KALEIDOSCOPE

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ISSUE 43 FW23

KALEIDOSCOPE's Fall/Winter 2023 issue launches with a set of six covers. Featuring Sampha, Alex Katz, Harmony Korine, a report into the metamorphosis of denim, a photo reportage by Dexter Navy, and a limited-edition cover by Isa Genzken.

Also featured in this issue: London-based band Bar Italia (photography by Jessica Madavo and interview by Conor McTernan), the archives of Hysteric Glamour (photography by Lorenzo Dalbosco and interview by Akio Kunisawa), Japanese underground illustrator Yoshitaka Amano (words by Alex Shulan), Marseille-based artist Sara Sadik (photography by Nicolas Poillot and interview by Daria Miricola), a survey about Japan’s new hip-hop scene starring Tohji (photography by Taito Itateyama and words by Ashley Ogawa Clarke), Richard Prince’s new book “The Entertainers” (words by Brad Phillips), “New Art: London” (featuring Adam Farah-Saad, Lenard Giller, Charlie Osborne, R.I.P. Germain, and Olukemi Ljiadu photographed by Bolade Banjo and interviewed by Ben Broome).

FROM THE CURRENT ISSUE

ISA GENZKEN

For her retrospective exhibition at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, Isa Genzken has presented 75 sculptural assemblages from across her career to celebrate her 75th birthday. On this occasion, we sorted through her archive of invitations cards—historical documents which double as allegories of communication and traces of an unfixed identity.

HARMONY KORINE

With a career stretching from the pre-9/11 nihilistic hedonism of New York City to the gamified, small-screen fictions of TikTok’s psychedelic everyday, American filmmaker and artist Harmony Korine is emblematic of America’s aesthetics. His latest film, Aggro Dr1ft, combines worldbuilding and AI into a heightened, hyperreal, dreamlike state, pushing narrative cinema to its glitching limits.

ALEX KATZ

Born in New York, where he still lives and works, Alex Katz has been painting for 78 years. Across these decades, he’s maintained a revelatory and playful eye for the essence of the image: whether it’s a landscape, a self-portrait, flowers, his wife, or images appropriated from advertising, there’s a glossy, stylized truth at the heart of the work.

TREND REPORT

The most ubiquitous of fabrics, with a history dating back to the 17th century and a lead role in many subcultural revolutions, denim has recently been dominating the stage once again, undergoing a new transmogrification. Paying homage to its undying relevance, this report explores the startling ways in which designers are reconceptualizing denim through the warping lens of luxury fashion, emancipating it altogether from its material base.

SAMPHA

The long awaited sophomore album from Sampha, Lahai, released this fall to universal acclaim. Titled after the artist’s middle name—a tribute to his grandfather—the record is an exploration of loss and healing, reflecting on the passing of his parents, the birth of his daughter, and the inevitably cyclical nature of life and memory.

EGYPT

The Faiyum Oasis is a small sanctuary of life springing out of the harshness of the desert in Egypt. Led by a desire to reconnect with his own roots, British-Egyptian photographer Dexter Navy spent time with the Bedouin tribes who populate the region, navigating existence with graceful frugality.

ESCAPE TO MIAMI

The most southernly city in the US, Miami exists in the tropical recesses of the American imagination: land of celebrity, thunderstorms, Tony Montana, and Art Deco architecture. Here, we meet the latest generation of Miamians—committed radicals in the fields of art, fashion, and music, who are dreaming up new narratives for the city they call home.

CAT POWER

In a career stretching over 30 years, Chan Marshall, under the moniker of Cat Power, has established herself as one of the most acclaimed singer/songwriters of the century, creating some of the most emotionally powerful music ever recorded. Among her talents, she can turn cover versions into moments of transcendent beauty.

ANDREW DOWNTOWN

Nick Katz, Pres Rodriguez, and Adrian Douzmanian met when Nick was building a community skate park and Adrian and Pres were hosting parties at a nightclub that shared the same space. Together they formed Andrew, a skate shop and apparel brand named after the most devastating storm to hit Florida.

NITE OWL DRIVE-IN

Miami born and bred, Nayib Estefan has been running creative cinematic endeavors for over a decade. At the Nite Owl Drive-In, nestled between neon-lit high-rise condos, he shows 35mm repertory prints ranging from classic to guilty pleasure while, at Dream Arcade, he’s building an interactive piece of lysergic art.

SUSAN KIM ALVAREZ

Born in Honolulu and raised in central Florida as part of a Cuban, Vietnamese, and Jewish household, Susan Kim Alvarez returned to the Sunshine State after graduating from art school. Now based in Miami, she makes rich, abstract compositions, exploding with strange figures and fantastical narratives.

FARED MANZUR

Built in 1905 and left uninhabited for decades, artist Fared Manzur has turned Rice Hotel in Downtown Miami into a studio space for himself, and a gallery of sorts. Here, leaving the architecture of the space largely untouched and bare, he welcomes artists from across the world to work, exhibit, and experience the city.

