Back to normal

The world stops revolving and I start to put my feet on the floor after romping around Finland playing with bows and arrows.

We left the boys to enjoy the rest of their residency.

We can all very proudly say we have created our first art barn in Finland, comprising of Asian art from South Korea, Japan and China.

Dave McDermott enjoying the Finnish Cuisine.

Lizzie checking out the Artists' workshop.

Charles Sandison whose work will be in our new show System

atic setting up the arrows.

Nick van Woert trying out his skills with his bow and arrow.

Matthew Day Jackson and I happily enjoying the sunshine and nature.

Back in London Anna-Catharina proudly displaying our new 176 book called The Library of Babel / In and Out of Place, at our book launch which was a success. This book is an amazing insight into the collection.

Visiting Rashid Johnson at his show at Carlson Gallery. Great show - Great artist.

Rashid giving Matthew a peck on his cheek.

Then off to visit Ged Quinn at Anthony Wilkinson. They were both very very happy and Ged's paintings were gems....

On the way to Shoreditch house to eat and meet we dropped by to Michael Landy's and checked out his commission for Louis Vuitton, Tinguely eat your heart out!!!

Then of to a party of incredible proportions: we were treated to a theatre art extravaganza at the opening of Louis

Vuitton's amazing new store. We were sped of to the old Post Office building and were welcomed by a few bellboys showing us five doors to choose from. We chose the one on the right, and through we went - Thomas Dane, Michael Landy, Gillian Wearing and Poju and me - then there were so many weird and wonderful things going on with a deffinite tinge of Goth and Alice in Wonderland.

We were gasping with awe (Punch Drunk at their best). There was no expense spared and the settings were incredible.

Gorgeous little men on shelves you wanted only to take home with you, a pregnant woman giving birth to insects, people making love on a train etc... and more.

Then a brown light bulb-lit room with beautiful flowers and table settings all in LV Brown colours and Donna Summers who was really quite spectacular. I was with the gang and everybody was on form. Many people had made such an effort to look demure, Rebecca King Lassman, Tracey of course and Annie Morris and many beautiful people in the fashion world.

Jane Suitor and Annie Morris

Steve Lazarides and Keith Tyson

Ged Quinn and Anthony Wilkinson
















Curiosity creature on shelf (very attractive)

Donna Summers

I dropped by to Peter Kilchman gallery in Zurich where Fabian Marti and Raffi Kalenderian were previewing their show. Both artists were flourishing and both artists are in our collection. Fabian posed for me on his consulting couch!

Where do I begin...

Where do I begin...

I met up with Jessica Morgan from Tate and Muriel Salem from Cranford collection. Sam at Haunch of Venison takes us around the Glasnost show which is very educational all about Russian art in the 80s.

We check out the new works of Rina Banerjee: her drawings were also spectacular.

I dropped into Stephen Friedman to see Tom Friedman’s new work most elegant.

I visited the studio of Richard Woods who we are commissioning to clad a little house in Finland for us.








It was an insight to see his ideas and his assistants at work he has some wonderful projects coming up in Antwerp and Aspen Colorado.







This evening the weather was glorious and yes.... there was a rainbow and it was definitely pointing its way to Chalk Farm to 176 but instead I headed in the direction of Westminster. I passed the new home of David Cameron and Nick Clegg feeling a sense of satisfaction that all was settled now and all parties' feathers had been well ruffled and none of them have any chance of becoming complacent in the next few years.

Poju and I visit Tate Modern for the tenth anniversary.

It was a very elegant evening and I had been nicely seated between Patrick Brill, who is Bob and Roberta Smith and Vicente Todoli.

I felt very proud of the Tate Team even if all of them were not there. I told Nick Serota ‘Onwards and Upwards' which I think must be his motto.







Poju had decided we should stay in Claridges that night and as we arrived Scott Douglas spotted us and there we were amongst all my lovely friends, Heather Kerzner, Tracey Emin, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Matt Collishaw, Polly Morgan, Keith Tyson, Maia wife of Damien Hirst, Jerry Hall and my friends Ron and Jen Beller.

