Angels and Spirits 2015 / by ali franco

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What a year. Undoubtedly I will look back on 2014 as the year of ‘Angels’. Even though I had a variety of philanthropic and cultural art collaborations well underway throughout the year it was Angels Book preview in September at Donna Karan's Stephan Weiss Studio that began what would become the indelible mark of the year for me. Hosted by Victorias Secret, I was humbled by the turnout of friends and supporters that made for such an incredible launch. As the press and reviews poured in I thought there couldn't be more to come. However, on December 9th when the CBS Victorias Secret Fashion Show aired in the US and around the world it included a wonderful tribute to my long connection with the brand and the Angels Collection. I was deeply touched by the sentiments that were expressed in the segment by both long-time and recent friend alike. My kids are still coming to terms with my appearance on national TV in a bikini, however we are working through it well. We have since agreed that when it comes to ladies swim wear I should stick to a solid design and avoid prints as much as possible.

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On December 19th my art year was brought to a very fitting conclusion. The Angels Fine Art Collection was celebrated by a private preview at Seminole Hardrock in Florida. I had the great pleasure to be joined by two stunning co-hosts who also happen to be very significant subjects in the Angels book and fine-art collection, Martha Hunt and Sara Sampaio . It was a wonderful way to end the art year with a very cool blend of friends from within The Seminole Tribe of Florida, Hard Rock, Martha, Sara and many of the people who I partnered with during 2014 and will continue to in 2015.

Angels Fine Art Collection is now set to make it’s official public debut at the prestigious 212Gallery from Feb 5 - March 5 in Aspen Colorado courtesy of the Gallery Founder and Atistic Director, Katie Kiernan. We have openings to announce in New York, Berlin and other cities soon after, however this opening at 212Gallery will be the first public outing and I am very excited to have the Angles collection be open to the public at last.

In the world of art and photography though it is always about ‘whats next’. In 2015 I have a significant what’s next entitled ’Seminole Spirit’, a Nomad Two Worlds art project that I have worked on for the past two years in collaboration with The Seminole Tribe of Florida and one of the most beautiful super-models of all time, Behati Prinsloo. Working on Seminole Spirit has been a rare privilege. My intention for the exhibition is to celebrate the spirit and amazing relevance of The Seminole Tribe. I could not have been more fortunate to have had Behati Prinsloo accept our request to join the collaboration. Behati is a living metaphor for the cool spirit and ideals of what I hope the art installation will project. Seminole Spirit launches at Stephan Weiss Gallery in New York on February 17th.

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With 2014 just barely in the rearview mirror I wish you all a wonderful 2015 and an exciting ‘whats next’.