Objects of Desire

The Wick Culture - Book Bright Stars: Great Artists Who Died Too Young, Kate Bryan

Book Bright Stars: Great Artists Who Died Too Young, Kate Bryan

Short careers, long legacies, immortal artwork: Kate Bryan’s upcoming book Bright Stars is both an examination and a celebration of the lives of 30 great artists who died young. It’s hard to believe that such heavyweight art figures as Van Gogh in fact died at 38, or even Jean-Michel Basquiat at 27. This new book explores how such premature ends contribute to the mythologisation of the artist figure – while reappraising the importance of other artists whose early deaths excluded them from the history books, from Charlotte Salomon to Amrita Sher-Gil. Bright Stars makes their stories shine: pre-order away.

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The Wick Culture - Design Vitra Sunburst Clock, George Nelson

Design Vitra Sunburst Clock, George Nelson

Time won’t forget George Nelson. As one of the founding fathers of American modernism, he was part of a generation of architects who re-envisioned the design of everyday objects as art. Perhaps most famous for his series of clocks, Nelson was the first to eliminate the use of numbers in their design, re-establishing the value of clocks as a decorative interior product in a wristwatch age. His ‘Vitra Sunburst’ design in particular captured this refreshing new idea, embodying the joie de vivre aesthetic of the 1950s. There’s a reason it’s still in production today – this sits just as well as any artwork on the wall.

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The Wick Culture - 1970 large-scented candle, Bella Freud

Objects 1970 large-scented candle, Bella Freud

Bella Freud’s 1970 candle is one that shouts scent. Taking its name after the decade that popularised the fragrance of heavy incense, the graphic power of its design is almost synesthetic: a rich mixture of hand-poured natural mineral wax infused with luxuriously intense notes of vetiver, sandalwood, oakmoss and myrrh. ‘It’s very much about storytelling with the candles and fragrances, because a scent is so evocative. 1970 has a real frisson to it, a tension,’ says Freud. Set in gold colour and with a metallic shimmer, it strikes an indulgent and heady mood. This is one to save the date.

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The Wick Culture - Silver-tone suede earrings, Isabel Marant

Fashion Silver-tone suede earrings, Isabel Marant

Isabel Marant’s design purpose is clear: to make pieces that women can wear whether they’re ‘walking down the street or zipping off a scooter’. The appeal of this ethos is reflected in the success of the Parisian fashion designer’s eponymous brand, which boasts decades worth of accolades and customers ranging from Kate Moss to Sienna Miller. Carefree and eclectic, these earrings are no exception. Cast from silver-tone metal and shaped in a fan of suede tassels, their vibrant cobalt-blue hue evokes the magic of Yves Klein and the mystique of Frida Kahlo. Whether you’re strolling down the Seine or whizzing down the Champs-Élysées, these bring a sure-fire spark.

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The Wick Culture - You Deserved Better, Emma Witter

Objects You Deserved Better, Emma Witter

Beauty to the bone. London-based artist Emma Witter has carved out a distinctive aesthetic, using intricate bone structures to create fragile and flower-patterned forms. In her work, the material takes on a spiritual rather than a macabre significance, representing the endurance and beauty of nature. ‘It’s interesting because the bones are dead, but in a way they’re still alive,’ says Witter. From salvaging bone remains from restaurant planes to the Thames riverbed, the result is a delicate and contemplative body of work – one that reminds us how all art is, in some form, a relic of human nature.

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The Wick Culture - Liu Wei x Hennessy

Objects Liu Wei x Hennessy

Liu Wei’s geometric forms stop you in your tracks. And Spring, his new canvas commission for heritage cognac brand Hennessy, is no exception. Its palette of fuchsia, blue, green and yellow buoys the spirit, while its organic curves invite endless interpretation. It conjures ‘a certain kind of beauty within a world of possibility,’ says Liu.

Created in celebration of the Lunar Year of the Ox, the joyful composition has inspired two new bottle designs: the Hennessy V.S.O.P and Hennessy X.O bottles (and packaging) now pop with vibrant colour, channelling spring’s cheerful optimism. ‘Each year brings change and new possibilities, even in times of crisis,’ says the artist. ‘Focusing on new creativity gives me lots of hope for the future.’ We say cheers to that!

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The Wick Culture - Glenfiddich Grande Couronne 26 Year Old X David Aiu Servan-Schreiber

Objects Glenfiddich Grande Couronne 26 Year Old X David Aiu Servan-Schreiber

There is no doubt that Glenfiddich’s Grande Couronne is delectable. With layers of sweet toasted oak and velvety aromas of café crème, brown sugar and soft spice, this 26-year-old single malt, matured in American and European oak casks and finished in rare French cognac casks, is worthy of real celebration.

And now more than ever: for its latest limited-edition release, exclusively stocked at Selfridges, Glenfiddich has collaborated with contemporary artist David Aiu Servan-Schreiber to create a bespoke, limited-edition sleeve. David’s striking, crackled design, which evokes the smoked wood grains of the finishing casks, stands in perfect harmony with the regal filigree on the Grand Couronne bottle. With only 50 units available though, demand is high. Chop chop!

The limited-edition Glenfiddich Grande Couronne X David Aiu Servan-Schreiber release is available from Selfridges for £475 (70cl)

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The Wick Culture - Remi Rough x Haig Club Clubman

Objects Remi Rough x Haig Club Clubman

The design for Haig Club’s latest limited-edition bottle comes courtesy of Remi Rough, the London-based graffiti artist best known for his abstracted compositions executed in a rainbow neon palette.

Featuring a splash of Remi’s signature pink shade, the limited-edition bottle is as delightful as the single grain Scotch that it contains. ‘I love surprising people with intense colour and this design for the Haig Club bottle is no exception,’ said Rough. ‘Art is for everyone and people need colour in their lives more than ever right now.’

Developed in partnership with David Beckham, Haig Clubman is best served mixed: add a slice of orange and a splash of tonic for a delicious, refreshing evening tipple.

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The Wick Culture - Andy Warhol: Love, Sex and Desire, Drawings 1950-1962 by Taschen

Objects Andy Warhol: Love, Sex and Desire, Drawings 1950-1962 by Taschen

The world never tires of Andy Warhol’s prolific oeuvre. This latest Taschen release presents a series of lesser-known works from the period of 1950 to 1962: his seductive drawings celebrating male beauty and sexuality. Illustrated within this elegant tome are over three hundred drawings rendered primarily in ink on paper, with decoratively adorned pages portraying nude or sexually charged young men. The works were created as a way of bursting into the New York art scene in 1956 – though Warhol underestimated the pervasive homophobia of the time. This publication finally allows his colourful cast of characters to sing.

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