NEW ART: LONDON

The art world’s compulsion to categorize by the yardstick of “hot or not” has historically been the driving force behind the market and the gallery system. Commerce is intertwined with this metric, spurred on by the insatiable appetite to find talented young things to build up. This system is uninteresting: what’s in vogue rarely reflects those operating at the cutting edge. Who are those young emerging artists making work against all odds—work that is difficult and costly to make, store, exhibit, move, and sell? These five individuals typify this path. Working across video, sound, installation, and sculpture, they march onwards, carving out their own niche—exhibiting in empty shop spaces one day and major institutions the next. For them, making is guided by urgency, and persistence is motivated by blind faith.

ADAM FARAH-SAAD

Working in a range of media and performative gestures, Adam Farah-Saad dwells on various ephemeral and poetic moments in order to open up critical reflections and connections. His works revisits and explores past experiences revolving around the mnemonic and a process of mapping.

CHARLIE OSBORNE

Working across video, performance, sculpture, and sound, Charlie Osbourne’s films have been screened alongside artists such as Ryan Trecartin, Mica Levi, and Tai Shani.

R.I.P. GERMAIN

Drawing from Black experience, R.I.P. Germain’s practice delves with double meanings, deep resonances, and a tension between accessibility and occlusion.

OLUKEMI LIJADU

Focusing on moving image and sound, Olukemi Lijadu is an artist and DJ who uses the power of cinema to take listeners on sonic journeys weaving between cultures and time.

LENARD GILLER

London-based artist Lenard Giller explores the life-spans of time-based technologies and their translations into language, memory, and perception.

KAYODE OJO

Out of cheap jewelry, wigs, mirrors, fake fur, and counterfeit luxury goods, New York-based artist Kayode Ojo makes precarious, luminous sculptures—delicately arranged accoutrements of fake glamor. Titled “Eden,” his latest exhibition at 52 Walker is both a reference to the mythic garden of Bible legend, and an exploration of America’s history and present politics.

TOHJI

The hip-hop artists of the Reiwa era emerge from a tangled mesh of cultural references that Japan has imported, exported, and re-imported again, in an endless loop of cultural osmosis with the West. None exemplifies this more than Tohji, whose new-wave music and potently nostalgic Y2K asthetic seem to fulfill the broken promise of a futuristic utopia.

SARA SADIK

KALEIDOSCOPE hosted a solo exhibition by Marseille-based artist Sara Sadik (b. 1994, Bordeaux), in November 2023 at Spazio Maiocchi in Milan, with the support of Slam Jam. Inspired by videogames, anime, science fiction, and French rap, Sara Sadik’s work explores the reality and fantasies of France’s Maghrebi youth, addressing issues of adolescence, masculinity, and social mythologies. Her work across video, performance, and installation often centers on male characters, using computer-generated scenarios to transform their condition of marginalization into something optimistic and poetic.

FROM THE SHOP

FROM THE ARCHIVE

230321 MKE KALEIDOSCOPE Shot 10 032 RGB HD

THE (UN) OFFICIAL PREPPY HANDBOOK

TOSH BASCO

MARK FLOOD

MANIFESTO

In 2023, from June 22 to June 24 during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris, KALEIDOSCOPE and GOAT presented the new edition of our annual arts and culture festival, MANIFESTO. Against the unique setting of the French Communist Party building, a modern architectural landmark designed by legendary Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, the festival will bring together visionary creators from different areas of culture across three days of art, fashion and sound. The 2024 edition will run from June 21 to June 23.

CAPSULE PLAZA

In April 2023, a year after the launch of the magazine, Capsule introduced Capsule Plaza, a new initiative that infuses new energy into Milan Design Week by redefining the design showcase format. A hybrid between a fair and a collective exhibition, Capsule Plaza brings together designers and companies from various creative fields, bridging industry and culture with a bold curation that spans interiors and architecture, beauty and technology, ecology and craft. The 2024 edition will run from April 15 to April 21.

SUSAN KIM ALVAREZ

INTERVIEW BY ARIELLA WOLENS

ARIELLA WOLENS

You’re currently living in Miami, but you also grew up in Florida. Where exactly?

SUSAN KIM ALVAREZ

I was born in Honolulu and moved to Florida when I was eight years old. I spent most of my time in central Florida, between Tampa and Orlando.

Do you identify with being Hawaiian?

SKA

No, but I do identify with my Vietnamese heritage. Hawaii has a prominent Asian community, and my memories of holidays and festivals spent there are important to me and my work. And then my father’s family is Cuban-Jewish. I was primarily raised by his family in Lakeland, my grandmother especially.

How would you describe Lakeland?

SKA

Very suburban, a little swampy, some gators. I definitely experienced what people describe as “Florida Man” culture. It’s not as diverse as Miami. It’s a very white town. In some ways, I didn’t notice the lack of diversity there until I went to Baltimore to study at Maryland Institute College of Art.

And after MICA, how did you make the decision to come to Miami, as opposed to New York or LA?

