Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1302607
New Jewel Box for Wayne Smith JeWelS NelsoN MaNdela at Holocaust MuseuM HoustoN last taNgo … iN HoustoN W ayne Smith Jewels has left its jewel- box boîte at The St. Regis Houston hotel after six years, and moved lock, stock, and vaults into an office high-rise on South Briar Hollow Lane, with sumptuous interiors designed by Denny Lyons. Known for its trove of antique and vintage jewels, Wayne Smith trades on historical and highly collectible jewelry, from the Georgian, Edwardian, and Art Deco eras to current creations. At any one time, you'll find vintage treasures from David Webb, Cartier, Schlumberger, O ne of Hines' highest- profile projects, The Residences at La Colombe d'Or in the Houston Museum District, interweaves important architecture and interiors with smart public art. Now street art is in the mix, with a bold 46-foot mural becoming the calling card for the building's exterior. Paris-based Blek Le Rat's newly completed Last Tango graces the Montrose-facing façade of the 34-story modernist tower, setting up a dialogue with its namesake 1920s-era hotel and restaurant adjoining the luxury for-lease residential high-rise. How was graffitist Blek Le Rat — not a household name like Banksy or Shepard Fairey — selected for the project by the developer whose signature Houston commissions include artworks by Joan Miró (JP Morgan Chase Tower) and Jean Dubuffet (1100 Louisiana, now at Discovery Green). Credit goes to Hines' partner in this venture, the Zimmerman family's Dan Zimmerman, an avid collector of street art who owns a work by Blek Le Rat. Zimmerman says of Last Tango, which now holds the distinction of being Blek's most epic mural to date: "The image itself says so many things. The ultimate representation is to live with joie de vivre, have fun and dance, and spend life with the people you love." Hines senior managing director Kevin Batchelor says about the artwork's imagery, a tangoing couple circled by a pair of doves: "This piece blends the old with the new, just like the residential tower sitting next to the mansion." Weingarten Art Group served as consultant. More on this story at papercitymag.com. Catherine D. Anspon Verdura, JAR, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, and more, from women's suites to men's watches and cuff links, spanning the decades. Smith also designs a superb collection of jewels under his own moniker, utilizing important gems, coral, and antique cameos, and creates custom commissions. Wayne Smith Jewels, 17 S. Briar Hollow Lane, Suite 102, open Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, Saturday by appointment, 713.582.8100, waynesmithjewels. com. I f there's one exhibition that offers balm for our troubled times, it's the U.S. premiere of "Mandela: Struggle for Freedom," at Holocaust Museum Houston. It's organized by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Canada, where HMH CEO Dr. Kelly J. Zúñiga first saw it two years ago. The exhibit also represents a partnership with an important entity in South Africa, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. Mandela Venetian 19th-century lava cameo brooch encrusted with emeralds, rubies, and diamonds; the cameo is lava from Mount Vesuvius, maker unknown Blek Le Rat's Last Tango, 2020, at The Residences at La Colombe d'Or Courtesy the artist and Weingarten art group is heralded worldwide, along with Gandhi and Martin Luther King, as a heroic figure in the ongoing struggle for human rights, yet few Americans are familiar with the saga of Mandela as courageous activist for more than a half-century in defiance of Apartheid. Visceral displays offer alternately poignant and chilling artifacts: rare footage from 1961 of Mandela speaking in his first TV interview; his notebook three decades later after he was released from prison; a menacing Casspir ambush vehicle used to control protesters; and a re-creation of the claustrophobic cell where the future president of South Africa spent the majority of his imprisonment, before improbably becoming the country's post-apartheid leader in 1994. Zúñiga tells PaperCity, "The timing of the Mandela exhibition is a stark reminder of why voting and making your voice heard through the democratic process is relevant and vital." Through January 3, 2021, hmh.org/mandela. Catherine D. Anspon Undated vintage image of segregated stairs in South Africa, at Holocaust Museum Houston The ernesT Cole Family TrusT 22 Blek Le Rat's Last Tango, 2020, at The Residences at La Colombe d'Or