Feste x Faux Presents: Back to the Fringe – Mariko Jesse’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition Event on November 12th, 2022
It all started at The Fringe in 1997…
OCTOBER 28TH, 2022
Feste Group is excited to announce that they are joining forces with lifestyle and homeware brand, Faux, to celebrate one of Hong Kong’s most successful commercial artists and long-time Faux collaborator, Mariko Jesse, for her 25th anniversary exhibition event on Saturday, November 12th, 2022. The event is set to take place at Feste Group’s pop-up cafe, The Vault, at The Fringe Club in Central. Back to the Fringe will be the first public event to be hosted at one of Fringe Club’s food and beverage venues since their reopening and Feste Group’s takeover in October.
It was back in January 1997 when Faux founder, Louis Papachristou, first met Jesse at her first-ever solo art exhibition at The Fringe Club. Little did they know that 15 years later, they would be collaborating to develop some of Hong Kong’s most iconic collections for Faux and prestigious brands such as Lane Crawford, Skadden, HSBC, Swire, and Kapok. In 2010, Papachristou and business partner, Hugh Zimmern, launched Artists’ Editions at Faux, approaching Jesse as their very first collaboration to design a contemporary Hong Kong toile-themed fine bone china tea set that launched at Lane Crawford later that year. This has now become one of Jesse’s signature designs at Faux.
“I find beauty in ordinary, often un-noticed things in our everyday lives. I am fascinated by ceramics, which often feature in my work, and explore my ideas about sense of place and belonging through them,” describes Jesse when speaking about her works.
The exhibition event at The Vault on November 12th will entail a display of these signature collections as well as some exclusive bespoke works for Feste Group’s Fringe Club venture. As a food and hospitality group in the industry, Feste had been searching for artists who could blend the two worlds of dining and art to celebrate the reopening of The Fringe Club – and Mariko Jesse was the perfect fit.
“I’ve known Louis for a long time and when he introduced us to Mariko’s work, we knew that it was exactly what we’ve been looking for. This blend of East and West in this city is something we balance constantly at Feste and we felt Mariko’s expressed this in such a beautiful enchanting way,” says Tegan Waters, General Manager of Feste Group.
In addition to the ceramics, Jesse will be doing a live sketch of The Fringe Club for the event – the evolving centerpiece of the night. Jesse’s hanging collection of etches and woodblock prints will also be on exhibit along The Vault’s gallery walls, bringing the occasion full circle to her first showcase 25 years ago at The Fringe.
Guests can explore the exhibition with some light bites and refreshments, meet the artist, and get a signed gift card for her Faux collection during the event. RSVP to natalie@feste-group.com or walk in on the day.
Back to the Fringe: Mariko Jesse’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition
DATE: Saturday, November 12th, 2022
TIME: 5-8PM
LOCATION: The Vault Cafe, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central (entrance via Wyndham Street)
RSVP to natalie@feste-group.com or walk in on the day
#FestexFaux #CelebratetheFringe
About Feste Group
As the leading catering and events company in Hong Kong, we’ve had over 20 years of experience in the food and hospitality industry. Festë, meaning a party or celebration in Albanian, is an homage to our roots whilst this universal experience leaves us open to all the cultural and flavourful influences around us.
We’re dedicated to creating contemporary and sophisticated occasions that match the energy of this vibrant city, spreading joy and love in the best way we know how – through food!
Currently, we have catering company, Gingers, and bespoke events company, Relish, under our repertoire covering all kinds of events from corporate functions, to private parties, to extravagant weddings or intimate gatherings. Whatever occasion you want, we make it happen with ease and finesse.
In October 2022, Feste Group partnered with the time-honoured non-profit arts organisation, The Fringe Club, to revamp their F&B outlets through a series of pop-ups at the Old Dairy Farm Depot for a contemporary audience while continuing to support the local arts community.
Instagram: @feste.group
Website: www.feste-group.com
About Faux
Faux was established in 2006 in Hong Kong in a tiny 300-square-foot showroom in Sheung Wan selling hides, wild game products, and soft furnishings. Today, Faux is a thriving boutique design house and interior design firm with a growing design and production team who work out of a 3,000-square-foot showroom in Ap Lei Chau.
We design original art-based products and homeware by taking the finest materials nature has to offer, combining them with original designs and exceptional craftsmanship. Our ever-expanding homeware collections include rugs and throws, fine bone china ceramics and tableware as well as soft furnishings and furniture, glassware, and lighting designs. Our mission is to help you discover a world of original, beautiful rugs, homeware, and lifestyle accessories to adorn your interiors.
Passionate supporters of the arts, Louis Papachristou and Hugh Zimmern set up Artists’ Editions at Faux to marry their expertise in the world of architecture and interiors - textiles, ceramics, and rugs – with works by contemporary artists. Artists’ Editions enable artists to explore different ideas and express themselves through mediums not normally associated with their art, giving their work exposure to a wider audience as functional art.
Faux also develops beautiful, branded gifts for its corporate clients including Swire, Jardines, BA, and Joyce Boutiques, as well as offers interior design services for residential, retail, commercial projects, and hospitality
INSTAGRAM: @faux_home
WEBSITE: www.faux-home.com
About the Artist: Mariko Jesse
Mariko translates literally as ‘ten thousand mile child’ as it was thought that she would always be far from her birthplace, caught in the space between different cultures. Born in Japan, Jesse spent much of her childhood in Hong Kong and was educated in the U.K.
As a commercial illustrator, Mariko specialises in projects about food, lifestyle, and travel. She has worked for many international clients, including VOGUE, Tiffany and Co., The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, UNITED Airlines, and the BBC.
She has illustrated many children’s books, worked closely with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on several of his most recent cookbooks & TV series for River Cottage in the UK, and created the permanent interior artwork for Cheung Sha Wan MTR subway station in Hong Kong. She loves unusual projects. Mariko’s printmaking celebrates the patterns, colours, and textures of different cultures, a mixture of East and West.
She works predominantly in etching and Japanese woodblock printing and has exhibited internationally. Mariko’s collaboration with Faux began in 2010 in which she developed a series of beautiful homeware collections including rugs and ceramics such as the Hong Kong Toile collection.
The Hong Kong Toile tea set was a sellout at Lane Crawford which inspired Faux to expand the range to include a whole series of tableware and gift items. Today, the Hong Kong toile series is iconic having been featured by the Hong Kong Tourism Board to promote Hong Kong as well as Cathay Pacific. The toile series is sold in stores and museum shops throughout Hong Kong in this ever-expanding range designed by the artist.
Notably in 2016, she created a hybrid Hong Kong/Japanese pattern for a ceramic gift at the H.K Trade Development Council's 'Think Global, Think Hong Kong' event in Tokyo, which was presented to Japan’s political elite and dignitaries. Mariko's original design was referred to as a symbolic connection between Hong Kong and Japan's culture and trade.
In 2020, Mariko designed the Hong Kong Willow Pattern collection. Her design offers a modern twist on the classic Willow Pattern with a series of artworks, giving her take on this classic design steeped in tradition. Respecting the traditional motifs of these Chinese-inspired landscapes that became fashionable in Europe in the late eighteenth century, her layout is executed in a modern topographical design, which has garnered much critical acclaim in which she won a Silver Award for Surface Design in the US in 2020. Mariko’s collaborations with Faux continues with new collections in the pipeline as well as developing new products in collaboration with brands such as Swire, HSBC, and Feste.
Her art can be found in private collections around the world.
INSTAGRAM: @mariko.jesse
WEBSITE: www.marikojesse.com
RSVP down below or walk in on Nov 12th!