SKA

I had considered New York; it’s the obvious answer for a lot of artists. But I don’t do cold weather and I like being near my family. But the thing that really impacted my decision was that I got a residency at Bakehouse Art Complex. There’s a great community at Bakehouse, and they helped so much, connecting me with people and arranging studio visits. It really made me feel part of Miami very quickly.

Your paintings are otherworldly, but I’m wondering if it’s one world or many different microcosms that your figures inhabit?

SKA

I think the stories in my work are individual, but there are conversations happening between them. They’re all part of the same cosmos. It’s always building. I’m constantly adding and furthering connections between my paintings; there’s this continuation of the narrative.

There’s a sense of spontaneity in your use of lan- guage. Your titles are organic and charmingly crude. I find your willingness to let humor into your work very sophisticated.

SKA

I often just want to make myself laugh. In exploring the topics I want to address, or even exploring myself and just living through my work, I feel confused. I’ve come to the conclusion that I should express that confusion honestly, which I think gives the work a truer narrative, closer to human experience. It allows me to feel joy in my work.

Your technique is also very refined. Your lines are so thin and fluid. How did you come to your way of painting?

SKA

I get this question a lot. I play with different tools and approach painting in a very sculptural manner. In terms of feeling the material, I see sculpture and painting on the same plane. I feel out an image through the mark-making. On a foundational level, my technique comes from having drawn a lot throughout my life. When I was a kid, I would sometimes go with my dad on long work trips where I wouldn’t have anything to do. I would be sitting all day in this van and I would just draw. I always wanted to impress him and make him laugh. I think a lot of my taste came from him.

What was his sense of humor?

SKA

Definitely crude and satirical. He introduced me to things like Ren & Stimpy and Mad magazine. He used to take me to flea markets where he would show me all these things I would then bounce off of. I think he has an innate appreciation for art, and my work does make him laugh. When I draw someone really grotesque or crazy, he’ll say, “Oh you’re drawing people how they truly are.”

Do you have to have a day job to be an artist in Miami?

SKA

For the past years I’ve been working for an artist part-time. But I don’t necessarily even consider that a job. Working within an art practice and being part of that community is joyful for me. Being an artist is such a crazy unattainable thing, and I’ve been given this generational gift of having it even be a possibility. That wasn’t the case for my grandmother, and the notion hasn’t always been real for me. For a time, I shadowed my aunt who’s a dermatologist; I also thought about studying orthodontics. But once I went to art school, I stopped having a back-up plan.

Are there any misconceptions you feel people have about your paintings?

SKA

Even when it’s negative, I appreciate the honesty and that the work has pushed them to feel something. I might feel a certain way in the moment but, in the end, I find people’s reactions to be almost like case studies for a therapy session, which I then ask myself whether I share in that experience.

What is it you want people to take away from your work?

SKA

There’s a level of dark humor and intensity that I want to encourage.

There’s an existential quality there, along with a lightheartedness.

SKA

Those deeper moments are often when you laugh the most.

From one to another, that’s the Jewish part of your work.

SKA

I just want people to have a good time. That might be rudimentary, but art can be too philosophical. People may only have a passing moment with an artwork. If I can hold someone for a little longer or dig in a little bit, that’s enough.

Humor is a good way to do that. What about for people living with your works? I’m guessing the fact that they can always make new discoveries sustains their engagement.

SKA

I’ve had people get a little stuck; there’s also people who say they keep finding new things. There’s artworks I’ve spent hours with but will still want to come back to. I appreciate that urge.

What artworks have held you?

SKA

There’s a James Ensor piece in MoMA, called The Tribulations of St. Anthony, from 1887, and a Helen Frankenthaler work, Jacob’s Ladder, from 1957, that fixated me. There are also things about nature that hook me in. During lockdown, I spent multiple hours on this one sidewalk in front of my grandmother’s home in Lakeland. I would just sit there and count the lizards, watching their moves and mannerisms.

I feel like what makes an artist is their ability to take inventory of what they’re seeing.

SKA

I was at Skowhegan this summer and Steve Locke said that, because I move so quickly and I constantly create new characters, I’m building my own inventory. It’s like a collection to look back on.

Beyond painting, what’s your obsession?

SKA

I have too many. I’m fascinated with food chains and the balancing act between animals and nature.

I hadn’t thought about it before, but there’s a “survival of the fittest” element in your work.

SKA

We had a lot of animals growing up. We had 50 snakes. My dad was obsessed with reptiles. We had tortoises and four-foot-long Tegu lizards. Seeing that deep love and the community it made him a part of was a formative experience.

So even with your imagery being fantastical, there’s biography.

SKA

I guess that’s the misconception. People will say they don’t see representation of my identity or culture in my work, but it’s there.

Susan Kim Alvarez (b. 2000, Honolulu) is an artist living and working in Miami. Her latest exhibition, “The Silliest Williest,” was presented at KDR305, Miami, in summer 2023.

Ariella Wolens is a Miami-based writer and curator at NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale.