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    Innumerable Metal Leaves and Flowers Cloak Intricately Sculpted Animals by Taiichiro Yoshida

    
    Art

    #animals
    #butterflies
    #flowers
    #metal
    #sculpture

    September 3, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “The Dog in the Night Fog”
    Japanese artist Taiichiro Yoshida (previously) continues his surveys into the possibilities of metalsmithing with a new series of elaborately layered sculptures. Spending between two and six months on each work, Yoshida meticulously molds copper, bronze, silver, and other materials by hand, creating countless metallic pieces with intricately impressed textures and edgings. Once wrapped around an armature of a dog, chick, or stuffed teddy bear, the fragile components ripple across the form, or as is the case with “The Dog in the Night Fog,” they appear as dozens of butterflies poised for flight. Explore a larger collection of Yoshida’s wrought sculptures on his site.

    “Shell.” All images © Taiichiro Yoshida, shared with permission
    Detail of “The Dog in the Night Fog”
    “Red chick no. 6”
    “Vessel”
    “Calico”
    “Doppel”
    “Mottled rabbit”

    #animals
    #butterflies
    #flowers
    #metal
    #sculpture

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

    
    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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    A Monumental 20-Story Wildflower Blooms Above Jersey City in a New Mural by Artist Mona Caron

    
    Art

    #flowers
    #mural
    #public art
    #street art

    August 11, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Mona Caron, shared with permission
    A single Joe Pye weed with barbed leaves and a blossoming head looms over Jersey City in a staggering new mural by Mona Caron. Set against a black backdrop, the hardy botanical—which is actually a wildflower from the eutrochium genus that’s native to the region—is the latest from the San Francisco-based artist, who’s known for her multi-story murals of plants and weeds that soar above city skylines. Commissioned as part of the Jersey City Mural Arts Program, the exquisitely rendered flower is a celebration of resilience as it “rises with the sun, facing off the skyline across the Hudson,” Caron writes on Instagram. “A vision of nature winning, of plants being the ones towering over us for a change, putting us back in our place. May we learn. May they come back.”

    #flowers
    #mural
    #public art
    #street art

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    Thousands of Fresh and Artificial Flowers Overrun an Abandoned Convenience Store in a Small Michigan Town

    
    Art

    #consumerism
    #flowers
    #installation
    #site-specific
    #stores

    July 30, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images by Christian Gerard, courtesy of Lisa Waud, shared with permission
    Port Austin, Michigan, is a picturesque village on the Lake Huron shoreline lauded for its beaches, water sports, and vegetable-shaped rock formations. With a population in the hundreds, the small community relies heavily on tourism to fund its economy, a reality Detroit-based botanical artist Lisa Waud contended with in a recent pop-up installation in one of the town’s abandoned convenience stores.
    Titled “Party Store”—this colloquialism refers to a small shop selling snacks, alcohol, lottery tickets, and other cheap staples—the immersive project transforms a dilapidated space into a lush garden of fresh-cut flowers grown in Michigan and artificial replicas sourced from resale shops around the state. A water-damaged drop ceiling, stained carpeting, and wood paneling peek through the colorful botanicals, which envelop a commercial coffee machine, crawl across shelving, and bulge out of dimly lit coolers.

    Similar to her other site-specific works like her 2015 transformation of a condemned duplex in Detroit, Waud describes “Party Store” as a “cleansing reset,” one that uses the tension between life and decay as a prompt to consider cultural understandings of permanence and disposability. She references pieces like Robin Frohardt’s grocery store stocked with plastic food and Prada Marfa as influences, two large-scale projects that criticize consumerism through their satirical imitations of common and luxury goods. “In spending time in Port Austin, I recognized a similarity between its tourism culture and that of my hometown of Petoskey,” Waud writes in a statement. “The local economy relies on the tourists, but often the folks who come can have a ‘disposable’ quality to their visit, exemplified in the increase of consuming convenient items—often packaged in single-use plastic.”
    “Party Store” was dismantled after its July 16-18 run, when many of the materials were recycled or reused. “By installing flowers that will ultimately be composted into a space that historically sells items that cannot be biodegraded, I hoped to bridge a connection for responsible choice-making in its visitors’ future,” the artist says.
    To keep up with Waud’s floral transformations, head to her site and follow her on Instagram.

    #consumerism
    #flowers
    #installation
    #site-specific
    #stores

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    Silky Flowers Spring from CJ Hendry’s Enormous Hyperrealistic Drawings in Colored Pencil

    
    Art
    Illustration

    #colored pencil
    #drawing
    #flowers
    #hyperrealism

    July 26, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Red Poppy,” 45 x 45 inches. All images © CJ Hendry, shared with permission
    Previously drawing giant strokes of oil paint and fruits, fish, and other edibles with remarkable depth and detail, Australian artist CJ Hendry shifts her focus to the soft, silky petals of peonies, roses, and tulips. She uses colored pencils to render individual florals and small bunches at an immense scale, magnifying their thin layers and sticky inner organs. The hyperrealistic drawings enhance the dimension and delicacy of each flower as they appear to blossom from the paper with exquisite detail.
    Hendry lives in Brooklyn and is working on similar botanical pieces for an upcoming exhibition in a dilapidated church in Mile End. Until that London show, follow her works and keep an eye out for limited-edition releases on her Instagram.

