Loving art & food in Tokyo

The long wait is over. Enthusiasts and collectors of Hennessy VS bottles made by in-demand artists need not wait any longer as these bottles are finally available in the Philippines!

The latest collaboration of Hennessy VS is with American  contemporary street artist Shepard Fairey. This is my favorite bottle design yet.

Frank Shepard Fairey is also a graphic designer activist and illustrator. He first became known for his Andre the Giant Has a Posse (Obey Giant) sticker campaign. Shepard became widely known during the 2008 US presidential election for his Barack Obama Hope poster. The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston calls him one of today’s best known and most influential street artists. Shepard’s works are in the collections of The Smithsonian, The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

I was privileged enough to be invited to the world launch of the Shepard Fairey bottles in Tokyo, Japan. The highly anticipated bottle was sold out almost immediately and I know several people waiting for that bottle to arrive in the Philippines.

The launch was at the Tokyo Tower, which was very near the hotel I was staying at. A pleasant walk got me there in no time and I found myself being introduced to Shepard Fairey by Randy Uson and Hennessy Japan’s Alexandra Lovato. The guy was friendly, answering all our questions and obliged posing with photos with us. It was also nice to see former Philippine-based now Moët Hennessy Diageo Japan president James Paton in the event.

After introductions and downing various cocktail mixes of Hennessy VS, Shepard hit the decks as DJ-ing is something he really enjoys. He did leave after an hour or so since he had another commitment the following morning, which was the bottle signing with the press.

We arrived at the bottle signing venue at a café restaurant in Tokyo and Shepard was already there. Randy Uson, Joanne Bautista and I gathered our bottles for him to sign. Shepard was very patient and obliged for more photos. He signed all six of our bottles and boxes for the three of us. He even gave us Shepard Fairey stickers to choose from and signed each of these as well. I found it amazing that an artist of this caliber was so accommodating and patient with us fans. It was a revelation...and he seemed very genuine as well. 

With the Hennessy part done, Randy, Joanne and I explored Tokyo and headed to Tsukiji market to eat. We also went to the Michelin-starred Omotensando Ukai-tei (recommended to me by Andrew Gan and Johnny Velasquez) to eat some more, and to Nobu to eat even more! It was such an honor to even meet chef Nobu Matsuhisa himself at his restaurant. Nobu was another friendly guy who took time off to talk to us, quite lengthily, and to pose for photos and even sign my Nobu book!

It was a truly wonderful trip — going to a place I love, meeting Nobu and Shepard, and of course, having my treasured Hennessy VS bottle and stickers signed by an artist I truly admire, Shepard Fairey.

(Check out www.hennessy.com.)