September 23, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Sarah Crowley & Michael Ong: Jewelry

Melbourne based architects Sarah Crowley and Michael Ong have collaborated on a series of jewelry pieces with an architectural twist. The Little Houses brooches, laser cut from perspex, are an ode to the childhood dollhouse. The House rings (white, two-piece photos) are laser cut in layers from plywood into the shape of a house and painted with white acrylic paint. The Godsiller and Dinner rings are similar to the House ring, in that they are layered and laser cut from plywood as well, but painted black.

You can see more of Sarah Crowley’s work on her blog and Michael Ong’s work on his site.

September 22, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Robert Wilson: 7 Electric Chairs for 7 Decades

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In celebration of his 70th birthday, artist/choreographer/stage designer (and more!) Robert Wilson has designed a set of seven polycarbonate and neon chairs produced by Kartell.

The seven chairs are titled 7 Electric Chairs…As You Like It, alluding to his seven decades, seven days of the week, as well as the seven ages of man in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” Each chair’s neon insertion expresses a different form and power.

The chairs are on view in the Teatro alla Scala in Milan through the end of September and will then be available to collectors through art galleries around the world. Perfect for lumen lovers.

Top photo: Lorenzo Nencioni for The New York Times

via NY Times and Domus. Thanks Eric!

September 22, 2011 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Kane Cali: Glass Ripples

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British artist Kane Cali has always been fascinated by nature, especially through the eyes of science. He embraces all that new technologies have to offer and creates with them as well as with more traditional methods. His most recent work utilizes 3d modeling and glass. Whether the effect of colliding droplets or ripples in milk, Cali translates these into impressive glass sculptural landscapes in rich color tones, some translucent and some opaque.

Check out his glass Dot Portraits as well.

via malta design week

September 22, 2011 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

AnnMarie van Splunter: Rubbertree

Here’s an interesting concept for reuse of tires in a positive way. Rubbertree, designed by Dutch designer AnnMarie van Splunter, is a proposal for a school playground for refugee children in Thailand. By constructing an oversized sculpture of a rubber tree made of recycled rubber tires, the tires, in a sense, come full circle.

Imitating the long and expanding roots of a real rubber tree, this installation would be relatively easy to build requiring only local materials including motorbike tires, bamboo and rope. No metal parts are necessary. The frame would be made from the bamboo and the tires could safely hug the frame (see small illustration of tire and bamboo above.)

From the designer:
This tree with long and expanding roots offers an open and inviting landscape on different levels: spaces to roam and explore, for spontaneous play.
It provides shelter and shadow and places where children can sit in, on, under, or lean against and find a place where they can make a den and find privacy or can be alone with friends.

Nice!

via Open Architecture Network

September 21, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Yael Davids: Anatomical Performance Art

Artist Yael Davids, born in Israel but based in Amsterdam, explores the human body and its different expressions within space, architecture and the object world in general. More often than not she will use performance as the means of exploration. Using boundaries such as walls and tables to function as masks, Davids creates sometimes humorous, other times slightly disturbing art installations with people/performers as her subjects, creating, in many cases, a sense of oppression. Though these works are labeled as performance art, they are almost static by nature.

From top to bottom:
Table © Yael Davids, Museum De Paviljoens; Head; A Line, a Word, a Sentence photos by Christian Fusco; Aquarium © Yael Davids; Thread © Yael Davids, Museum De Paviljoens

via atti democratici

September 21, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Keith Sonnier: Light Installations + Sculptures

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Originally from Louisiana, Keith Sonnier has been working with fluorescent light bulbs and neon since the late 1960s. He has many series of light sculptures with different names such as ‘Ba-O-Ba’, ‘Sel’, ‘Blatt’ and ‘Chandelier’ each with its own distinctive style and twist. Some more minimalist and geometric, while others busier and loopy.

In addition to his extensive sculptural work, Sonnier has created many installations over the years in public spaces including working with architects such as Morphosis on the Caltrans headquarters building in Los Angeles, an installation in the Lever House, and others in various airports.

