Playboy Bares A New Skin: Playmate As Fine Art

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Playboy is pleased to announce that Neville Wakefield will be Playboy Enterprise's Creative Director for Special Projects. The appointment has been made as part of Playboy's dedication to reenergize their alignment with the art world, along with the creation of collaborations with new brand ambassadors and talent.

"Playboy has a long history of associating with great talent and we continue that tradition today with Neville.  We look forward to his many contributions," Playboy CEO Scott Flanders stated.

With a fresh face for the East coast and curated in the spirit of their alignment with the art community, the brand has also partnered with the dynamic The Hole gallery and has established a strong presence at Art Basel 2012. The new appointment of Neville Wakefield, the dynamic partnership with The Hole and the Art Basel 2012 line-up mark three distinct aspects of this new initiative. With additional collaborations planned, the brand is dedicated to engaging new ambassadors as well as supporting talent across the art and fashion communities.

On Wednesday, December 5^th, Playboy and The Hole, will co-host the Art Basel kick-off party at Delano Beach Club. The fete will feature a large-scale installation by Parker Ito, along with a live performance by A$AP Rocky.

From December 4th-9th, Playboy will have a presence at Fresh Basel: Performance Based Artworks and Art Activations 2012, a group art exhibition curated by The Hole which will be featured throughout the week at an historic villa in Miami Beach. As part of the exhibition, Playboy will present a special art exhibit inspired by Playmate As Fine Art, a series of original pieces featuring Playmates, created by Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Wes Lang, Ryan McGinness, and Tracey Emin to name a few. The series will also be featured in Playboy's January/February 2013 issue.

About Playboy Enterprises, Inc:

Playboy is one of the most recognized and popular consumer brands in the world. Playboy Enterprises, Inc. is a media and lifestyle company that markets the brand through a wide range of media properties and licensing initiatives. The company publishes Playboy magazine in the United States and abroad and creates content for distribution via television networks, websites, mobile platforms and radio. Through licensing agreements, the Playboy brand appears on a wide range of consumer products in more than 150 countries as well as retail stores and entertainment venues.   

ABOUT THE HOLE

The Hole is a contemporary art gallery in New York City run by Kathy Grayson, a former director at the legendary and now-closed Deitch Projects. Kathy has put together numerous art exhibitions both at Deitch and at galleries and museums around the world while also making books, essays, art reviews, parties, fashion shows and shops. "Filling a hole in the downtown community" is the goal. In our 4000 sq. ft. Bowery space, we not only feature two simultaneous exhibitions every month, but a showroom in the back and The Hole Shop in the front where all manner of books, zines, posters, and other artist products are sold.

About Morgans Hotel Group

Morgans Hotel Group Co. is widely credited as the creator of the first "boutique" hotel and a continuing leader of the hotel industry's boutique sector. Morgans Hotel Group operates Delano in South Beach and Marrakech, Mondrian in Los Angeles, South Beach and New York, Hudson in New York, Morgans and Royalton in New York, Shore Club in South Beach, Clift in San Francisco, Ames in Boston, Sanderson and St Martins Lane in London, and a hotel in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  Morgans Hotel Group has ownership interests or owns several of these hotels. Morgans Hotel Group has other property transactions in various stages of completion, including Delano properties in Las Vegas, Nevada; Cesme, Turkey and Moscow, Russia; Mondrian properties in London, England; Marrakech, Morocco; Istanbul, Turkey; Doha, Qatar and Nassau, The Bahamas; and a Hudson in London, England. Morgans Hotel Group also owns a 90% controlling interest in The Light Group, a leading lifestyle food and beverage company. For more information please visit www.morganshotelgroup.com.

SOURCE Playboy