Aurelia Butler

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    Using Naturally Dyed Cotton, Artist Sipho Mabona Explores Transformation through Origami

    
    Art

    #origami
    #sculpture

    September 9, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “A Unicorn’s Lower Jaw & Right Front Leg” (2020), indigo, old fustic, weld and iron on cotton and paper. All images © Sipho Mabona, shared with permission
    Sipho Mabona (previously) folds, crimps, and puckers sheets of cotton to form geometric artworks. The artist dyes the porous material with natural substances like indigo and Maclura tinctoria (mulberry), which creates organic gradients and alters its texture. He then utilizes Origami creases to transform the cotton’s structure and shape, sometimes working in response to current affairs. For example, the red pieces (shown below) are a response to Black Lives Matter and “also of biographical significance to me having a father that was a politcal activist and refugee from South Africa.” he shares with Colossal.
    While my earlier works have smooth monochromatic surfaces in my latest body of work I felt an urge to introduce a painterly gesture and an element of chance to counterbalance the stringent geometrical appearance of the crease-patterns… Both Origami and natural dyeing are techniques that have rarely been harnessed in fine arts that unlock an intriguing field of unexplored narratives.
    Head to Instagram to dive further into Mabona’s folded cotton works.

    “The Dragonflies’ Third Leg” (2019), Maclura tinctoria, on folded cotton and paper, 40 x 50 centimeters
    Left: “Untitled” (2018), natural aizome, acrylic and molding paste on folded cotton, 132 x 108 centimeters. Right: “Untitled” (2018), natural aizome, acrylic and molding paste on folded cotton, 132 x 108 centimeters
    “We Bled, We Are Bleeding, We Will Bleed”
    “The Doves’ Wing” (2019), indigo and old fustic, on folded cotton and paper, 40 x 50 centimeters
    Left: “The Cicadas’ Abdomen & Thorax” (2019), Madder on folded cotton. Right: “The Dove’s Wing & Shoulder (I1)” (2020), indigo-dyed, cotton, paper, Tyvek, wood, and nylon
    “We Bled, We Are Bleeding, We Will Bleed”
    Right: “Untitled” (2018), natural aizome, acrylic and molding paste on folded cotton, 132 x 108 centimeters
    “We Bled, We Are Bleeding, We Will Bleed”
    “Untitled” (2018), natural aizome on folded cotton and paper

    #origami
    #sculpture

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  • 163 Shares109 Views

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    A Staggering Sculptural Rug by Artist Faig Ahmed Pours into an Amorphous Puddle

    Known for his sculptural textiles, Faig Ahmed fuses contemporary glitches and distortions with traditional weaving techniques. A recent artwork, titled “Doubts,” is one of his larger pieces that while conventionally shaped and patterned on top, appears to ooze out into a massive puddle. A stunning piece, the ornate motif blurs into swirls of color and an amorphous shape on the floor.
    The Baku, Azerbaijan-based artist (previously) said in a statement that he began “Doubts” about one month prior to widespread lockdowns due to COVID-19. More More

  • 163 Shares109 Views

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    Limp Balloons Slump Over Each Other in Pastel Sculptures by Artist Joe Davidson

    
    Art

    #balloons
    #plaster
    #sculpture

    September 3, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Untitled” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 9 x 9 x 4 inches. All images © Joe Davidson, shared with permission
    In varying states of deflation, Joe Davidson’s pastel balloons sag, slump, and flop in every direction. The limp, elongated forms are stacked on top of one another in seemingly precarious piles and resemble latex tubes filled with days-old air. While the sculptures are playful in both color and form, the Los Angeles-based artist notes that they also hold earnest themes of masculinity and aging, two concepts he’s thinking about often.
    Davidson prefers to explore new materials and those beyond the bronze, stone, and wood typically used in this medium. “I was in a period about ten years ago where I was working exclusively in Scotch tape,” he shares. His more recent interest has been in plaster, which he uses to make the balloons. “There’s something about the malleability, chalkiness, and its history that is always appealing,” he says.
    Adding color has been a recent evolution and one Davidson is adjusting to still. “My work historically tends to be monochromatic, as I have usually decided to let the nature of the materials speak for themselves. However, there’s something tantalizing about the color pastel scheme (I hate pastel!). It’s awkward and pretty, enticing to touch and sarcastic at the same time,” he says.
    For this particular series, the artist cites myriad references, including Jeff Koons’s balloon animals and Louise Bourgeois’s use of anthropomorphism. Overall, though, he often returns to the Dadaists and Italian Arte Povera, who “were always welcoming chance and randomness in their work,” he says.

