Top Marques - Borat's Armoured Car?

You need an armoured car?  Look no further.  This monster is made by Dartz Combat Cars and is obviously just the thing to pop down to the shops in Monte Carlo when you are running a little low in caviar and champagne.  The cost - $750,000.

The setting was a  hoot: images of Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, the number plate on the car 'Wadiya' (Republic of Wadiya) and the two girls dressed in appropriate gear.

Click on the video below to see more of this extraordinary vehicle. 

Top Marques - The Prince and the Mansory Girl

Prince Albert opened Top Marques and then toured all the stands.  He sat in some of the sports cars, admired the myriad boys' toys on offer and of course met many of the pretty girls.  I wonder if he noticed that this young lady is holding a brochure for Mansory?  See the Mansory Bentley in the smaller photo.

Top Marques - Red!

Think of a red car and perhaps you thinks of a Ferrari - I do - which shows just how wrong you can be.  This car is made by Soleil Motors.

 

Top Marques - Girl on a Motorcycle

Top Marques doesn't only feature supercars. Remember the film, 'Girl on a Motorcycle' with Marianne Faithfull? 

Silly me - of course, you are all looking at the motorbike ...

Top Marques - the GTA Spano

Top Marques is on at the Grimaldi Forum. Here you'll find the most expensive, luxurious super cars in the world along with dozens of long-legged beautiful girls - seemingly an irresistible combination. So, sit back, turn on the ignition and over the next few days we'll see photos of both ...

This is the GTA Spano - made in Spain.

There is still more to show you at ArtMonaco but we can go back to that another time.

ArtMonaco - Priscille Vincens

Priscille Vincens is a beautiful woman who creates beautiful lyrical art.

She was invited to exhibit at ArtMonaco by Love Life, Love Prevention (see yesterday's post) as she herself was the victim of a terrible accident six years ago, shortly after the birth of her first child. She lost both her legs and her right arm.
This didn't stop her but simply made her art even more important to her and sent her off in a different direction.

What an example to anyone who thinks life stops after such an event. And Priscille is now expecting her second child.

During ArtMonaco, she talked to school children about her work and impressed upon them the need for vigilance on the roads.

Do click on THIS LINK to read about and see more of Priscille's expressionist art. She exhibits all over the world.

ArtMonaco: Love Life, Love Prevention

If you wonder what a bunch of old tyres and a sculpture made of two old cars is doing at ArtMonaco, let me tell you. This is a collaboration between Ladies & the City, l’Éducation Nationale Monégasque and Monaco Dream Art (who we met yesterday) and also the artist, Priscille Vincens (we'll meet Priscille tomorrow - she's a truly amazing lady). Ruvalor compressed the two cars.

The idea is to make young people aware of the dangers of the roads. As we all know, far too many die on them each year. Visitors to the show were invited to sign the sculpture, which was created with two cars involved in accidents. In the larger photo below, you can see the signature of Prince Albert. It will be sold in aid of the charity at a later date.

Meet Johanna Flores (we met her artist mother, Joelle, yesterday) who is the organiser of this charity event.



















In the last photo, artist/sculpture Marcos Marin is signing the squashed cars. Look carefully, you can see my signature too - with three kisses! This photo was taken by Kevin Stec.

ArtMonaco - Monaco Dream Art: Muriel and Joelle

Meet Muriel and Joelle who together create relief paintings of Formula One cars. They work together on each creation which takes approximately one month.

You can read about these artists and their work at Monaco Dream Art by clicking on the link.

Tomorrow - we meet Joelle's daughter who was at ArtMonaco for a totally different reason. All will be revealed...

ArtMonaco - Mirko's Grace Jones

Mirko's latest paintings are portraits with Pop Art accents. This portrait of Grace Jones is one of a series called 'Immortals - 10 Smiles of my Life.'

Click on the link above to read about Mirko, how he paints and to see more of his work.

ArtMonaco - Patrick Lo Guidici

These old photographs of the legendary Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich were wonderful. Swiss artist Patrick Lo Giudice has taken the images and in what is called expressive art photography has used heat and wax on wood. I don't speak German so I can't fully understand the process but I loved them.

ArtMonaco - the One Dollar Bill

Artists and galleries came from all over the world to exhibit at ArtMonaco, including Galeria Salar from Bolivia. This extraordinary painting of a one dollar bill is made of coca leaves created by Bolivian artist Gastón Ugalde. The gallery owner told me that Coco Cola (a symbol of the USA) used to be made with coca leaves (not now of course!) He said he has to have a special permit to bring the artwork to Europe and that if it doesn't sell it will stay in Europe as, because of the coca leaves, it can't go back to Bolivia. You can see more detail in the last photo.

The striped head you see on the left, by Sonia Falcone, is a painting behind glass (hence the reflections) but it looks like a sculpture, doesn't it?

The wool head is part of an exhibit of three. I'm not sure who the artist is but possibly Sonia Falcone.

ArtMonaco - Chris Wake

Chris Wake's art made me laugh out loud. They are such quirky, wonderfully energetic paintings. Chris and her large oils travelled from her home city of Adelaide, Australia.

The painting in the main photo is called 'Diva on the Boat' and the second painting is 'Man with Dog.'

You can read about Chris Wake and her work by clicking on the link.

ArtMonaco - 'Is Being Good Being Liked?' - Daniele Buetti

Swiss artist, Daniele Buetti creates Lightboxes - the edge of one you see here.

The smaller Lightbox is called 'Is not all a matter of taste.' To see more of this artist's work please click on the link.

ArtMonaco - YOUN (Cho-Youn Kyoung)

It's fun when kids - and adults - interact with a sculpture.

The artist is Korean-born YOUN (Cho-Youn Kyoung) who now lives in Nice. She is represented by Galerie Ferraro in Nice.

ArtMonaco - Yin Kim

Yin Kim was born in Kashgar, Chinese Turkestan. He began his career painting Communist political slogans on walls in China during the Cultural Revolution without comprehending their significance. After completing art school in Xian, he travelled around the world exhibiting his work, eventually settling in Paris in 1994 to live and work.

He uses western techniques to paint the many facets of China and uses his own feelings and perspective to portray Chinese old-fashioned society. Yin Kim says, 'I am first an artist and second Chinese.' Click on the link for more information.

ArtMonaco - Isabella Nurigiani

Sculpture by Isabella Nurigiani.

ArtMonaco - Marcos Marin's Princess Grace

ArtMonaco is back - 4 days of fabulous, crazy, weird and absolutely wonderful art. Something for everyone - you could say...

So let's start on the forecourt of the Grimaldi Forum and this sculpture of the late Princess Grace of Monaco (Grace Kelly).

In the small photo you see the sculpture from the other side with the apartments of Avenue Princess Grace in the background.

The sculptor is Marcos Marin

Davis Cup Monte Carlo - Allez les Bleus! Go USA!

Yesterday I went to the Grimaldi Forum to photograph ArtMonaco - the series was due to begin here today. However, I'd forgotten that the Davis Cup tennis was on. Finding a parking place was next to impossible although in the end got a place down by the port.

Much much later it was almost impossible to get past the Monte Carlo Tennis and out of Monaco. The cars crawled along and so I snapped these American ladies through the glass (then wished I'd remembered to roll it down). And later at Saint Roman, snapped the French - against the early evening light.

I couldn't tell who won yesterday as both the Americans and the French seemed to be having a ball.

Allez les Bleus! Go USA!

Ironwork

Beautiful solid wrought iron gates grace the entrance to this part of the Casino building.

Old and New

Old photographs of the buildings around Casino Square decorate canvas panels that hide the latest renovations.