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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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      Illuminated Wire Sculptures Nest Inside Larger Kinetic Works by Artist Spenser Little

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      Art

      #kinetic
      #light
      #sculpture
      #wire

      August 14, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Spenser Little, shared with permission
      Known for his figurative wire pieces attached to light posts and other public fixtures around the world, Spenser Little’s recent artworks venture into the personal. Illumination Devices is comprised of the artist’s bent portraits and totems of merging faces, in addition to a series of irradiated kinetic sculptures. Evoking the nesting doll, these abstract figures contain spacious chest cavities that open up to reveal similar, smaller forms hidden inside.
      For each lamp, Little carves a wooden structure of the main character’s head, welds a metal body, and overlays the components with thin paper “skin,” repeating the process for subsequent pieces. He also seats wooden figures in the deepest caverns. The relationship between the inner and outer sculptures explores the tension between the conscious and subconscious, which the artist explains:
      I heard the analogy long ago the we, our active, controlled conscious, are merely riders on a large beast. We think our conscious minds are controlling the subconscious beast, but in reality, the beast goes where it wants revealing our unpolished motives. The outer self wants to project control and precision. The inner self is just trying to keep things working. The lamps are shells around motors.
      By physically brightening the artworks, Little uncovers the link between the two sometimes disparate selves. “Art to me is the wordless conversation between us and our inner beast. To communicate with our unenlightened animal impulses is very illuminating to our true selves,” he shares with Colossal.
      Little’s nestled sculptures are on view through September 20 at MOAH: CEDAR in California. Take a virtual tour of the show, and check out exactly how the articulate artworks function on the artist’s Instagram. (via Supersonic)

      “Large Orange Lamp” (2020), steel, paper, glue, red heartwood, gears, electric motors, sprockets, bicycle chain link, 40 × 80 × 40 inches
      “Inner Defense Mechanism Lamp” (2020), steel, paper, glue, red heart & figurative maple wood, gears, electric motor, carbon-chain link, 30 × 30 × 26 inches
      “Identity Roulette, Red Lamp” (2020), steel, paper, glue, purple and red heartwood, electric motor, gears, carbon-chain link, 13 × 28 × 13 inches
      “Yellow Glass Urn” (2020), steel, glass, 15 × 13 inches
      Left: “Mini Totem Cluster” (2020), one continuous 22 gauge steel wire, 26 × 8 inches. Right: “Birth and Death Deity” (2020), one continuous16 gauge steel wire, 61 × 33
      “Copper Multi-Face Design” (2020), one continuous 12 gauge copper wire, 36 × 33 inches

      #kinetic
      #light
      #sculpture
      #wire

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

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      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

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

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      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

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      Airy, Wooden Orb Inlaid with LED Lights Radiates Throughout a Dim Forest in Taiwan

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      Art

      #installation
      #light
      #wood

      July 13, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “The Search of the Glow” (2020), wood, LED lights. All images © Ling-Li Tseng/Serendipity Studio, shared with permission
      Artist Ling-Li Tseng describes her recent installation as “a whispering between human(s) and nature.” Debuted in Houli at the 2020 Taiwan Lantern Festival, “The Search of the Glow” is a lightweight, wooden sphere constructed with a series of connected ovals. Together, the pieces form a hollow orb that’s outfitted with thin strips of LED lights, creating a radiant installation that glows in the otherwise dim area.
      To create the modular artwork in collaboration with Serendipity Studio, Tseng used a combination of digital fabrication and traditional, craftsman processes. The four larger ovals and smaller, connecting pieces were created through lofting, a drafting technique that generates curved lines. Made of eight layers of wood veneer, the strips use a double curvature to maintain its shape.
      The artist envisioned the finished installation as a refuge and an entrance into “a mysterious spatial experience,” she says. “All senses are slowly enhanced, and rays of the light guide us to an adventure in the mist. In a grove of trees, we discover an object emitting flickering light—its woven and curved staves engage in a dialogue with the natural curves of the surrounding trees.” While the work radiates through the darkness at night, it provides a more subtle glow during the daytime mist and fog.
      Tseng released a video (shown below) that walks within and around the open installation, and dive further into the London-based artist’s spatial projects on Instagram. (via Lustik)

      

      #installation
      #light
      #wood

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      Luminescent Zip-Tie Formations Are Shaped into Futuristic Organic Life by Artist Elisabeth Picard

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       “Ondulation” (2014), white zip-ties, RGB LED light, and painted plywood, 
36 x 36 x 6 ¼ inches. 
Photo by Michel Dubreuil. All images © Elisabeth Picard, shared with permission Montreal-based artist Elisabeth Picard curls, fans, and locks together hundreds of zip-ties into tremendously formed glowing sculptures and undulating installations. The futuristic artworks merge geological […] More

    • 150 Shares139 Views

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      Neon-Illuminated Glass Orchids by Laura Hart Consider the Flowers’ Fragility and Resiliency

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      “Orchis Exotica Cattleya Amethyst,” fused and sculpted glass with neon, 44.5 x 47.5 x 17 centimeters. All images © Laura Hart, shared with permission Made of translucent glass, Laura Hart’s brilliant orchids appear to be the paragon of delicacy: the fleshy petals and neon-illuminated columns are in full bloom, representing a fleeting stage of life […] More

    • 125 Shares119 Views

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      Textured Paper Sculptures by Zai Divecha Emphasize Shadow and Light

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       “Draco” (2019), paper, wood, LEDs, 40 x 72 x 3 inches. All images © Zai Divecha San Francisco-based artist Zai Divecha fashions countless pleats, creases, and flaps for her monochromatic paper sculptures. From geometric tessellations to flat sheets with dozens of rounded cuts and points, Divecha’s pieces accentuate the relationships between light and shadow and […] More