    They came from totally different viewpoints (Dada embracing the absurdity of existence post WWI and Arte Povera looking for the poetic in the mundane), but their processes really resonate with me. A critical part of the process is setting up certain parameters and letting the art fix and finish itself.  I exercise a lot of control in creating the framework for a work, but I always listen to what the material is telling me it wants to do.

    To follow Davidson’s playful sculptures and get a peek into his studio, head to Instagram. (via swissmiss)

    “Pig Pile” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 20 x 20 x 20 inches
    “Pile On” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 17 x 8 x 9 inches
    “Pretender” (2017), cast tinted hydrocal, rope, screws, 77 x 42 x 10 inches
    Left: “Untitled” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 8 x 8 x 6 inches. Right: “Untitled” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 7 x 6 x 6 inches
    “Pile On” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 17 x 8 x 9 inches
    Left: “Untitled” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 7 x 6 x 5 inches. Right: “Untitled (Poufs)” (2020), cast tinted hydrocal, 14 x 8 x 8 inches
    “Pretender” (2017), cast tinted hydrocal, rope, screws, 77 x 42 x 10 inches

    #balloons
    #plaster
    #sculpture

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    Uncoiled Rope Sprawls Across Canvases and Open Spaces in Organic Forms by Artist Janaina Mello Landini

    
    Art

    #installation
    #neural networks
    #rope
    #sculpture
    #trees

    September 3, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Ciclotrama (expansão)” (2019), 4 Ciclotramas of “expansion” series with varied sizes, black and blue ropes, 270 x 600 x 400 centimeters. Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Gui Gomes. All images © Janaina Mello Landini, shared with permission
    Janaina Mello Landini (previously) unbraids lengths of rope to create fibrous labyrinths that breach canvases’ edges and crawl from floor to ceiling. Including both sprawling site-specific installations and smaller pieces confined to a few dozen centimeters, the São Paulo-based artist’s body of work is broad. All of her projects, though, explore tension and space as they spread into arboreal forms or perfectly round networks.
    Her recent works include a massive tree-like installation that fans out across Zipper Gallery’s floor and walls into delicate, tape blossoms. Another is a smaller, numbered piece that was born from the artist’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  “My days are quite slow now, no more assistants around, but I’m still working and thinking a lot,” she shares with Colossal and notes that at the beginning of lockdowns, she completed “Ciclotrama 177 (Fibonacci),” which is shown below.
    Since 2010, Landini has been contributing to her Ciclotrama series, a moniker that defines each piece. “The social cartography of individual networks shows the infinite interconnectedness of personal trajectories throughout a system, society, and the world as a whole. The movement of bodies (ropes) and the relationship between rhythm and time are also fundamental aspects of these series,” she says.
    To dive further into Landini’s work, check out her Instagram or Artsy, and take a virtual tour of her recent show at Zipper Gallery.

