Art Dubai 2014

As already mentioned, my mother was invited to Art Dubai 2014 and thanks to a gallery owner in Tokyo, we had the chance to attend it as "Collectors' Circle" guest.

To be honest, I'm not really into art... but we all wanted to go to Dubai together so when my mother asked if I wanted to join her, I didn't have to think twice. ;-)

The venue of the Art Dubai was Mina A'Salam Madinat Jumeirah - the BEST hotel I have ever stayed at! (See my previous blog entry :) )

There is a canal that encircle the entire hotel complex.



The booth of Ota Fine Arts Gallery, Tokyo and Singapore.

I think Yayoi Kusama is the most known Japanese artist at Ota Fine Arts.
She is famous for using polka dots and nets in her paintings. In 2012 she collaborated with Louis Vuitton's collection "LOUIS VUITTON x YAYOI KUSAMA". www.otafinearts.com/en/artists/yayoi-kusama/

I didn't take lots of pics at Art Dubai but this golden boy on a golden rocking horse couldn't be overlooked! Bling bling!



At Dubai Art, Cartier's jewellery exhibition was my highlight. ;-)

Design Days Dubai 2014 / Maserati Ghibli vs Quattroporte

My brother and I also went to Design Days Dubai, an exhibition of limited edition furnitures and design objects. This fair was more interesting to me than Art Dubai because furnitures and design objects can be actually "used" in our daily life but paintings and art can only be looked at... Sorry, for being a philistine... :-/

This cabinet called "Chartres" from Carpenters Workshop Gallery by Studio Job is made of bronze and gold-leaf and in the form of an upside-down replica of the famous cathedral. It's eye-catching and beautiful!

This light sculpture "Fragile Future III" made by the artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta is also amazing: real dandelion seeds connected to LED lights. Wow...

My favorite design object was these digital and analog clocks by Victor Hunt.

I couldn't get over my astonishment. This concept is AWESOME!!!

 

You have to see this video - it's too complicated to explain. ;-)

http://victor-hunt.com/collection/serie/million-times

To get to the venue, we used the complementary car service by Maserati. This model is called "Ghibli", the less expensive version of Maserati: starting from UAE 325.000.- (~ CHF 78'432.- ~ USD 88'459.-).

I always thought expensive sports cars are loud, small and only for show-offs... And yes, they are loud but the car itself wasn't that small, it had 4 doors, the seats were actually very comfy and not that showy. ;P I just didn't like the wine-red colored leather seats. A little too sporty for me. ;)

 

 

We also got to try "Quattroporte", the more expensive model of Maserati. The price starts from

UAE 525.000.- (~ CHF 126'699.- ~ USD 142'896.-). Quattroporte is more "classy" and not sporty like Ghibli, but also comfortable, with 4 doors and I liked the color of the interior: the leather seats were nice cream colored, called "Sabbia Leather". Very elegant!

Mina A'Salam Madinat Jumeirah Hotel

On our 3rd day in Dubai, we moved to Madinat Jumeirah Mina A'Salam Hotel, where also the Art Dubai took place. My best friend already told me that it's a very luxurious hotel where you feel like an Arabian princess. ;-) She was right, this hotel is really gorgeous, a grande boutique hotel, with traditional Arabian style, surrounded with waters and part of the larger Madinat Jumeirah Resort which has other Hotels: Al Quasr, Dar Al Masyaf, Malakiya Villas and "The Souk" an Arabian Market which is home to several restaurants, bars and coffee shops. The Jumeirah complex is REALLY huge but a small boat on the canal that encircle the entire complex or golf buggies that are always buzzing around will take you to the various destinations. 

There is a 2km long own private beach for the hotel guests with stunning views of the Arabian Resort of Dubai and the Burj Al Arab. The hotel guests also get free access to the Wild Wadi Waterpark, an outdoor waterpark with attractions, 30 rides and a 18m waterfall which is located next to the hotel! Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go to the waterpark... :(

The Club Executive Lounge of Mina A'Salam Hotel. It was FABULOUS!

 

Afternoon Tea at the Lounge ♥

 

Happy Hour at the Lounge - with free flow champagne ♥ ♥

Our Deluxe Ocean Room was compared to the Family Suit in Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort smaller but much more luxurious (sorry Hilton!)!!

 

The bathroom of the Hilton Dubai JR was also very nice but this one has more charm and was stocked with really nice amenities!

We had a beautiful view from our balcony - look at the clear blue water and the iconic Burj Al Arab!

The turtle rehabilitation in Jumeirah: the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation team rehabilitate the sick and injured turtles (that are critically endangered worldwide... :( ) and return them to the natural habitat.

 On this boat we did a round tour to see the other parts of Madinat.

Ahhhh.... Too bad we didn't have time for swimming in such a beautiful clear blue sea... We will DEFINITELY come back to Dubai!!!!

 The Medinat Jumeirah Mina A'Salam hotel is the BEST hotel I have ever stayed! EVERYTHING IS SUPERB! Nothing to complain at all! I really hope we can come back to this dreamlike place again...

Medinat Jumeirah Mina A'Salam Hotel

Madinat Jumeirah - Jumeirah Beach Road

Dubai - United Arab Emirates

Tel: +971 4 366 8888 

E-mail: MJinfo@jumeirah.com 

       Service:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★                       Value for money:   ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
       Food:     ★ ★ ★ ★ ★                        Atmosphere:          ★ ★ ★ ★ ★