More stories

  • in

    AnonyMouse Wedges Miniature Shops and Restaurants Built For Mice into Busy City Streets

    
    Art

    #humor
    #installation
    #mice
    #miniature
    #public art
    #stores
    #street art

    August 14, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © AnonyMouse, shared with permission
    In cities across Sweden, France, and the Isle of Man lies a parallel universe fit only for a mouse. Miniature restaurants, record shops, and apothecaries squeeze into ground-level windows on the street next to their human-sized equivalents. The adorable universe is a project from a collective aptly named AnonyMouse, which started crafting the charming scenes in the spring of 2016.
    Suggesting that the mice have a symbiotic relationship with the pedestrians on the street, the team repurposes items people throw away, turning a champagne topper into a stool or a matchbox into a table. Twenty-five installments currently exist across Europe, which largely are inspired by Astrid Lindgren’s and Beatrix Potter’s whimsical tales and movies from Don Bluth and Disney. “We thought it would bring a bit of joy to pedestrians passing by, but it grew into something slightly bigger, and as such we’ve probably dedicated more time on each project than we originally envisioned. But that’s just part of the fun,” they say. The team crafts each scene with incredible detail, from recreating iconic record covers to plastering up posters advertising mouse- and rat-based happenings.
    As its name suggests, the group’s individual identities are unknown. “We like to think that part of the allure of our installations is that they could be done by anyone,” they say. “And since we do not have a specific agenda with them our identities are unimportant.” AnonyMouse won’t divulge plans for upcoming installations, but you can follow all of its adventures on Instagram.

    #humor
    #installation
    #mice
    #miniature
    #public art
    #stores
    #street art

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    10,000 Pigeon Feathers Cascade from a Bookcase in Kate MccGwire’s Latest Installation

    
    Art

    #birds
    #feathers
    #installation
    #video

    August 11, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Discharge” (2020), mixed media installation with pigeon feathers, approximately 480 x 70 x 370 centimeters. All images © Kate MccGwire, shared with permission
    Based in west London, artist Kate MccGwire is known for her serpentine feather sculptures and discomfiting artworks that coil and ooze in every direction. A recent installation follows in that tradition as it pours down like a massive gush of water from a built-in bookcase. Composed of approximately 10,000 pigeon feathers, “Discharge” stands nearly five meters tall and cascades to the floor in feathered ripples. While the plumes lining the main chute are in shades of gray, those at the bottom are lighter, evoking the ways water appears white when it crashes.
    The delicate feathers are sourced ethically from pigeon racers who collect the plumes in August and October when the birds molt. MccGwire sorts the materials in her studio, separating the ones that curve left from those that bend to the right, before arranging them in captivating, color-specific patterns. “When visitors see the piece for the first time they are drawn to the phenomenal scale, rhythmic patterning, movement, and perfection of the piece,” she says of the mixed-media installation. “But are often perturbed and revolted when they understand what the material is,” which is exactly her intention. By juxtaposing the raw materials with the finished artwork, she asks viewers to consider the everyday beauty that’s often overlooked.
    “Discharge” has been exhibited in an evolution of configurations in South Korea, Berlin, Paris, and now, Harewood House in West Yorkshire until August 14. Take a video tour of the current exhibition—which also includes a massive feather rug and encased sculptures—and find more of MccGwire’s voluptuous projects on Instagram.

    

    #birds
    #feathers
    #installation
    #video

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Sprawling Floral Installations Spill Over Garbage Cans and Phone Booths on New York City Streets

    
    Art

    #flowers
    #installation
    #New York
    #public art
    #street art

    August 7, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Lewis Miller Design, shared with permisison
    Thanks to Lewis Miller Design, those passing through New York City have gotten some respite from the rank smells and soggy refuse of streetside garbage cans. For years, the florist (previously) has been planting guerilla installations of sunflowers, hydrangeas, and peonies in public areas, transforming trash receptacles, construction zones, and lampposts with sprawling assemblages. Check out some of the recent “Flower Flashes” below, and follow the designer on Instagram to see where the temporary bouquets pop up next.

