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      Unruly Metals and Barbs Repair Broken Porcelain Dinnerware by Glen Taylor

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      Art

      #dinnerware
      #found objects
      #metal
      #porcelain

      July 15, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Glen Taylor, shared with permission
      Ohio-based artist Glen Taylor (previously) mends porcelain dinnerware with brutal bits of metal and soldering that starkly contrast their smooth, delicate counterparts. Lengths of rusted barbed wire bind two halves of a teacup, sharp spikes border a saucer painted with flowers, and mangled silverware is piled in messy assemblages reminiscent of dinner-party aftermath. In recent months, Taylor’s repaired interventions have grown in size and scope, from single-serving dishes patched with a pair of jeans to full-scale tables set for eight.
      In a note to Colossal, the artist shares that he’s in the midst of preparing for an exhibition this fall, and you can keep an eye out for details about that show on Instagram.

      #dinnerware
      #found objects
      #metal
      #porcelain

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      Found Silverware and Scrap Metal Are Welded into Lively Sculptural Creatures by Matt Wilson

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      Art

      #animals
      #birds
      #found objects
      #metal
      #sculpture

      July 2, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Matt Wilson
      Wide spoons become muscular hind legs, pointed handles fan out into wings, and fork prongs curl around a branch like talons in Matt Wilson’s wildlife assemblages. Using found flatware and other metal objects, the Charleston-based artist (previously) welds sculptural renditions of birds, insects, and other small animals that appear lifelike and primed for movementt. He mounts the metallic sculptures on pieces of driftwood or smooth plaques—many of which are handcrafted by his friend Jacob Kent—that contrast the shining metal with the natural, grainy material.
      Wilson has spent the last few years broadening his practice and working on multiple birds simultaneously, allowing for more cohesive, well-rounded flocks. His next collection launches at 9 a.m. EST on July 9 in his shop, and his works sell quickly so keep an eye on Instagram for early looks at the 100 creatures set for release.

      #animals
      #birds
      #found objects
      #metal
      #sculpture

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      Metallic Specimens by Dr. Allan Drummond Perfectly Replicate Prehistoric and Modern Insects in Bronze and Silver

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      Art
      Design
      Science

      #3d printing
      #insects
      #metal

      June 15, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Thorn,” bronze and sterling silver, approximately 4 x 2 x 3 inches. All images © Allan Drummond, shared with permission
      Dr. Allan Drummond works at the intersection of art, design, and science with his metallic replicas of wide-eyed spiders, ants, and other winged insects. He buoys his research in the departments of Medicine and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago into a creative practice that casts biologically realistic specimens with a focus on anatomical elements of prehistoric organisms most likely to be lost in the fossil record, including underbellies.
      Each creature starts with a digital rendering created in Blender that’s 3D-printed in individual pieces—you can see examples of these initial models on Instagram. Drummond then casts the replica in bronze or silver with the help of jewelry designers in his current city of Chicago and later assembles and finishes the metallic components, which results in a meticulous copy of the actual insect whether life-sized or enlarged to magnify its features.
      In a note to Colossal, he writes that the body of work shown here utilizes more advanced techniques than his previous models and came together with the help of two mentors, sculptor Jessica Joslin and the jewelry designer Heather Oleari. “Feeling the pieces for the thorn bug snap together in my hands—a total rush—was less a relief from stress and more a confirmation that, at least when it comes to building giant metal arthropods, I know what I’m doing,” he says.
      If you’re in Seattle, head to Roq La Rue Gallery before July 3 to see Drummond’s exacting metal insects in person, and dive deeper into his process on Instagram.

      “Proudhopper (Dictyopharidae),” bronze and sterling silver, approximately 5 x 3 x 3.5 inches
      “Naphrys,” bronze and black glass, approximately 10 x 14 x 2 inches
      “Naphrys,” bronze and black glass, approximately 10 x 14 x 2 inches
      “Semibalanus,” bronze, steel, and silver, approximately 4.5 x 4 x 3.5 inches
      Detail of “Semibalanus,” bronze, steel, and silver, approximately 4.5 x 4 x 3.5 inches
      “Thorn,” bronze and sterling silver, approximately 4 x 2 x 3 inches
      “Proudhopper (Dictyopharidae),” bronze and sterling silver, approximately 5 x 3 x 3.5 inches
      “Bellacartwrightia,” sterling silver and patina, 5.5 x 4 inches
      “Farm To Table,” bronze ant, sterling silver aphid with black glass, two-carat cubic zirconia, approximately 9 x 5 x 2.5 inches

      #3d printing
      #insects
      #metal

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      Subversively Embroidered Money and Penny Sculptures Question Historical Narratives

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      Art

      #coins
      #embroidery
      #metal
      #money
      #politics
      #sculpture
      #social commentary

