Click to enlarge.
Stencil graffiti in Madrid from Spanish street artist, Noaz.
Paperclip Potpourri
Click to enlarge
Here is a roundup of paperclip-inspired objects as well as a few that are actually made of paperclips.
Clockwise from the top left corner:
The Paperclip Lamp (3 images); Paperclip radiators; Koziol Clip Pen & Pencil Tray; Paperclip Fruit Bowl; Paperclip Money Clip; Paperclip t-shirt; Paperclip Coat Hooks; Paperclip Hanger; Paperclip Typography; Paperclip Necklace; Paperclip Note Cards; Paperclip Radiator/Towel Rack
Leo Villareal
Click on images to enlarge
After seeing some of Leo Villareal’s work online, I went over to the Gering & Lopez gallery the other day to see his current show called Volume. The solo exhibit is mainly comprised of the pieces in the top two images: Cylinder and Cube. Cylinder takes up a whole room and is quite impressive, measuring 12ft tall and 9ft in diameter. Made up of white LEDs and mirror finished stainless steel, it’s like your own, personal (I was the only one in the gallery at the time) fireworks show contained within a cylinder. I realized later that he was also the man behind the sparkler-like windows at BAM two or three years ago that were very intriguing at the time.
As much as I liked the few works in the gallery, I would love to see one of his larger shows such as the one at the San Jose Museum of Art which, (based on the photos), looks like it included beautiful colored light panels that are the sort of pieces I imagine Rothko would have created had he had LEDs to play with. Really lovely work and probably even more so in person with the changes in lighting and movement; the complete experience.
Another big project (possibly one of his largest) is Multiverse (bottom left image) at the National Gallery of Art, in Washington DC, through the Concourse walkway. You can see a video here.
All photos are from Gering & López’s site, as well as Leo Villareal’s and Conner Contemporary Art.
The exhibit Volume is up at Gering & Lopez through June 25, 2011.
Origami Madness
An impressive collection of origami from different sources has been put together by Pavol Janovicek on Cruzine.
From top to bottom and left to right:
Blue Bar Pigeon by Seth Friedman (for Em)
Piggy by Roman Diaz
Onitsuka Tiger by Sopho Mabona; Gorilla by Black Scorpion
May the Autofocus be With You by straightfromthecask; Wall-E by Brian Chan
Tow Mater by Black Scorpion
See many more here.
Outside World – Real Life 2.0
via Highheels. Don’t know the original source.
Gabriele Basílico: Contact 1984
Click to enlarge
When I came upon the wall of these large blown-up images at the Armory Show here in NYC a couple of months back, it filled me with a silly happiness. Who hasn’t, as a child, wearing shorts in the summer, been fascinated by the different bumps or ridges left on their thighs after getting up from an extended sitting? I certainly was. So, a sort of nostalgia and instant smile overcame me when I observed these photos by Gabriele Basílico, an Italian photographer who according to his gallery’s web site, first shot these photos in 1979. He had been asked to participate in an exhibit entitled “Freedom limits/the object: faced interpretations” and thought to take an ironic approach that invited free interpretation. From the artist:
The opportunity to participate in such cultural and artistic event helped me to take aside the beauty and formality of the still life photographies and to conceived a project more symbolic, ironic and freedom to interpreted the matter.
Thinking through the images about the relationship between the object-chair and the human body it came to my mind the funny and grotesque image that the hard summer chairs left in the naked bodies of the swimmers. It is a real negative “by contact”. A provisional relief tattoo which is printed on the body aesthetically developing the original surface of the contact.
I had neglected to take down Basílico’s name when I saw this at the Armory and had since been looking for it online, so I was especially happy the other day when I happened upon it via La Lettre de la photographie.
Tablemoods
In addition to designing the Ringset ONE, the trio of young designers at Bloomming, in the Netherlands, design furniture and wall partitions. This Tablemoods table can be easily flipped to reveal a white or gray tabletop surface, depending on your mood, or I guess, that of the table’s. Made of stainless steel and birch plywood.
Ringset ONE
I’m really not much of a ring person (it’s a small-hands-stubby-fingers thing), in fact Daniela is the big ring-wearer of the family. But, if I were to wear rings this Ringset ONE by the Dutch design studio, Bloomming, would be my style. I like the simple, elegant lines, as well as the interlocking aspect which, for a friendship/wedding ring, is not only clever but meaningful. They come in polished or brushed; silver, gold, or white gold.
Available here.
Window Washing Nouvel Style
Fun photo by my friend Eric of window washing at Jean Nouvel’s Chelsea building, 100 11th, with its curving curtain wall and different sized panes of glass set at unique angles and torques. Must be quite the challenging job.
