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      In ‘Boogey Men,’ Monumental New Works by Hugh Hayden Reflect on American Culture and Politics

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      Art
      #cars
      #copper
      #furniture
      #sculpture
      #skeleton
      #trees
      #woodDecember 9, 2021Grace EbertAl images courtesy of ICA Miami, by Zachary Balber, shared with permissionAn exhibition now on view at ICA Miami samples the recurring themes and motifs that are central to artist Hugh Hayden’s body of work: twisting flames spout from a wooden Adirondack chair and spindly twigs envelop a massive skeleton carved from bald Cyprus trees, two works that evoke the Dallas native’s barbed furniture and embedded branch designs. In a suspended installation comprised of metallic instruments and pots, faces mimicking traditional African masks emerge from copper cookware similar to the cast iron skillets he presented last year.The metaphorical new pieces comprise Boogey Men, Hayden’s solo show that responds to myriad social dynamics, cultural issues, and an increasingly tense political environment through imposing, anthropomorphic forms and more subtle works. At the center of the exhibition space is a hammered stainless steel car disguised by a sheet painted in white. Both cartoonish and sinister in its reference to hooded Klansmen, the titular sculpture is an effective indictment of police brutality. Hayden gives attention to the origins of facets of American culture in the pieces that surround that central work, alluding to jazz and culinary traditions.Boogey Men is on view in Miami through April 17, 2022, before it travels to the Blaffer Art Museum for a stay from June 11 to August 21. You can find more of Hayden’s work and view the process behind many of the pieces shown here on his Instagram.
      #cars
      #copper
      #furniture
      #sculpture
      #skeleton
      #trees
      #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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      In States of Ruin, Architectural Sculptures by Peter Callesen Spring from a Single Sheet of Paper

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      Art
      #architecture
      #paper
      #sculptureNovember 24, 2021Grace EbertDetail of “Human Ruin.” All images © Peter Callesen, shared with permissionTowering over cut-out voids are artist Peter Callesen’s sculptures of existing architectural ruins and stately edifices. Constructed with a single sheet of white paper, the miniature buildings appear to surface from their original flat piece into three-dimensional forms complete with crumbling facades and tipped columns. Each work juxtaposes the soft, fragile material with the sturdy subject matter and “is a reminder of what once was present and that even material like stone can change and break,” the artist says, explaining further:Almost as creation in reverse, the ruin as a motif for my works deals with the themes of rise and fall, through typical gothic architecture inspired by romantic painters. The ruins are rising from their intact and undamaged silhouettes. The work ‘17.8 Tall Tower of Babel’ is also linked to brokenness and failure, because of the Tower of Babel myth.Callesen, who is based in Mors, Denmark, is showing some of these smaller sculptures at Vestjyllands Udstillingen through January,  and you can explore more of his intricate miniatures and sprawling installations on Instagram.“Human Ruin”“17.8 Tall Tower of Babel’”“On The Other Side”“Little Erected Ruin”“Little Ice Castle”“Erected Ruin”
      #architecture
      #paper
      #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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      Ornate Assemblages Cast Vintage Pressed Glass as Flourishing New Scenes in Amber Cowan’s Sculptures

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      Art

      #found objects
      #glass
      #sculpture

      November 23, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Visions of the Night Muse in Jade” (2021), 20 x 15.5 x 7.5 inches. All images by Matthew Hollerbush, © Amber Cowan, shared with permission
      Philadelphia-based artist Amber Cowan (previously) molds found and flameworked glass into narrative sculptures brimming with ornate flourishes and enchanting details. Her delicate works are often monochromatic and revitalize vintage elements, including a figure from a McKee Glass Company vase in “Visions of the Night Muse in Jade,” for example, or the baubles in varying shades of purple that comprise “Hummingbirds Feast on Helio and Lavender.” The pressed glass pieces pay homage to the once-thriving industry by recasting antique scenes and motifs in new tableaus.
      Diverging slightly from the precisely sculpted forms that comprise much of her work, Cowan has started to incorporate long drips into her more recent sculptures. In her vertical cornucopia and fountain pieces, leaves and other botanicals hanging over the edges of the vessels appear malleable as they splash into small, circular drops.
      In January, Cowan’s solo show will open at Brunnier Art Museum at Iowa State University, and if you’re in New York City, stop by the Museum of Arts and Design in February to see some of the artist’s work as part of Craft Front & Center. Otherwise, keep up with her latest sculptures on Instagram.

