Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola makes minimalist-inspired work out of materials loaded with maximal meanings—flags, palm oil, bullet shell casings—to plumb larger issues of identity, respectability, and commodification of African American culture. He’s perhaps best known for Camouflage, an ongoing series of abstract wall-based artworks in which he sews and staples durags on canvas to create richly colored compositions, weaving together his ruminations on skin color with color relativity theory explored by predecessors Ellsworth Kelly, Morris Louis, and Ad Reinhardt. It could be seen as a simple approach, but Akinbola’s apt selection of readymade materials and their multivalent associations nevertheless speak volumes.

After securing joint representation by Sean Kelly and Night Gallery, the Nigerian-born, Missouri-raised, and Brooklyn-based artist over the weekend opened a second show called “Sweet Tooth”—a multimedia fantasia based on candy and carnivals—at the latter’s Los Angeles outpost through April 29. Here, in a conversation that has been edited and condensed, Akinbola caught up with Surface during installation to talk about discipline, assimilation, and the subversive power of chocolate.

Why carnivals?

The last couple of shows have been pretty monochromatic. I learned a lot about color through the durags, but now I’m at a point where I’m more comfortable with more elaborate palettes. I’ve been thinking about candy wrappers: things that are alluring, sweet, and indulgent, which lead to conversations around discipline and desire and love. I don’t have a big affinity around the carnival itself—it’s the tent stripes and the design principles around them.

What did you learn about color from the durags?

I go to different beauty supply stores in different cities, and each durag is a little different. That was my first real association with color relativity. I didn’t go to art school, so I didn’t really understand relativity in the Josef Albers kind of way. But it’s something we all understand, right? When you’re trying to match two different yellows in your closet, or when a guy is trying to match a yellow durag with his sneaker. When they’re created by different brands, it’s like a conversation on relativity that is focused on the readymade.

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Opening Shot is a column that peeks inside new hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops with interiors to drool over.

Name: R48 Hotel

Location: Tel Aviv

Designers: Studio Liaigre, AN+, Piet Oudolf

On Offer: French elegance meets German restraint at the R48 Hotel and Garden, hospitality impresario Mati Broudo’s pristine new destination on the White City’s tony Rothschild Boulevard. Housed in a 1930s-era Bauhaus beauty thoughtfully resurrected under the watchful eye of the Israel Conservation Authority, the pristine new property is slated to fetch the highest room rate on the market. Local preservation specialists AN+ complimented the original structure’s rational curves with a glazed facade to encourage waves of seaside sunlight to stream inside the building and across High Line landscape designer Piet Oudolf’s Mediterranean gardens.

Each of the hotel’s 11 suites, completely unique from one another in both mood and furnishings, are luxurious without a hint of fussiness. “The interior architecture and layout of the different spaces go straight to the point,” says Studio Liaigre creative director Frauke Meyer, “transmitting a feeling of freshness and modernity.” Splashes of yellow and green warm up the otherwise neutral palette, while materials—travertine slabs, tulipwood, assamela, walnut, carpets of silk and bathrooms in granite—emphasize texture. Taste comes courtesy of a pair of dining options: Chef’s Table, Ohad Solomon’s Far East–via–Middle East restaurant in the heart of the hotel, and the all-day Brasserie 48, a Mediterranean cocktails-and-bites venture arriving later this spring.

Since Matthew Herman and David Kien founded Boy Smells in 2015, the brand has plumbed the depths of their neologistic term “genderful.” What products can a beauty and lifestyle brand—especially one called Boy Smells with a soft pink label—create to help open yourself up to the multiplicities of gender within? Previous answers include pouch-front trunks, bralettes, hand lotion that smells like blunts, smoked resin room spray, and a black pepper magnum candle designed by Grace Jones.

Boy Smells’ latest venture is Emotional Illuminations, a partnership with Bella Hadid’s “functional beverage” company Kin Euphorics, comprising a limited-edition trio of candles and canned drinks. Designed, in their words, “to illuminate neural pathways to enhance different moods,” each set is color-coordinated in soft, vaguely New Age-y washes of colors and intended for use in specific moments of the day. When the cardboard octagons and cubes of products arrived, our contributor decided to take them up on the offer of “harnessing the power of mood-tuning energy.”

Sydney’s bustling Circular Quay neighborhood has welcomed its latest attraction, a cultural venue and community hub designed by Adjaye Associates that melds contemporary design ingenuity with Aboriginal nods. That fusion starts with the site’s anchor, a steeply pitched A-frame structure clad in black corrugated steel that references early shelters built by the region’s settlers. Angled slats allow for abundant natural light to stream inside the cavernous interior, where flexible space can accommodate a variety of uses.

Outside, a towering canopy’s random array of circular perforations cast riotous bursts of sunlight onto the newly formed George Street Plaza. It’s the brainchild of Daniel Boyd, an artist of Kudjla/Gangalu Aboriginal descent whose clever concept references both Gestalt psychology and traditional painting. “[It] provides a space to extend knowledge of experience,” Boyd says, “a multiplicity of experiences and narratives extending back 60,000 years through the connection of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.” The site was inaugurated last week with a smoking ceremony, an Aboriginal tradition that cleanses people and places.

When: Until April 30

Where: The Hole, New York

What: Two LED screens form the center of the British artist’s latest show by displaying an unedited stream of novel AI outputs. Corresponding in scale to the surrounding works on linen and functioning like smart canvases, Stone’s AI paintings transform endlessly into fleeting illustrations depicting something entirely new every ten seconds. His work is self-referential: a giant canvas depicts four nude figures dancing Matisse-like over piles of strewn AI artworks.

Vincent Van Duysen is known for deftly creating meditative spaces where purity and simplicity are paramount. Whether stylish furnishings for Molteni & C or thoughtful refreshes of Antwerp hotels, the main theme underpinning the Flemish designer’s finest work is quiet introspection by means of subtle, clean-lined minimalism. It’s no surprise that Van Duysen is an avid follower of transcendental meditation—or that his latest collection is a series of functional objects designed in collaboration with New York activewear label Jacques, whose founder, Gregg Cohenca, abides by the mantra “quiet confidence.”

Sommsation is an innovative wine tasting experience platform bringing together independent wineries, sommeliers, wine experts and those looking to discover new wines, expand their knowledge, and have a great time. Uniquely crafted virtual tastings feature hidden gems of the wine industry and the insights of an engaging wine professional.

Surface Says: Sommelier-guided wine tastings aren’t inhibited by a little thing like geography thanks to this upstart platform ushering the interactive vineyard experience into the digital age.

This energy-saving coating may very well be the world’s lightest paint.

Florida parents freak out because a school taught Michelangelo’s David.

Nik Bentel wraps a 25-foot-long electric cord into a new statement bag.

Scarlett Johansson wants you to forget that she launched a beauty brand.