What’s Happening: A documentary about the Light and Space pioneer reveals, eccentricities and all, the inner workings of a freewheeling creative visionary intent on expanding the possibilities of what art could be.

The Download: Robert Irwin’s origin story is the stuff of legend. A freewheeling teenager raised in Long Beach who was mesmerized by bebop and claimed to never own a notebook in high school; an avid student of art (not art history) whose gambling savvy at the racetrack funded an emergent practice of making pared-down paintings that answered metaphysical questions. He turned his back on the art world during the ‘70s to explore the nature of human perception and artmaking beyond the canvas, returning as a pivotal figure of California’s Light and Space movement and mounting ephemeral works that resisted categorization and, in his words, “catch lightning in a bottle.” They range from bisecting rooms with barely-there scrims and placing acrylic columns that were looked through, radically expanding possibilities of what art can be.

His career is captured in “Robert Irwin: A Desert of Pure Feeling,” a new documentary by director and CineMarfa co-founder Jennifer Lane that debuted at this year’s South by Southwest film festival but is enjoying a wide release tomorrow. The film offers an in-depth look at his unlikely trajectory, fueled mostly by a compulsion to inquire into human perception and see how art can play with it. Considering that Irwin’s works often existed in minimal material terms and he refused to photograph them, capturing their fleeting magic is easier said than done. Archival interviews shot in the ‘70s peek inside his mind; they join a profusion of media showing his major works coming together. Chief among these is priceless footage of him beefing with Richard Meier while the two designed the resplendent Central Garden between the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Getty Research Institute in 1997.

Just as Irwin’s vision proved victorious at the Getty, the film shuts down any skeptics of his steely dedication toward seeing any kind of space and recognizing artwork in it. The narrative builds up to perhaps his crowning achievement, a massive permanent installation that opened at Marfa’s Chinati Foundation in 2016. Taking over a low-slung concrete building on the ruins of a former military hospital, Untitled (Dawn to Dusk) lets light stream in through the U-shaped structure’s perimeter windows to illuminate carefully suspended translucent fabric as the day progresses. Multiple Irwin signatures—Light and Space, yes, but also time—coalesce as the sizzling Texas sun shines in. Irwin worked on it for more than 15 years, finessing fabric placements and making sure things were just right. Even into his nineties, that vision prevails.

In Their Own Words: “The things I do as an artist, they’re entirely and totally experiential,” Irwin says in the trailer. “Everything I do now is in relationship to a situation that already exists. What I do is respond.”

Surface Says: The film may not endure as a classic like Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees, in which Lawrence Weschler documents Irwin’s creative process, but it shines a welcome light into the inner workings of an artist whose successes have largely eluded the buzzy art markets of New York.

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Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel is a masterful blend of past and present, situated in a 13th-century Capuchin convent perched on the cliffs of Italy’s famed Amalfi Coast. The property has undergone a meticulous overhaul, including the restoration of original architectural elements like ornate cloisters and a Baroque church with a marble altar and Majolica floors, while the interior design pays homage to the convent’s history through the use of natural materials like wood, leather, and precious metals. The hotel’s 52 rooms and suites, originally monks’ quarters, maintain their historic integrity with features like vaulted ceilings and lime-washed walls along with contemporary comforts like sculptural furniture, local artworks, and Mediterranean views.

The culinary offerings are a tribute to the region’s rich epicurean heritage. Chef Claudio Lanuto helms Dei Cappucinni where dishes are made using seasonal ingredients from the convent’s onsite garden; at La Locanda della Canonica Pizzeria, master pizzaiolo Gino Sorbillo turns a selection of pizzas that encapsulate the flavors of Campania, from Cetara anchovies and locally produced Provolone del Monaco to Agerola-sourced mozzarella and ricotta.

The dancers of New York City Ballet are an inspiration to many of the city’s denizens, but Reformation recently took things a step further by debuting an entire collection of daytime and eveningwear inspired by the artists and athletes. The collection was unveiled with a dazzling night at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch theater, where friends and VIPs were given an inside look at a company rehearsal and dancers donned pieces from the collection. Afterwards, guests headed upstairs to mingle with the company over drinks, small bites, a jewelry station by Catbird, and custom portraits by Blair Breitenstein.

When was it? Oct. 9

Where was it? David H. Koch Theater, New York

Who was there? Wendy Whelan, Jonathan Cohen, Andrew Kwon, Ivy Getty, Isolde Brielmaier, Ashley James, Batsheva Hay, and more.

When: Until Jan. 7

Where: M HKA, Antwerp

What: Both painter Elene Chantladze and designers Nata Janberidze and Keri Toloraia of Rooms Studio recognize interiors—and by an extension, interiority—as vital spaces that foster resilience, freedom, and the birth of fresh creative ideas that depart from the status quo. That common ground comes alive through an array of Chantladze’s drawings intertwined with new furniture and display structures by Rooms. A small publication with essays commissioned by curator Elena Abashidze and artist Eradze accompanies.

They say the greatest gift is something the recipient wouldn’t buy themselves. We don’t expect that Surface readers would deny themselves the little luxury of bathing in a plume of Oribe’s signature Côte d’Azur fragrance, and especially not when they come in a vibrant holiday kit created by design talent Louis Barthélemy. For Oribe, he took inspiration from ancient Egyptian art and papyrus scrolls to tell the story of a long-haired deity through intricate packaging prints on each product kit. Each shows the sublime ritual of top-tier haircare: something those who flock to Oribe surely know plenty about. From $25

Susannah Holmberg Studios is an interior design studio founded on the premise that life is profoundly influenced by the spaces that surround us. They create design-forward, yet livable, residential and commercial spaces that integrate their clients’ own preferences while paying respect to a space’s geography and architecture. Their design philosophy is strength in collaboration, research, and an appreciation of both past and present design, which results in deeply custom and curated interiors.

Surface Says: Susannah Holmberg’s studio thrives at the intersection of where aspirational design meets real life.

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Six paintings stolen from a Dutch town hall end up on a detective’s doorstep.