What’s Happening: The acclaimed Japanese botanical sculptor unveils one of his most ambitious works yet, a giant floral arrangement growing within the “Guggenheim of the Jungle.”

The Download: Makoto Azuma’s ambitions have always been astronomical. In his hands, flowers find themselves in impossible places doing unnatural things—bonsai trees travel to outer space and the deep sea; blossoms are encased in ice blocks and planted onto a Dries Van Noten runway; unruly bouquets are used as props in Danish punk rock performances. Though noted for his radical expressions, the acclaimed Japanese botanical sculptor grounds his practice in a subtle reverence for life’s fleeting nature and conducts his mind-bending experiments in an unassuming workshop on a quiet Tokyo backstreet. His latest achievement is earthly but no less grand: a giant floral installation growing inside SFER IK Museion, the biophilic cultural institution near Tulum, deemed the “Guggenheim of the Jungle.”

Azuma crafted the sculpture, called Mexx, in response to the surrounding verdant landscape and SFER IK’s undulating open-air structure, a fantastical oasis designed by Roth-Architecture that’s entirely devoid of flat floors, walls, or ceilings. As the exhibition runs its course, the artwork will bloom into and throughout the museum, speaking to Azuma’s fascination with cycles of life and death while exploring the traditional Japanese conception of negative space. Visitors are free to meander inside, and when the exhibition wraps up, on September 7, SFER IK and Azuma will dismantle the artwork and donate all living flowers to the local community.

Mexx’s unveiling coincides with the long-awaited return of SFER IK, which temporarily closed during the pandemic but reopened this past week under the leadership of newly appointed director Marcello Dantas. The interdisciplinary arts center is the beating heart of a sprawling, ten-acre creative complex called Azulik Uh May, a bustling “City of Arts” that encompasses local workshops for artisans working in macramé, ceramics, textiles, woodworking, and architecture.

In Their Own Words: “When conceptualizing Mexx, I was inspired by the unique architecture of SFER IK,” Azuma says. “It’s made by humans but done in unique dialogue with the jungle. The museum itself feels like an organism, and I wanted to create a new biophilic encounter between species within it that will naturally evolve over time.”

Surface Says: We don’t need any extra incentive to book a trip to Tulum, but Azuma is one of those rarified artists worth traveling for no matter where he’s showing.

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High in the Andes on the Altiplano plateau, an art-driven stay is presenting a modern vision of Bolivia. The 76-key Met Hotel recently debuted in the entertainment-rich Calacoto neighborhood of La Paz, known as the City in the Clouds for its staggering elevation of 11,975 feet above sea level. (It’s so high that cable cars, not subways, are the public transit system.)

From the jump, New York–based firm Los Designers and Bolivian architect Ivan Valdez, an alum of Zaha Hadid Architects, set out to create a place that uses local traditions as the foundation for new ideas. For instance, the bedroom pillows pay tribute to the surrealist geometric weavings of Jalq’a culture in southern Bolivia, while the rugs feature historic patterns from the textile hotbed of Tiwanaku in the west. In the lobby, layered concrete walls mimic the ruins of Pumapunku and provide a textured counterpoint to sleek emerald sofas.

Reinforcing the link between heritage and the new wave, the Met also serves as a platform for emerging and mid-career Bolivian contemporary artists. Curated by Mariano Ugalde of Salar Art Gallery, the communal spaces display a diverse collection. Guests will discover neon pieces by Jose Ballivian, who represented the country at the 2017 Venice Biennale; a site-specific installation by Andres Pereira Paz, a rising star now based in Berlin; and a large-format piece by Cristian Laime, considered to be one of the most promising figures in painting, whose work often challenges post-colonial social structures.

Any visit should include a taste of singani, a type of brandy made from high-altitude white Muscat of Alexandria grapes that is considered to be a cousin to pisco. Try it at the ground-floor Dominga Restaurant or the rooftop terrace where bartenders are, unsurprisingly, playing with the centuries-old spirit in newfangled ways.

With a dash of humor, the Brooklyn artist imagines random objects—a traffic cone, lipstick, and lightbulb—jutting through the ubiquitous Thonet No. 14 chair as a comment on Modernism and consumption.

Here, we ask an artist to frame the essential details behind one of their latest works.

Bio: Mario Navarro, 37, Brooklyn.

Title of work: Id Est (mushroom, wine, match, candle, cone, bulb, leg, flag, brick column, roman column lamp).

Where to see it: “A Chair Is a Chair Is a Chair” at Galerie Kitsuné, Brooklyn, until April 3.

