Issue 48: Sweet Airs | Sleek Magazine | Berlin, (GER) | By Michael Gannon

I recently came across Sleek Magazine whilst on my research trip to Berlin exploring the city's extensive independent offering. The Berlin-based publication is a art magazine in the widest sense, opting for a progressive view on what we label 'art' today. Beautifully designed, the magazine documents and explores the visual contemporary while its online platform translates the visual and intellectual experience into lighter, easy-to-digest content, issued daily by Sleek's team of creative contributors.

The current issue 'Sweet Airs' (Winter 2015/16) is dedicated to the most fleeting of arts; scent. The nose driven issue features “Molecular Materiality” by author Arielle Bier dissects how artists from Anicka Yi to Sean Raspet are using smells, both fair and foul in their practice. Furthermore Sleek set 20 artists including Wolfgang Tillmans and Olafur Eliasson the task of documenting scent as inspiration in an exclusive portfolio. Other features include an interview with artist Martynka Wawrzyniak and LA artist Frances Stark alongside profiling the late photographer Sascha Weidner.

Purchase the latest issue of Sleek Magazine on their website or at one of their international stockists which includes Do Your Read Me (Berlin), Village Bookstore (Leeds) and Artwords (London).

Bernhard Lang | Aerial Views | Munich (GER) | By Lee Fleming

Munich-based Bernhard Lang reveals the vastness of nature and the solitude of humankind through his unique photography depicting expansive space from above. By capturing all of his shots at 'the ideal distance' (the point, according to Lang, where humans and nature can live together in a perfect match), Lang’s photography is able to interrogate our surroundings and explore how nature and civilisation can co-exist.

After completing a photography apprenticeship at Photostudio, Munich (1993-1996), Lang developed his versatile freelance photography with clients including Audi, O2, Sony Playstation, T-Mobile and Vodafone. Since 2010, he has documented his aerial photography project, resulting in his publication, Bernhard Lang: Aerial Views, highlighting photographs taken in South Germany between 2010-2011.

Although Lang’s aerial photography of densely populated beaches tend to receive the most attention, we found his coverage of a rowing boat race and industrial settings most enjoyable, particularly photographs of the North Rhine Westphalia and the biggest Opencast Coal Mining Pit in Germany, images all taken in 2014.

Find out more about Lang’s photography by visiting his website and his behance profile page.

Ai Weiwei Evidence Exhibiton | Berlin (GER)

Acclaimed international artist Ai Weiwei recently opened his latest solo exhibition in the 1881 Martin-Gropius-Bau hall in Berlin. Weiwei has installed 6,000 wooden stools across a vast, cavernous space in the former arts and crafts museum; an enormous undertaking, the exhibition displays works that have never before been shown in Germany. Stools (2014) contains many references to Chinese dynastic history and the installation is part of the Evidence exhibition that showcases many new works by Weiwei; it runs until Monday 7th July.

C40 Manual Coffee Grinder by Comandante | Munich (GER)

Being in the know often ends in purposeful outcomes which is exactly the case for the Comandante Hand Grinder. Anything but average, this extremely well considered coffee grinder was designed to stand out in the crowd of typical grinding tools. Crafted in Germany, compliments go to SUPREMO Kaffeerösterei, the maker’s behind the Comandante C40 hand grinder, more so for its precise grinding technology and steer strength; it has been developed by professional coffee connoisseurs.

With a strong mind-set that speciality coffee deserves to be prepared with only the best equipment. Commandante’s manual hand grinder is both functional and practical; fast, strong, precise, easy to use, beautiful to look at and hold, the C40 can grind up to 40g of coffee.

A highly recommended tool for any coffee enthusiast, visit Comandante's website for more information and where to find the C40 hand grinder.