Kenji Hirata: The Way Out is the Way In

by CH Contributor

by Tamara Warren

Color functions as language in Kenji Hirata’s bountiful universe with shapes and hues that converge in beautiful cataclysms on canvas. The Japanese-born, Brooklyn-based artist's solo exhibition "The Way Out is the Way In," opens at Joshua Liner Gallery in New York City“ this week. New Laughter Mode” and “New Laughter Mode 2” represent cylindrical objects in motion, awash in shades of blue and offset by suggestive reds on small canvases.

Slightly larger pieces such as the grand work “Gesture without Motion”—an abstraction of a starry sky illuminated by blazing comets—is lush in detail while “The Way Out is the Way In" makes use of the white space, applying gray shades to depict a cloud-like horizon.

Hirata has exhibited at Zeit Art Gallery in Hamburg, Reed Space in New York and Arcus Projects in Tsukuba, Japan. He is also a member of the Barnstormers artist collective of nearly 30 painters from New York and Japan including Swoon, David Ellis, Chris Mendoza, Mike Ming and Rostarr.

More images after the jump.

The Way Out is the Way In
17 October-14 November 2009
Joshua Liner Gallery
548 West 28th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10001 map
tel. +1 212 244 7415

Snow Peak Backpacking Cutlery

by Karen Day

Bringing Japanese aesthetics to outdoor function, Snow Peak's dainty set of titanium camping cutlery lightens the load on backpacking excursions without compromising quality and taste. The collection includes the basic utensils required for any well-deserved meal and adds chopsticks and sporks the mix.

Each set weighs less than two ounces, and sells from Snow Peak's online shop, along with an array of luxury camping gear.

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Cut & Paste Global Championship 2009

by Bailee Wolfson

A competition of ideas, this year's Cut & Paste digital design tournament goes global for with 48 prior champions from around the world competing in the fields of 2D, 3D and motion design. Cool Hunting's own Josh Rubin will be one of the judges for the 3D segment.

The battle of the best showcases savvy designers performing their own work in multiple rounds on stage in front of an audience, with a clock counting down the minutes. Audience members are encouraged to make the tournament interactive by tweeting feedback and tagging #cutandpaste, as comments will be posted on the jumbotrons between rounds.

The competition takes place in NYC, Friday, 16 October 2009 at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Tickets are available online from Going for $15 or $20 at the door. For a full look at all the tournament encompasses, check out the Cool Hunting video from a 2006 Cut&Paste competition.

Visit cutandpaste.com for more info.

More images after the jump.

The Dutch Touch Art: Hand-Painted Oils

by CH Contributor

by Tisha Leung

Preserving the style of painting popular during the Netherlands' Golden Age, the Dutch Touch Art Company's newest collection of oil paintings celebrates the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's discovery of Manhattan.

Other reproductions and originals include both new and traditional subjects, like the full-size portrait “Marchese Balbi” and still-lifes such as “Cream Mushroom” (above left) and “Pear with Insect” (above right). Dutch Touch’s stable of artists utilize archival paint and hundreds of layers of brush strokes per canvas to recreate the texture, detail and lighting found in the originals.

Check out Dutch Touch Art’s website for their full collection.

Dorado Tacos and Cemitas

by Ami Kealoha

The joint effort of a former Californian and a Boston chef, the new taco spot Dorado brings authentically fine-tuned Mexican to Boston's Brookline area. When myself and two other former Californians (credit one of them, photographer-savant James Ryang, for these pics) were invited to visit recently, we left longing for a similarly well-priced and delicious restaurant in NYC—no small compliment coming from a group with higher-than-average standards for tacos.

Dorado takes its cues from Mexican street food and keeps the menu pretty simple, focusing on fish tacos (four styles in all) but offering other fillings too, as well as hearty sandwiches called cemitas, rotisserie chicken and sides that include rice and beans, guacamole and pickled vegetables. Drink options also keep it real with Jarritos, Mexican Coke, other sodas and aguas frescas.

Co-owner Michael Brau explains that their food "is about spicy, sweet, acid and salty" and from what we tasted, his chef-partner Douglas Organ (already renowned in Boston) nails it every time. Our favorite of the tacos, the Ensenada, takes on the battered fish taco. Wrapped in a soft, locally-made tortilla, the crisp but not greasy fish comes dressed with a lime wedge, pickled onion (thanks to research the owners conducted in the taco's namesake town), shredded cabbage, crema and pico de gallo. Like everything we tasted, the freshness and quality of the ingredients kicks the classic up into a category you might expect from a more formal place.

In fact, Dorado puts off a decidedly laid-back vibe with unpretentious and helpful staff, bar seating and citrus-colored walls. Eco-friendly utensils, napkins and plates, recycled wood floors and reclaimed tables are yet another example of how to do it right—but back to the food.

Other tacos, like the piquant chicken and tender steak (both feature a habañero salsa with a pleasant heat), also benefit from the perfectly-sized tortillas and winning flavor combos. A meal consisting of a couple tacos (for $6 you get two of your choice with rice, smoky black beans and grilled jalapeño) satisfies, but for those looking for something new, the cemitas introduce a little-known Mexican sandwich hit.

Layered between a disc of soft bread (the owners worked with a local baker to create a lard-free, sesame seed-topped roll) a combination of fillings, like pork milanesa and house-made chorizo team up with Oaxacan cheese, black beans, chipotles and cilantro, will convert most. While cemitas originated in Puebla, Mexico, Michael Brau initially checked them out in Boyle Heights, L.A. and chef Douglas Organ tasted his first cemita when Brau's son (and CH contributor) Seth Brau took them to a place in the back of a Sunset Park, Brooklyn deli.

While the sides succeed as much as the more substantial dishes, we especially recommend the corn and guacamole. Accompanied by white corn tortilla chips (crisp and perfectly salted), a tangy lime flavor lends the fresh guac a welcome layer. The corn, seizing on a traditional street food dish popularized in the U.S. only recently, uppercuts them all by only serving it during its peak season and keeping the cotija cheese dusting light. (For those already obsessed, following Organ's twitter will alert you to other seasonal dishes, like a current and already well-received chicken tortilla soup served with avocado slices.)

All in all, Dorado's white-napkin worthy food, served in a no fuss setting with prices to match, perfects the taqueria concept. It's as ideal for a two-taco lunch or a cemita before a movie as it is for takeout rotisserie and a few sides picked up on the way home from work.

See more images after the jump.

Dorado Tacos and Cemitas
401 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA 02446 map
tel. +1 617 566 2100