No. 35: Yours Truly
Antique jewelry boxes, bed & breakfast recs, Rob Davis' painting, ML Buch and Sky Ting
A more detailed letter from yours truly than usual.. it’s what happens when I’m in LA —
I. a 1stDibs rabbit hole
Sorting by High to Low on 1stDibs (or TRR, Vestaire, etc.) is usually what every bone in my body tells me not to do, but for “research purposes” I do it often. The other day I was looking at jewelry boxes, and I came across the below. They’re all so beautiful in their own way.
a French Renaissance Revival Gilt-Brass and Agate Dressing Table Box from 1870 ($20,380.41)
a Japanese Namban Lacquer Jewelry Casket from 1650 ($17,456.69)
an Italian Bronze Mounted Porphyry Casket from 1750 ($150,000)
“Offered with a letter on the stationery of George W. Funk, dealers of Italian and Spanish Antiques, 854 Lexington Ave. New York, and dated December 2, 1925, stating that the box is circa 1750 and had once belonged to Prince Lichtenstein of Vienna.”
an Indo-Portuguese Colonial Mother-of-pearl Gujarat Casket ($250,939.96)
Top Left (1), Top Right (2), Bottom Left (3), Bottom Right (4)
II. an album
Suntub by ML Buch on repeat. But also Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter. Range is important.
III. a list of places to stay
Over the past few years, I’ve been staying in bed & breakfasts or “guesthouses” when I travel. The experience is crafted with so much love and care – the breakfasts change daily based on what’s fresh nearby (or what was left at the bakery), the books are perfectly curated, and there’s always a song I love humming in the background. The other guests are also people I enjoy hanging out with.
Last summer I went down to Villa Magnan in Biarritz for a solo getaway from Paris. Each morning, I’d sit down at the long dining table for coffee & breakfast alongside the other unusually early risers before heading out to surf for the day. On my last day, I went down for breakfast before my final surf lesson and ended up spending the day at the table with Theresa & Kandi who sat down next to me. I’m glad I cancelled my surf lesson (sorry to my epic surf teacher, Judd) because we had the best time. Even though our breakfast was interrupted by this guy —
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There’s a lot of magic to the B&B from the owners to the chefs and all the other guests coming and going. These are the best I’ve been to and those that are at the top of my list —
Carmen (Amsterdam)
Villa Magnan (Biarritz)
Casa Lawa (Sicily)
Chateau de la Haute Borde (45 min from Tours)
Pagostas (Patmos)
Le Doyenné (45 min from Paris)
Salmon Creek Farm (Mendocino. More of a retreat to be sloooow.)
Le Chalet Olivet (Ok fine this one is an airbnb home.. 2 hours south of Paris)
The PLF House (Outskirts of Paris — also a home rental, but beautifully designed by Clo, an upcoming AA guest)
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I do dream of opening one in the Hollywood hills.. will you come?? There will always be homemade almond milk (and good old full-fat milk) in the fridge.
IV. a painting
I love this painting by Rob Davis (it’s in his show at Broadway Gallery). The twists and turns in the wood, the warm glow & shadows… as if someone is waiting up late for a call. At my childhood home, I’d use our phone line to talk to my friends until my dad came in to tell me it was “time to exit the girl cave” aka my bedroom. It was a valid point — I’d been with my friends all day at school — but somehow we could still chat for hours about god knows what.
V. a podcast episode
Being in New York for the past few months, I’ve fallen head over heels in love again with Sky Ting (not a past flame, thank god). It’s a special place — it feels like what the right relationship feels like: you walk in and feel at home, you laugh/move/breathe, and you leave feeling better than when you arrived. Every single time.
Last week Desirée mentioned I should listen this episode of her podcast. Both Krissy & Desirée’s inspiring nuggets boil down to creating something that allows you to exist from the heart. A world you fit into with ease, not one that you are squeezing into. Similar to how the body naturally fits into itself in Padahastasana. A very inspiring listen :)
~ bulletin ~
los angeles
On view: Clare Woods’s I Blame Nature and Coco Young’s Passage open at Night Gallery on Saturday. Bella Foster’s It was a Dark and Stormy Night at the Pit. Camille Claudel sculptures at the Getty Museum. Max Xeno Karnig’s The Most Beautiful Boy in the World at Castle Gallery. Marcus Brutus’ Lotus Blossom at Harper’s. John McAllister’s Sometimes Splendid Seeming… Stellar Even.. Ripping at James Fuentes. Leonard Baby’s L.A. Baby at Half Gallery. Ed Ruscha’s Now Then at LACMA. Yoora Lee’s Shadow Etched in Stone at Nicodim. Carole Vanderlinden’s A Slipping Glance at Karma. Ella Kruglyanskaya’s See Saw at Jeffrey Deitch. Alina Perkins’ La Fiaca at Fernberger. Basquiat show at Gagosian.
Sunday: My friend Dr. Isabella Gucci-Ruffalo is the founder of Innata, a regenerative health & Chinese medicine clinic. She’s hosting a grand opening botanical brunch this Sunday. She is a true gem.
new york
On view: Dubuffet x Giacometti at Nahmad Contemporary. Simone Bodmer-Turner’s A Year Without A Kiln at Emma Scully Gallery. Andy Woll at 1969 Gallery. Group show curated by Aaron Stern, Hard Copy, at WSA showcases a collection of large and small-scale xerox prints. Kazuyuki Takezaki’s Before Spring at 47 Canal. Sedrick Chisom’s … And 108 Prayers of Evil at Clearing. Second solo exhibition of French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, featuring five works of her late-career Tableaux Éclatés, at Salon 94. Alessandro Twombly’s Etruscan Painting at Amanita. Jennifer Rochlin and Mary Heilmann’s Daydream Nation at Hauser & Wirth 22nd St. Eve Ackroyd’s Second Body at Turn Gallery. Lauren Quin’s Logopanic opens at 125 Newbery on Friday. Frank Lebon’s One Blood at Entrance. Yves Klein and the Tangible World at Lévy Gorvy Dayan. Group show A Study in Form (Chapter Two) at James Fuentes curated by Arden Wohl featuring Ann Craven, Jenna Gribbon and over 70 other artists. Peter Shear’s Accident Report at American Art Catalogues. Rob Davis’s The Golden at Broadway. Julia Bland’s Rivers on the Inside at Derek Eller. Joe Bradley’s Vom Abend and Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato at David Zwirner. Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within at Noguchi Museum.
Today - Sunday: Frieze New York at The Shed.
Affection Archives is a weekly look into the archives of yours truly (Arielle Eshel) and humans I admire. If you’d like to add an event to the bulletin, DM @affectionarchives or reply to this email.
ohhh thank you for the B&B recs! I stayed in a family-owned "hotel" that was pretty much just a house in Mallorca and the people there were so sweet, and the local meats and cheeses and fresh coffee and orange juice they put out in the morning were delicious. Also they gave me paper maps of the island with their recs circled!!