Quite the body of beautiful work.

Photos courtesy of Keith Sonnier, Mary Boone Gallery, National Gallery of Australia and the Ace Gallery. All of which are sites where you can see more of Sonnier’s work.

September 20, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Suso33: Two-handed Street Art

Spanish graffiti and street artist Suso33 is best known for his scribbled silhouettes and large expressive faces that adorn numerous walls throughout Spain and Europe. He uses a unique style of drawing with both hands which can be seen in his video Crash! Even his tag is created with two hands.

You can see more of Suso33’s street art on his site and on flickr.

via escrito en la pared

September 20, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

EARonic iPhone 4 Case: CONTEST

It’s not really our style, but we’ve decided to throw caution to the wind and have a giveaway contest. It seems like a win-win situation. You: possibly win one of our fun EARonic iPhone 4 cases. We: get more people following us on facebook as well as walking advertisements for our EARonics when all your friends “oooh” and “ahhh” and ask where you got such a cool iPhone case. Okay, so maybe we win a little more.

We will be giving away three EARonic iPhone 4 cases (if you win you’ll get to pick your favorite one.)

How to enter:
Just “like” us on our facebook page. If you’re already a fan and would like to enter (keep in mind these cases are for the iPhone 4) just send us an email (hi@collabcubed.com) with the word ‘CONTEST’ in the subject header. Write your full name in the email and we will include you in the drawing. The contest ends one week from today (September 27th) when we will randomly draw three names from the pool. The winners will be announced on facebook Wednesday the 28th.

Good luck!

September 20, 2011 by collabcubed - 4 Comments

Emily Floyd: Type as Art

As a designer and lover of type, I really enjoy when art and type are combined — I pretty much enjoy when type is combined with anything. So it’s not surprising that I enjoyed coming across Australian artist Emily Floyd’s work. Drawing inspiration from the text-based Conceptual Art of the 60s, Floyd thinks it’s important to find new ways of working with language. In her art, she likes to combine different texts and fragments of different narratives and have the viewer experience them. Themes in her work include politics, ecology, philosophy and fiction.

You can see more of Emily Floyd’s installations on the Anna Schwartz Gallery site.

September 19, 2011 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

Chrome Hotel in Kolkatta, India

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Continuing with Sanjay Puri Architects (I told you I liked their work), the Chrome Hotel in Kolkatta, India looks like a hotel I’d enjoy checking out if I were to be in Kolkatta one day. The circular cutout windows in the skin are arranged in a graphic pattern and are deliberately created in an opaque glass to allow the interior public spaces to have an ambiance of their own, allowing only the light to come through and not the view. In addition, the windows are shaded by concrete fins that surround them which offers privacy as well as acting as a heat barrier, reducing the amount of air conditioning necessary to cool the hotel by a quarter.

The hotel was designed so that each space has its own distinct identity: the sculpted free flowing entrance lobby, the abstract design of the restaurant, a variety of room designs and the fluid shape of the bar offer the guest a series of experiences. Personally, they had me at polka-dotted façade.

September 19, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Triose: Sanjay Puri Architects

Sanjay Puri Architects in India were recently shortlisted for the LEAF Awards 2011 on their Triose building in Lonavala, India.

This dramatically angled, folded concrete skin structure houses a few retail shops, a food court, two restaurants, a large bar and an entertainment gaming area. The building is comprised of three volumes that jut out from the core circulation section that interconnects them. There are several trapezoidal windows, including the large balcony area that cantilevers out offering an impressive view from one of the restaurants housed in that section. In fact, the sculptural quality of the building integrates the external surroundings seamlessly with its interiors throughout the edifice.

It’s well worth checking out the rest of Sanjay Puri’s work. Very interesting architecture that pushes boundaries. You can visit their site here.

via e-architect

September 16, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Polly Borland: Disturbingly Funny Photos

Australian-born, longtime-London-based, currently-residing-in-LA photographer Polly Borland dresses up her models in costumes, makeup and, sometimes, spandex to create her own personal visual language. Somewhat creepy yet humorous, Borland’s photos hardly go unnoticed. Having regularly photographed portraits for several UK and American magazines including The New York Times and The Independent, Borland decided to change gears and create her own subject matter by adding a humorously disturbing theatrical element.