    #flowers
    #installation
    #New York
    #public art
    #street art

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Inflatable Heads, Fantastical Paintings, and Bulbous Sculptures Comprise a Surreal Dreamland by OSGEMEOS

    
    Art

    #installation
    #light
    #painting
    #sculpture

    August 6, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images courtesy of Hyundai Card, Hyundai Capital News Room, shared with permission
    Wedged between two buildings in Itaewon, Seoul, is a huge, inflatable head marking the entrance to OSGEMEOS’s latest exhibition. With a shaggy mohawk and thin mustache, the yellow character resembles a band of glowing figures that populate the inside Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo’s immersive installation.
    Comprised of lit sculptures, large-scale paintings, and collages in the same cartoonish style as their previous projects, OSGEMEOS: You Are My Guest is a surreal dreamland. It asks visitors to swerve around a series of bulbous sculptures that jut upward from the floor. A lime green wall houses an eclectic display of framed portraits, repurposed door frames, and sculptural figures, while a patchwork of worn album covers hangs from another. The title of the exhibition is derived from a 2016 painting (shown below) that channels the geometric shapes and bright colors traditional in Brazilian culture, in addition to more modern, energetic artforms like hip-hop and breakdance, two of the artists’ primary forms of inspiration.
    Simultaneously arresting and hypnotic, OSGEMEOS: You Are My Guest is the brothers’ first solo show in Seoul and will be on view at Hyundai Card through October 11, 2020. Those unable to see the exhibition in person should head to Instagram, where the duo shares the latest on their multi-media projects. (via Juxtapoz)

    “You Are My Guest” (2016), 126 x 206 inches

    Courtesy the artists and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, and Seoul

    #installation
    #light
    #painting
    #sculpture

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    The Coral Greenhouse: Jason deCaires Taylor’s Latest Installation is an Underwater Sanctuary for Vulnerable Sea Creatures

    
    Art

    #climate change
    #coral
    #fish
    #greenhouses
    #installation
    #ocean
    #sculpture
    #underwater

    August 5, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Jason deCaires Taylor, shared with permission
    About 50 miles from Townsville, Australia, an unassuming structure created by Jason deCaires Taylor (previously) rests on the sandy floor the John Brewer Reef. Currently, “The Coral Greenhouse” is in pristine condition with little algae or tiny organisms stuck to its sides. Over time, though, the sculptural work is designed to amass vibrant clusters of the sea creatures as they colonize the submerged form.
    Constructed with corrosion-resistant stainless steel and pH-neutral substances, the biomorphic frame is modeled after nature’s patterns. The materials help inspire coral growth and are designed to be absorbed into the oceanic environment as the colonies sprawl across it. Workbenches line its sides and are adorned with simple patterns that create small enclaves for ocean life to hide from predators or rest. To keep divers away from the fragile ecosystems, Taylor tends to install his marine projects in less vulnerable areas.
    Weighing 165 tons, the sanctuary is the Museum of Underwater Art’s largest installation to date. The A-frame structure is comprised of triangular sections and a massive cement base, which provide stability from waves and adverse weather. Its slatted sides allow divers, filter-feeding organisms, and schools of fish to swim in and out, and floating spires that protrude from the beams’ apex oscillate with the currents.
    Figurative sculptures, which were made from casts of kids around the world, populate the inside to serve as a reminder that the coral needs care. They’re shown cradling planters, peering into microscopes, and watching over the vulnerable environment. “Thus they are tending to their future, building a different relationship with our marine world, one which recognizes it as precious, fragile, and in need of protection. Our children are the guardians of the Great Barrier Reef,” Taylor writes about the piece.
    Dives to tour the site-specific installation will begin in 2021. Until then, get an idea of how some of Taylor’s previous works have transformed after being submerged for more than a dozen years on his Instagram. (via Fast Company)

    #climate change
    #coral
    #fish
    #greenhouses
    #installation
    #ocean
    #sculpture
    #underwater

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Bizarre Porcelain Sculptures by Artist Morel Doucet Tangle Limbs, Seashells, and Coral

    
    Art

    #climate change
    #coral
    #flowers
    #installation
    #plants
    #porcelain
    #sculpture
    #sea
    #shells
    #surreal

