I came across this article that was featured on *wallpaper’s home page the other day, and was quite intrigued by the fact an artist would be so fascinated with the Japanese character “Hello Kitty” that he would create these grand installations based on this iconic character. For anyone that has spent any time in Asia, Hello Kitty has always (and still does) hold a special place in peoples’ hearts.

The exhibit will be at the Lever House in NYC from now through September 6. Read more about the exhibition as well as an interview with the artist Tom Sachs at *wallpaper by clicking on the links below.

It’s time for me to book a ticket to NYC to see the exhibit.

As said before, there are quite a few events around town during the show. After walking around the show for quite a few hours, I decided to give myself a little break and went to the Triennale Design Museum for some of the Fuorisalone events. I don’t exactly have pictures for everything, as I will have to sort them out and provide a more detailed report (I got quite a few cds with images), but here are some that I was able to take.

I also went to three events this evening. The first of which was the opening party for Jesse, an Italian furniture maker that’s become one of my personal favorites. The second was the party for Molteni&C at the Ferragamo store on Montenapoleone, where Jean Nouvel’s new line SKiN was the theme. Here are some pictures from these events.

The last one and probably the most important, is the opening night for filmmaker Peter Greenaway’s “Leonardo’s Last Supper”. Greenaway used much cinematic effects combining visuals, lights, sounds, music with added props to complete this exciting interpretation of da Vinci’s famous work of art. Once you walk in into the Sala delle Cariatidi in the Palazzo Reale, the setting seems to be just like the Refectory at the Santa Maria della Grazie. I won’t go into the actual effects that tell the story to spoil the excitement, but it is worth a see as it does communicate the spiritual emotions from the art. What’s more is that when you walk into the room at the Palazzo Reale, what you see on the wall before you looks like an exact copy of the original. This is when I feel technology is just truly amazing.

This event is now at the Palazzo Reale in Milan and closes May 4, from 8pm to 11pm. Reservations are required.

During the Salone del Mobile, there are other exhibitions and events that are held as well. One of them is the designs at Zona Tortona, which is set along the Via Tortona area of Milan. Due to time limitation, I was only able to hit a portion of these, so here they are in pictures.

In addition, the Italian interior magazine Interni also has the Fuorisalone series of exhibitions set all over town. I went to a few during the evening hours, including ones at Cassina as well as B&B Italia stores along Via Durini in the city center.

Tomorrow morning it’s back to the show floor at the the Fiera, then it’s an evening event with Molteni & C featuring architect and designer Jean Nouvel. Finally I’ll be at the Palazzo Reale viewing a new interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” by director Peter Greenaway.

In the meantime, also check out reports from our friends at Wallpaper.