Photo©Eric Elias
Adrián Navarro
(Click images to enlarge)
Nice work from Adrián Navarro, presently based in London. His Fragment Series paintings (up top) seem to be his most recent, followed by the Ring Series, and then the Sphere Series.
His paintings describe implosions of colour trapped inside virtual volumes that float weightlessly in the pictorial space. Navarro´s work explores the paradox between the physical confinement and the expansive freedom inherent to the organic painting, and by extension to the human being.
I’d love to see these live.
TypeClock
I met Dong Yoon Park on a typography tour of Staten Island last fall. Yes, strange but true. On the tour I had briefly chatted with him and he had shown me, on his iPhone, some of the things he was working on at Parsons as a grad student and teacher in their department of Design & Technology. Later, I visited his website and was really impressed with the rest of his work as well. Today I checked his site to see what he was up to and, sure enough, there waiting, was this lovely app for typography lovers! So simple and beautiful. What could be better than having a blown up letter of your choice on the screen of your phone or iPad?
From the iTunes AppStore:
Are you a typography lover? If you love artistically subtle design elements of typefaces, this is for you. On your crystal clear iPhone screen, enjoy the crisp vector shapes of Serif, Apex and Terminals of gorgeous typefaces in large scale. You can set own character set, type size and transition speed.
TypeClock can be purchased here for $0.99 and you can see more information here and a video here.
Sny Chair
To be honest, I do like the Sny Chair designed by Stefano Pirovano (designer of numerous products from Alessi’s dental floss dispenser to watches and even the Rain Level boots!) BUT, what I really loved was the product photo.
The Sny Chair is made of 5mm aluminum and if I understand correctly from their site, is folded and held together by rope. Hmm, doesn’t really look like rope…
Autone
Autone is a Polish graffiti artist who paints very detailed murals that, to me, almost have a Northwest American Indian influence to them, but then, maybe that’s just me.
You can see his process in the video below. I like the way he stands back every once in a while to, understandably, look at what he’s done so far. It’s especially cute due to the sped-up quality of the video.
You can see more of Autone’s work here and here.
via outerspaces
tUnE-yArDs: Bizness
Interesting video for the song “Bizness” from their second album Whokill.
via RNC!
Clover Lamp
The Clover Lamp can be used as a floor, table, or suspension lamp, indoor or outdoor. It’s made of matte white lacquered aluminum and colored plexiglass.I think I like the blues the best.
Designed by Miriam Mirri for Bysteel.
via Lustik
Sebastien Wierinck’s Tube Formations
(Click on images for larger view)
Not since the Blue Men have I seen such great use of tubes. Sebastien Wierinck (whose Panels02 Chair we posted about previously) is a designer based in Marseille, France. He has designed everything from domestic furniture to commercial, interior design to stage and exhibit design. Above are some of his installations for public spaces, restaurants, galleries and art festivals.
From top to bottom, left to right:
Le Centquatre, Paris (top two photos); INSTANT Exhibit, Brussels (x2); Bed Supperclub, Bangkok; Light detail, Bed Supperclub; Brazil-Brazil Exhibit, Marseille (x2); Gallery Into Art & Furniture, Berlin; Tokyo Eat Restaurant, Paris; Design City, Luxembourg
Apart from being fun and amazing, these constructions are made of polyethylene plastic (plastic bottle waste) so it’s recycling at its finest. The tubes, usually used for water, gas and electrical distribution, are strong, flexible and readily available in multiple colors and sizes. It’s win-win all the way.
You can visit Sebastien Wierinck’s site for more info, and there are more photos on flickr.
WASARA Disposable Tableware
I have had my eye on these plates for a couple of years now. Since first seeing them, I have considered ordering them online every time I’ve had a party, or group get-together, then backed away when realizing that the express shipping necessary due to my last minute ordering (not very good about planning ahead) would be hard to justify. Last week, however, on a lovely stroll to Noho here in NYC, I discovered that they sell them at The Future Perfect. Very exciting news for me. The plates are a little smaller than I imagined (though the measurements are accurate on the site) but just as beautiful.
Designed in Japan by Shinichiro Ogata, WASARA tableware is compostable and made from 100% tree-free renewable materials, so not only will your table look great, but it’s all very green, too.
Available online here.
Diego Grandi: Buon Weekend
Diego Grandi’s Buon Weekend was another installation at Interni’s Mutant Architecture and Design show in Milan last month. The term ‘mutant’ here referring to flexibility, adaptability and mobility. Four large colored sheets wrapped around a tree create the centerpiece of the installation as a tent that welcomes relaxation and lingering. The floral-like plates create an artificial landscape and a new take on the picnic with dishes and silverware becoming part of the informal setting. It’s no suprise that Sambonet and Rosenthal (an Italian/German manufacturer of tabletop accessories) was the sponsor of the installation.
CollabCubed 