The Artful Life: 6 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week

1. New Villa-Only Hideaway Opens in the Dominican Republic

More and more, discerning travelers are prioritizing resorts with private villas that allow for both seclusion and immersion into the surroundings. The newest opening occupies 35 acres of lush jungle in Las Galeras, Samaná which overlooks the picturesque Rincón Bay on Dominican Republic’s northern coast. Offering one-, two-, and three-bedroom villas, Ocama’s eight private retreats combine modern design with thoughtful artisan details and earthy materials, including hand-finished sustainably sourced hardwood floors, locally found marble, and living roofs. Locavore ingredients shape Chef Ray Arthey’s inspired menus that marry Dominican Creole cuisine and Italian technique, like seafood risotto with coconut and seasonal vegetables. Guests can also have food delivered to their villas for in-room cooking, while yoga and spa treatments can also be performed on the private deck. Indeed, whale watching trips, waterfall hikes, and a stroll along Samaná’s “Seven Hidden Beaches” trail give plenty of reasons to venture out, Ocama entices with many reasons to stay in.—Jill Sieracki

2. Anna Weyant’s Dreamy Paintings Debut in First Museum Exhibition in Madrid

Few voices in today’s contemporary art world today boast the powerfully distinct, unsettling charm of Anna Weyant. Known for her captivating, almost cinematic paintings that feature a disquieting narrative, Weyant’s singular aesthetic masterfully blends elements of Baroque, Pop, and fairytale with her own unique stories and memories. The New York-based rising star is now celebrating her first monographic museum exhibition at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, and it includes some twenty paintings selected from her most recent work. A rare opportunity to experience the breadth and nuance of her oeuvre, the show, which is on view through October, includes a selection of paintings from the museum’s permanent collection forming a fascinating dialogue between old and new.—Lucy Rees

3. Interni Venosta Will Transform Your Used Detergent Bottles into Collectible Vases

Laundry detergent bottles are among the most overlooked objects in the home—used, emptied, and discarded without a second thought—but now they can find a new lease on life as refined collectible vases. Thanks to a recently launched program by Interni Venosta, the independent furniture label by Milanese designers Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci of Dimore Studio, Tuscan artisans are carefully sheathing used bottles in handcrafted brass, bronze, or steel adornments, preserving their original silhouettes but ascribing new material dignity. Everyday scratches, scuffs, and minor imperfections are left visible to emphasize each vessel’s individuality. The collection’s name, Destroyer, symbolically nods to breaking the cycle of waste—and the item’s intended use. And anyone can participate. Consumers are welcome to volunteer their own used bottles to be custom-finished under the watchful eye of Salci, the program’s creative director, who will personally oversee bespoke commissions. —Ryan Waddoups

4. Zara Commissions Es Devlin for Observatory Installation in Spain

Long established for its fashion-forward, affordable clothing, Zara has far surpassed its perceived label with bold collaborations with designer Stefano Pilati, artist Samuel Ross, and architect and Galerie Creative Mind Vincent Van Duysen, among others. Now, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the brand reimagined the Cúpula Atlántica Observatory in Monte de San Pedro, A Coruña, Spain with a free immersive installation by artist Es Devlin. On view through October 12, “50 Songs of the Sea” utilizes three rows of rotating, concentric seats where more than 250 guests can observe a film evoking the nearby Atlantic Ocean projected on a soaring cupola and the sound of the waves echo throughout the space. Outside, a sequence of 50 poems about the sea scroll across a LED strip. “Many of the citizens of A Coruña have played a part in Zara’s 50-year story, and this work invites them to celebrate their participation, while presenting this exceptional place with its fierce and spectacular waves and weather, to newcomers for the first time,” the artist says. —J.S.

5. Ignasi Monreal Turns Loewe Candles Into Surreal Still Lifes

Ignasi Monreal is perhaps best known for his richly rendered tromp l’oeil scenes of discarded food and dining detritus, but now his meticulous brush is capturing your favorite Loewe scent. In a collaboration with Loewe Perfumes, the fast-rising Spanish painter is translating five of the house’s most distinctive candles—Beetroot, Ivy, Marihuana, Oregano and Tomato Leaves—into entrancing digital paintings and short films. In one, beetroot-colored smoke twists into Loewe’s anagram; others depict a lush cascade of ivy consuming a ribbed candleholder and a luscious tomato engulfed in flames. Each composition draws on Monreal’s signature mix of classical references, photorealism, and surrealism to evoke the atmosphere to each fragrance. The short films build on this language with subtle animations that intensify the mood. —R.W.

6. Maison Telmont and Shelter Present “Vintage” Sunglasses

A new collaboration from Shelter and Maison Telmont has resulted in a limited-edition pair of sunglasses, crafted using by-products from Telmont’s 2024 champagne harvest. The collection features Shelter’s artisanal design, finished with grey-blue lenses and a Telmont label-inspired engraving. Produced in France and available in only 400 pairs, the model is fully made without plastic and incorporates 8% grape marc, marking a truly unique blend of the two brands while also emphasizing sustainability. “There is more to these shades than meets the eye,” says Benoit de la Thébeaudière, Managing Director of Shelter. “In this case, the incorporation of grape marc will create small irregularities in the frames, and each pair will truly be unique. This creation illustrates how we leverage passion and innovation to reinvent eyewear, using organic/biosourced materials and embracing a more sustainable approach… An approach we are proud to share with Telmont!” The glasses are available beginning this month online and at select retailers in New York, Tokyo, and Rossendale, U.K.—Alexandria Sillo