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    A Serpentine Rattlesnake Wraps Around a Metaphorical Wood and Book Sculpture by Maskull Lasserre

    
    Art
    #books
    #sculpture
    #snakes
    #woodJanuary 7, 2022Grace EbertAll images © Maskull LasserreIn a towering, totem-style sculpture titled “The Garden,” Canadian artist Maskull Lasserre (previously) compresses a collection of 18th-century botanical texts between two parallel planks of Douglas Fir. Metal vices bore through the wooden beams, securing the first four volumes of William Withering’s An Arrangement of British Plants, although both the natural and manufactured components are eroded with Lasserre’s intricately carved snake that winds around the perimeter and appears to bind the individual components together. “The Garden” is one of the artist’s most recent works that metaphorically and physically considers the concept of tension, and you can see more in his portfolio.
    #books
    #sculpture
    #snakes
    #woodDo 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

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    Complex Networks of Metallic Branches Shape Animal Sculptures by Kang Dong Hyun

    
    Art
    #animals
    #metal
    #sculpture
    #steelJanuary 6, 2022Grace Ebert“Forest of Coexistence” (2019), stainless steel and urethane paint, 300 x 160 x 120 centimeters. All images © Kang Dong Hyun, shared with permissionWhat eventually becomes a stately stag or majestically posed lion in Kang Dong Hyun’s Forest of Coexistence starts with countless metallic branches that splay in every direction. The Korean artist (previously) welds spindly shoots and sprawling root-like shapes into facial features and bodies that are then finished with urethane paint. Creating a cohesive display of flora and fauna, each hollow, stainless steel sculpture considers the relationship between species and the idea that “all life on Earth may lead to an invisible string,” Kang says. For more of the artist’s intricately formed animals, visit Instagram.“Forest of Coexistence” (2020), stainless steel and urethane paint, 73 x 46 x 11 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2021), stainless steel and urethane paint, 150 x 120 x 50 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2021), stainless steel and urethane paint, 64 x 36 x 114 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2021), stainless steel and urethane paint, 68 x 80 x 20 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2018), stainless steel and urethane paint, 130 x 45 x 85 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2020), stainless steel and urethane paint, 51 x 80 x 39 centimeters
    #animals
    #metal
    #sculpture
    #steelDo 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

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    Playfully Absurd, Idiosyncratic Characters Grace the Salvaged Book Sculptures by Mike Stilkey

    
    Art
    #animals
    #books
    #painting
    #sculptureJanuary 6, 2022Grace EbertAll images © Mike Stilkey, shared with permissionDapper penguins, nonchalant musicians, and self-destructive politicians are a few of the distinct figures adorning Mike Stilkey’s sculptures. The Los Angeles-based artist (previously) rummages through heaps of discarded books, plucking out complementary titles that become the basis for his towering works. Using ink, colored pencil, paint, and lacquer, he renders minimal portraits of figures with exaggerated limbs or instruments and gestures that show a flair for the absurd.Vacillating from the playful and whimsical to the cheeky and ironic, Stilkey’s idiosyncratic, sometimes anthropomorphized characters translate an essential interpretation of the volumes’ messages or subject matter through a contemporary lens. He explains:Sometimes it’s a wry, tongue-in-cheek, satirical kind of thing, and sometimes it’s an extension or interpretation of it. It depends on the book and my mood. There’s been a lot of fodder over the past couple of years with all of the political conversations and things you hear or read on the news or social media. But I’ve always been able to do this with books. It’s one of the reasons I started using books as a canvas or vehicle for painting—the richness of layering literary and visual narratives over each other to convey something more complex.As well as the repurposed sculptures shown here, Stilkey also creates installations with thousands of books and large characters, although these on-site projects have been put on hold since the onset of the pandemic. Prints and postcards are available in the artist’s shop, and you can follow his works on Instagram.
    #animals
    #books
    #painting
    #sculptureDo 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

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    Outlandish Cat High-Jinks Become Adorable Miniatures Sculpted by Meetissai

    
    Art
    #cats
    #epoxy
    #humor
    #miniature
    #sculptureDecember 30, 2021Grace EbertAll images © MeetissaiFluffy catpuccinos, stealthy shorthairs squeezed into bizarre positions, and gymnastics-prone tabbies: Inspired by the real life antics of feline companions, Meetissai crafts tiny sculptures that preserve the ridiculous, most charming moments of cat life—these include fluffy characters flattened like rugs and cartoon-like distortions—as adorable miniatures. The artist often references popular memes and glitched photos, skewed perspectives, and serendipitous timing to craft the fantastically posed animals, and you can find an entire menagerie of epoxy creatures on Twitter and Instagram.
    #cats
    #epoxy
    #humor
    #miniature
    #sculptureDo 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

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    A Spectacular Staircase by Alex Chinneck Uncoils as It Scales a 25-Meter Building in Brighton

