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      Colorful Crayon Animals by Herb Williams Illustrate Impacts of the Climate Crisis

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      Art

      #animals
      #climate change
      #crayons
      #sculptures

      August 17, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Detail of “Phantom Limb(s).” All images by John Brown, © Herb Williams, shared with permission
      Bolstering his ongoing body of work confronting the climate crisis, two new sculptures by Nashville-based artist Herb Williams (previously) address the interconnected impacts of environmental catastrophe and disastrous human consumption from the perspective of animals. A fawn, a pair of narwhals, and a small arctic fox compose the colorful menagerie, with a melting chunk of a glacier, cut branches, and sliced tree trunk completing the crayon-based ecosystems. The artist’s works are particularly timely following the IPCC’s bleak report earlier this month and recent climate-related tragedies, like fires ripping across California and Utah, Greece, and Siberia and a tropical storm that hit Haiti just days after the country was devasted by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake.
      Both of Williams’ pieces rely equally on subject matter and medium to convey the urgency of the issues, as with the bands of color embedded within the fawn’s legs and hunks of wood in “Phantom Limb(s).” Bold, vibrant stripes illustrate the animals’ interpretations of deforestation and the potential for synesthesia, a condition allowing sounds to manifest visually. “The growth rings travel on as a sort of sonar after the tree is cut, and the animals see and hear the ripple effect as the loss is felt throughout the forest,” Williams says.
      Similarly in the tusk-framed piece titled “Adrift,” distinct blocks of color encircle the drifting mass and bottom half of the narwhals’ bodies, showing the enduring effects of environmental disasters “similar to how the bands of sediment are left in homes after floodwaters recede,” he writes. “The bands are in the colors of black (oil spills), red (wildfires), green (irradiated waters from reactor spills), and even gold from luxury billionaire yachts running aground.”
      Williams is currently working on six large-scale sculptures for the Atlanta International Airport, and you can follow his progress on Instagram.

      Detail of “Adrift”
      Detail of “Phantom Limb(s)”
      Detail of “Phantom Limb(s)”
      “Adrift”
      Detail of “Adrift”
      Detail of “Adrift”
      “Phantom Limb(s)”

      #animals
      #climate change
      #crayons
      #sculptures

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      Lifelike Sculptures by Diana Beltrán Herrera Recreate Flora and Fauna in Intricately Cut Paper

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      Art
      Design
      Food
      Illustration

      #animals
      #birds
      #flowers
      #fruit
      #paper
      #plants
      #sculpture

      August 12, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Diana Beltrán Herrera, shared with permission
      Colombian artist Diana Beltrán Herrera (previously) adds to her growing collection of intricate paper sculptures with new plant and animal life. From her studio in Bristol, the artist and designer recreates lifelike reproductions of turacos, monarchs, and various species with nearly perfect precision. Innumerable fringed strips become feathers, faint scores mimic delicate creases in petals, and layers of bright paper form brilliantly colored plumes, creating a colorful and diverse ecosystem of wildlife from around the world.
      Prints, jigsaw puzzles, and cards are available in Beltrán Herrera’s shop, and you can see more of her recent commissions and personal projects on Behance and Instagram.

      #animals
      #birds
      #flowers
      #fruit
      #paper
      #plants
      #sculpture

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      Precise Replicas Cast Wildlife and Plants as Delightfully Tiny Sculptures

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      Art
      Craft

      #animals
      #birds
      #clay
      #miniature
      #sculptures

      July 14, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Fanni Sandor, shared with permission
      Fanni Sandor (previously) melds her background in biology with a decades-long enthusiasm for miniatures by creating an adorable menagerie of minuscule wildlife. Based in Hungary, she sculpts 1:12 scale models of leaping squirrels and multicolor tree frogs from clay and soft fibers and more recently has ventured into larger ecosystems populated by speckled mushrooms, ferns, and the tiniest tulips. Sandor’s biologically accurate models are sold out on Etsy right now, but keep an eye on shop updates by following her on Instagram.

