The Revue, August 2020

August is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with another fine assortment of things to read and watch from around the sprawling World Wide Web. This month we meet three incredible artists: a drum maestro with a thing for systems, a master of American woodcraft, and a former professor who has dedicated his life to the restoration of a world-renowned gothic landmark. We attempt a satisfyingly simple Italian sauce, and tour the smart and simple home of an award-winning architect. Dive in.

read: JB Blunk, Blunk Books.

Mariah Nielson compiles this beautiful monograph celebrating the work of her father, prolific American sculptor, JB Blunk. Six years in the making, the book brings together Blunk’s diverse output, from large-scale wooden pieces to ceramics, jewellery and paintings. Photographs explore the incredible family home built by the artist himself, a distinctive rural redwood cabin and studio in picturesque Inverness, California, where everything from furniture to dishware has been made by hand.

eat: The NYT Classic Marinara Sauce

The New York Times tackle the controversial question of authentic Italian tomato sauces with their take on the classic marinara. While many would argue that a tomato sauce requires long, slow cooking of – first and foremost – fresh tomatoes, writers Lidia Bastianich and Julia Moskin make the case for the popular, unfussy tinned tomato route. Starting with good quality canned San Marzano tomatoes, this precise but incredibly simple (and pleasingly consistent) version of the staple requires few additional ingredients and takes only 25 mins.

watch: Charles Gaines: Evidencing Reality, Hauser & Wirth

Committed to systems and method, celebrated American artist (and accomplished drummer) Charles Gaines, talks us through the rigorous creative process that has underpinned 40 years of work. Interested as much in procedure as the finished piece, Gaines translates everything from revolutionary speeches to Palm Springs trees into musical notations, numerical patterns, and other established classifications. The work balances beauty with measurable thinking, as Gaines describes, “one thing that made me different from other conceptual artists is that I was not shying away from language or meaning or content.”

watch: Stone Cut: La Sagrada Familia, Nowness

Director David Cerqueiro tells the remarkable story of Etsuro Sotoo, a professor-turned-artist who has dedicated the past 40 years to the restoration of Gaudí’s La Sagrada Familia. Swapping Kyoto for Barcelona in 1978, Sotoo became the project’s chief sculptor in 2013. He views this painstaking, labour-intensive work as his calling, converting to Catholicism in an effort to gain a deeper understanding of Gaudí’s highly spiritual philosophy.

visit: Inside the Home of Architect Barbara Weiss, The Modern House

Award-winning architect Barbara Weiss opens the doors to her Westminster home, a former pub built in the late 1920s. The house has, what Weiss describes, as an “upside down” layout, living spaces placed at the top of the building in order to escape street-level noise. Huge skylights flood the building with natural light while a neat rooftop garden looks out over the Houses of Parliament. The interior itself is filled with warmth and individuality while maintaining a distinctly uncluttered, modernist feel. Weiss comments “good interior design is a mixture of accommodating how you use the house and bringing in character and memories, objects that have some sort of connection to you…”

product focus: Khaki Cotton Ripstop Jungle Jacket

A spot-on casual top layer, the Khaki Cotton Ripstop Jungle Jacket takes a classic military silhouette and refines it for everyday use. Made in Italy from durable Japanese ripstop cotton, this multi-pocket wonder should see you through multiple seasons.