Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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Bare essentials Art and fashion mingle in Liquid Art House's new exhibition. To honor Boston Fashion Week, Liquid Art House is presenting a fashion-themed exhibit titled "Ready to Bare," a play on the industry term "ready to wear." "The theme was mostly inspired by the once-banned photos of renowned Lithuanian photographer Rimantas Dichavič čius," says the restaurant's owner, Ruta Laukien. "He was a progressive force in the '60s and '70s for reinterpreting the classical nude against and within the Lithuanian landscape." Also on display is wearable art from Polish-born artist Izabella Kay, headdresses made from objects found in nature by Erin Shaw, and paintings by Fanny Bucchiotty, who worked in haute couture houses in Paris before becoming an artist. Taking center stage will be a mural depicting Gianni Versace by local artist Giovanni DeCunto. "Art and fashion are both expressions of who we are and what we're thinking," says DeCunto, whose large- scale paintings often feature references to pop culture and celebrities, such as Frank Sinatra and Robert De Niro. draws an eclectic crowd, from surgeons and socialites to sneaker-clad entrepreneurs. Thirsty? Head to the cock- tail lounge and sink into a saddle-shoe club chair— which you can buy, incidentally. In fact, nearly everything at Liquid Art House is for sale, including the rings and cuff links shim- mering inside glass cubes in the drop-in boutique. Several pendant lamps have already been sold (act fast if you want one, because Laukien has only one, pos- sibly two, in stock), and a grape LU Murano glass chandelier hangs over the horseshoe-shaped bar. The wall art changes every six to eight weeks and has featured cutting-edge artists from the US and all over the world. The kitchen, meanwhile, offers the work of culinary artists. Executive Chef Rachel K lein oversees the team, composed of several chefs from the Michelin three-star Paris restaurant Le Meurice. "The food is modern American with global inf luences and is constantly evolving," says K lein, who designed the lunch, dinner, bar, and brunch menus to celebrate the seasons, along with one or two dishes that give a playful nod to the current group show, "Ready to Bare." For haute couture dining, she offers aestheti- cally beautiful dishes like Canvas of Baby Carrots, a sunset-colored masterpiece of pickled and roasted roots and a silky carrot custard. For jeans-and-T-shirt eating, there's the Liquid Art House burger on a milk bun, various dumplings (an ode to K lein's and Laukien's Eastern European heritage), and simple grilled meats. For parties of six, K lein offers communal whole roasts—suckling pig, duck, and lamb—with seasonal sides. She also has a multicourse chef 's tasting, best enjoyed with wine director Shaun Snow's perfect picks at the curved counter looking into the kitchen. "We're also doing pop-up dinners," says Klein. "The chefs are from outside Boston, mainly overseas, and they'll do their own menus for a few days. They'll then design plates with the company we work with, and the plates will be for sale." "Liquid Art House is not a restaurant with art on the walls," explains Laukien. "It's a house, where, yes, I am the owner, but in which art can be enjoyed and consumed." And a house the It crowd can call its new home. 100 Arlington St., 617-457-8130; liquidarthouse.com BC CoNTINuED FRoM PAGE 85... 86 bostoncommon-magazine.com taste so Many Dinners (so little time)