    “Ciclotrama 177 (Fibonacci)” (2020), cotton threads and acrylic pen on canvas, 1.7 x 1.7 meters. Photo by Lucas Cimino
    “Ciclotrama 177 (Fibonacci)” (2020), cotton threads and acrylic pen on canvas, 1.7 x 1.7 meters. Photo by Lucas Cimino
    “Ciclotrama 141 (épura)” (2019), 20 meters of handmade cotton rope diameter 24 centimeters and 2880 meters of paper tape, 700 x 800 x 1600 centimeters. Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Gui Gomes
    Left: “Ciclotrama 153 (aglomeração)” (2020), rope on canvas, 43 3/10 × 43 3/10 inches. Right: “Ciclotrama 124” (2018), Dipado rope sewed on natural linen, 78 7/10 × 78 7/10 × 2 inches
    “Ciclotrama 141 (épura)” (2019), 20 meters of handmade cotton rope diameter 24 centimeters and 2880 meters of paper tape, 700 x 800 x 1600 centimeters. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama (expansão)” (2019), 4 Ciclotramas of “expansion” series with varied sizes, black and blue ropes, 270 x 600 x 400 centimeters. Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama (expansão)” (2019), 4 Ciclotramas of “expansion” series with varied sizes, black and blue ropes, 270 x 600 x 400 centimeters. Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama 141 (épura)” (2019), 20 meters of handmade cotton rope diameter 24 centimeters and 2880 meters of paper tape, 700 x 800 x 1600 centimeters. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama 141 (épura)” (2019), 20 meters of handmade cotton rope diameter 24 centimeters and 2880 meters of paper tape, 700 x 800 x 1600 centimeters. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama 174 (impregnação)” (2019), 50 meters of black nylon rope 40 millimeters diameter and 4.200 black nails, 6 x 7 x 5 meters. Photo by Gui Gomes

    #installation
    #neural networks
    #rope
    #sculpture
    #trees

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  • 150 Shares169 Views

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    Translucent Sculptures of Segmented Glass by Artist Jiyong Lee Evoke Single-Celled Organisms

    
    Art

    #algae
    #biology
    #glass
    #sculpture

    September 3, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Green Cosmarium Segmentation” (2018), hot sculpted, cut, color laminated, carved, glass, 7 1/4 × 10 × 7 1/4 inches. All images © Jiyong Lee, shared with permission
    Fascinated by the organisms found in the sea and bodies of freshwater, artist Jiyong Lee (previously) sculpts semi-transparent artworks that evoke the various forms of algae and other microscopic creatures. The segmented pieces, which are composed of smooth, matte glass, create both organic and geometric shapes. Part of an ongoing Segmentation Series, the composite works consider the evolution of a single cell, which Lee expands on:
    I work with glass that has transparency and translucency, two qualities that serve as perfect metaphors for what is known and unknown about life science. The segmented, geometrical forms of my work represent cells, embryos, biological and molecular structures—each symbolizing the building blocks of life as well as the starting point of life.
    Lee is based in Carbondale, Illinois, where he teaches at Southern Illinois University, and many of the pieces shown here will be part of a group show at Duane Reed Gallery in St. Louis from September 12 to October 17, 2020. The artist also was chosen as one of 30 artists for the Loewe Foundation’s Craft Prize, which will bring him to Paris for an exhibition in the spring of 2021. Until then, explore more of Lee’s biology-informed sculptures on Artsy.

    “Mitosis” (2010), cut, color (white) laminated, carved glass, 8.6 x 13 x 14 inches
    “Diatom segmentation” (2019), cut, color laminated, carved, hot formed glass, 7 x 10 x 7 inches
    “Black and White Diatom Segmentation” (2020), hot sculpted, cut, color laminated, carved, glass, 8 × 12 × 8 inches

    Left: “Gray Diatom Segmentation” (2018), cut, color laminated, carved glass, 5 1/4 × 12 1/2 inches. Right: “Yellow Orange Diatom Segmentation” (2020), hot sculpted, cut, color laminated, carved, glass, 7 1/2 x 10 x 8 1/2 inches
    “Green Yellow Diatom Segmentation” (2020), hot sculpted, cut, color laminated, carved, glass, 5 3/4 × 12 × 12 inches
    “White Green Diatom Segmentation” (2020), hot sculpted, cut, color laminated, carved, glass, 8 1/2 × 10 × 8 1/2 inches

    #algae
    #biology
    #glass
    #sculpture

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  • 175 Shares129 Views

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    Painted on Front Pages, Lisa Törner’s Evocative Animals Astutely Comment on Major News Stories

    Lisa Törner repurposes the front pages of The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the French weekly Le Canard Enchainé into inky canvases for her expressive creatures. For each edition, the Stockholm-based artist offers insightful commentary on the day’s events: a pensive monkey masks an article about bankers on Wall Street, a turquoise peacock adorns the coverage of Karl Lagerfield’s death, and a slinking leopard is rendered alongside a heartwrenching story about a mother and child, who were separated more than 50 years ago. More More

