Styled Snapshot #4

This week: kohiki ceramics in Toronto, the weekend home of Pujol chef Enrique Olvera, a photographic mural in Montréal & more Mexican & Canadian finds.

My bi-weekly roundup of current & upcoming design events, compelling cultural articles, & chic things to buy

One of my favorite-ever exhibits was Yoko Ono’s Imagine at the Montréal Museum of Fine Art in 2009. I was pregnant and sappy, and loved filling in a beige wish tag to hang on the “peace tree” that was part of the exhibit. (Note: I don’t think it worked.) Another favorite design memory? Stumbling across Casa Caracol, the famous Shell House in Isla Mujeres, Mexico with my husband, brother, and sister-in-law. There’s design to north of me, design to the southwest, and here I am, stuck in the middle with an unhinged, tangerine-hued despot threatening them both.

Honestly, I don’t intend for Snapshots to be themed — or for The Styled Word to always be as political as it’s become — but my subconscious seems to feel otherwise. This week, when I opened my file of ideas for the Snapshots, my notes already included two articles on homes in Mexico, a handmade ramen bowl from Toronto, and photography exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.

They’re all great and I flagged them without an agenda or plan. But when I realized I already had four Mexican & Canadian finds, I ran with it and curated a few more. After all, now seems like the perfect time to highlight the vibrant cultural scenes of two North American countries that aren’t the United States, and shouldn’t be.

I can’t even imagine telling the 2009 me what sort of wishes we’d write for a 2025 peace tree.

STYLED FINDS

A mini-list of art & decor finds for your home

KOMOLE CHAIR, StudioLani

An incredible, sculptural chair by Nigerian-Canadian designer Lani Adeoye, inspired by the grace of a woman bowing low while dancing. Price upon request

KOHIKI RAMEN BOWL, MIKA

These beautiful bowls are thrown by hand in Toronto by pottery artist Satoshi Yoshikawa . For each one, he uses the kohiki, a traditional Japanese ceramic technique. (approx. $30 USD)

COAST SALISH PATTERN BLANKET, 8th Generation

A blanket designed by Louie Gong, a member of the Nooksack tribe. Gong based his pattern on traditional Coastal Salish weaving and says it’s a "collaboration with the ancestors." The blanket was featured on Lily Gladstone in the October 2023 issue of American Vogue $235

WOVEN ALUMINUM BASKET, Modern Mexican Mercadito

An elegant, versatile basket that’s a nice change from rattan. Handwoven in Mexico City. (approx. $25 USD)

STYLED READS

A roundup of art & design articles, including under-the-radar & indie sources.

APARTAMENTO: “Casa O, Enrique Olvera” by Suleman Sheikh Anaya

A thought-provoking interview with Mexican chef Enrique Olvera (of Pujol fame) on Casa O, his serene, Japanese-influenced weekend home in Reserva Peñitas.

HOUSE & HOME “This Luxury House Designed By Ali Budd Practically Vibrates With Her Fab And Fearless Style” by Lynda Reeves

House & Home named Ali Budd their 2024 Designer of the Year. This house tour shows her excellent use of marble in a Toronto home, especially in the blue & white kitchen.

DOMINO “This Designer Inherited Dreamy Floor Tile When She Found Her Mexico City Home” by Lydia Geisel

A look at ceramicist Stellah De Ville’s skilled conversion of a 1930s casona into a home, after it had been used as as production studio for years. The “dreamy floor” is worth a peek, as are her many excellent design choices.

STYLED EXHIBITS

The exhibits worth checking out right now - or including in your travels.

CONTEMPORARY CASA PORTRAITURE: NUESTRA CALIDAD, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago (Through March 16 2025)

An exhibit of 16 familial photographs by Chicana artist Delilah Montoya, “drawing from 18th-century Casta Painting genre from Colonial Mexico but now applying 21st-century genetic DNA testing to map human genetic migration patterns going back 100,000 years” It’s worth clicking through for the Museum’s description of this ambitious project.

It’s also first exhibit I’ve featured in a Snapshot that I’ll absolutely be visiting in person. The National Museum of Mexican Art is a Chicago treasure, and one of my teenager son’s favorite-ever museums. (its proximity to 5 Rabanitos helps).

WÀBIGON, Montréal Arts Center (through March , 2025)

Anishinaabe-French artist Caroline Monnet took a cinematic approach to her monumental portrait of eight Indigenous women and a child in a botanical setting of native plants. Monnet created Wàbigon to honor Abenaki documentary filmmaker, activist, & singer Alanis Obomsawin, whose own work was the subject of a MAC exhibit that closed in Jan.

WORLDS OF WONDER: THE SURREALIST JOURNEY OF ALAN GLASS, Montréal Museum of Fine Arts (opening April 17th)

Surrealist artist Alan Glass was born in Montreal, but spent most his life in Mexico. Worlds of Wonder is the first solo exhibition of his work in a Canadian museum. Glass is best known for his mix media box assembles, which turn “everyday objects into marvellous, surreal visions.”

I believe a place can exert a kind of magnetism. It’s a subjective feeling that’s hard to explain. - Enrique Olveras