Issue # 17
Archive stories

‘Household name’ is something of an apt description for Martha Stewart. Right now, you can buy saucepans, file folders, dog collars, craft paint, pillowcases, and the very same Italian-roast espresso beans that she uses in her one-shot cappuccino every morning—all designed according to her famously exacting taste. At a time when people struggle to balance…

In the exact geographic centre of Berlin, in a surprisingly anonymous part of the otherwise so-popular Kreuzberg area, stands a monumental building with massive concrete blocks and exposed surfaces. The building is St Agnes, a former church complex built in a brutalist style by architect Werner Düttmann between 1964 and 1967 as an iconic centrepiece…

Petra Collins is a 23-year-old photographer, actress, model, curator, and director. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Petra now resides in New York City. She comes from a dance background that ended with a knee injury, which turned her creative energies towards photography during her mid-teens. And she has not stopped shooting since. From her earliest photos…

I was thinking recently about the theory, the one where a butterfly in Montana flaps its wings and a week later a hurricane hits Hawaii. While its complexities and nuance are well above my understanding, the basic idea is that small causes may have large effects. I can trust in the idea that this is…

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of Klaus Biesenbach’s arrival in New York City. In that time the German-born curator has racked up a seemingly endless exhibition résumé, at both MoMA PS1 and MoMA, including solo shows of Douglas Gordon, Olafur Eliasson, Doug Aitken, Mickalene Thomas, Kenneth Anger, and Henry Darger, to name but a few….

The road leading to Jason Schwartzman and Brady Cunningham’s house winds its way slowly up a hillside above the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, and though the sunshine is dazzling the trees are hung with paper skeletons and cloth ghosts and the houses are wrapped in the sort of cobwebs that come out of…

Liam Gillick pays attention to architecture. A nice pair of binoculars sits conspicuously on his coffee table, and he uses them. He lives on the 17th floor of a building designed by Wallace Harrison, overlooking the United Nations Plaza and the East River. The building’s exterior gives the appearance of uniformity and order. Harrison served…

Images from the archive of Dante Bini On the afternoon of July 14, 1964, a young reporter was driving from Bologna to Crespellano to cover a beauty contest. On his way home around midnight, he saw a UFO-like grey mass nearly six metres high on the side of the road. He had no idea what…

on writing from home, and her fascination with other writers I have been working (and by that I mean writing) from home for nearly a decade. During this time, I’ve learned how dramatically a home itself can affect the work that’s done inside it. Beyond that, I’ve learned of the labyrinthian, often ridiculous rituals writers…

What makes a power couple? This very strange but sometimes useful notion requires two people who are equally talented and successful. In Paris, one example of this surprising notion comes in the form of Victoire de Castellane and Thomas Lenthal. Her: the great-grandniece of Parisian dandy legend Boniface ‘Boni’ de Castellane turned ‘90s model and…

It felt odd getting the assignment to write for Apartamento about Mati Klarwein, the man who once said, ‘The world is my apartment, and its cultures, the furniture’. Which is a pretty cool way to say he never had an apartment. Or even the bare intention of owning one. For most of his life, Mati…

Concept by Ana Dominguez & Omar Sosa          

Javier Perés’ African art ‘Don’t believe everything you read on the internet’ is probably one of the best pieces of advice you can follow in the 21st century, and it is proving itself particularly true when meeting with Javier Perés. When entering his apartment in Schöneberg, Berlin, Javier welcomes you warmly with a cup of…

New York City: At 2am in the middle of a fun-filled Saturday night that’s no where close to ending, the next stop would have to be Montrose Ave, an unassuming street in the Puerto Rican section of Williamsburg on the edge of both Bed-Stuy and Bushwick. Looking at a group of quiet row houses you wonder,…

Paris: It’s late February and I’ve just got off the 7am flight from Barcelona to Paris. It’s overcast and cold. I’ve made my way from Charles de Gaulle to the city’s 13th arrondissement, and I’m standing outside a McDonald’s because the internet on my phone isn’t working. I’ve arranged to meet at an address on…

A conversation chaired by Gianluigi RicuperatiIllustration by Olimpia Zagnoli In a world where ever-evolving technology has introduced limitless opportunities to the design industry, we’re also experiencing a resurgence in desire for craftsmanship. In anticipation of a new initiative launched by Loewe under the direction of Jonathan Anderson to reflect the importance of craftsmanship—the Loewe Foundation International Craft…

I like to photograph the ordinary. When I was a child, I spent endless hours drawing. I had very little interest in drawing fantastical or extraordinary scenes. I only wanted to draw what I saw in my daily life. I drew the shopping cart at the supermarket, the children on the playground, the food on…