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      ‘Medicinal Flowers of Lebanon’ by Faith XLVII Sprout from the Damaged Streets of Beirut

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      Art

      #flowers
      #Lebanon
      #medicine
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

      October 7, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Rosa Canina. All images © Faith XLVII, shared with permission
      Rosehips, horned poppies, and an African carline thistle grow from the debris and ruined buildings in Beirut following a mural series by Faith XLVII. The South African artist (previously) traveled to the Lebanese city this September as part of Underline—the ongoing project is helmed by the art collective Persona in collaboration with the Hamra-based NGO Art of Change, which is focused on using public works for protest and to spark change—to paint a collection of curative flowers that appear to sprout from the rubble.
      Contrasting their dainty forms to the rugged landscape, the metaphorical works in Medicinal Flowers of Lebanon lead “us along the brittle sites of Beirut, tracing past and present scars etched into the city,” the artist says. “Each flower urges us in a sense, towards healing as they grow out of the concrete.” The chosen botanics are remedies for common ailments, like using chicory to treat gallstones or slathering clematis paste on skin infections, and they rely on the strength of their natural properties to cure wounds that are both visible and not.

      Carlina Involucrata
      Faith’s visit to Beirut came amidst a period of crisis following the devastating port explosion on August 4, 2020, that left the country without a fully operative government for 13 months and accelerated its economic collapse. “The people of Lebanon have had many dire challenges over the decades, and the expectation for them to be resilient is exhausting,” the artist says, explaining further:
      Even in a time with four hours of electricity a day and waiting for hours for petrol that might run out before you make it to the front of the line, where your life savings are suddenly worth nothing, even in this time, there are still some rays of hope. There are many people and organizations working to improve the conditions of others. So when we are abused abandoned by the custodians of justice and governance, it is the people themselves who pick up the debris and assist each other in healing. That is what the series Medicinal Flowers of Lebanon speaks to.
      Persona and Art of Change are bringing several artists to Beirut for Underline, and you can follow those projects, along with Faith’s outdoor works, on Instagram.

      Cichorium intybus
      Clematis flammula
      Glaucium flavum
      Asphodelus microcarpus

      Clematis flammula
      The artist working on Clematis flammula

      #flowers
      #Lebanon
      #medicine
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

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      Wilting Flowers Elegantly Sculpted in Glass by Lilla Tabasso Are Suspended in States of Decay

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      Art

      #flowers
      #glass
      #sculpture

      September 16, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images by Roberto Marossi, courtesy of Caterina Tognon Vetro Contemporaneo
      Artist Lilla Tabasso (previously) traps bouquets and tufts of grass at their most precarious stages of life. From her studio in Milan, she creates delicate glass sculptures of wilting flowers and rough clusters of sod that have just breached their prime, capturing how they elegantly bow and collapse as they decay. “The focus is on the way in which they burst with life and vigor at first bloom until eventually the passage of time inevitably takes its toll,” the artist says.
      Although Tabasso’s background is in biology, she doesn’t draw preliminary sketches and strays from sculpting faithful depictions, preferring instead to reinterpret a lily, peony, or hydrangea as her process unfolds. “More so than the shape or form, it is the choice of color, together with a warm and natural shade, which is a priority, (that) gives the flower its transparent melancholy, a permanent condition of every creation,” she says. Her recent works revolve around the idea of ataraxia, or equanimity, which manifests in the contrasts between the durable, resilient lifeforms and their inherent ephemerality.
      In November, Tabasso will open a solo exhibition at Galerie Coatalem in Paris and is preparing her work for shows at Musverre and The European Fine Art Fair in 2022. Find glimpses into her process on Instagram.

      #flowers
      #glass
      #sculpture

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

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      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

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

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      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

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      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

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      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

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      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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