradshaw’s works for their elegant beauty. Sure, it’s a little like going to a yoga class because you like the way it makes your mid-section look, but there’s nothing really wrong with that either. Other works aside from the Nothing series focus on the forces of nature and how they can effect changes in materials over time with Waterstone 2011 (pictured directly below) being a perfect example. As the water slowly drips onto the sandstone below, it changes the stone and completes the work. Water, salt, and stone do seem to be Bradshaw’s favorite materials, but acetone, mercury and sulfur also figure prominently in the creation of pieces like Contingency Pour I, 2006 (pictured far below), which is being displayed as a photograph of how it appeared in February 2010. Returning now, if just briefly, to that famous chicken/egg mind-twister: Bradshaw’s work is perhaps best approached as an unanswerable question; a clear answer, or finished product, is never the goal, but rather the evolution and process of arriving at the point you find yourself in the present.

The exhibition was just extended, so you can still catch it until the 31^st of August at Thomas Rehbein Galerie. While you’re Cologne, find yourself in the present at The New Yorker Hotel, as chosen by White Line Hotels.

Images www.rehbein-galerie.de

Are you tired? REALLY tired?

What you see above are the top image hits that came back from typing “tired” into google today. Yeah, falling asleep on top of the computer with a cup of coffee in hand is a classic, and sleeping babies and pets can be pretty cute, but we think you’re more creative than that, and just to prove it, we have a new contest for you!

Show us just how tired you really are and you could be enjoying 4 nights for 2 people this summer at one of White Line Hotels Alpine Edits: Aenea Hotel, Arthotel Blaue Gans, the Cervo, Hotel Greulich, Haus Hirt, Lagacio Mountain Residence, Hotel Miramonte, Piz Tschütta or Vivere Suites and Rooms.

And to make it just a little sweeter, breakfast is included…if you can wake up in time, that is. Have we got your attention? Check out more details here.

Jon Nordstrøm Celebrates Danish Tattoos

With an impressive number of tattoo parlors within easy walking distance of the Avenue Hotel in Copenhagen, we just had to share this video we recently came across on the tradition of Danish Tattooing. If you’ve seen a copy of the cult book Russian Criminal Tattoo lying around a friend’s coffee table, consider any future gift giving dilemmas solved; Jon Nordstrøm’s photography books Danish Tattooing and Nordic Tattooing are sure to reach a similar cult status among tattoo lovers, as well as photography book lovers.

You can read more about it on Cool Hunting.

Whether you’re planning on coming home with a new tattoo, or having just thought about it, we think there’s no better place to call your home away from home in Copenhagen than White Line Hotels edit Avenue Hotel.

photo courtesy of Cool Hunting

The Vorticists: Manifesto for a Modern World

Wyndham Lewis, "Composition," 1913

Before he was ever outraged by the atrocities of World War I and moved to Italy, or developed the political leanings that still color his reputation, Ezra Pound was an American ex-pat poet working in London who helped shape the careers of contemporaries such as Eliot, Joyce, Frost, and Hemingway. So, you can understand how and why, at the end of 1913, Pound appropriated the word “vortex” to describe the “maximum energy” he and his colleagues wanted to pump into London’s literary and artistic avant-garde. The next year Wyndham Lewis appropriated the word once again and declared the painters, sculptors and writers working in the new style “The Vorticists”.

Lasting just 4 years, Vorticism might just be the shortest art movement ever, but was nonetheless a pivotal modernist movement that took elements of Cubism and Futurism but produced something very much their own. The exhibition gathers approximately 100 of these works, and for the first time ever, attempts to hang them in a recreation of the only 2 Vorticist exhibitions that ever took place during the lifetime of the movement. Included are iconic works of the movement such as David Bomberg’s The Mud Bath (pictured below). The number of Vorticist works gathered together, the recreation of the original exhibitions, and demonstration of Vorticism’s movement into America, facilitated by Pound, make the exhibition an unprecedented insight into a too often overlooked chapter of the history of the avant-garde.

As a co-production with Duke University’s Nasher Museum and The Guggenheim, the exhibition’s stop in London is its final one. Don’t miss out! It’s on from June 14^th until September 4^th at Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG.

While you’re in London, don’t miss out on unprecedented insight into the local area of Bethnal Green at Town Hall Hotel & Apartments, as picked out by the crew at White Line Hotels.

David Bomberg, The Mud Bath, 1914. Oil on canvas, 152.4 x 224.2 cm. Tate, London, Purchased 1964

Running Around Salzburg

Get your trainers on for the start of marathon season. One of the first marathons is in Salzburg and there’s an entire weekend planned around celebrating the event. Far more than your typical marathon, the race supports the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) – Flying Doctor’s Service, which benefits over 30 million people every year. Running is something to feel good about – the race is good for your heart and helps a county desperately in need of medical training, equipment and doctors. This is a huge project, with the goal of building up health care and educating native employees all over the country. The proceeds of the Salzburg AMREF marathon are donated to a health project in Southern Sudan.

If you’re not quite up for the full marathon yet, or still in training for the renowned New York Marathon on November 6^th, there are plenty of other options – from the relay race to the half marathon to the “Just for Us” 5 km fun run and walk. The runs will take you around Salzburg’s fairytale like castles, through the oak forest and past the striking Baroque architecture of Mozart’s hometown.

If you’re still undecided, you can do late registration until the day before the marathon. If running’s not your thing, it’s still worth going to see the spectacle of it all, while enjoying the many highlights offered by the city, from locally brewed beer, to scrumptious cuisine,and enchanting sights. Catch the runners crossing the finish line in front of your hotel door by booking rooms at Arthotel Blaue Gans, White Line Hotels pick in Salzburg. The hotel is a arts, culture and historical highlight. We’re recommending booking one of the Gewölbe Restaurant’s outdoor tables under the olive and fig trees and enjoying the fresh spring breeze.

More info and a full list of events, including the culinary ones! www.salzburg-marathon.at

Marathon Image:

Salzburg AMREF Marathon 2010 – 16.5.2010 (c) SAM – Bryan Reinhart