Heidi Klum has been transformed into 1,000 little pieces in Editions Ricordi’s newest limited-edition puzzle, Couture Banquet. The puzzle features a stunning photo of the supermodel captured by 'Fashion and Celebrity' Photographer Ruven Afanador. Creating an imaginative way to experience and enjoy another stunning editorial of Heidi, Editions Ricordi turned the image originally taken for 'Vogu,'' Spain into tiny little jigsaw pieces. Just in time for the holidays, the puzzle comes in a silk bag and handmade wooden box with a red velvet interior. 

The "Couture Banquet" image shows a colorful, courtly feast scene. Certain elements in the artwork’s background, such as the skull and eggs, symbolize a ritual ceremony. Amid the explosion of colors, there is an alluring Heidi Klum portraying multiple archetypes of femininity - a moody mistress, seductive vamp and modern witch. The magic and mystery of a woman trapped by an eccentric outer world has been a main topic of Ruven Afanador’s photography art. 

Ruven Afanador, known as the most internationally successful Colombian conceptual photographer, started his career in Milan in 1987 and won the award for Best Photographer of the Year in Paris in 2001 for his unique mastery of imagery and composition. He has been publishing and showcasing his artwork in major fashion magazines, galleries, and museums around the world, such as Throckmorton Fine Art, Forma and FotoMuseo. He is also the author of the acclaimed art books 'Torero' (Stemmle, 2001), 'Sombra' (Merrell, 2004), 'Seven' (Fuzzi, 2006), and the most recent publication - 'Mil Besos' (Rizzoli Int, 2009). Now, Ruven Afanador explores a new amusing way of approaching his art – composing his image onto a jigsaw puzzle. 

The puzzle is released by Editions Ricordi, a worldwide leader in Fine Art publishing. As part of a limited edition of only 1000 masterpieces, each puzzle is numbered and signed personally by Ruven Afanador. The puzzle is wrapped in a luxurious silk bag inside a hand-made wooden box with a red velvet interior. The puzzle measures at a stunning 70x100 cm (24x36 inch) and is apt to be framed. Its jumbo size pieces are printed on high-quality art paper with a velvet back side, which are enhanced by the golden glitter dust that covers Heidi Klum’s beautiful dress.

During the past few years, Thom Vink has worked on a consistent body of work. His approach can best be described as a series of attempts to understand the city and its architecture as an organic process. Where urbanists, property developers and politicians who believe that social change can be effected through public policies would like us to believe that a city develops on the basis of rational considerations, consensus, specific expertise and according to pre-established plans, this artist whispers poetic and occasionally unsettling footnotes. Stroom Den Haag presents the first retrospective of this artist in the Netherlands. 

In his work Thom Vink works with fascinating and remarkable analogies to methods from psychotherapy, forms of abstract art, biological structures, physical perceptual phenomena and literary and non-literary narratives. He draws a great deal of inspiration from the pre-Google era. The encyclopaedias from that age, with compact information about indisputable truths, illustrated by mysterious images and fascinating graphs, form a rich source. By carefully selecting and rearranging these images he changes their aesthetics and gives them new meaning. 

Thom Vink (1965, Leiden, NL) graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague in 1990. A major part of the year he spends abroad, primarily in Finland and Japan. Solo exhibitions include ‘Evidence' in gallery Muu in Helsinki, Finland (2004); ‘Home' in gallery 300m3 in Gothenburg, Sweden (2004); ‘Complex' in Aaltonen Museum in Turku, Finland (2005); and ‘Changers' in Youkobo Art Space in Tokyo, Japan (2009). 

This exhibition is the latest installment in the series of solo presentations by artists like Mark Handforth (2005), Calin Dan (2006) and Toby Paterson (2007). The power and originality of their work is of great value for everyone interested in the urban environment.