Having been obsessed with both design and motorcycles all my life, one exhibit I was not going to miss was
"Chicara Liquid Chrome," a show by Japanese graphic designer-turned-motorcycle master Chicara Nagata of four of the most beautifully crafted pieces of design on two wheels ever created.
Upon entering Chelsea's
Ippodo Gallery for the opening last week, my friends and I were immediately greeted with
Asahi beer and traditional Japanese snacks -- but my only interest was to
see these moving metal sculptures that Chicara has created, which meld both the
futuristic and traditional worlds of design.
Each (totally functioning) Chicara motorcycle is comprised of almost 500 individual parts
and took the artist approximately 7,500 painstaking hours to create. The end result is some of
the most exquisite and tasteful pieces of industrial design I have ever
seen. This is the first time Mr. Nagata's machines have seen in the U.S. and
they will be on view at
until the January 31.
The price, you ask? $1.5 million each. Enjoy!
Top left: Hiromi Yoshida, President Dentsu USA (left), with Chicara Nagata. Top right: Spectators marvel at the craftsmanship.
Photographs by Rena Ohashi
Akiko, left, and Kiwon
The other night my friend Kiwon Standen from Bar Blanc asked me if I wanted to meet and dine with her friend Akiko Katayama. For those of you who don't know Akiko, she is a food writer and regular judge on Iron Chef America. The chefs fear her for famously saying, "this is a bit too greasy for my palate!"
I'm no dummy, a chance to eat out with Food Network royalty? I immediately said "Yes!"
Akiko is based in New York but she had just flown in from a three-week trip in Japan. Despite her professed jetlag, she arrived at The Monday Room looking fresh as a daisy, dressed in a black turtleneck, wool shorts, tights and a killer pair of boots. The place was her pick, as she's good friends with its chef, Brad Farmerie. We started with some wine, of course. To the befuddlement of our Ernie Kovacs-looking sommelier, Akiko and another member of our party both rejected the first bottle of Pinot Noir that was poured, declaring it corked. Ouch! Fortunately, the second bottle met with approval, and we were off and running.
The menu of The Monday Room is made up of small plates, ideal for sharing. I thought I'd be able to get away with eating some of the less ambitious items but Akiko guided me through the world of game and entrails with a firm hand. She ordered the miso-baked bone marrow, the "Old-school" pig's terrine (scary!), the grilled Kobe beef tongue with babaganoush and the lamb empanada with tequila ketchup.
Akiko ate everything, declaring it all delicious. And for the record, she did not think anything was too greasy.
Each (totally functioning) Chicara motorcycle is comprised of almost 500 individual parts
and took the artist approximately 7,500 painstaking hours to create. The end result is some of
the most exquisite and tasteful pieces of industrial design I have ever
seen. This is the first time Mr. Nagata's machines have seen in the U.S. and
they will be on view at
until the January 31.
