All roads lead to the Principality of Monaco this weekend for the 68th Grand Prix. We are at the roundabout at St. Roman which is where Monaco meets France on its Eastern border. I'm standing in Monaco and photographing France (most obvious in the smaller photo)
Last day at ART MONACO although we may pop back from time to time as there is more fascinating art to show you from this fabulous exhibition. We are leaving because it's Grand Prix time!
All the art displayed today is represented by the Cain Schulte Contemporary Art Gallery in Berlin. In the top photo you see snippets of the work of Lars Theuerkauf and in the smaller photo and the one below, you see the paintings of Chris Leib.
As you walk towards these shiny figures you think they must be ice sculptures or at the very least glass, but in fact they are made of an unbreakable substance (I forget the name). Bruce Denny is a British sculptor, living and working in London. You can read more by clicking on the link.
The majority of these paintings are by the young Russian artist, Nikolai Blokhin who is represented by the Downey Gallery in Sante Fe, New Mexico who brought his work to Monaco.
We're leaving ARTMONACO just for one day, as it's time for the Historic Grand Prix. This is held every two years and is always two weeks before the famous Formula 1 race. The atmosphere for the Historic is brilliant - everyone is relaxed, the cars, of course, are wondrous. I wandered around the paddocks the other day photographing the cars as they were being unloaded.
Last night was the opening of ARTMONACO in the Diaghlev Exhibition Hall at the Grimaldi Forum. This is a 35-thousand square foot space and is displaying 2000 pieces of contemporary art from around the world. And last night 'le tout Monaco' was there and it was the best fun, meeting up with friends and seeing some amazing art. All the usual suspects were there, of course - Picasso, Leger, Chagall, Warhol but also aboriginal art from Australia, photography - for example, David LaChapelle's Last Supper was on display. I'll show you one or two examples over the next days.
Lazareth is a French company that makes bikes and what they call 'derived vehicles.' They will also make an out-of-the-ordinary vehicle with 2, 3 or 4 wheels to your specification. Every bike or vehicle is fully built and assembled by hand. Click HERE to read more.
No prizes for guessing this is my favourite car at the show. It was tucked away in a corner, no signs, no notices. I asked someone nearby for information and was directed to the far side of the exhibition where I talked to the UK Racing team and learned that this gorgeous car is a 1934 Ford Coupe, totally restored as you see. It's owned by the well-known Italian motorbike champion, Loris Capirossi. Loris Capirossi lives in Monaco hence the local number plate.
Supercars and photographers go together. Here is one of the more interesting photographers - I love the red ensemble: hair, skirt - even the bottle top! She was photographing these two cars parked outside the Grimaldi Forum.
Remember the small white car we saw yesterday - you see it again in the smaller photo - it's the Atomik which I gather is a Fiat 500 electric car. Then I noticed the shoes...