    “Peony Peeping,” 65 x 65 inches
    Detail of “Red Poppy,” 45 x 45 inches
    “Pink Fluffy Peony,” 45 x 45 inches
    Detail of “Pink Fluffy Peony,” 45 x 45 inches
    Detail of “Light Peach Rose,” 41 x 41 inches
    “Light Peach Rose,” 41 x 41 inches
    “White Peeping Peony,” 45 x 45 inches
    Detail of “White Poking Peony,” 41 x 41 inches

    #colored pencil
    #drawing
    #flowers
    #hyperrealism

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    Vivid Botanicals Bloom from the Coats of Charismatic Cats in Watercolor Works by Hiroki Takeda

    
    Art

    #cats
    #flowers
    #watercolor

    July 21, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Hiroki Takeda, shared with permission
    Japan-based artist Hiroki Takeda adds a dose of whimsy to his otherwise faithful portrayals of friendly felines. Largely rendered in shades of pink and purple with intermittent splashes of blues and greens, Takeda’s watercolor works blend flora and fauna into affectionate cats and kittens caught lounging around or mid-snooze. Vines and grasses add fur-like texture and outline the creatures’ figures, which the artist then completes with sprawling gardens brimming with leaves, blossoms, and butterflies.
    Takeda tells Colossal that his vivid works are derived from a combination of influences, including his mother’s enthusiasm for plants and his background in caricature, and are the result of experimenting with myriad styles throughout his university studies. “One day, I had a moment in my mind when I saw a painting of an animal and its fur looked like a plant,” he says. “The idea of combining watercolor with plants and animals felt very natural to me.”
    If you’re in Osaka, stop by Shinsaibashi Gajin Gallery to see the artist’s floral animals between July 24 to August 12. Otherwise, pick up a print, and follow his work on Instagram. (via Design You Trust)

    #cats
    #flowers
    #watercolor

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    A Flower Patch of Recycled Denim Grows from the Ceiling in Ian Berry’s ‘Secret Garden’

    
    Art

    #denim
    #fashion
    #flowers
    #installation
    #textiles

    July 14, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Secret Garden” (2021), at Museum Rijswijk. Photo by Marcus van Ee. All images © Ian Berry, shared with permission
    Whimsical tendrils of vines, foliage, wisteria, and chrysanthemums sprout from artist Ian Berry’s wild, overgrown garden plots. Densely assembled and often suspended from the ceiling, his recurring “Secret Garden” is comprised of blooms and leafy plants created entirely from recycled denim, producing immersive spaces teeming with indigo botanicals in various washes and fades.
    Since its debut at the New York Children’s Museum of the Arts, Berry’s site-specific installation has undergone a few iterations. “The first one was made with children in mind… hence the more magical secret garden angle,” he says, “just wanting to (ensure they think about) where the material comes from, see what they can make, and seek out outdoor places within a city.” It’s since traveled to London, Barcelona, The Netherlands, France, Kentucky, and the San Francisco Flower Mart, where it’s permanently installed as a trellis lining the space’s windows.

    “Secret Garden,” New York Children’s Museum of the Arts. Photo by Lucinda Grange
    The initial installation sourced damaged bolts from Cone Denim, specifically its now-shuttered White Oak Mill in North Carolina, which is known for its dedication to transparent cotton sourcing and commitment to using less water. Although much of Berry’s works recycle discarded jeans, jackets, and materials that are unusable for garments and employ environmentally conscious companies like Tonello to wash and laser the vines, sustainability is an ancillary element of his practice.
    Instead, the East London-based artist focuses on generating a broader conversation about the ways communities change over time and a hope that people will find magic where it’s not necessarily expected.  “The piece was born out of the idea that in New York, many children would grow up without a garden, and as much of my work is about the community in urban environments,” he shares. “I wanted afterwards for the parents and children to go and seek them out—and they did.”
    “Secret Garden” is on view as part of Berry’s solo show Splendid Isolation, which is up through August 15 at Museum Rijswijk in the Hague, The Netherlands. In October, his work is headed to the Textil Museet in Sweden, where it’ll be until May 2022. Explore a larger collection of his textile-based floral pieces on his site and Instagram.

    “Secret Garden,” New York Children’s Museum of the Arts. Photo by Will Ellis
    “Secret Garden” (2021), at Museum Rijswijk. Photo by Marcus van Ee
    “Secret Garden,” New York Children’s Museum of the Arts. Photo by Lucinda Grange
    “Secret Garden,” New York Children’s Museum of the Arts. Photo by Will Ellis
    “Secret Garden,” New York Children’s Museum of the Arts. Photo by Lucinda Grange

    #denim
    #fashion
    #flowers
    #installation
    #textiles

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    A Dreamy Fiber Installation by Vanessa Barragão Transforms a Medieval Bridge into a Patch of Oversized Orchids

    
    Art
    Craft

    #fiber art
    #flowers
    #installation
    #public art
    #video

    July 6, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Vanessa Barragão, shared with permission
    In the small town of Paderne, Portugal, a whimsical valance of crocheted leaves, dangling tendrils, and petals dyed with subtle gradients encircles the stone archways of a battered medieval bridge. Titled “Algarvensis,” the dreamy installation is by Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragão, who’s known for her large-scale textured tapestries that recreate landscapes and gardens with tufted fibers. The bowed entanglement recreates oversized orchids native to the region with wool from nearby sheep and recycled yarn, resin, and other materials in a celebration of the local environment where the artist spent much of her childhood.
    “Algarvensis,” which the municipality of Albufeira commissioned to help elevate the Geoparque Algarvensis to the status of a Worldwide UNESCO Geoparque, will be up until September 12, and you can the process and installation behind the piece on Barragão’s Instagram.

    

    #fiber art
    #flowers
    #installation
    #public art
    #video

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