JOURNAL
OF ART
AND DETAILS

How I loved the second season of The Gentlemen.

Guy Ritchie delves so much deeper—and into far darker territory—as he probes human nature by tempting his characters with power.

Over the first four episodes, Eddie became an increasingly conflicted character for me. Ritchie’s films undeniably romanticise crime—that is part of why we love them.

But here, his growing thirst for dominance had to reach a catharsis. And the final episodes bring everything into place beautifully.

The Bible.

Everything springs from this text.

And the parallels are so brilliantly drawn.

Eddie’s relationship with Freddy echoes the story of Jacob and Esau.

Jesus and the forty days in the wilderness.

It is the conversation with Sir Johnston that becomes the turning point, revealing the purpose of everything that came before in the series.

Season two leaves us with an Eddie who:

“Bows to no one—not even God.”

Who believes his vigilante justice is justified.

Who, having lost everything, has embraced the illusion that he is entitled to pass judgement.

A kind of loss of the soul through the rationalisation of pain.

He no longer simply wants power—he is beginning to enjoy it.

Which makes it all the more intriguing to see where this path will lead him.

Now this is what I call a good Friday morning.

AD Italia

🤍

Ds:

Anastasia Ustinova

St:

Anna Vavilova

Ph:

Mikhail Bravy

I love visiting artists’ studios. Each has its own unique atmosphere. Today we had tea and homemade pie while admiring Asya Feoktistova’s paintings.

Most importantly, she creates large-scale works. In my experience, finding art of this size is far from easy.

What beauty to end the day with!

1. Dmitry Krasnopevtsev. I first fell in love with his work at an exhibition.

It was at AZart.

I have loved his work ever since.

2–3. Nonconformist artist Mikhail Schwartzman.

4. Tamara Aksirova. A third-generation artist. My collection began with one of Tamara’s works :)

Did it strike a chord? Yes!

I remain somewhat sceptical of the idea of a “young artist as an investment.” There are simply too many nuances and risks. So just enjoy the art and listen to your inner voice. Delight in it, admire it, let yourself feel the thrill. If your heart skips a beat, buy it.

That is how, while scrolling through my feed, I came across work that truly resonated with me:

Marina Pchelyakova.

Her paintings are bright and alive.

The morning began with extraordinary beauty.

We chose frames for a Chagall painting, Dalí linocuts and a work by Zverev.

— Let’s go to Troitsk and enjoy a beautiful cup of coffee in peace!

— Let’s go!

It was exactly what the soul wanted on a sunny Sunday morning.

I could look at furniture by

BOLLU

forever. The beauty is extraordinary.

Before the frenzy around Cosmoscow began, I spent an hour browsing TEO—one of the fair’s projects—and found several works that caught my eye.

Here is why:

1. 7 — When abstractions have started to feel tired, indistinct female figures offer a welcome alternative—especially in such rich colours.

2. Rhythm and movement always work beautifully.

3. Sweet and touching.

4. Muzalevsky. I genuinely love his abstractions, and in my view his is already a significant name for a collection.

5. 8 — For different purposes and temperaments :)

7. I can see it in a fashionable menswear concept store. The title and message, “The Plastic World,” also bring a certain irony and ambiguity.

9. Works like these look striking in photographs and stay with you.

I dropped by a penthouse created by

Assetmuse.space

. Last week, it hosted Izzi Decor’s fifth-anniversary celebration. Today, the display is being changed. You can visit at any time by appointment—to admire the view and discover new works.

In collaboration with

Art Factory Group

.

How I spent more than three months reading The Idiot—and why

At school, of course, we studied Crime and Punishment. Later, as an adult, I read The Brothers Karamazov. All I was left with was bewilderment. I understood absolutely nothing in these iconic works.

This year, instinct led me to The Idiot. I had started it a couple of years ago and promptly abandoned it. This time, however, it became an adventure—an initiation into Dostoevsky, you might say.

I allowed myself not to rush: I listened to lectures alongside the novel and took time to grasp its essence. I knew that Dostoevsky’s storytelling was nonlinear, that its moral was not predetermined, and that the line between good and evil was anything but clear.

Dostoevsky is a small, dark door leading into the deep basement of human nature. I wanted so much to understand every intricate meaning and perhaps find an answer that might heal something in me.

Even now, after many hours of discussions with AI, I feel I have absorbed perhaps thirty percent of the novel. That only makes the prospect of returning to it later more enticing.

So what do I have at this point? Where has it brought me?

“You feel a great deal of contempt now, don’t you think?

For what? Because you have suffered, and still suffer, more than we do?

