HOTTEST
Art#installation
#light
#public art
#site-specificJune 30, 2021
Grace Ebert“Hymn to the Big Wheel” (2021), steel, PVC vinyl and polycarbonate, 480 x 480 x 300 centimeters. All images © Liz West, shared with permission
Whether nestling an iridescent tunnel inside a Georgian-style church or encircling a concrete walkway with multicolor ribbons, Liz West transforms whatever space she approaches into a dynamic field of kaleidoscopic light and shadow. The prolific British artist (previously) is known for her large-scale pieces that use reflection and refraction to create dazzling immersive environments. Often utilizing translucent panels and a combination of natural light and LEDs, West’s intention is to enhance sensory awareness, showing the potential the full spectrum of color has to impact both psychological and physical reactions.
On view through August 12 at Canary Wharf in London, “Hymn to the Big Wheel” (shown above) is an architectural installation comprised of two concentric octagons that cast layered jewel-toned shadows depending on the viewer’s position. The piece draws its name from Massive Attack’s “Hymn Of The Big Wheel” and has what West calls a “sun-dial effect” that changes how the light streams through the panels depending on the time of day.
Other recent projects include “Aglow,” which arranged 169 fluorescent bowls in a hexagon outside of the Musee Nissim de Camondo in Paris. The individual elements were designed to catch rainfall, which once pooled in the base, added an extra layer of color and illusion to the patterned grouping. Similarly deceptive is West’s 2021 piece titled “Presence” at Christ Church in Macclesfield, which produced an obscured and prismatic path through the historic site that presented the existing architecture through the lens of colorful panels.
West is currently working on two permanent installations launching in August and September in Salford, while “Hundreds and Thousands” (shown below) will be taken down this fall. You can follow her vibrant constructions on her site and Instagram.“Aglow” (2018), acrylic, 1,500 x 45 x 1,500 centimeters
“Aglow” (2018), acrylic, 1,500 x 45 x 1,500 centimeters
“Hundreds and Thousands” (2021), pigment injected polyester, 700 linear meters
Detail of “Hundreds and Thousands” (2021), pigment injected polyester, 700 linear meters
“Hymn to the Big Wheel” (2021), steel, PVC vinyl and polycarbonate, 480 x 480 x 300 centimeters
“Presence” (2021), metal, dichroic vinyl, and polycarbonate, 1,500 x 140 x 300 centimeters
“Our Spectral Vision” (2016), dichroic glass, LEDs, and acrylic, 700 x 220 x 40 centimeters
“Presence” (2021), metal, dichroic vinyl, and polycarbonate, 1,500 x 140 x 300 centimeters
“Presence” (2021), metal, dichroic vinyl, and polycarbonate, 1,500 x 140 x 300 centimeters#installation
#light
#public art
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Art
Food#Genesis Belanger
#installation
#sculpture
#stoneware
#surrealOctober 28, 2022
Grace Ebert More
Art#collage
#digital
#portraitsMarch 24, 2021
Grace Ebert“Hidden Perronneau” (2020), photocollage. All images © Volker Hermes, shared with permission
Nearly a decade before masks became a ubiquitous part of our lives, artist Volker Hermes was fashioning lavish face coverings made of flowers, lace, and ornate baubles. In his ongoing series, Hidden Portraits, Hermes digs into the art historical archive and selects classical paintings that he then reinterprets. Elaborate accessories derived from elements in the original works become tools for obscuring the subjects’ faces, which subsequently draws attention to their garments, gestures, and surroundings.
Since he began the prescient series, Hermes has based his practice in painting even though he realizes each portrait digitally. Time has given him ample opportunities to delve into the original painters’ backgrounds, periods, and the symbolism of various fashions, an experience bolstered by his costuming work for opera productions.
Now fluent in historical significance, Hermes continues to parse questions of representation in the works and their current-day implications. “Each era has its own symbols,” he says. “I always like to mention the Chanel costume as a metaphor for today’s upper-class affiliation. There are of course more current, more specific ones, but this garment has something of a general visualization of an established elite.”
Other emblems—like the big, black hats made from beaver fur that many men don in works from the Dutch Golden Age to signify their rank—are more difficult to recognize today. Hermes says:
Whoever had such a hat, had himself painted with it. But today we don’t know that anymore. We simply see men with black hats, which no longer trigger anything in us. We look the sitters in the face as our natural approach. If I now exaggerate such a hat in my interventions, blocking the access via the face, the focus changes, the viewer is forced, so to speak, to look at the painting under new aspects, taking into account the meanings that determined the painting at that time.
From his studio in Düsseldorf, Hermes is preparing new pieces for a group show centered around a theme of clerical representation and pilgrimage, which you can keep up with on Instagram.“Hidden Pesne” (2021), photocollage
“Hidden Larkin” (2020), photocollage
“Hidden Anonymous (Pourbus)” (2020), photocollage
“Hidden Cranach III” (2019), photocollage
“Hidden Liotard VI” (2021), photocollage
“Hidden Pourbus V” (2019), photocollage#collage
#digital
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Art
Dance#body
#bronze
#sculptureJanuary 5, 2021
Grace Ebert“Clio’s Dream” (2020), bronze and blue patina. All images © Coderch & Malavia, shared with permission
At the center of Coderch & Malavia’s artistic practice is the beauty of the human figure and its various expressions. The Valencia-based duo works collaboratively to cast bronze sculptures that explore the nuances of the body through dance-like movements and distinct gestures. Natural details like golden branches and feathered wings embellish many of the heavily patinaed works, Coderch & Malavia share, to evoke themes from classic literature, theater, photography, cinema, and ballet. “The human being is three-dimensional,” they say. “Probably that is the main reason why we are attracted to sculpture. It is the closest artistic representation of ourselves.”
After a discussion on intentions for a new project, the pair generally works with a live model to help the sculpture take shape. “The complicated part is organizing and sharing the physical creation of the work itself because you need double discipline,” they say. “You must learn to trust your partner and be able to share your ideas and your work with him, and, above all, you must put your ego aside in order to stay equal to commit to the final result.”
Get a glimpse into Coderch & Malavia’s process on their site and Instagram, where you can also follow their upcoming exhibitions.Detail of “Clio’s Dream” (2020), bronze and blue patina
Detail of “Haiku” (2019), bronze
Detail of “Haiku” (2019), bronze
“Moonlight Shadow” (2019), bronze, 80 centimeters
“Odette” (2018), bronze, 68 centimeters
Detail of “Moonlight Shadow” (2019), bronze, 80 centimeters
Detail of “Odette” (2018), bronze, 68 centimeters
“Haiku” (2019), bronze#body
#bronze
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