A discussion between U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer and famed courtroom artist Noëlle Herrenschmidt.
Join the French Cultural Center on February 13 at 5:00 PM at the Center as they host U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer and famed courtroom artist Noëlle Herrenschmidt for a unique discussion on his exceptional experience, his fascination for her work and her recently released book, Dans les coulisses de la loi. This special meeting sets the groundwork for a fascinating conversation and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear directly from one of America’s most distinguished and experienced legal scholars.
The talk will be moderated by Holger Spamann, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.
Language: Conversation in French with simultaneous English translation (headphones available)
About Justice Stephen G. Breyer
Justice Stephen G. Breyer is a graduate of Stanford, Oxford, and Harvard Law School. He taught law for many years as a professor at Harvard Law School and at the Kennedy School of Government. He has also worked as a Supreme Court law clerk (for Justice Arthur Goldberg), a Justice Department lawyer (antitrust division), an Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor, and Chief Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee… Read More
About Noëlle Herrenschmidt
Noëlle Herrenschmidt started drawing in 1971 for the French group: Bayard Presse. She was introduced to the reportage genre in 1980 in Calcutta with Mother Teresa, then in Hong Kong and Vietnam in 1990. It was there that she opened for the first time her box of watercolors, which will never leave her side… Read More
Exclusive Artist Lecture: Thursday, March 2 at 6:00 PM
Lecture will be in French with English (consecutive translation)
Opening Reception and La Francophonie Kickoff: Thursday, March 2 at 7:00 PM
The opening reception will be preceded by an exclusive artist lecture at 6:00 PM during which Bernar Venet will share his fascinating experiences and give an informal lecture focusing on his interactions within the contemporary art world. He will discuss how these experiences led to his vast collection of works by the great artists of his generation and to the establishment of the Venet Foundation in Le Muy, France to ensure that his work lives on after him. Purchase your tickets to this special lecture ahead of time as spaces are limited.
About this Exhibition
Bernar Venet has spent decades exploring painting, poetry, film, performance and sculpture, for which he is best known and admired around the world. This very intimate exhibit features a selection of previously unpublished photographs brought together for the first time in the United States. These images of icons of art in the 1960s’ (Warhol, Rauschenberg, Indiana…), taken by Venet almost all by chance, are truly unique as a valuable mix of historical evidence and friendly instantaneous moments.
Venet began to take these portraits in the 1960s, first in Nice, then in Paris, and, after 1966, in New York where he has been based for the past fifty years. They rekindle the sense of adventure around an art movement that was created in solitude and friendship. Throughout the years, Bernar Venet has collected works by these artists who he knew and with whom he socialized, many of whom were his friends. These photos taken on a whim are another way to extend the collection and the community of friends that they embody.
About Bernar Venet
Born in 1941 in the south of France, Venet’s attraction to art became evident at an early age. In 1966, he established himself in New York where, over the course of the next five decades, he explored painting, poetry, film, and performance, and was attracted to pure science as a subject for art. During the 1960s, Venet developed his Tar paintings, Cardboard Reliefs, and his iconic Pile of Coal, the first sculpture without a specific shape. Venet had his first retrospective at the New York Cultural Center in 1971. Contributions to major art events such as Kassel Documenta VI, and the Biennales of Paris, Venice and São Paulo, followed. 1979 marked a turning point in Venet’s career: he began a series of wood reliefs – Arcs, Angles, Straight Lines – and created the first of his Indeterminate Lines. That same year, he was awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 1994, Jacques Chirac invited Venet to present his Indeterminate Line sculptures on the Champ de Mars, which developed into a world tour. To date, the number of Venet’s exhibitions amounts to no less than 250. In 2008, Sotheby’s invited Venet to present 25 large-scale sculptures on the grounds of Isleworth, near Orlando, their first venture to exhibit and support a single sculptor on this scale. In 2011, he became the 4th contemporary artist to be offered the world-renowned Château de Versailles for a solo exhibition, leading the French Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp of his 22-meter vertical Arcs framing the iconic statue of Louis XIV at the entrance.
Monographs in multiple languages have been published on the artist’s oeuvre, with texts by noted art historians Barbara Rose, Donald Kuspit, Carter Ratcliff, Thomas McEvilley, Catherine Millet, Jan van der Marck and Achille Bonito Oliva, (and) among others. His work can be found in more than 70 museums worldwide, including the MoMA, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Centre Pompidou, and MOCA in Los Angeles. Venet has also received commissions for sculptures permanently installed in Auckland, Austin, Bergen, Berlin, Denver, Paris, Neu-Ulm, Nice, Norfolk, Seoul, Shenzhen, Tokyo, and Toulouse.