Three words to describe it: Chairs, chairs, chairs.

What was on your mind at the time: The series started during the lockdown due to Covid-19. My studio was not accessible and I needed to find a way to work on a small scale with tools at hand. These drawings have become a form of personal therapy.

Our weekly roundup of the internet’s most preposterous headlines, from the outrageous to the outright bizarre.

Want Fries With That Ape? NFT Restaurants Are Officially a Trend [Input]

This Woman’s UTI Turned Out to Be a Glass Tumbler Lodged for Last 4 Years [News18]

IHOP and Pepsi Made a Maple Syrup Cola—Will It Pair Well With Pancakes? [Yahoo! Sports]

North Carolina Family Abandons Dog Over Fears He Is Gay [New York Post]

Your next favorite Kartell piece may be a pair of glasses. The Milan-based furniture brand, renowned for its pioneering use of plastics, recently debuted an expansive collection of 100 eyewear styles designed by such bold-faced names as Rodolfo Dordoni, Ferruccio Laviani, Piero Lissoni, and Fabio Novembre.

One model, Lamina, combines two distinct but harmonious silhouettes on the frame, creating an entirely new shape that generates multiple dimensions depending on the angles of light. Segmenti, meanwhile, employs injection molding for an extremely lightweight finish that riffs on traditional eyewear styles. “Kartell has always looked to the future and has always followed developments in materials and production processes in all sectors,” says Lorenza Luti of Kartell. “This latest collection, developed by our own creative workshop, will allow us to explore new horizons while continuing to respect our established look and identity.”

Born and raised in Colombia, Natalia Criado discovered her knack for design at an early age, and has built multiple brands under an overarching creative and multitask-driven principle. Criado worked as an industrial designer in Milan, but pivoted to home objects once she returned to Colombia and now designs and oversees a team of in-house artisans.

The Azul Flower Vase features an elegant silhouette composed of spherical and geometrical shapes made from handcrafted crystal using 19th-century techniques. “The materials and shapes I used are delicate and strong,” Criado says, “which I feel represents the women who inspire my work.” The Azul Flower Vase will be on view in “Woman Made” at Surface Area in the Miami Design District through April 4.

Brutalist structures around the world are being torn down at a rapid pace, from the scheduled demolition of Kenzo Tange’s stacked Kuwait Embassy in Tokyo to Tunisia’s striking upside-down Hôtel du Lac by Raffaele Contigiani that’s rumored to have inspired Star Wars. Paul Rudolph’s buildings have come under target specifically—in the past couple years, both the Burroughs Wellcome headquarters in North Carolina and the Shoreline Apartments in Buffalo were razed, while the Orange County Government Center in Goshen, New York, was disfigured thanks to the completion of a drastically incongruous addition next door. Now, the Modernist architect’s Government Services Center in Boston—particularly the Charles F. Hurley Building—is facing a similar fate.

Crowing Madrid’s ABC Serrano commercial center, formerly the headquarters of the ABC newspaper and Blanco y Negro magazine, Torcuato restaurant and bar is making waves for its eccentric, over-the-top style.

Decorator Pepe Leal and chef Sergio Fernánde used the late peripatetic writer Torcuato Luca de Tena for inspiration when conceiving the globally influenced interiors and menu. With a diversity of references ranging from neo-17th century to Art Deco to Granadan and French classicism, Leal fashioned each room with its own idiosyncratic look and feel. At any given turn patrons might encounter a neon waterfall lighting fixture, pastel-and-gold fresco, or hand-painted mural in the two dining rooms and on the rooftop terrace.

Ocrùm is a New York studio creating furniture, lighting, mirrors, and decorative objects with a timeless aesthetic. Inspired by the quiet observance of meaningful memories, Ocrùm experiments with classic and innovative materials combined with Italian craftsmanship. The collections are defined by creative director Sean Zhang’s empathic approach and attention to detail with a minimalist approach to living.

Surface Says: Ocrúm investigates the intersection of art and design in its dreamy—yet always functionally minded—products. Through both its medium and appearance, the brand’s Dew + Drop table lamp exemplifies this balancing act: it represents fleeting fragility, frozen in time despite its undeniably tangible properties.

Common rain frogs of each gender secret an ultra-sticky adhesive when they mate.

Scientists discover a new variety of ice not unlike in Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.

Elusive composer La Monte Young releases the 64-year-old Trio for Strings.

The New York art world has a thing or two to say about Netflix’s Warhol documentary.