    August 4, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “White Noise, Let the choir sing a magnified silence (25 Affirmation)” (2017), slip-cast porcelain and hand-built and altered forms, 5 x 5 feet. All images by David Gary Lloyd and Pedro Wazzan and © Morel Doucet, shared with permission
    Based in Miami, artist Morel Doucet imbues his surreal artworks with a reminder that the natural world is ripe with entanglements. Often monochromatic, the slip-cast and hand-built porcelain pieces merge flora and fauna into dense amalgamations: a series of naked figures sit with coral, safety pins, and starfish as heads, while other assemblages feature a singular arm or pair of legs jutting out from a mass of sea creatures.
    Doucet not only considers how humans are damaging the environment but also who is most likely to suffer in the process. In the series White Noise: When Raindrop Whispers and Moonlight Screams in Silence, he responds to the impacts of the climate crisis and ecological disaster on communities of color in the Miami area. “The beaches are eroding into the sea, coral reefs are turning bleach white, and residents wait tentatively for seawater rise. Everywhere you look Miami is undergoing drastic infrastructure changes trying to gear up for a losing battle against land and sea,” he shares with Colossal. “I believe these communities will experience the greatest climate exodus within our modern times.”
    Doucet’s recent endeavors include an upcoming series called Water grieves in the six shades of death that will respond to climate-gentrification and its impact on communities with lower incomes.  Follow the artist’s sculptural considerations on Instagram. (via The Jealous Curator)

    “Jaded Moonlight (Gardenia)”
    “White Noise, Let the choir sing a magnified silence (25 Affirmation)” (2017), slip-cast porcelain and hand-built and altered forms, 5 x 5 feet
    “Black Madonna & Venus”
    “Regal Black Madonna (black is black, black is motherhood)” (2019), porcelain ceramic with cast altered forms, 22 to 24 inches in diameter
    “When all the gold fell from the sun (Fall from Grace)” (2019), slip-cast porcelain ceramics
    “The black on my back dances in a room full of to many silence part 2” (2019), slip-cast porcelain ceramic and hand altered forms, 6.5 x 10 x 5.5 inches

    #climate change
    #coral
    #flowers
    #installation
    #plants
    #porcelain
    #sculpture
    #sea
    #shells
    #surreal

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Opulent Kintsugi Installation by Artist Victor Solomon Gilds Dilapidated Basketball Court in Los Angeles

    
    Art

    #basketball
    #gold
    #installation
    #kintsugi
    #public art
    #sports

    August 4, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images by Shafik Kadi and © Victor Solomon, shared with permission
    Celebrating the restorative qualities of sports and basketball’s return this past week, Victor Solomon has repaired a deteriorated court in South Los Angeles through the ancient art of Kintsugi—the Japanese method of repairing broken pottery by using metallic substances to mend the fractures. The artist filled cracks in the cement with gold-dust resin, highlighting the years of use “to accentuate the healing as a formative part of its journey,” he says. “Sport can entertain, inspire, and distract, but more apropos than all, the platform of sport can help us heal.” Titled “Kintsugi Court,” the gilded installation has similarly lavish backboards and hoops.
    The restored court is just one of Solomon’s explorations into the sport and the ways it intersects with luxury. For more of his embellished projects, head to Instagram. (via The Kids Should See This)

    

    #basketball
    #gold
    #installation
    #kintsugi
    #public art
    #sports

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    A 70-Meter-Wide Installation by Artist Yang Yongliang Immerses Viewers in a Galactic Cityscape

    
    Art

    #black and white
    #installation
    #landscapes
    #light
    #stars
    #video

    July 24, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    
    Artist Yang Yongliang (previously) harmonizes human-generated light and naturally glowing stars in a celestial, 4K video installation. Set to an eerie, technological soundtrack, “Journey to the Dark II” winds through a mountainous city that spans 70 meters across. Movement in the immersive piece is confined mostly to the cars traveling across bridges and down streets, and the lights emit a constant glow among the modern architecture and landforms.
    Residing in Shanghai and New York, Yang often juxtaposes modern, industrial life and organic elements to produce dystopian environments that question human progress. “Ancient Chinese people painted landscapes to praise the greatness of nature; Yang’s works, on the other hand, lead towards a critical re-thinking of contemporary reality,” said a statement about a similarly foreboding project.
    To explore more of the artist’s digital work and follow his upcoming projects, check out his Instagram and Vimeo.

    “Journey to the Dark II” (2019), video installation, 12 × 70 meters, 12,600 × 2,160 pixels. All images © Yongliang Yang, shared with permission

    #black and white
    #installation
    #landscapes
    #light
    #stars
    #video

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

     
    Share this story
      More