Category Archives: Art

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Antony Gormley: Body as Place

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I have to admit that I had never heard of British sculptor Antony Gormley, nor had I seen any of his sculptures, until last year’s wonderful show here on the buildings around Madison Square Park in NYC called Event Horizon. It was one of those New York City events that, once let in on, you wanted to share with everyone. 31 life-size sculptures of the artist cast in iron and fiberglass were positioned on the rooftops – and a few on the sidewalks – of New York’s Flatiron District. At first glance they looked like men contemplating jumping off buildings such as MetLife or the Flatiron, but upon closer inspection it became clear that they were sculptures. Then a Where’s Waldo quality would kick in and the hunt to locate all 31 of them would begin. I don’t think I ever quite spotted them all.

All this introduction is to say that I have since been very aware of Gormley’s work and am so happy to have been exposed to it finally. I can’t get enough of it. Every sculpture, in every form surprises and delights me. In all the different materials, styles, and installations.

Above are a sampling of Gormley’s body sculptures, as well as some images from his installation series Breathing Room where lights go on in a sudden, almost blinding, interrogation style in 10-minute intervals.

There is much more to see on Gormley’s site, and here is a 50-minute video of a lecture he gave in Chicago a few months back where he explains much of the thinking behind his work, including seeing the body as a place not an object, and as the subjective and universal condition of human existence.

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Tomaas: Plastic-y Fashion Photography

cool fashion photography, plastic, recycled objectscool fashion photography, plastic, recycled objectsClick to enlarge

German photographer Tomaas has spent most of his career in New York. Starting out as a travel photographer, he now specializes in fashion and beauty photography. This Plastic is the New Black series is a lot of fun, using plastic bottles, cellophane, straws, tin foil and more, as headdresses and body wraps for the model.

More photography by Tomaas on his site.

via One Small Seed

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Lasse Skarbovik: Illustrations and Prints

illustration, art, design, Swedish prints

graphic design, contemporary illustration, prints
In the past few years I have downloaded several of Lasse Skarbovik’s illustrations as wallpapers for my iPhone from Poolga’s website without registering his name. Coming across his larger work, I recognized it immediately. I love it. From the book illustrations to the wall murals.

You can see lots more of Swedish illustrator Lasse Skarbovik’s work on his site.

via Lancia Trendvisions

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Chelsea Art Walk 2011

Chelsea, NYC, Event, Art July 2011Next Thursday, here in NYC, will be Chelsea Art Walk, an evening of artist talks, performances, cocktails, pop-up shops and activities; what could be nicer on a summer evening in July?

Some highlights: a Q&A and exhibit walk-through with Scott Ogden, artist, documentary filmmaker, and skate shop owner at the Ricco/Maresca Gallery; A one-time special acoustic performance by a 4-man band well known for their experimental electronic pop music at RARE Gallery; Visit Porter Contemporary to have your own Polaroid portrait taken; Coolhaus Ice Cream Truck unveils their new Buckminster Fuller ice cream sandwich at Meulensteen Gallery‘s Buckminster Fuller exhibit; a pop-up skate shop offering a custom line of artist-designed skateboards and ephemera; as well as several artist book-signings and David Zwirner’s pop-up book store.

Check out the rest of the events here.

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Koen Vanmechelen: CosmoGolem

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Belgian conceptual artist Koen Vanmechelen – possibly best known internationally for his Cosmopolitan Chicken Project where, among other aspects, the artist crossbreeds chickens from different countries as a symbol for global diversity – continues with his Open University of Diversity with the CosmoGolem.

From the artist’s site:
The CosmoGolem, a wooden giant of approximately 4 meters height, aspires to be a helper and savior for all those who are in need of help, hope and courage, especially children. The CosmoGolem is empty and in its shuttered heart, children can deposit their dreams and wishes. This way, the statue ‘accumulates’ diversity. He stimulates intercultural exchange by travelling all around the world, sharing his experiences and bridging the gap between cultures.

Presently there are 26 Golems living in countries such as the Netherlands, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, Chile and Belgium. Several new ones are being prepared to be distributed in Cambodia, Japan, U.S., Nicaragua and more. Over all, a really nice project, I’d say.

