David Brady: Genesis

by Brian Fichtner

Before relocating to Los Angeles, David Brady cut his teeth on the Colorado art scene, exhibiting at RULE Gallery, Gallery Sink, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, and The Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver. Known primarily as a sculptor (in the broadest 21st Century view of the discipline), Brady is to have his second solo exhibition at L.A.'s High Energy Constructs opening tomorrow.

Titled "Genesis," the multidisciplinary exhibition will explore creation and existence through a myriad of materials such as custom wallpaper, bulletproof glass, industrial grade tow chain, acrylic fingernail tips, man-made crystals, and computer-generated models. Combining highly skilled craftsmanship with seductive form, if past work is to be any indication, this new show is a must-see.

Just Opened: Oak

by Ami Kealoha

By Christina Panas

Just five years after opening their flagship Williamsburg boutique, and on the heels of a Park Slope outpost, Oak co-owners Louis Terline and Jeff Madalena are making that first East River crossing with sleek new digs in NoLita, a shop that opens officially on Monday.

"It happened quickly," says Terline, when asked how long the latest store had been in the works. "This was the only neighborhood we wanted to be in, so when the space became available, we jumped on it." Tucked away on a narrow corridor between Lafayette and the Bowery, Oak's newest spot is emblematic of the owners' continuing interest in thriving on the fringes. "We tend to buy clothes that are a little bit different, a bit borderline," says Terline.

That means plenty of pieces from Ksubi, Alice Ritter, Jeremy Scott, and the like. Likewise, the store's interior—sparsely furnished and punctuated with a sculptural central fixture—blurs the boundaries between gallery and retail space.

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Oak
28 Bond Street
New York, NY 10012 map

Modeselektor

by Doug Black

Long the de facto home of techno music, it's no surprise that Berlin is bursting at the seams with electronic music. But it is a rare feat when one of these artists transcends the club scene like Modeselektor. A staple of the German capital's underground party circuit dating back to the mid-'90s, the group produces a genre-straddling brand of glitchy beats that are equal parts bedroom noodling and dancefloor ragers. They use a wide range of samples and self-developed software to produce an intricate mix of dub, hip-hop, ambient and various other classifications that don't begin to define the sum of their parts. In live settings, they employ innovative MIDI-controllers that allow real time beat manipulation, creating a much more engaging experience than your average DJ just throwing down a record.

Members Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary made a name for themselves in 2000 by signing to Bpitch Control (the label founded by fellow German electronic musician and kindred spirit Ellen Allien), but didn't release a proper album before 2005's Hello Mom! Their lone follow-up, Happy Birthday!, came out last September and features more than an hour of far-flung influences and celebrity collaborations. One of the finest examples is Thom Yorke—who frequently cites the duo among his favorite bands and earlier solicited a Modeselektor remix off his album The Erasure—when he lends his chilling voice to album highpoint, “The White Flash.”

You can hear a handful of tracks on their MySpace page, buy both albums on iTunes or pick up Happy Birthday! from Insound. You can also find the group playing a string of European dates, as well as the very same Berlin clubs where it all started.

1986 Seiko Speedmaster by Giorgetto Giugiaro

by Watchismo

If you've ever asked yourself, "What was that amazing watch Lieutenant Ripley wore in the 1986 movie 'Aliens?'" I have the answer for you. It was a Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Seiko Speedmaster Chronograph. The vertical stopwatch pushers placed inside the asymmetrical case extension are what makes the watch entirely unique. Personally, I think he may have been influenced by the design of the 1973 LIP Mach 2000 that came out 12 years earlier. Many of Giugiaro's other designs for Seiko between 1985-86 had asymmetric qualities as well, which you can see on Watchismo.

For those of you who don't know, Giorgio Giugiaro was one of the most important car designers of the 20th century. Credited with the "folded paper" car designs of the 1970s and '80s, he was responsible for such classics as the Lotus Esprit, De Lorean DMC 12, Maserati Merak, Bora, Quattroporte, BMW M1, and most interesting to learn, my first car, the Volkswagen Scirocco.

Modhaus

by Lost At E Minor

Whenever I need to buy furniture—and it's been a few times over the past few months (yes, bookcases are useful things)—I check out Modhaus, an online store and "gallery of modernist furnishings, decorative arts and cultural artifacts of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s." Our apartment is rapidly becoming a shrine to the buying tastes of the Modhaus owners. How much wood can one possibly fit into a living room?