The Arts _ Scene and Heard

Happy Snappers

Photo-Icon is a new magazine dedicated to photography as art. It is glossy and beautiful (with a fair amount of nudes, natch), but it pulls no punches. There are controversial interviews and portfolios of work by famous names, both living and dead. In the second issue, out 29 June, Lord Snowdon is wonderfully waspish about Mario Testino ("name-dropping, nasty Peruvian"), and there's a portfolio of shots from the '70s and '80s by Andy Summers whose day job was guitarist for the band Police (he's a brilliant photographer as it happens.) Hard-hitting realism from the fragmented world of American ghettos from Gordon Parks and, for the anoraks, all the product and tecchie information you crave. Subscribe online at www.photoicon.com

Art and Money

Big business has been cosying up to the art world ever since Renaissance princes saw that Michaelangelo had a future. These days, investment banks look for profit, fun and glamour in the international merry-go-round that's the world art fair calendar. Latest on board is HSBC Private Bank sponsoring the leading design forum that is Design Miami / Basel. Serious money is going for tangible, usable design pieces instead of ephemeral installations and concept work that characterised the art scene for so long. Collectable names include Ettore Sottsass, Marc Newson, Ron Arad, Mario Botta and Charlotte Perriand, and rising prices make a satisfying investment. After a toe in the water at the Miami event last December, HSBC is a major player at this summer's Basel event and the Private Bank's clients can network with the stars. Design Basel 12 - 16 June, Markthalle, Basel, Switzerland www.designmiami.com/basel

Caption:
Carlo Mollino Coffee table,
Apelli & Varesio for Singer and Sons
Italy, c. 1950
Acero, Securit glass, brass
50.5 w x 24.5 d x 16.25 h inches
Acid-stamped signature to glass

Face Forward

Another, perhaps more genuine example of business befriending art is the 18-year relationship between BP and the National Portrait Gallery. (RIP Lord Browne) The annual BP Portrait Award fosters the skill of portrait painting and attracts many hundreds of entries from the UK and abroad. Sixty portraits will be exhibited at the gallery from 14 June - 16 September, including the four short-listed works by Johan Andersson, Paul Emsley, David Lawton and Hynek Martinec. The winner will be announced at an Awards ceremony on Wednesday 20 June. National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, London WC2, 020 7306 0055 www.npg.org.uk

Caption:
Portrait of Christopher Darroux-Xavier (detail) by Rupert Alexander

Joint Venture

Alasdair Brown and Sarah Potter have an unusual collaboration. They are both dealers and collectors with very different disciplines - 19th century decorative furniture and minimalist 20th-century respectively. Their project Combined Forces harnesses both tastes and is based in a stylish Victorian warehouse near Kennington near the Imperial War Museum. It houses an eclectic mix of items from antiques, pictures and objects to edgy modern pieces, lighting, textiles and garden statuary. They frequently invite other dealers and artists to exhibit in the space and this month, they feature a rarely seen collection of Upsala-Ekeby Swedish ceramics with over 60 pieces from the 1930s - 1960s. There are vases, figures and dishes with prices from £50 - £500. The show runs from 14 - 17 June, 10.30 - 6pm. Other times by appointment. 10/11 Bishop's Terrace, Kennington, London SE11. www.combiningforces.co.uk

Caption:
A signed piece by Mari Simmulson for the Upsala-Ekeby pottery, late 1950s

Indar Pasricha Contemporary

In the newly-fashionable part of west London, close to the Blairs' new home in Connaught Square, is one of London's leading dealers in Indian and South Asian art. As well as showcasing Indian artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, Indar Pasricha specialises in paintings of India by European and American artists from the 18th century to the present. But he is also attuned to modern issues and plans a series of exhibitions to highlight global cross-fertilisation in the art world. The first is the French artist Marie Hugo who is inspired by living and working in India and the Far East. The Chinese lantern shape morphs into elongated "light structures" decorated with swirling calligraphy patterns of Indian ink and water. Some are large and suitable for corporate spaces, and others are smaller, on a domestic scale. There are also luminous abstract paintings with mythical sea shapes perceived through the watery haze. Exhibition runs until 16 June. 11am - 6pm Monday - Saturday. 22 Connaught Street, London W1. 020 7724 9541