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

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      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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      Layered Botanics Comprise Artist Vanessa Hogge’s Delicate Porcelain Assemblages

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      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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      A Prismatic Installation with Giant, Abstract Forms Sweeps Across a Berlin Museum

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      Art

      #abstract
      #installation
      #painting

      September 1, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “It Wasn’t Us“ (2020), Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart. All images © Katharina Grosse, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 202o. Photos by Jens Ziehe
      Katharina Grosse’s latest installation transcends the boundaries of the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart as it erupts into a sprawling kaleidoscope. From varicolored surges inside to the vast paintings on the ground and nearby outdoor walls, “It Wasn’t Us” is an expansive artwork on the site of a former railway building. As visitors walk throughout the work, the abstract forms swell in various directions, creating a new visual at each angle. “I painted my way out of the building,” Grosse (previously) said about the site-specific project.
      “It Wasn’t Us” will be on view at the Berlin museum until October 1, 2021, and if you can’t experience it in person, watch the immersive video and interview with the artist below. To dive further into Grosse’s work, purchase a copy of her forthcoming monograph or check out her Instagram. (via designboom)

      

      #abstract
      #installation
      #painting

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      Fringed Paper Networks Peek Out From Vintage Encyclopedias, Textbooks, and Classics by Artist Barbara Wildenboer

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      Art

      #books
      #paper
      #sculpture

      August 31, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Kennis.” All images © Barbara Wildenboer, shared with permission
      From the covers of René Descartes’s Cogito Ergo Sum and Homer’s The Odyssey emerge vast webs of spliced pages. Artist Barbara Wildenboer (previously) overlaps countless strands of paper as part of her ongoing Library of the Infinitesimally Small and Unimaginably Large series. The new sculptures similarly feature masses of fringed pages, with the hand-cut forms lining the edges of the opened texts and peeking through the hollowed covers. Each spine is left intact.
      Wildenboer tells Colossal she’s been preparing for SUPER/NATURAL, a solo exhibition in November at Everard Read, that considers the relationship between science and the supernatural and has influenced her recent choices in books. Alongside photographic collages, the text-based sculptures “function as narrative clues, intertexts, or ‘subtitles,’” she says.
      A lot of the new book works deal with subject matter that relate to my understanding of the nature of invisible or quantum reality—a reality that we cannot see with our physical eyes. Where nature is the visible realm, supernature also operates on ‘natural’ laws, although we can’t always see them, i.e. for example, magnetism, gravity, and electricity, the celestial orbits, and star cycles. But it’s all levels of ‘nature.’
      Since Cape Town, where Wildenboer is based, was locked down due to COVID-19, she’s been altering the vintage copies she’s had stored. The result is sculptural series fashioned from the pages of Camera Obscura, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Inventions, and the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Compared to the massive encyclopedias and atlases she often utilizes, the smaller works appear almost miniature.
      To keep up with Wildenboer’s sprawling artworks, head to Instagram.

      “Cogito Ergo Sum”
      “Classical Atlas”
      “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
      Left: “Tales of Mystery and Imagination.” Right: “Illustrated Pocket Medical Dictionary”
      “Aristotle’s Politics and Athenian Constitution”
      Left: “Astronomy.” Right: “Homer’s Odyssey”
      “The Garden of Lies”
      “World Atlas”

      #books
      #paper
      #sculpture

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      Banksy Finances ‘Louise Michel’ Lifeboat to Rescue Refugees From the Mediterranean

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      Amazing
      Art

      #Banksy
      #boats
      #migration
      #refugees

      August 31, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Louise Michel, shared with permission
      Banksy’s latest artwork can be spotted on a vessel rescuing refugees from north Africa, who are attempting to cross the Mediterranean to find safety in Europe. The anonymous British artist, whose work we’ve talked about extensively, used the proceeds from the sale of an artwork to purchase a former French Navy boat, which is named after anarchist Louise Michel. With a fire extinguisher, Banksy sprayed the exterior with pink paint and adorned it with a version of the iconic “Girl with Balloon.” This iteration outfits the child with a lifevest and swaps the red heart with a pink flotation device.
      The project was conceived of in September 2019 when Banksy contacted Pia Klemp, who led several missions with NGO boats to rescue refugees. “Hello Pia, I’ve read about your story in the papers. You sound like a badass. I am an artist from the UK and I’ve made some work about the migrant crisis, obviously I can’t keep the money. Could you use it to buy a new boat or something? Please let me know. Well done. Banksy,” the artist wrote, according to The Guardian.
      Now, Klemp and a professional rescue team helm the 31-meter lifeboat, which already has brought aboard hundreds of refugees. Capable of at least 27 knots, the boat is faster than most ships, allowing it to reach people faster and “hopefully outrun the so-called Libyan coastguard,” Klemp says. The project’s mission is explained on its site:
      It might seem incredible there is need for a homemade emergency vehicle in one of Europe’s busiest waterways, but there is. The migrant crisis means that European states are instructing their Coastguard not to answer distress calls from ‘non-Europeans’ leaving desperate people to drift helplessly at sea. To make matters worse authorities prevent other boats from providing assistance, arresting crews and impounding boats that do.
      This past weekend, the Italian Coast Guard responded to distress calls from the vessel after it became overloaded with passengers, at one point carrying 219 refugees and 10 crew members on the main ship, with 33 people still in rafts floating alongside. The agency evacuated 49 migrants along with the boat Sea-Watch 4, which brought aboard another 150.
      To help aid the efforts, you can make a donation, and follow the crew in a live feed on Twitter.