      #animals
      #birds
      #clay
      #miniature
      #sculptures

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    • 175 Shares199 Views

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      Found Silverware and Scrap Metal Are Welded into Lively Sculptural Creatures by Matt Wilson

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      Art

      #animals
      #birds
      #found objects
      #metal
      #sculpture

      July 2, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Matt Wilson
      Wide spoons become muscular hind legs, pointed handles fan out into wings, and fork prongs curl around a branch like talons in Matt Wilson’s wildlife assemblages. Using found flatware and other metal objects, the Charleston-based artist (previously) welds sculptural renditions of birds, insects, and other small animals that appear lifelike and primed for movementt. He mounts the metallic sculptures on pieces of driftwood or smooth plaques—many of which are handcrafted by his friend Jacob Kent—that contrast the shining metal with the natural, grainy material.
      Wilson has spent the last few years broadening his practice and working on multiple birds simultaneously, allowing for more cohesive, well-rounded flocks. His next collection launches at 9 a.m. EST on July 9 in his shop, and his works sell quickly so keep an eye on Instagram for early looks at the 100 creatures set for release.

      #animals
      #birds
      #found objects
      #metal
      #sculpture

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    • 175 Shares109 Views

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      Whimsical Illustrations and Motifs Dyed with a Traditional Wax-Resist Method Cover Caroline Södergren’s Eggshells

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      Art
      Craft
      Illustration

      #animals
      #eggs
      #insects
      #wax

      June 22, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Caroline Södergren, shared with permission
      Formally trained in glassblowing, Stockholm-based artist Caroline Södergren transfers her experience working with a delicate, fragile material to an ornately illustrated collection of eggshells. She adapts the traditional Ukrainian craft called pysanky, a wax-resist method that involves drawing a design on a clean, empty chicken, turkey, goose, or ostrich egg with hot beeswax. The shell is then dipped in multiple baths of dye and the seal washed away with oil to reveal the colorful, layered design—you can watch the entire process in the video below.
      The technique often is combined with folk art, although Södergren illustrates her own botanical motifs, beetles, and mythical creatures that stray from traditional designs. “You have to think before you start a pattern as the different color layers must come in the right order,” she says. “If you make a mistake with the wax, it is not possible to change, and a written line is where it is. A constant challenge that makes it so fun to work with!”
      Konsthantverkets Vänner, an organization dedicated to supporting Swedish arts and crafts, just awarded Södergren a scholarship for her batik designs. Browse available eggs in her shop, and find a larger collection on Instagram. (via Lustik)

      

      #animals
      #eggs
      #insects
      #wax

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    • 163 Shares169 Views

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      Flora and Fauna Converge as Fantastic Hybrid Creatures in Jon Ching’s Oil Paintings

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      Art

      #animals
      #nature
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #plants

      June 7, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Mother Mycelium.” All images © Jon Ching, shared with permission
      Artist Jon Ching strikes a balance between texture and color in his meticulously detailed oil paintings that make fantastic creatures—owls with plumes of mushrooms and fuzzy molds, seahorses sprouting leafy twigs, and fish with striped tulip fins—appear natural in their environments. This vague distinction between the realistic and surreal saturates Ching’s body of work, which imagines a magical ecosystem that visualizes the symbiotic relationships between flora and fauna. “I am inspired by the worldview of many Indigenous cultures that revere the natural world and see god in every aspect of our living world,” he tells Colossal. “I believe that perspective is key to their sustainable societies and one that must be reawakened in our colonized societies.”
      While he dreams up the hybrid forms, the Los Angeles-based artist still roots each piece in the existing world. He has a keen sense for finding the enchanting and unusual in his own experiences, whether from watching David Attenborough documentaries or spending his childhood in Kaneohe, Hawaii. “My more surreal creatures, where the line between flora and fauna are blurred, is in part my attempt at depicting some of this unseen magic,” he writes. “By placing them in a realistic setting among species we’re familiar with, I’m envisioning them into the real world. Maybe if we look close enough or long enough, we’ll catch a glimpse of them and my work won’t seem surreal anymore.”
      You can see Ching’s paintings at Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles starting August 14 and find prints, stickers, and postcards in his shop. Check out his Instagram for glimpses into his process and the real-life animals and plants that shape his works. (via Iain Claridge)

      “Sheila Ann”
      “Razzle Dazzle”
      “Sprite”
      “Aquaria”
      “Homestead”
      “Nectar”
      “Chasing Summer”
      “Puhpowee”

      #animals
      #nature
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #plants

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      More Than 750 Creatures Inhabit an Extraordinarily Eclectic Menagerie as Part of ‘The Glass Ark’