An exhibit of Polly Borland’s photographs from her Smudge series will be shown at the Paul Kasmin Gallery, here in NYC, opening September 22nd.

September 16, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

“Social Media” in Chelsea

Tonight, as the cold air blew into town (what’s up with that, anyway?) so too did the crowds into Chelsea. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Chelsea so crowded. Part of the attraction was the opening of David Byrne’s installation, Tight Spot, the huge inflated globe squeezed in under the High Line. Byrne was there himself, looking tan and chipper, while we listened to his very deep, bass, pre-recorded distorted vocal sounds emanating from the globe.

Next door in the Pace gallery itself, was the opening of the show Social Media. Among the interesting pieces (in all honestly, it was a little too crowded to appreciate in its entirety) I really enjoyed Christopher Baker’s Murmur Study and Penelope Umbrico’s Sideways TVs.

The Murmur Study is instantly engaging and fun with all its ticker-tape spewing live Twitter status updates from twenty thermal printers attached to the gallery walls.

Sideways TVs by Penelope Umbrico made me chuckle. A large collection of miniature photos nicely hung separated from the wall and all displaying a collection of outdated TV monitors. Impressive how those things have trimmed down in the past few years.

There is plenty more to see at the Pace show and all the other galleries as well. Looks like the fall is here to stay and, just like that, another season of Chelsea art shows has begun.

Tight Spot will be on exhibit through October 1st, and Social Media runs through October 15th.

Top photo: Mustafah Abdulaziz for The Wall Street Journal

September 15, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Michelangelo Pistoletto: Serpentine Gallery

A leading figure in conceptual art, Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto has combined several elements from previous works to create the site-specific installation The Mirror of Judgment at the Serpentine Gallery in London. In the labyrinth of corrugated cardboard one comes upon sculptures/objects that include a Trumpet of Judgement, a Buddha, and a prayer kneeler, to name a few. Pistoletto says the gallery is like a temple – in a spiritual sense, not religious – where we come up against the mirror and are meant to judge ourselves.

From the gallery’s website:
Pistoletto’s exhibition will draw visitors through the galleries, leading them via a winding maze to hidden installations and sculptures. Responding to the architecture of the Serpentine galleries and using an economy of materials, the exhibition will manipulate visitors’ perceptions of space, making them an integral part of the work itself.

The exhibit runs through Saturday, September 17th, so if you’re in London, rush on over and check it out!

via Serpentine Gallery

Photos courtesy of: Serpentine Gallery, Galleria Continua; Politicus; Sebastiano Pellion; Bertrand Huet; and Oak Taylor-Smith. ©2011 Michelangelo Pistoletto

September 15, 2011 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

BP Refinery in Rotterdam

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It may not be PC to feature an oil refinery, especially BP’s with its recent history, but we’re here to talk about design and this is a rather stunning structure. Designed by Dutch architects Group A in Rotterdam, this 10,500 square meter building takes into consideration sustainability and safety in addition to aesthetics.

The beautiful and dramatic curved glass atrium wasn’t without its challenges. To keep the costs down, rectangular glass panels were used in as few different sizes as possible. By using the geometric primitive of the cone the architects were able to bend and twist the roof while the panels remained normal rectangles within a structure of tapered aluminum and steel profiles.

The building is hidden in an artificial dune which adds to the dramatic look as well as helping to meet safety requirements.

From the Group A:
On the north side the building is hidden in a new artificial dune, while it appears to be ‘crawling’ out of the dune on the south side. By embedding the building in the landscape, safety measures against the explosion hazard posed by the refineries are being met with. The head office is a dynamic expression of the connection between landscape and building mass.

The dune is also actively and dynamically part of the interior. A large atrium is situated between the offices and the dune. The efficient and flexible offices can be connected to each other, and open up towards the atrium, creating a dynamic and interactive environment.