Mary Quant and Scott.









Sue not wanting her photo taken.












Tim at my feet.
















Tracey was quite sad because she had just been on a visit to Auschwitz. I told her she was incredibly brave to do such a thing as I could never visit such a place seeing as my in laws had both been there and survived miraculously.

David Bailey taking photos on his Iphone. Things have moved on in 40 years!









Keith Tyson was looking super fit as he is training for his triathlon.

Tracey had somehow managed to bump into Sue's fist on the way home in the Taxi and received a bit of a shiner.

The next evening we dropped by to Fatima Maleki's amazing dinner for Young Tate Patrons. Everyone so enjoyed themselves and I managed to eat some of Fatima's amazing Iranian cuisine.

Then we headed off to Amanda Eliasch's birthday party where she was an emerging butterfly.

She looked totally magnificent and so did all her beautiful girlfriends.

Heather was there again and her true beauty was shining through.

Amanda looked like a Queen or should I say Goddess.

Tim Noble had found a new Studio assistant.

Lizzie has headed to Finland to our summer home where she is meeting Mathew Day Jackson and Nick van Woert and Dave McDermott. I will join them too.

With Cindy I dropped into the Catlin Prize where we met Medeia Cohen.

We both bought a painting by Adam Dix who was also part of Future Map where we gave the prize.

Miyo Yoshido stood in front of her sculpture of the uterus being sold in the black market for thousands of dollars and she showed her preggy stomach at the same time.

I bought my second work by Sonny Sanjay Vadgama.

We stopped by to Alex Delall's space where Flora Fairbairn has a show called Concrete and Glass, where I met a very young artist, Charlotte Warner Thomas, who had archived an old man in a council block whole life and it was beautifully done.

I had lunch with Tracey Emin, Marsha Lee my friend Cindy and Ed Vaizey.








We had much to discuss and I mentioned how strange it would be if he heard he was given his Govt position over lunch and straight after that we were all celebrating!

Hot off the press!!

Ed Vaizey the moment he heard he was Minister of Culture. I was fortunate to be dining with Tracey Emin, Marsha Lee and my friend Cindy and Ed. Hurray!

May

I had a fabulous trip to Israel - it was fascinating. I was very lazy too and managed to get some rest. I arrived at Fresh Paint and found it incredibly difficult to navigate even though the charming Igal Ahouvi was my host.

However Yifat Gurion spent a quite morning with me and showed me everything. I saw some wonderful art works: many new and up-and-coming and some great talent.

Yifat in front of work of photography by Dror Daum.

Irit Sommers' Kinetic show seemed the most exciting to me.






A beautiful sculpture at Alon Segov Gallery by Sigalit Landau.








The winner of the Igal Ahouvi prize.









On the way to Jerusalem we headed to Bat Yam museum, Wendy Fisher's head stuck in a Will Hunt Sculpture.








On the way to the Israel Museum, I visited a small Museum called the Museum on the Seam, where Ivan Navarro's door was installed.

A work by Philip Rantzer in the show.
















The show was called HomeLessHome and the curator, Raphie Etgar, created a wonderful show. Incredibly well-thought show and everything placed to perfection. BRAVO.














Hema Uphadyay, Where the bees suck, there suck I










A large sculpture by Ohad Meromi at the entrance to the Israel Museum.
















Then Jerusalem, where we visited the unfinished Museum but incredibly James Snyder pulls it off and manages to invite 500 amazing benefactors from all over the world. The museum, when completed, will be spectacular.

The Girls: Nicole Klagsburg, Hazel Collins, Georgina Cohen, Pamela Crystal, Ayelet Elstein.








Anish's sculpture was magnificent. We all hung out together in the evening in the wonderful old bar, the most special in the world.























Anish and Georgina Cohen
















Loushy