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      Art

      #animals
      #birds
      #glass
      #sculpture

      June 4, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images courtesy of Le Stanze Del Vetro
      Land and sea creatures alike overrun a new exhibition at Le Stanze Del Vetro in Venice. Titled The Glass Ark, the eclectic bestiary—among the more than 750 animals on view are elephants, hippos, cats, giraffes, polar bears, parrots, and poodles adorned with bows—is the expansive collection of art historian and former Louvre president Pierre Rosenberg.
      For thirty years, Rosenberg gathered the lustrous sculptures during regular trips to Venice, a region with a long history of innovative techniques and a hub for glassblowing since the 13th Century. Charming and playfully expressive, the Murano glass pieces diverge from similar collections produced in other media. “They never display fierce poses, which are typical of more traditional animalier sculptures,” a statement says, “and above all, they are never conceived as a toy.” 
      In addition to Rosenberg’s collection, The Glass Ark also features pieces from artists working today, including Cristiano Bianchin, Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda, Franck Ehrler, Massimo Nordio, Isabelle Poilprez, Maria Grazia Rosin, and Giorgio Vigna. It runs both in-person and virtually through August 1. (via designboom)

      #animals
      #birds
      #glass
      #sculpture

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      An Expansive Exhibition Pairs Two Indigenous Artists to Explore the Power of Socially Engaged Artmaking

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      Art

      #animals
      #collaborative
      #found objects
      #installation
      #portraits
      #sculpture

      May 21, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Each/Other,” (2021) about 700 bandannas, approximately 16 x 9 feet, a collaboration between Marie Watt and Cannupa Hanska Luger
      A monumental patchwork wolf, warriors sparring with a fang-bearing snake, and an abstract woolen tapestry made of restored blankets comprise Each/Other: Marie Watt and Cannupa Hanska Luger, which opens this weekend at the Denver Art Museum. The expansive exhibition—featuring 26 mixed-media sculptures, installations, and wall hangings—joins two of the leading Indigenous artists working today in a manner that distinguishes both the connective threads and nuances within their bodies of work.
      Situated at the center of the space is the 16-foot creature the pair created together by fashioning about 700 patterned bandannas submitted by an international crew around a steel armature. The collaborative installation, titled “Each/Other,” physically tethers Watt’s and Luger’s individual artworks while drawing on the socially engaged aspects inherent to both of their practices.

      Cannupa Hanska Luger, “Every One” (2018), ceramic, social collaboration, 12 x 15 x 3 feet. Image courtesy of Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery of Contemporary Art at Ent Center for the Arts, UCCS, Colorado Springs, Colorado
      Based in New Mexico, Luger is a multi-media artist of Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota, and European descent whose projects often speak to contemporary life within Indigenous communities. For example, his 2018 piece “Every One” strings together 4,096 ceramic beads into a pixelated portrait of a young figure. Each individual orb represents one of the women, girls, and queer and trans folks who have been murdered or gone missing in Canada.
      Watt, who is a member of the Seneca Nation and has Scottish and German heritage, utilizes everyday objects steeped in historical narratives and collective memory. Whether presented through leaning, stacked towers or smaller wall hangings, the Portland-based artist primarily works with materials gathered from the community, like blankets stitched in sewing circles.
      Following the end of its run in Denver on August 22, Each/Other will visit the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta from September 25 to December 12, 2021, and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem from January 29 to May 8, 2022. Find out more about Luger and Watt on their sites.

      Marie Watt (Seneca), “Butterfly” (2015), reclaimed wool blankets, satin binding, thread, cotton twill tape, and tin jingles, 94 x 126 inches. Image © Marie Watt
      Cannupa Hanska Luger, “This Is Not A Snake” (2017-2020), ceramic, fiber, steel, oil drums, concertina wire, ammunition cans, trash, found objects, 78 x 36 x 600 inches. “The One Who Checks & The One Who Balances” (2018), ceramic, riot gear, afghan, wool surplus industrial felt, beadwork by Kathy Elkwoman Whitman; 6-1/2 feet x 12 inches x 8 inches (each, approximate). Image © Cannupa Hanska Luger, courtesy of the Heard Museum, Craig Smith
      Marie Watt “Companion Species (Radiant)” (2017), crystal and western maple base, 8 x 27 x 16 inches. Image © Marie Watt and Kevin McConnell. Made in collaboration with Jeff Mack, Glassblower, and Corning Museum of Glass Hot Glass Team in Partnership with the Rockwell Museum, Corning, New York
      Cannupa Hanska Luger “Mirror Shield Project” (2016), drone operation/performance organization by Rory Wakemup., at Oceti Sakowin camp, Standing Rock, North Dakota

      #animals
      #collaborative
      #found objects
      #installation
      #portraits
      #sculpture

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