      #Banksy
      #boats
      #migration
      #refugees

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      Step Inside Petrit Halilaj’s Monumental Nest of Oversized Flowers Within Reina Sofia’s Palacio de Cristal

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      Art

      #birds
      #flowers
      #installation
      #love

      August 28, 2020
      Christopher Jobson

      “To a raven and hurricanes that from unknown places bring back smells of humans in love,” 2020. Exhibition view at Palacio de Cristal. All photos courtesy Petrit Halilaj and © Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Photo by ImagenSubliminal (Miguel de Guzmán and Rocío Romero). Shared with permisison.
      Bowerbirds are renowned for one of the most unusual courtship behaviors in the animal kingdom, where males build elaborately decorated nests—called bowers—in an attempt to court a mate. Kosovar visual artist Petrit Halilaj drew inspiration from this unique ritual for his first solo exhibition at Reina Sofia’s Palacio de Cristal (previously) in Madrid. Titled “To a raven and the hurricanes which bring back smells of humans in love from unknown places,” the installation serves as a metaphorical nest that connects the inside and outside spaces of the palace and features several avian elements like trays of birdseed and a giant pair of bird’s feet that descend from above.
      The collection of artworks is actually a collaborative effort between Halijaj and his life partner artist Álvaro Urbano, who helped construct the oversized forsythia, palm seeds, cherry blossom, poppy, carnation, and lily that fill the space. “I wanted to conceive Palacio de Cristal as a place for the celebration of love,” Halijaj shares. From the museum’s release:

      There is something strange and disproportionate about the size of this nest, the gigantic scale of its flowers, and the comfort and centrality it offers the birds. The artist thus suspends the logo-centric perspective that makes us believe we are the center and measure of all things, encouraging us to recognize ourselves as just one more element among many. The nest is thus revealed as the setting for a ritual that lies in wait for encounters, alliances and unions among its different visitors, altering and changing with the space.

      “To a raven…” is open now through February 28, 2021 at the Palacio de Cristal, and you can see more views on Yellowtrace.

      #birds
      #flowers
      #installation
      #love

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      Welded Stainless Steel Creatures by Georgie Seccull Twist and Unfurl in Eternal Motion

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      Art

      #animals
      #metal
      #metalwork
      #sculpture
      #steel
      #welding

      August 27, 2020
      Christopher Jobson

      Zenith & Nadir, 2020. All images by Andrew J Bourke, © Georgie Seccull, shared with permission.
      Australian sculptor and installation artist Georgie Seccull creates large-scale stainless steel sculptures of animals and other creatures seemingly locked in motion. Comprised of numerous pieces cut from metal sheets, the materials lend themselves to organic forms like feathers, scales, wings, or the armaments of crustaceans. Seccull’s work scales up dramatically in her installation practice where she’s filled entire rooms and atriums with suspended pieces.
      “We are born out of chaos in darkness and come into the light—my process is much the same: I begin with a thousand pieces scattered on the ground, then working almost like a jigsaw puzzle, I pick them up one by one and allow each piece to come together organically and dictate the outcome,” the artist shares in a statement.
      One of Seccull’s most recent sculptures has been nominated for a Beautiful Bizarre People’s Choice art prize, and she has an upcoming solo show at the Gasworks Art Park near Melbourne. You can see more of her work on Instagram.

      The Beyond
      Cancer Rising
      Dancing in the Dark
      The Gatekeepers, detail
      Through the Dark
      Resistance, 2019
      Return to the Source
      Artist Georgie Seccull in her studio.

      #animals
      #metal
      #metalwork
      #sculpture
      #steel
      #welding

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      Vivid Botanics and Butterflies Encircle Photographer Fares Micue in Striking Self-Portraits

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      Art
      Photography

      #butterflies
      #flowers
      #portraits
      #self-portrait

      August 26, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Memories of a rainy day.” All images © Fares Micue, shared with permission
      Surrounded by monarchs or a blanket of blue leaves, Fares Micue (previously) captures vividly composed self-portraits. The Spain-based photographer conceals her face and instead focuses on the organic elements surrounding her torso. Whether a series of origami birds or yellow and red twigs resembling flames, the natural additions merge seamlessly with Micue, who bends and contorts her figure to follow the shapely forms of the arranged objects.
      In a note to Colossal, the photographer said she’s been more inclined to create since the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, considering her work an invitation into self-reflection. “I am a firm believer that how we think and feel about life is how we will perceive reality. We must train our brain to always search for the bright side and find hope among the desolation,” she says. While people may not have control over global crises, they are not without agency. “I want them to feel powerful and (acknowledge) the power they have over their life experience and how to use that experience to grow and learn,” she writes.
      Find more of the Micue’s nature-infused photographs on Instagram, and pick up limited edition prints on Saatchi Art.

      “The power of becoming”
      “Imaginary prison”
      “Growing wiser”
      “Fly me away”
      “Defensive III”

      #butterflies
      #flowers
      #portraits
      #self-portrait

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