    
    Art
    #architecture
    #public art
    #sculpture
    #stairs
    #steelDecember 23, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Alex Chinneck, by Marc Wilmont, shared with permissionPart functional walkway and part dramatic sculpture, an outdoor staircase by Alex Chinneck unfurls into individual metallic ribbons as it climbs a brick building in Brighton. The latest work by the British artist, titled “A Spring in Your Step,” is made of galvanized steel and features a base with slatted rungs that gradually unwind into a trio of strips splaying outward over Circus Square.Chinneck is known for his surreal architectural interventions—these include melting facades, a condemned building that unzips, and twisting red post boxes—that upend ubiquitous designs in favor of bizarre counterparts. He shares about the new piece: “’A Spring in Your Step’ took three years to complete, weighs four tonnes, is 25 meters tall, and follows a non-repeating, expanding, and contracting helical form, making it my most complex sculpture to date.”Head to the artist’s Instagram to see the three-year process behind the spectacular sculpture and to explore a larger collection of his works.
    #architecture
    #public art
    #sculpture
    #stairs
    #steelDo 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

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    Comprised of Thin Panes of Glass, Illusory Sculptures Layer Fantastic Paintings into 3D-Forms

    
    Art
    #glass
    #painting
    #sculpture
    #videoDecember 20, 2021Grace EbertAll images by Norbert Heyl, © Wilfried Grootens, shared with permissionGerman artist Wilfried Grootens (previously) suspends vibrant, textured paintings evocative of minuscule organisms, bacteria, and other microscopic creatures within sleek sculptures made of glass. He renders lines and geometric shapes on dozens of thin panes that, when pressed together into a larger composite, produce the appearance of three-dimensional forms encased within the transparent material. The resulting works are striking illusions that morph into different, otherworldly creatures depending on the viewers’ perspective, sometimes vanishing entirely depending on the angle. “It is these paintings within their special layered space that create a world unto itself, quite apart from the reality outside it,” the artist tells Colossal.Grootens’s impeccably precise sculptures will be on view with Habatat Galleries in January and April. Until then, see more of his works on his site.
    #glass
    #painting
    #sculpture
    #videoDo 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

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    Waves of Engraved Lines Texture the Emotional Figures Sculpted by En Iwamura

    
    Art
    #ceramics
    #clay
    #emotions
    #sculptureDecember 17, 2021Grace EbertAll images © En Iwamura, courtesy of Ross + Kramer Gallery, shared with permissionFrom hunks of clay, artist En Iwamura (previously) sculpts minimal forms with wildly varied facial expressions that range from shock and surprise to moody contemplation. Etched across the surface of each character are neat pathways of parallel lines, which evoke the clean, sweeping patterns in zen gardens, that are a physical manifestation of the Japanese concept of Ma. The philosophy identifies “the space between the edges, between the beginning and the end, the space and time in which we experience life. Ma is filled with nothing but energy and feeling.”Although his aesthetic and process remain relatively consistent—Iwarmura is generous about sharing works-in-progress and studio shots on his Instagram—his approach to spatial questions continues to evolve. “My work size has physically got bigger,” he tells Colossal. “That can have (a) different relationship with Ma, either micro (or) macro.”Iwamura is currently living in Shiga near his hometown of Kyoto, and if you’re in New York, you can see his oversized faces in January at Ross + Kramer Gallery.
    #ceramics
    #clay
    #emotions
    #sculptureDo 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

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    Hyperrealistic Ceramic Sculptures by Christopher David White Mimic the Splintered Texture of Decaying Wood

    
    Art
    #ceramics
    #hyperrealism
    #sculpture
    #trompe l’oeil
    #woodDecember 16, 2021Grace Ebert“Carbon Footprint.” All images © Christopher David White, shared with permissionIn his Richmond studio, artist Christopher David White (previously) practices an alchemy of materials as he transforms slabs of clay into deceptive sculptures and functional objects that appear carved from hunks of decaying wood. His trompe l’oeil ceramics are fragile depictions of the hardy material, complete with its gnarled knots and splintered edges in various states of decomposition.To achieve such a hyperrealistic finish, each piece undergoes multiple rounds of detailing—head to Instagram for a glimpse behind-the-scenes—which White starts by shaping the initial form with knots and branches and imprinting large grooves for the grain. After the work dries slightly, dental instruments, wire brushes, and Xacto knives aid in crafting the more intricate components, and the slightly dehydrated material lends itself to natural cracks and divots that enhance the woody texture. Once fired, the artist paints each sculpture with a largely neutral palette of acrylics.White continues to explore humans’ relationship to the environment in both his figures and smaller works, although he’s recently shifted to more overt considerations of the topic. “I seek to highlight humanity’s abuse and disregard for nature along with the contradictions in our actions,” he says. “Humans have a tendency to acknowledge the beauty, fragility, and uniqueness of nature while simultaneously viewing it as a resource to be endlessly exploited, controlled, and discarded.”Shop prints in White’s shop, and keep an eye on his Instagram and site for updates on new batches of mugs, planters, and other works.“Paint It Red”“Pushing Up Daisies”“Weathered Heart”“Not 2B”“Coral mug”“Small planters”“Teapot set”
    #ceramics
    #hyperrealism
    #sculpture
    #trompe l’oeil
    #woodDo 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