Top photo from ArtZuid 2011 in Amsterdam via FaceMePLS’s flickr.
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Ed Osborn: Sound Art Installations

Cool Art Installations, Sound, Video

Ed Osborn, originally from Helsinki, but due to an interesting story was relocated to Philadelphia to live in a Quaker household via a witness relocation program. Having attended many Quaker religious ceremonies marked by long periods of silence, Ed learned to pay close attention to the smallest of sounds. He attributes this to leading him down the Sound Art path. Most of his sound installations are rather minimalist with speakers being the focus of the installation. I found these to have an eerie transfixing quality that in a strange, abstract way feel almost poetic.

You can see more of Ed Osborn’s work here.

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Victor Enrich: Deformed Landscapes

victor enrich, collabcubed, architecture, surreal, photographsvictor enrich, collabcubed, architecture, surreal, photographsSince the age of 10, Victor Enrich has been creating unreal cities; first with pencil on paper, later with computers and 3D software. Using a combination of photography and 3D architectural visualization, the Barcelonian Enrich modifies and deforms existing buildings from Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Helsinki, as well as other locations, with impressive precision so that they fit perfectly into the landscape and picture.

Victor Enrich sells prints of his works on his site.

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Iván Navarro: Light Sculpture

Light Sculptures, cool art installationscool light sculptures, art installations, collabcubed, chilean artcool light sculptures, art installations, collabcubed, chilean artClick to enlarge

We recently met Ivan Navarro at a couple of end-of-year graduation parties and learned that he is an artist who creates fluorescent light sculptures. After looking up his work, I was excited to see that I recognized some of it from this year’s Armory Show (the Armory Fence) as well as having seen some pieces online. I love all of it.

Originally from Chile, Navarro’s work Threshold was presented in the Chilean Pavilion at the 2009 Venice Biennale, consisting of three separate pieces: ‘Resistance’ (the chair attached to a bicycle which illuminates by pedaling the bike); ‘Death Row’ (thirteen doorways with colored neon lights inside repeated or reflected to give an endless appearance); and ‘Bed’ (the circular sculpture with half the word ‘bed’ in neon and reflected to create the full letters as well as repeated to create an infinite tunnel effect.)

This past March, Ivan Navarro had a show at the Paul Kasmin gallery in NYC called “Heaven or Las Vegas” where the light structures were based on the footprint of famous skyscrapers, including the twin towers creating a moving negative effect as infinite holes in the floor. (See video of exhibit below.)

There is an underlying social and political commentary present in Navarro’s work – from capital punishment, and homelessness, to the reign of Pinochet, torture, and more – that makes these sculptures as meaningful as they are beautiful.

From top to bottom, left to right: Homeless Lamp, the Juice Sucker (top two photos); You Sit You Die; Resistance (two photos); Backstage; White Electric Chair; Nowhere Man X; Wail; Death Row; Kick; Bed; Victor; No Dunking; Chair from Concentration Camp.

Ivan Navarro currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Photos courtesy of Galerie Daniel Templon, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Saatchi Gallery, Artnet, and ArtAlmanac
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Jerzy Goliszewski

art installation, sculpture

art installation, sculpture, Polish artist, collabcubedart installation, sculpture, Polish artist, collabcubedJerzy Goliszewski is a Polish artist living and working in Warsaw. His body of work is comprised of installations, paintings, drawings and graphics. His focus is on making complex structures using simple and natural materials.

From top to bottom:  We’re Going Out, Jerzy Goliszewski’s newest work made for the closing of a gallery in Warsaw. Using simple means (semi-transparent vinyl and rear projection) Goliszewski created this revolving door style, computerized-looking effect without a computer. To see it in action watch the video.The photo that follows is of the artist in front of the gallery with the artwork in the window. Kai, another installation, takes its cue from the classic fairy tale “The Snow Queen.” Kai was inspired by structures, such as the crumbling sheet of ice, the cracked ground and the cracked mirror which broke into pieces distorting the world, in the story. Next image down is from Lac Bleu 02, a wooden installation made of thousands of bits of wood and, lastly, Dynamo, another wooden installation representing force and power in its name and at the same time the block’s transparency removes the stability and exposes its fragility like a house of cards.

You can see more of Jerzy Goliszewski’s work on his website, as well as his flickr set of installations.

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Tunga: Presolaires

Art, Installation, large puppets, PresolairesArt, Installation, PresolairesArt, Installation, Gallery, PresolairesBrazilian artist Tunga, nee Antonio José de Barros Carvalho e Mello Mourao, has been creating sculptures and installations since the 1970s. Currently he has an exhibit called Presolaires at Galerie Daniel Templon in Paris. As part of the exhibit he has produced a series of marionettes made of iron, bottle glass, and crystal – materials often found in Tunga’s work – as well as pearls, sponge and amber. The puppets are offset by a collection of iron containers housing pieces of resin, silicon and steel.