      March 18, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      From Insurrection Bills. All images © Stacey Lee Webber, shared with permission
      Throughout 2020, Stacey Lee Webber developed Insurrection Bills, a revisionary collection of United States currency overlaid with subversive stitches: flames envelop monuments, a wall is left unfinished, and an eclectic array of face masks disguise Abraham Lincoln’s portrait. Contrasting the muted tones of the paper, the vibrant embroideries stand in stark contrast and as amended narratives to those depicted on the various denominations. “The series references feelings of anger, turmoil, and frustration during the tense political climate while recontextualizing and questioning the beloved iconography we see on our money,” she tells Colossal.
      Currently working from her studio and home in Philadelphia’s Globe Dye Works, Webber is formally trained in metalsmithing—she has an MFA from the University of Wisconsin, where she initially began using currency as the basis of her projects—and sees the two mediums as an ongoing conversation. Embroidery “allows me to work in a quieter setting outside of my metal shop acting as a sort of ying to the yang, soft and hard, masculine and feminine,” she says.
      Many of Webber’s sculptures involve soldering coins, including the copper penny works that make up The Craftsmen Series and question the value of blue-collar labor in the U.S. Comprised of hollow, life-sized tools, the collection visualizes “putting endless amounts of work into a single cent,” the artist says.
      Webber has multiple exhibitions this year, including at TW Fine Art Palm Beach Outpost in April, Philadelphia’s Bertrand Productions in October, and Art on Paper Fair in New York City this November. If you can’t see the currency-based projects in person, head to Instagram, where the artist shares a larger collection of her works and glimpses into her studio.

      “Masked Abes,” from Insurrection Bills
      From Insurrection Bills
      Detail of “Masked Abes,” from Insurrection Bills
      A ladder from The Craftsmen Series, soldered pennies
      From Insurrection Bills
      Jewelry made from coins

      #coins
      #embroidery
      #metal
      #money
      #politics
      #sculpture
      #social commentary

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      Meticulously Sculpted and Tarnished Dandelions Preserve the Herb’s Ephemeral Nature in Metal

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      Art
      Craft

      #dandelions
      #metal
      #plants
      #sculpture

      January 6, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Shota Suzuki, shared with permission
      Staining friend’s hands with dandelion heads and blowing their wispy seeds are a common childhood pastime and a simple joy that Shota Suzuki channels in his delicately constructed sculptures. The Kyoto-based artist painstakingly carves copper, brass, and silver into barbed leaves and feathery seeds to recreate the ubiquitous herbs in each state of bloom and decay.
      To tarnish the textured metals and alter their colors, Suzuki uses combinations of vinegar, copper sulfate, and acetic acid to create purples and blues. For the black components, he oxidizes pieces in dissolved sulfur. Suzuki’s coloring techniques are rooted in traditional Japanese patina methods including niiro, which historically used daikon juices to alter the metal, and are the most demanding part of his process. “The chemical modification is very sensitive and is affected by everything from the weather conditions to the dirt on my hands. It’s hard to make the same color every time,” he says in an interview with Kyoto Journal.
      Each dandelion is the product of hours of research, which begins while Suzuki walks around his neighborhood and spots weeds in sidewalk cracks or garden flowers. He then works from memory and occasional glimpses of photos of the chosen plant, forgoing sketches and models to create pieces that merge scientific accuracy with the artist’s vision, which he explains:
      I’ve never practiced the art of ikebana, but there is an element of it that comes through. My work does not portray a plant as it would be in its natural environment. Rather I manipulate it in a way that I find to be beautiful. I think the composition especially, like the placement and length of the flowers and stems of the plant, is really important. So in that respect, it is rather similar to ikebana.
      See more of Suzuki’s botanic sculptures, which include violets, cherry blossoms, and seaside daisies, on Artsy, and follow his latest works and updates to his shop on Instagram.

      #dandelions
      #metal
      #plants
      #sculpture

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      Illuminated Figures Consider the Relationship Between the Body and Soul

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      Art

      #anatomy
      #light
      #metal
      #sculpture

      November 17, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Vessel of the Universe (Sisidlan ng Kalawakan)” (2020), soldered metal, glass, LED strips, and electrical fittings, 64.5 x 47 x 12 inches. All images © Joshua Limon Palisoc, shared with permission
      Joshua Limon Palisoc draws on the tenets of Filipino Psychology to inform his life-sized figures that radiate from the inside. Using mesh-like forms of soldered metal, the artist conveys the idea that the physical body is simply a vessel for the soul. LED lights nestled within the anatomical sculptures emit a warm glow through the seams, blurring the boundary between inner and outer selves.
      The illuminated forms shown here are part of Ephemeral Vessels, Palisoc’s first solo show on view through November 29 at Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo, Philippines. Composed of upright and seated figures, the collection focuses on personality and conscience (loob), the body (labas), and reason (lalim), ideas that the artist gleans from the particular branch of psychology originally helmed by Virgilio Enriquez.
      Palisco, who shares insight into his techniques on Instagram, describes his process as ritualistic, noting that each artwork he solders together holds a part of himself that asks viewers to avoid “existing in this world passively.” Instead, he writes, “we should stir and affect others through our own genuine ways.”