Venet has been the recipient of several distinguishing honors, including France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur. Most recently, he received the 2013 Julio González International Prize, and the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center (ISC). Inaugurated in July 2014, the Venet Foundation aims to preserve the site in Le Muy, France, conserve the collection, and ensure that Bernar Venet’s work lives on after him.
GALLERY HOURS
Monday, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Friday and Saturday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
On Saturday, April 1st, support the French Cultural Center’s Mosaïque initiative for expanded and exceptional cultural programming by attending Le Bal Dada – a surrealist soirée complete with fabulous cocktails, French hors d’œuvres, a silent auction with alluring prizes, and much more! Get your tickets before they’re gone!
Don’t miss renowned countertenor Andreas Scholl in a rare Boston appearance!
Desiring Beauty is an intimiate exploration of Dowland, Johnson, Handel, Caccini & more, accompanied by stellar American musicians Victor Coelho (lute), David Dolata (theorbo) and Laura Jeppesen (viola da gamba).
Early Bird $40 tickets are available now through February 1st. This extraordinary 1-hour performance will be followed by a leisurely meet-and-greet/CD signing by the artists.
Celebrate the Holidays With Gingerbread Houses For Grown-Ups at Fairmont Copley Plaza!
During the holiday season, everyone is a kid at heart, and this year Fairmont Copley Plaza is letting adults in on some traditional holiday fun! With the assistance of the hotel’s culinary team, grown-up guests can toast the season with festive libations while decorating their own gingerbread house to take home for the holidays.
Tickets for the event are $75 per person, which includes an assembled gingerbread house, all candy decorations and accoutrements, assistance from the culinary team, wine, beer, festive holiday cocktails and canapés. Make it a date night for $125 per couple, which includes one gingerbread house to decorate and share.
Fairmont Copley Plaza will host a birthday party for its canine ambassador, Carly Copley, on Sunday, December 10, 2017 at 1pm. Hosting Carly’s 7th birthday will be Vanessa Welch, Anchor for Boston 25 News, who will be reading “Catie Copley” to guests. The reading will be followed by birthday cake (for humans) and special snacks for Carly’s canine friends. This beloved Boston holiday tradition is free and open to the public.
In lieu of gifts for the hotel’s pampered pooch, Fairmont Copley Plaza invites guests to bring a donation of towels, blankets or toys for the dogs and cats at the Animal Rescue League’s Boston Shelter.
Free Hot Chocolate on National Cocoa Day
Wednesday, Dec. 13 is National Cocoa Day and Fairmont Copley Plaza will celebrate with its Back Bay neighbor, L.A. Burdick Chocolates by serving complimentary Burdick hot chocolate from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at the hotel’s Dartmouth Street entrance. The artisan chocolatier, famous for its European-inspired chocolate bonbons, hot chocolates and pastries, will have warm cups of its Dark Drinking Chocolate (robust & full-bodied) and Milk Drinking Chocolate (gentler yet still decadent & luscious) to brighten the morning for passersby, while supplies last. L.A. Burdick’s hot cocoa – named one of the “11 must-try hot chocolates around the U.S”. by Zagat – will be served snow or shine to mark this fun food holiday and spread holiday cheer to the neighborhood. It will certainly be a welcome surprise after Boston’s first snowfall this past weekend!
Fairmont Copley Plaza will toast the holiday season with a lavish four-course Holiday Bacchanal dinner featuring a special menu from Executive Chef Laurent Poulain — North Country bacon wrapped local monkfish, winter pickled vegetable salad with candied Marcona almonds and 50-year-old sherry, coffee braised all natural beef short ribs, and warm milk chocolate & coconut brioche bread pudding will be served. American Idol finalist (Season 13) Sam Woolf will provide live entertainment.
Join us on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. as we transform the hotel’s dramatic 105 year-old lobby into an elegant ambiance suited for contemporary times with guests dining at tables running the length of the space
Cocktail attire is suggested.