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    Suspended Orbs, Webs, and Air Plants Imagine an Alternative Ecological Future by Artist Tomás Saraceno

    
    Art

    #air
    #balloons
    #climate change
    #glass
    #installation
    #light
    #mirrors
    #plants

    September 1, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Thermodynamic Constellation.” All images © Tomás Saraceno, courtesy of Palazzo Strozzi by Ela Bialkowska, OKNO Studio, shared with permission
    Three reflective spheres hover above the courtyard of Florence’s Palazzo Strozzi in Tomás Saraceno’s immersive installation.  The metallic orbs mirror the historic Renaissance architecture in addition to visitors who pass by, while marking the entrance to the imagined space that explores life beyond anthropocentrism. As its name suggests, Aria is concerned with air, encompassing human travel, its ability to foster growth, and how it’s entwined with every living organism.
    The Argentinian artist (previously) is known for his large-scale works that fall at the intersection of science and art and consider the human toll on the natural world. Throughout Aria are various experiences dealing with contemporary environmental issues: Glass forms hang from the ceiling and house Tillandsia plants, which need only air to survive, while “A Thermodynamic Imaginary” considers the immensity of the sun and its unused potential.
    Each of the works also references one of Saraceno’s 33 arachnomancy cards that explore ecological interconnectivity. References to arachnids manifest in the complex systems that hold Weaire–Phelan structures in “Connectome” or in the stark “Aerographies,” a series of clear balloons and framed networks that explore how “the movements of people, heat, animals, and spider/webs affect and are affected by the air,” a statement from Saraceno says.
    Ecosystems have to be thought of as webs of interactions, within which each living being’s ecology co‐evolves, together with those of others. By focusing less on individuals and more on reciprocal relationships, we might think beyond what means are necessary to control our environments and more on the shared formation of our quotidian.
    If you’re in Florence, stop by the Palazzo Strozzi to see Saraceno’s work before it closes on November 1, 2020. Otherwise, find out more about what he has planned for the rest of the year, which includes a new solar-powered balloon, on his site and Instagram. (via This Isn’t Happiness)

    “Thermodynamic Constellation”
    “Flying Gardens,” (2020), Tillandsia plants and hand-blown glass
    “Thermodynamic Constellation”
    “Thermodynamic Constellation”
    “Aerographies,” by Studio Tomás Saraceno
    “Connectome”
    “A Thermodynamic Imaginary”

    #air
    #balloons
    #climate change
    #glass
    #installation
    #light
    #mirrors
    #plants

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  • 113 Shares129 Views

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    Layered Botanics Comprise Artist Vanessa Hogge’s Delicate Porcelain Assemblages

    
    Art

    #ceramics
    #flowers
    #plants
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

    September 1, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Vanessa Hogge, courtesy of Ester Segarra/Vessel Gallery, shared with permission
    Vanessa Hogge translates her lifelong fascination with flowers into monochromatic assemblages of hydrangeas, roses, and myriad blossoms. The London-based artist (previously) has been working on EFFLORESCENCE, which is comprised of three ceramics, since October 2019. Each of the delicate porcelain pieces is adorned with innumerable hand-sculpted florets and leaves that blossom from a central base.
    Rather than studying horticulture textbooks and the intricacies of plant life, Hogge works entirely from her memory and imagination and frequents gardens and other places where organic elements thrive for observation. “I’ve traveled to research in the Okavango Swamps in Botswana, the flower-filled valleys of the Northern Cape in South Africa, and this January (just before lockdown), to Southern India to be surrounded by the exotic vegetation there—just beautiful,” she tells Colossal.
    Hogge’s inspirations, though, are vast. She imbues elements of the funky textiles created in the 1970s, miniature depictions of Indian gardens, and Frida Kahlo’s iconic flowers. “As an artist, the variety of their forms and structures is immense and endless. People comment and wonder when I will move on and if I will tire of flowers, but how can I? This fascination is also steeped in my family matriarchs—strong women gardeners and the great outdoors,” she says.
    The artist offers a brief look into her studio and process in this short video and on Instagram. You also might enjoy Hitomi Hosono’s intricate vessels.

    #ceramics
    #flowers
    #plants
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

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