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      Okuda San Miguel Transforms a Stark Lighthouse in Spain into a Technicolor Beacon

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      Art

      #lighthouse
      #murals
      #public art

      September 11, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Infinite Cantabria” (2020, Spain. All images © Okuda San Miguel, by Beatriz Carretero and Omar H. Garcia, shared with permission
      Situated along the coast in Cantabria, the Faro de Ajo has been transformed from a barren facade into a vivid display of more than 70 hues. The undertaking of artist Okuda San Miguel (previously), the 16-meter tower features a striped bird, wild animals rendered in bold blocks of color, and various dots and squiggles. Now bearing the name “Infinite Cantabria,” it is the first intervention on a Spanish lighthouse. “It has been a unique experience, both because of the artistic challenge that it has brought about for me, as well having carried this project out in my homeland,” says the artist, who is from the region in northern Spain.
      Follow Okuda San Miguel on Instagram to check out more of his global projects, and pick up a face mask, puzzle, or print for a smaller dose of his technicolor interventions. (via TimeOut)

      

      #lighthouse
      #murals
      #public art

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      Outfitted with Knights’ Helmets, Children Painted by Seth Globepainter Play in the Streets of Paris

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      Art

      #COVID-19
      #helmets
      #kids
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

      September 10, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Seth Globepainter, shared with permission
      French artist Julien Malland, who works as Seth Globepainter (previously), is responding to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis with a new series of murals that capture the innocence of childhood. Painted throughout the thirteenth district of Paris, the public artworks feature kids in the midst of an imaginary adventure or playful activity: one rides an oversized pigeon, another blows multicolored bubbles, and a pair appears to float above the ground to embrace.
      Each of the figures is sporting a metal knight’s helmet, a sign of protection for their physical wellbeing, in addition to a show of strength and resilience. In a note to Colossal, Globepainter says the headwear also refers to French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech in March in which he said, “We are at war,” as he closed the country’s borders and ordered residents to stay home. The murals represent the way Parisians have accepted this new way of living and are about “how children, in particular, seem to have adapted easily to it,” the artist says. “They are protected by their helmets which weigh so heavily on them. They can only see through small openings in the metal, but they continue to play as if nothing had happened.”
      To see more Globepainter’s public artworks that consider the world through the lens of childhood, follow him on Instagram.

      #COVID-19
      #helmets
      #kids
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

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

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

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      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

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

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      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

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

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

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      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