Objects of Desire

The Wick Culture - 'How to Collect Art' by Magnus Resch, with an introduction by Pamela J. Joyner

How to Collect Art by Magnus Resch

£24.95

Make this the year you finally start your art collection – or grow it in scale. Here to lend a hand is art market expert Magnus Resch, whose new book How To Collect Art lays the foundations, answering all the questions you might have, from how to deduce a fair price for an artwork to the secrets of establishing a sustainable collection strategy, whatever your budget. And for those who already have a cache of gems in their home, he offers tips on how to get the most from your investments. Resch has also tapped mega collectors and dealers including Shelley and Philip Aarons, Jeffrey Deitch and Simon de Pury for their tips.

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The Wick Culture - Face-lotion, Marina Abramović Longevity Method

Objects Face lotion from the Marina Abramović Longevity Method

£199

Reveal your natural glow in 2024 with a little help from Marina Abramović. The Serbian performance artist has distilled her wellness philosophy into a series of products sold under the umbrella, the Marina Abramović Longevity Method, developed with wellness guru Dr Nonna Brenner. Among them is a face lotion made from a tasty confection of white wine, bread, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid that promises to protect, hydrate and brighten your skin naturally. It’s a cleanser, exfoliator and moisturiser in one, making your daily beauty routine a doddle.

‘The Abramović Longevity Method is a lifestyle and a philosophy that emphasises the importance of living in harmony with nature,’ the artist explains. ‘It is rooted in the belief that true beauty and vitality come from nurturing ourselves holistically.’ Also included in the edit are drops to boost immunity and energy, and alleviate allergy symptoms, helping you breeze through the year ahead.

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The Wick Culture - ‘Saint Sebastian’ pencil holder by Pablo Bronstein

Object ‘Saint Sebastian’ pencil holder by Pablo Bronstein

£120

Get your desk straight for the year ahead with stationery designed by art and design luminaries. Pablo Bronstein’s ‘Saint Sebastian’ pencil holder makes a sculpture out of your drawing utensils while paying homage to the early Christian martyr Saint Sebastian. He was believed to have been killed during the persecution of Christians on the orders of Roman emperor Diocletian and bound to a stake so that Mauritania archers could fill him with arrows. In tones of pink, green or blue, the limited-edition ceramic pencil holders are hand-built, marbled and glazed by a Scottish craftsperson.

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The Wick Culture - Pritt Stick Pencil Case by Anya Hindmarch

Object Pritt Stick Pencil Case by Anya Hindmarch

£250

Here’s one to stick with for life. Anya Hindmarch has turned an age-old stationery staple into a luxury leather pencil case, starring the same smiling cartoon adhesive featured on the original packaging. Hindmarch’s Pritt Stick Pencil Case is made from shiny capra leather and includes a gold-toned zip and leather tassel.

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The Wick Culture - Matsutani notebook

Object Matsutani notebook

£30

Jot down your big ideas for 2024 in this A5 notebook, developed with Takesada Matsutani, a Japanese artist who has created his own visual language of form and materials. As part of the influential post-war Japanese collective the Gutai Art Association, he experimented with vinyl glue, using fans and his own breath to manipulate the substance into expressive forms that recalled human curves and features. After the group disbanded in the 1970s, his manipulations of vinyl glue and graphite became even more radical. In his highly expressive work, every stroke of graphite has a dynamic intensity. The image on the cover of this notebook is a case in point. Archive photographs and stories also feature on its 110 pages.

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The Wick Culture - Ed Ruscha: Science is truth found out, (RED)ition scarf

Object Ed Ruscha: Science Is Truth Found Out, (RED)ition scarf

Another Christmas wish-list topper is a limited-edition scarf by Ed Ruscha and Gagosian – part of their collaboration with (RED), the organisation created by U2 frontman Bono and activist Bobby Shriver in 2006 to help end AIDS. The cashmere-blend winter warmer is emblazoned with the words ‘Science is truth found out’, taken from a 1986 drawing by Ruscha of a phrase he saw inscribed in stone on a science block of Los Angeles’ Hollywood High School. In the Covid era, where science and medicine are often treated with suspicion, the words take on new prescience. Each scarf is signed and numbered, and available for £1,200.

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The Wick Culture - Juergen Teller umbrella for Saint Laurent

Object Juergen Teller umbrella for Saint Laurent

Stepping out in the rain will be a whole lot more enjoyable with a Juergen Teller umbrella in hand. Waves will lash above your head on this design, part of a special lifestyle collection curated by Teller and Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent to mark Teller’s career-spanning exhibition I need to live at the Grand Palais Ephémère in Paris, sponsored by the fashion house. Each piece bears the photographer’s work. Add it to your Christmas wishlist to set yourself up for many winters to come.

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The Wick Culture - Artycapucines handbag by Billie Zangewa for Louis Vuitton, 2023

Object Artycapucines Handbag by Billie Zangewa for Louis Vuitton

In one of our favourite art and fashion crossovers of 2023, Johannesburg-based Billie Zangewa has transposed one of her evocative silk collages onto a Louis Vuitton handbag as part of its Artycapucines series. Zangewa often draws on intimate moments of everyday life in her work – in this instance a trip to a pool with her son Mika, depicted at the water’s edge beneath a terracotta sky. As with the original artwork, The Swimming Lesson, 2020, part of the scene appears to have been torn off, a characteristic trait of the artist, who is drawn to “unfinished things”, as she puts it. The negative space leaves the viewer to complete the picture.

To create the bag, the raw silk was scanned and printed on leather, while metallic embroidery and beadwork bring the pool and Mika to life.

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The Wick Culture - Hand-painted Bauble, Sola Olulode. House of Voltaire

Objects Hand-painted bauble by Sola Olulode

£50

This year, we’re turning our Christmas tree into a gallery for artworks by leading lights. Figures kiss under the mistletoe on these shatter-proof baubles, hand-painted by British-Nigerian artist Sola Olulode, known for her wistful images celebrating Black identity, womxnhood, non-binary people and queer love. Who doesn’t love a little romance at Christmas time?

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