Holiday Reading | The New TL MAG: The Culture of the Object

PRESS FEATURE

THE CULTURE OF THE OBJECT

- where the mind meets the soulmate

As a true gift for this winter holidays, the 2023-2024 yearly issue of the Belgian magazine TL mag – True Living of Art & Design comes as a thoughtful and elegantly designed publication to read and enjoy in the warmth of the festive season. The scent of freshly printed paper, the sophistication of the selected images and graphics, and the profound avant-garde content of the whole editorial project make this special TL mag issue stimulating reading for art and design lovers and professionals, and an object to collect.

The Culture of the Object is the central theme of this 15th-anniversary edition, featuring articles, interviews, photo essays and carte blanche portfolios on the object's essence through a cross-disciplinary perspective in contemporary fine and applied arts. KALPA is enthusiastic to join such an important celebration and to present its aesthetic vision and philosophical take on the selected subject through the astonishing work in ceramics, bronze and glass of two of the Galleries’ represented artists.

TL mag #39 issue and the overall creative approach of the magazine resonate with the soul of KALPA Galleries, revolving around the themes of high artistic refinement, the intuitive passion for craftsmanship and a holistic approach to interior design. In KALPA exhibitions, both the languages of fine art and craft establish a stimulating synergy, offering themselves to visitors as objects to become part of their everyday lives.

Assonant narratives are told on the pages of the magazine. Founded in 2008, TL mag has become one of the most esteemed critical voices in international print, navigating the landscapes of contemporary, fine and applied arts along with a forward-looking perspective on new modes of creation and thought. Directly addressing thinkers, creators, and art and design enthusiasts, the magazine discusses the realm of collectible art as a land of experimentation and excellence in craftsmanship. In her editorial introduction, the curator and editor-in-chief Lise Coiries reiterates the key role of the magazine across the years, arguing that “TLmag fits into an open and resolutely humanistic landscape where creation remains the lifeblood of a living body.”

When it comes to art, few things have played a more dominant role than the object. While, during the last century, the broad field of art has expanded far beyond the idea of materiality, objects are still being made, investigated and discussed.

The article that KALPA Galleries creates for TLmag #39 focuses on the dialogue among art director Olga Niescier and artists Yoshimi Futamura (Paris/Japan) and Michela Cattai (Milano/Venezia) around the status of the object in recent art practice, as well as on the origins, process and conceptual issues behind their respective corpora of work.

Bearing the title Art, Mastery and Millenial Tradition, this is a conversation about key themes of art - the emotional relationship between the artist and the selected material, the liminal distinction between functional and non-functional art objects, the interconnection between tradition and contemporary experimentation, and the role of the viewer in interpreting and living any artwork.

“The sap and thought”, to paraphrase the Italian artist Giuseppe Penone, are at the core of these pages, where words free the object from its permanence to let it take its place in the heart of our life. - Lisa Coirier

Yoshimi Futamura's sculptures of botanical and geological inspiration refer to both modern and classical themes in Japanese ceramics, achieving a perfect balance between Eastern and Western philosophy of art, while Michela Cattai’s vases reinterpret the ancient tradition of Venetian glass blowing while breathing new life into the noble material of bronze.

Creating forms with glass is like playing music in an orchestra as on one side there is me and my vision and, on the other, I am a conductor who carefully has to give the craftsmen the right note every step of the way.

- Michela Cattai

I was born and raised in Japan, where I was initiated into the Buddhist ceremonies and entered into contact with the spiritual dimension of ceramics; also, at Japan's Seto School of Ceramics, I learned about the vast Japanese culture of ceramics and traditional techniques.

- Yoshimi Futamura