art design kitsch ...: Spain

Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts

Jan 13, 2011

Alvaro Tamarit - scrap wood design

Wood... old bits of wood ... scraps of wood with flaked and fading paint... My favourite material.
I've seen a tiny part of heaven in Jessica Bataille's shop in Javea.

Alvaro Tamarit has become one of my favourite artists.

I wonder if his studio lies behind this curtain, I didn't dare to ask to have a peek inside.

Mixed media collages and a sculpture similar to the ones we saw in the wine bar in the previous post.

A growing sculpture with separate 'building blocks'.

I'd love to be a child again when I see this ... irresistable

The tiniest colourful scraps are used (very inspiring, my studio is filled with them).

Could I turn this into a space with a desk for my computer?

But the PIECE DE RESISTANCE is definetely this one ...

Fascinating!

Next time we go to Spain we'll have to take the car, I didn't dare to take one of the art works on the plane.

www.alvarotamarit.com/

www.jessicabataille.com/

use the 'search this blog' on top right of page to find more on Alvaro Tamarit.

Jan 11, 2011

lovely bits of wood

We are longing for a nice cup of coffee and head for the wine bar La Trastienda in Javea. Leen promised me a nice surprise and it was. I am definetely in love with the work of Alvaro Tamarit, we saw a few smaller pieces of his art at the Affordable Art Fair in Brussels last year (click HERE) and since he is a local I was looking forward to see more of his work.

Furniture made from scrap wood.

A bookshelf/sculpture made from scrap wood. This hasn't left my mind ever since we saw this last week.

I love the softness of the wood, it somehow reminds me of adobe buildings we saw in New Mexico.

Collages and sculptures by Alvaro Tamarit.

Detail of one of the collages, sorry for the low quality of the picture.

www.alvarotamarit.com/

www.latrastiendajavea.es/

But this is only an appetizer. A short distance from here is a great shop/gallery with a great selection of his work. That will be the next post... saving the best until last.

Jan 10, 2011

La Seu - lunch in Denia

The old town of Denia, departure and arrival port for ferries towards the Balearic Islands, has a totally different character than Javea. A large fortress towers over the city and in one of the narrow streets new café's and restaurants are opening one after the other.

We've already tried two of them earlier, today we decide to have lunch in a house with a black façade and wooden details. Through the glass door we detect an interesting interior, we're far too curious to just walk by. And the menu looks promising.

The restaurant has many corners and rooms to sit in. It is a sunny day and we choose the covered patio next to the kitchen visible behind an enourmous glass wall. The opposite wall will attract my attention during the entire meal. Can't get enough of the interesting patterns the sun creates on this wall.

Only a few minutes will the sun hide behind clouds, and even then the wall looks spectacular.

The restrooms are on the third level and look out over the patio and small casita, it gives an idea of how tall the wall is.

3rd level

Inside the restrooms is a large glass wall filled with corks which seems to have a particular feature on the men's side (according to my husband ... I should have given him the camera).

restaurant on the 2nd level

Colourful furniture in the casita in the back.

And what about the food I hear you ask?

We had a very nice lunch menu, a mixture of traditional and modern cuisine, affordable prices.

www.laseudenia.com/

Possibility to attend cooking workshops.

Jan 7, 2011

Al Marge - Art Space

In the very quiet - I mean quiet, no traffic passing by and very few people - narrow streets of the old town of Javea a recent new project opened its doors.
A collective of artists decided to re-open a former gallery and turn it into a multifunctional space.

In the heart of the Mediterranean town of Javea, an eighteenth century house, which retains a lot of features of traditional architecture, is opened for exhibitions, workshops, working groups, conferences, concerts, gatherings, exchanges of artists waiting to be part of the cultural and artistic life of the city.

al marge espai d'art
Manolo Oyonarte, Pilar, María Luisa Pérez, Carmela Saro, Lucía Zalbidea, Emilio Zaldívar.
All info on the artists with links to their sites HERE
www.almargeespaidart.blogspot.com/ Spanish
www.almargeartspace.blogspot.com/ English

couldn't resist shooting this in the attic...

Jan 6, 2011

a house filled and surrounded with art

It's always a pleasure to stay at Leentje's (my husband's sister) house in Spain. Not only is she an excellent cook and delightful host (and so is her husband Robert), but the house is filled with her artwork.

Leen Frison

One of the most recent paintings.

Leen Frison

Nice atmosphere in the bedroom.

Leen Frison

One of her first paintings that has travelled all the way from Australia.

HERE is a post on her studio with pictures taken two and a half years ago

and HERE a post on the gorgeous house she and her husband Robert Vandevelde live in.

I'm already looking forward to our next visit.

Jan 5, 2011

a church like a boat

A particular structure towers over the rooftops of the old fishermen's houses in the port of Javea. At first I could not see what it was. Our local guides - sister and brother-in-law - Leen & Robert Vandevelde lead us through the narrow streets to the church of Nuestra Señora de Loreto.

Inside one can see how the roof is build like the hull of a ship (not quite clear in this picture).

Around the building slender narrow doors that - I can't help it - remind me of coffins.

Next to the church are - what I guess to be - the priest's quarters.

The church of Our Lady of Loreto was built in 1967 by architects Garcia-Ordoñez, Dexeus Beatty, Bellot Porta and Herrero Cuesta.

Jan 4, 2011

Mark Art Meyer in the Cable House

Enjoying a sunny stroll through Javea-Xabia in Spain we arrive at The 'Casa del Cable' an airy exhibition space next to the port. Currently exhibiting is Belgian born painter, Marc Meyer, living in the area.

Before we get to the door we see the tall sculpture by Salvador Molla, we met him in his fabulous sculpture garden some years ago. Unfortunately he has moved since then.