CASE STUDIES

DESERT X ALULA

Desert X AlUla took place from January 31–March 7, 2020 in the desert of AlUla, an ancient oasis in the north west of Saudi Arabia and home to the UNESCO World Heritage site, Hegra. The exhibition was co-curated by Saudi curators Raneem Farsi and Aya Alireza with Desert X Artistic Director Neville Wakefield.

Desert X AlUla was the first site-responsive exhibition of its kind in Saudi Arabia. The exhibition enabled new, cross-cultural dialogue between artists from Saudi Arabia and the surrounding region with artists from previous iterations of Desert X in California. An exploration of desert culture, the exhibition took its cues from the extraordinary landscape and historical significance of AlUla and created exchange among artists, curators and the international and local communities.

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DESERT X 2017

THE INAUGURAL DESERT X, A SITE-SPECIFIC, INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION CURATED BY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR NEVILLE WAKEFIELD OPENED FEBRUARY 25TH–APRIL 30TH, 2017.

SPANNING 45 MILES OF THE CALIFORNIA DESERT, THE 16 WORKS AND RELATED EXHIBITION PROGRAMS AND EVENTS WERE VISITED OVER THE COURSE OF THE TWO-MONTH EXHIBITION BY AN ESTIMATED 200,000 PEOPLE, AND MILLIONS ENGAGED WITH THE EXHIBITION ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS.

DESERT X 2017 WAS CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AND FEATURED IN OVER 300 PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA OUTLETS IN CLOSE TO 20 COUNTRIES GENERATING 1.6 BILLION GLOBAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS.

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MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL - CULTURAL GAME CHANGERS LONDON

A CONVERSATION WITH INNOVATORS IN ART, DESIGN, FASHION, FILM AND THE MEDIA

CULTURAL GAME CHANGERS LONDON WAS THE FIRST IN AN INTERNATIONAL SERIES OF IMPORTANT, INTIMATE, INVITATION ONLY, CULTURAL SALONS. THE EVENT SET THE AGENDA IN AN UNPRECEDENTED WAY TO REINFORCE MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL AND ITS LIFESTYLE BRANDS AS LEADERS, CREATIVE CHANGE MAKERS AND INNOVATORS IN THE LIFESTYLE ARENA.
 
CULTURAL GAME CHANGERS LONDON, HOSTED BY TINA EDMUNDSON, GLOBAL BRAND OFFICER, MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL LUXURY AND LIFESTYLE BRANDS AND CHAIRED BY BRONWYN COSGRAVE, AUTHOR, CURATOR AND CULTURAL COMMENTATOR, ESTABLISHED IMPORTANT, RELEVANT AND LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS WITH HIGH PROFILE MEDIA AND CREATIVE INFLUENCERS IN ART, DESIGN, FASHION, FILM AND THE MEDIA IN LONDON AND FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

30 RESPECTED AND INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED GUESTS FROM THE WORLDS OF ART, DESIGN, FASHION, FILM AND THE MEDIA ATTENDED THE EVENT TO EXPLORE AND EXAMINE CURRENT CULTURAL SHIFTS AND IDEAS FOR CREATIVE CHANGE IN THE LIFESTYLE SPACE.

PHOTOGRAPHY: TRISTAN FEWINGS FOR GETTY IMAGES ENTERTAINMENT

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DEPART FOUNDATION - NIKI, LUCY, LOLA, VIOLA / PETRA CORTRIGHT

CURATED BY PAUL YOUNG, NIKI, LUCY, LOLA, VIOLA, ON VIEW JULY 9 – SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 AT DEPART FOUNDATION IN LOS ANGELES, WAS AN IMMERSIVE VIEWING EXPERIENCE THAT FEATURED LARGE-SCALE FLASH ANIMATIONS, VIDEO WORKS AND ANIMATED DIGITAL PAINTINGS. CORTRIGHT’S INTERNET-INSPIRED ARTWORKS PLAY WITH THE VERNACULAR OF VIRAL INTERNET CULTURE BY APPROPRIATING SOME OF ITS MOST COMMON FORMS AND TRANSFORMING THEM INTO SINGULAR, CAREFULLY ORCHESTRATED, HYBRID WORKS THAT FALL SOMEWHERE BETWEEN IRONIC DISTANTIATION AND THE SINCERE – ITS GENERIC FORMS AND CONTENT FROM ONLINE.

NIKI, LUCY, LOLA, VIOLA FEATURED A SERIES OF NEW VIDEO WORKS AND ANIMATIONS BY CORTRIGHT COMPILED FROM OPEN-SOURCE, SCREENSAVER SOFTWARE, AND PURCHASED VIRTUAL STRIPPERS. “NIKI”, “LUCY,” “LOLA,” AND “VIOLA,” ARE THE VIRTUAL EROTIC DANCERS ACQUIRED BY CORTRIGHT, FROM READILY AVAILABLE ONLINE SOFTWARE, TO POPULATE HER OWN SYNTHETIC AND PAINTERLY LANDSCAPES AND GREEN SCREEN VOIDS. PRESENTED WITHIN AN IMMERSIVE INSTALLATION ENVIRONMENT, WHICH INCLUDED ATMOSPHERIC AUDIO COMPONENTS, THESE WORKS SELF-CONSCIOUSLY OFFER AN INFINITE VIRTUAL REDUNDANCY IN THEIR REPETITION AND ABSENCE OF REAL-TIME.