No, because I am unworthy of my suffering.” (source)

Suffering as a form of inquiry.

This is not about suffering in order to grow. It is about suffering as a condition in which the whole truth about a person is laid bare. And it does not necessarily change you for the better. You can suffer and remain bitter and resentful. But there is also the path of acceptance—and, through it, a path towards understanding depth and divine intent.

If suffering has fallen to you, who are you within it?

The interpretation many people favour is that of a social experiment. For me, however, this is the least interesting line of thought. I prefer to begin with myself and only then look at society through that lens, rather than the other way round.

And my favourite theme: the exploration of duality within a single person.

What matters here is that duality is not two poles but a battlefield. This is not the comforting idea that “there is light and darkness in everyone,” nor an invitation to “accept both sides.” It is war: a war within one person, where it is often impossible to tell which side is light and which is darkness.

This August, Kamchatka happened to us—and it was wonderful

🤍

“A Table Set as a Sketch”

How I love this collaboration between the Belgian brand

Serax

and designer Annebet Philips!

These pieces are incredibly photogenic on the table, especially when you do not feel like devising anything elaborate.

As I rushed out of the house, I decided to take a new book, hoping to read it after my walk in a café I had taken a liking to.

As I looked through my small collection of unread books, and those I long to revisit for a second time, my eye fell on Chagall’s autobiography.

The intuitive choice is often the right one.

Because right now, this is precisely the kind of prose I crave—light, at times almost childlike in its innocence.

And to be honest, biography is not at all my genre, but right now it is the best antidote to difficult events and states of mind.

And if you are short of glints of sunlight, sunset views over country estates and the slow life of the old nobility, the Viktor Borisov-Musatov exhibition at the Tretyakov Gallery may be just the remedy.

An endless ode to large canvases in interiors. The painting will do all the work, leaving you free to relax.

Design:

Alina Smitienko

Décor: Anna Vavilova

Photography:

Mikhail Chekalov

Ceramics:

Savour Design

Textiles:

Mulmull

Art:

reloftart

Carpet:

Art de Vivre

Textiles:

iq_decor

Today I stopped by the ZILART Museum for the exhibition “African Art: Ancestors, Gods and Life.”

The main takeaway from my visit:

Less is more

There are an astonishing number of fascinating masks, panels and sculptures, but the sheer abundance of exhibits quickly sends the brain into overload.

Once out in the lobby, I took great pleasure in watching today’s few rays of sunlight play across the copper walls.

I cannot resist sharing Lena Marru’s beautiful ceramic miniatures. I discovered them at Reloft Art and have already sent them to everyone who shares this aesthetic.

We have already commissioned some for one of our projects.

🕊️

View the post on Telegram.

No matter how I tried, I could not fit our June into ten frames.

It makes me so happy to see southern Russia evolving, with more and more places worth returning to every year.

Where we went this time.

1. New Chersonesus. Our friends had their church wedding there, so this place is already special to us.

2.

Golubitskoye Estate.

The sea view at sunset is magnificent. Of everything we tried, the Blanc de Blancs was my favourite.

3. Literally across the road is the remarkable

Villa Romanov.

You can come for the restaurant, stroll through the grounds and play pétanque. Every turn brings a riot of fragrance and colour.

4. The futuristic winery

Skalisty Bereg.

5.

House of Aromatic Herbs.

A small family restaurant with lovely food and a beautiful view over the lavender field.

6.

Château André.

I adore it with every fibre of my being. This is definitely somewhere to stay for a couple of days and surrender to the unhurried rhythm of life in a small village.

I file away so many unique names and projects to “explore and admire,” only to forget them. But the time always comes when there is nowhere to rush and I can take a deeper dive.

I will admit that architecture and I are not yet on familiar terms. My knowledge is limited to the basics. I have always gravitated towards artists, spending countless hours with books, exhibitions, films and lectures, over and over again.

Then the names and projects of great architects began appearing more and more often, astonishing in their scale and mastery, and my passion for learning found another subject.

The Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. Words are superfluous here—the eyes can see for themselves.

1. La Fábrica Sant Just Desvern

An architecture studio and family home inside an abandoned cement factory.

2. Red Sol Resort

The Albanian Riviera is extraordinarily fortunate to have been given such otherworldly beauty.

3. Walden 7

An incredible complex of apartments, bars, shops and conference halls: the now-familiar idea of a “city within a city.”

4. Eco Resort Montinhoso

I will say just one thing: we need something like this in Krasnodar Krai.))

P.S. On the

official website

each project is accompanied by extensive descriptions, drawings and photographs—for anyone interested in exploring it in greater depth.