You can see more of Tunga’s work at the gallery’s site.

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James Turrell: Within Without

Skyspace, National Gallery Australia, Art Installation, LightTurrell Skyspace, Light Installation, Art, National Gallery AustraliaClick to enlarge

James Turrell’s latest Skyspace, Within Without at the National Gallery of Australia, is one of his largest and most elaborate so far. The Skyspace is entered via a long walkway towards a grass-covered pyramid surrounded by water. Inside, at the center of the pyramid is a domed structure open to the sky, which in turn is surrounded and highlighted by shimmering turquoise water. As in other of Turrell’s Skyspaces, Within Without is most dramatic at dawn and dusk, when there are more changes in light and movement in the sky which are then intensified within the domed space.

You can read more about the exhibit here and see more photos at screenstreet’s and chaoite’s photostreams.

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Jacinto Moros: Balletic Sculpture

Art, Sculpture, Spanish Sculptorart, sculpture, wood curves, spanish sculptorart, sculpture, museums, metal scultpureLamp design, curved wood, sculpture lampsClick to enlarge.

The Spanish artist Jacinto Moros, who we had the good fortune of befriending during his years in NYC, takes wood and makes it dance. His ability to bend and curl the material into beautiful sculptures that, while static, are full of movement, is really amazing.

Though a fan of all of his work, I especially like how his Movimientos Liquidos (Liquid Movements) piece worked in its space, this being the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. As if abstract flowers or trees fitting in perfectly, yet uniquely, into the park landscape. (Top three images.)

His Architecture Series, designed in wood and cast in stainless steel, is inspired by well-known structures, captured using a continuous line to render the buildings as sculpture. (See stainless steel sculptures in photos, clockwise from top left image are: Guggenheim, Bilbao; Guggenheim, NYC; Reina Sofia, Madrid; Pompidou Centre, Paris.) The series is open-ended with more buildings to follow.

Moros has also designed some products in his curved wood method, including lamps and jewelry.

You can see more of Jacinto Moros’s work on his website, as well as at the Victor Lope Gallery, and OA Madrid online shop.

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LAVA

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With its two main offices in Sydney and Stuttgart, LAVA – Laboratory for Visionary Architecture – functions as a think tank generating inventive architecture that “bridges the gap between the dream and the real world.” Founded as recently as 2007 by Chris Bosse and Tobias Wallisser, LAVA has already produced an impressive body of work. Using nontraditional methodologies and advanced technology, LAVA’s structures and city planning are part of a new and cutting edge, as well as sustainable, generation of architecture. Here are just three of their projects:

Top to bottom – The Green Void, a tensile fabric installation in the central atrium of the Sydney Customs House.
The Water Cube or National Aquatics Center in Beijing, originally designed for the 2008 Olympics has since been converted into a water park.
Digital Origami, an installation created in a masterclass taught by Chris Bosse at the University of Technology Sydney. Made from 3500 recycled cardboard molecules of only two different shpaes.

You can see more of LAVA’s amazing work at their website as well as on Chris Bosse’s flickr.

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Moderna Museet in Malmö

Stockholm art museum, modern architectureStockholm art museum, modern architectureModernaMuseet Malmo, stockholm art museum, architectureOne of the things that I truly enjoy, and gives me a little silly thrill, is seeing new architecture incorporated successfully with old. Coming across photos of the relatively new building for the art museum in Malmö, Sweden, Moderna Museet gave me said thrill.

Designed by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter in collaboration with Henirk Nygren Design and Stockholm Design Lab, the two latter involved in the interior design as well as branding and signage, the bright orange-y red box looks fabulous next to the older, classic brick buildings that seem to be part of the museum as well.

The handwritten logo which works beautifully large across the windows at the base of the box in the same color, is adapted from Robert Rauschenberg’s handwriting and famous signature.

via Stockholm Design Lab

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Nuria Mora: Street Art from Spain

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Nuria Mora is a street artist based in Madrid. Not that it should matter, but she is a woman and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s certainly refreshing to come across a female street artist—definitely in the minority.

Colorful and geometric, I imagine coming across any one of her wall murals would brighten one’s day. What I enjoy most about all of these is the contrast of the clean lines on the mostly old or run-down walls they appear on. It’s almost the opposite effect of graffiti way back when the tagging or murals would, many times, deface a newer wall or subway car.

There is plenty more to see on her site.