ALONGSIDE THESE WORKS, CORTRIGHT ALSO PRESENTED A SERIES OF ANIMATED DIGITAL PAINTINGS COMPLIED FROM HUNDREDS OF DIGITAL LAYERS. THESE PAINTINGS ARE A COMBINATION OF ABSTRACT GESTURES, MADE WITH CUSTOMIZED PAINTBRUSH SOFTWARE, AND REPRESENTATIONAL FRAGMENTS, CONSISTING OF SAMPLED CLIP ART AND IMAGERY FOUND ONLINE. THE MESMERIZING ANIMATION OF THESE DENSE LAYERS SUBTLY CONVEY THE ARTIST’S MEDITATIVE PROCESS OF “PAINTING,” REVEALING THE SLOW ACCRETION OF THE WORK’S AMBIENT SURFACES.

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PLEASE DO NOT ENTER - PROJECTION BY VINCENT LAMOUROUX

PROJECTION WAS A SITE-SPECIFIC INTERVENTION ON THE SUNSET PACIFIC MOTEL PROPERTY IN SILVER LAKE, LOS ANGELES BY FRENCH ARTIST VINCENT LAMOUROUX. THE INSTALLATION HAS BEEN PRODUCED BY DOWNTOWN LA BASED PROGRESSIVE AND CURATED LUXURY RETAIL AND EXHIBITION SPACE PLEASE DO NOT ENTER.

PROJECTION IMPERMANENTLY TRANSFORMED THE DERELICT STRUCTURE OF THE INFAMOUS “BATES MOTEL”, ALTERING THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTION AND TEMPORAL EXPERIENCE OF THE SITE. THE ARTIST COVERED THE ENTIRE BUILDING IN WHITE OPAQUE LIME WASH, INVITING VIEWERS TO SPECULATE, INFER AND PROJECT THEIR OWN IMAGININGS ONTO THE STARK WHITE STRUCTURE. BY DRAMATICALLY PUNCTUATING LOS ANGELES’ URBAN LANDSCAPE, PROJECTION BECAME AN OPEN-ENDED INVITATION TO EXPERIENCE AN INDETERMINATE SPACE.

PROJECTION INDUCED BOTH AN APPEARANCE AND A DISAPPEARANCE; IT REVISITED OUR EXISTING LANDSCAPE WITH NEW EYES AND ENVISIONED THE BUILDING’S SURFACES AS SCREENS FOR THE PROJECTION OF OUR DESIRES.
ESSENTIALLY THE MOTEL – AN INCARNATION OF IMPERMANENCE AND PASSAGE – REMAINED CLOSED. THE LIME WASH ADORNMENT THUS RE-IMAGINED THE BUILDING AS AN ARCHITECTURAL MODEL TRANSPOSED IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT. IMPENETRABLE, IT PRESERVED THE INDETERMINATION THAT NOURISHES OUR CURIOSITY AND IMAGINATION.
PROJECTION CALLED FOR AN ECONOMY OF MEANS, BROUGHT REVELATION TO A SITE SUDDENLY FIXED IN TIME, INFORMING A SPATIAL-TEMPORAL TRANSFORMATION.

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SCOTT MITCHELL STUDIO

SCOTT MITCHELL STUDIO WAS FOUNDED IN 1999, WHEN SCOTT WAS COMMISSIONED TO DESIGN HIS FIRST PROJECT—THE RENOVATION OF A BEVERLY HILLS HOME. SCOTT HAS SINCE DEVELOPED AN EXTENSIVE DESIGN PORTFOLIO ACROSS THE U.S. AND INTERNATIONALLY, INCLUDING HOUSES AND ESTATES, RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL SPACES.

SCOTT SEES EACH PROJECT AS A TRUE COLLABORATION BETWEEN HIS STUDIO AND HIS CLIENTS, MANY OF WHOM WORK WITH HIM AGAIN AND AGAIN ON MULTIPLE PROJECTS. HIS COLLABORATIVE PROCESS EXTENDS TO THE TEAM OF DESIGNERS, CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS WITH WHOM HE CONSISTENTLY WORKS. SCOTT AND HIS TEAM WORK TIRELESSLY WITH HIS GUIDANCE TO CREATE MEANINGFUL SPACES—ARCHITECTURE THAT IS RESPECTFUL OF ITS FORMAL CONTEXT AND PURPOSE.
COMMITTED TO THOUGHTFUL DESIGN OF THE UTMOST CLARITY AND RESONANCE, SCOTT MITCHELL ASPIRES TO PRODUCE BUILDINGS, WHICH EXPRESS HONESTY AND INTEGRITY. WITH A REFINED SENSE OF ORDER, SCALE, MATERIALITY AND STRUCTURE, HE CREATES SPACES THAT TRANSCEND UTILITY AND STYLE.

INFLUENCED BY THE WORK OF MODERNIST ARCHITECTS LOUIS I. KAHN AND RUDOLF M. SCHINDLER, SCOTT IMBUES HIS WORK WITH REFERENTIAL SPATIAL LOGIC, FORMAL PRINCIPLES OF SENSITIVITY, AND UNCANNY CALM. EVEN WHILE WORKING ACROSS DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURAL STYLES AND TYPOLOGIES, HE APPLIES THESE GUIDING, HUMANISTIC PRINCIPLES TO CREATE SPACES THAT HAVE A MEANINGFUL, EMOTIONAL IMPACT.

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