Join SERV for a Breakfast and Panel Discussion
We’re excited to announce our seventh seminar in a series of speaker and networking events for private events managers! Join us on February 28th at Grill 23 for breakfast and a discussion. The focus of this discussion will be on local urban development, upcoming conventions, future corporate neighbors, overall trends to expect and how this will affect our events industry as we know it.
PANEL SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
- Jeffrey Gates-Partner, The Aquitaine Group: Aquitaine, Gaslight, Metropolis, Cinquecento
- Chris Coombs-Chef / Owner, Boston Urban Hospitality: Deuxave | Boston Chops | dbar
- Bob Luz-President & CEO, Massachusetts Restaurant Association
- Lisa Deveney-Director of Convention Services, Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Rosemarie Sansone-President & CEO, The Downtown Boston Business Improvement District (BID)
SCHEDULE:
8:45am – 9:30am – breakfast and networking
9:30am – 10:30am – panelist discussion
10:30am – 11:00am – Q+A
SERV (Society for Event Planners: Restaurant Venues) is anorganization of private event managers who provide support and education to industry professionals. The quarterly speaker series includes a panel and networking opportunities over light breakfast. The panel discussions span a wide variety of topics from business and professional development to event technology, vendor relations and marketing, all pertaining to the private events industry with a focus on restaurant venues.Currently, SERV chapters exist in Boston and New York.
Celebrate Earth Day at OAK Long Bar + Kitchen
OAK Long Bar + Kitchen is celebrating Earth Day on Sunday, April 22 by turning off its lights from 5 p.m. through closing to conserve energy. More than a hundred candles will be placed throughout the dining room to illuminate the space for an unforgettable “Earth, Wine & Fire” candlelit dinner experience in one of Boston’s most beautiful restaurants.
A special à la carte menu by Executive Chef Graham Lockwood will feature sustainably sourced courses and replace the regular dinner menu for the evening. Each dish will highlight ingredients from New England farms and purveyors (see select farms noted below), and the menu’s wine pairings will spotlight New York State and Oregon wines that are produced and grown with sustainable and biodynamic farming practices. A three-course wine pairing will be offered for $30, or these wines can be ordered by the glass for $13-$18 depending on the selection. Those dining between 5-7 p.m.will receive a complimentary taste of rosé upon arrival. The regular bar menu will also be available.
Sunday’s customers will be some of the first to enjoy OAK as a non-plastic straw establishment. The restaurant is permanently ditching plastic straws starting this Friday, April 20. OAK has already been mindful to create cocktails that don’t require a straw, but for those that do and all other straw requests, Hay! Straws will be used moving forward, which are made from natural wheat stems and are 100% biodegradable. The special “Earth, Wine & Fire” dinner menu will be printed on plantable seed paper, and no single-use item (like cocktail napkins) will be offered to tables.
MENU
APPETIZER
Pea & Carrot, pea and ricotta dumplings, charcoal roasted carrots and pistachio – $14
Soter “Planet Oregon” Chardonnay
* Carrots sourced from Ripley Farm, Dover-Foxcroft, ME
South Bay Blondes, egg yolk jam, pickled daikon, radish greens – $18
Brooklyn Oenology “Social Club White”
* Oysters sourced from Onset, Cape Cod, MA
Pate en Croute, pickled vegetables, cranberry gastrique – $15
Forge “Classique” Riesling
* Pork sourced from Alderbrook Farm, South Dartmouth, MA
ENTRÉE
Pan Roasted Monkfish, local bacon, Russian banana potatoes, pickled ramps – $29
Brooklyn Oenology “Broken Land”
* Monkfish sourced from Georges Bank off the coast of MA
* Potatoes sourced from Green Sunshine Farm, Hodgdon, ME
Braised Short Rib, cassoulet, haikuri turnips, radish – $32
Brooklyn Oenology Merlot
* Beef sourced from Pineland Farms, New Gloucester, ME
Chicken Ballotine, wheat berries, spring dug parsnip, cipollini jus – $28
Forge “Classique” Pinot Noir
* Parsnips sourced from Fish Boot Farms, Bowdoinham, ME
* Wheat berries sourced from Maine Grains, Skowhegan, ME
DESSERT
Crème Brûlée, duck eggs, maple sugar, almond – $10
Pacific Rim Riesling Vin De Glaciere
* Maple sourced from Highland Sugarworks, Barre, VT
* Cream sourced from Maple Line Dairy, Hadley, MA
Reservations are encouraged for this “lit” dinner and can be made here or by calling 617-585-7222.