The expansive timber clad wall enhances the presence of the dune landscape on the interior of the office. The varying wood tones echo the qualities of rock and sand formations. At the same time, the curved front facade emerges from the artificial dune, while the grassy hill hides the building from the road.

via The Archhive

September 14, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Sena Arcak: Scale Room

I had to smile when I came across Sena Arcak’s installation Scale Room/These Scales are Correct. I would imagine this would be many people’s worst nightmare.

The Istanbul based artist installed eighty-four bathroom scales on the floor of a 6-meter square room. The scales act as tiles making up the floor. Love it.

From the artist:
The idea of producing this project emerged as a reaction to the societal pressure that is induced by a constant flow of images of thin women in print and digital media. But more than that, I feel much more troubled by the competitive and judgmental pressure imposed on each other by women.

Also part of the Scale Series is Just, only (three bottom photos) displaying a pair of armless hands pressing down on a scale.

Photos courtesy of Sena Arcak.

September 14, 2011 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Ardan Özmenoglu: Post-it Art

In recent years, there has been quite a bit of Post-it based art, taking advantage of its pixel-quality square shape. Turkish artist Ardan Ozmenoglu’s Post-it art seizes upon a different quality of the note: the transient nature, such as curling or falling over time as well as the disposable aspect. Whether using a grid of Post-its as her canvas, or printing on each individual Post-it and overlapping them en masse, Ozmenoglu counts on the changing quality of these notes as part of the work, creating an interesting result.

From the artist:
… I subject images to reproduction on that most ubiquitous yet disposable of modern conveniences, the Post-it. Social commentary enters into the experience as the images eventually curl and fall away like so many autumn leaves.

Check out more of her work here.

September 14, 2011 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Just Fold It by Kutarq

Kutarq, a multidisciplinary firm led by Jordi López Aguiló in Valencia, Spain, has just come out with an interesting design for a room divider. “Just Fold It” is flexible, easy to assemble and disassemble, and the individual models fold compactly making them convenient to store or transport. The length of the screen can be adjusted by adding or subtracting the number of modules. Perforations on the surface increase stability by counteracting wind resistance in addition to varying the porosity which creates a nice visual effect that varies depending on the angle and distance from which it is viewed.

Be sure to check out the rest of Kutarq’s products and projects on their site.

Click to enlarge.

Top photo: Lorenzo Nencioni for The New York Times

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From top to bottom: Table © Yael Davids, Museum De Paviljoens; Head; A Line, a Word, a Sentence photos by Christian Fusco; Aquarium © Yael Davids; Thread © Yael Davids, Museum De Paviljoens

Click to enlarge.

Photos courtesy of Keith Sonnier, Mary Boone Gallery, National Gallery of Australia and the Ace Gallery. All of which are sites where you can see more of Sonnier’s work.

Click to enlarge

Top photo: Mustafah Abdulaziz for The Wall Street Journal

Photos courtesy of: Serpentine Gallery, Galleria Continua; Politicus; Sebastiano Pellion; Bertrand Huet; and Oak Taylor-Smith. ©2011 Michelangelo Pistoletto

Click to enlarge.

The dune is also actively and dynamically part of the interior. A large atrium is situated between the offices and the dune. The efficient and flexible offices can be connected to each other, and open up towards the atrium, creating a dynamic and interactive environment.

Photos courtesy of Sena Arcak.

From the artist: … I subject images to reproduction on that most ubiquitous yet disposable of modern conveniences, the Post-it. Social commentary enters into the experience as the images eventually curl and fall away like so many autumn leaves.

From top to bottom:
Table © Yael Davids, Museum De Paviljoens; Head; A Line, a Word, a Sentence photos by Christian Fusco; Aquarium © Yael Davids; Thread © Yael Davids, Museum De Paviljoens

From the artist:
… I subject images to reproduction on that most ubiquitous yet disposable of modern conveniences, the Post-it. Social commentary enters into the experience as the images eventually curl and fall away like so many autumn leaves.