      “Vessel of the Universe (Sisidlan ng Kalawakan)” (2020), soldered metal, glass, LED strips, and electrical fittings, 64.5 x 47 x 12 inches
      “Conversations with the Flame (Pakikipagtalastasan sa Ningas)” (2020), soldered metal, LED bulb, and electrical fittings, 64.5 x 60 x 14 inches
      “Conversations with the Flame (Pakikipagtalastasan sa Ningas)” (2020), soldered metal, LED bulb, and electrical fittings, 64.5 x 60 x 14 inches
      “Whisper from a Spark (Bulong ng Alipato)” (2020), soldered metal, LED bulb and electrical fitting, 64.5 x 33 x 10 inches
      “Accepting Transcendence (Pagtanggap sa Lagablab)” (2020), soldered metal, LED bulb, and electrical fittings, 60.5 x 46 x 19 inches
      “The Soul’s Journey (Paglalayag ng Kalooban)” (2020), soldered metal and glass, 71 x 64 x 72 inches

      #anatomy
      #light
      #metal
      #sculpture

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      Symmetrical Typewriter Sculptures by Artist Jeremy Mayer Merge the Organic and Manufactured

      by

      
      Art

      #metal
      #nature
      #sculpture
      #typewriters

      November 16, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Untitled II” (2020), typewriter parts and aluminum, 65 x 65 x 12 inches
      “There’s nothing unnatural about mechanical components,” Jeremy Mayer says. For decades, the artist has harbored a fascination with the repetitive, complex patterns of single-cell organisms and the delicately rendered illustrations of Ernst Haeckel, an attraction that manifests in his latest sculptures.
      Spanning up to 65 inches, Mayer’s metal artworks are comprised of old typewriter parts mounted around a laser-cut aluminum frame with only the original screws, nuts, pins, and springs holding the mirrorlike pieces together. Formed around a central, circular element, the multi-unit assemblages splay outward. Each of the six points—which evoke starfish, despite having one extra arm—often resemble trilobites, pincers, and other creatures and organic elements, merging the manufactured and natural.
      “The form and function are based upon our knowledge of the living world around us. I’m interested in making the machine look like a living thing, drawing inspiration from the relationships that the early designers of the typewriter had with nature,” he says.

      “Untitled I” (2020), typewriter parts and aluminum, 60 x 60 x10 inches
      Mayer purchases between 10 and 15 typewriters each year, which he sources from repair shops, thrift stores, and yard sales around the San Francisco Bay Area. “The more broken the better,” he writes. In the past, he’s gravitated toward the smaller components of the metal machines to assemble birds, skulls, and other figurative sculptures. After transporting the bulky leftovers from studio to studio for years, he gathered enough duplicate parts to construct the symmetrical sculptures.
      The ongoing series was born out of a residency at Mumbai-based manufacturer Godrej & Boyce, during which Mayer was asked to create works from leftover typewriters. During his six months, he built mandala-like sculptures and a 13-foot-tall kinetic lotus that explored the connections between industry and biological forms.
      Mayer finished the first sculpture of this most recent series at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns and almost has completed five since. He has plans for ten in total, and you can follow their progress on Instagram.

      “Untitled III” (2020), typewriter parts and aluminum, 60 x 60 x 14 inches
      “Untitled III” (2020) (detail), typewriter parts and aluminum, 60 x 60 x 14 inches
      “Untitled I” (2020) (detail), typewriter parts and aluminum, 60 x 60 x10 inches
      “Untitled II” (detail) with Cleo Mayer
      Studio with “Untitled IV” in progress

      #metal
      #nature
      #sculpture
      #typewriters

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      Stainless Steel Roots Sprawl Into Figurative Sculptures by Artist Sun-Hyuk Kim

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      Art

      #anatomy
      #metal
      #roots
      #sculpture

      November 10, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Sun-Hyuk Kim, shared with permission
      Just like a tree, the spindly branches that shape Sun-Hyuk Kim’s sculptures extend from a larger, sturdy limb—or in the South Korean artist’s case, neck or spine, too. Kim (previously) creates sprawling artworks that merge human anatomy and the root systems that crawl underneath the earth’s surface. Sometimes painted in neutral tones and others plated in gold, the sculptures are composed of stainless steel that trails out into figurative forms.
      Imbued with metaphor, the intricate works consider our existence and their inherent incompleteness, Kim says. The “pandemic in 2020 clearly shows how weak the existence of a human being is,” he writes. “The human force encountered in this era, which has achieved many civilizations and cutting-edge science, reminds us of the collapse of the Tower of Babel, which was built to become like God.”
      To follow Kim’s latest projects that explore the connection between people and the natural world, head to Instagram.

      #anatomy
      #metal
      #roots
      #sculpture

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