      Detail of “Visions of the Night Muse in Jade” (2021), 20 x 15.5 x 7.5 inches
      “Hummingbirds Feast on Helio and Lavender” (2021), 20 x 15.5 x 7.5 inches
      Left: “Cornucopia in Shell” (2021), 8 x 5.5 x 4 inches. Right: “Fountain in Rosalene” (2021), 17 x 8.5 x 8.5 inches
      Detail of “Hummingbirds Feast on Helio and Lavender” (2021), 20 x 15.5 x 7.5 inches
      “Autumn Fan in Mandarin and Bittersweet Orange” (2021), 17.5 x 17.5 x 8 inches
      “Garden Snail with Feather and Pearls”

      #found objects
      #glass
      #sculpture

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      Carved Organic Patterns Highlight the Natural Wood Grain of Carbonized Mahogany

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      Art

      #carving
      #sculpture
      #wood

      November 22, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “By any other name” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 27 x 2 inches. All images courtesy of TERN Gallery, shared with permission
      In Splinters and Shards, artist John Beadle enriches the beauty of wood’s natural grain with a series of gouged dots, line carvings, and smooth, supple curves. His small, circular sculptures and vertical towers accentuate the texture and subtle gradients of carbonized mahogany through etched patterns that reveal the pristine reddish hue peeking through the charred surface. Always highlighting the potential of the raw material, Beadle, whose background is in painting and printmaking, evokes these mediums through layering dimension and motif in a single work and drawing on the subtraction inherent in carving into a blank woodblock.
      Splinters and Shards is on view at the new TERN Gallery in Beadle’s hometown of Nassau, The Bahamas, from December 11, 2021, to January 22, 2022. Until then, check out the artist’s Instagram for a look at his process.

      “Fruit & Texture one” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 28.5 x 2 inches
      “Artifact II” (2020), carbonized mahogany and metal, 52.25 x 11.875 x 2 inches
      “Fruit & Texture” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 27 x 2 inches
      “Eclipse” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 52.75 x 2 inches
      “Well Rooted” (2020), carbonized mahogany and metal, 69.5 x 7 x 2 inches
      “What’s left behind” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 27 x 2 inches
      “Before the chaos” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 27 x 2 inches

      #carving
      #sculpture
      #wood

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      Ornate Rugs by Artist Faig Ahmed Ooze Onto the Floor in Drippy Fabric Puddles

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      Art

      #glitch
      #rugs
      #sculpture
      #textiles

      November 18, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images courtesy of Sapar Contemporary, shared with permission
      Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed (previously) has amassed a staggering archive of sculptural carpets that blur the boundaries of digital distortion and traditional craft techniques. Often monumental in scale, his fringed rugs are woven with classic, ornate patterns on top before they billow into a pool of glitches and skewed motifs.
      Ahmed weaves conceptual and historical relevances into his most recent trio, which is on view as part of his solo show PIR at New York’s Sapar Contemporary through January 6, 2022. Each piece draws its name from a spiritual leader who profoundly impacted Azerbaijani culture, including Shams Tabrizi, Yahya al-Shirvani al-Bakuvi, and Nizami Ganjavi. The carpet inspired by Tabrizi, who was Rumi’s mentor, for example, “gradually dissolve(s) into a black woolen space of nothingness, much like the final stages of a mystic’s spiritual journey: annihilation (fana’) of one’s individual ego within the divine presence, like the flame of a candle in the presence of the sun.”
      Visit Ahmed’s site to see behind-the-scenes photos of his process and to explore a larger collection of his fiber-based sculptures.

      “Yahya al-Shirvani al-Bakuvi”
      “Nizami Ganjavi” (2021), handmade wool carpet

      “Shams Tabrizi”
      Detail of “Nizami Ganjavi” (2021), handmade wool carpet
      “Yahya al-Shirvani al-Bakuvi”

      #glitch
      #rugs
      #sculpture
      #textiles

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      A ‘Staircase to Heaven’ Installation Ascends into the Sky as a Trippy Optical Illusion

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      Art

      #installation
      #public art
      #sculpture
      #site-specific
      #stairs
      #steel
      #video

      November 12, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Strijdom van der Merwe, shared with permission
      South African artist Strijdom van der Merwe’s deceptive “Staircase to Heaven” sculpture is designed to make you wonder. When viewed straight on, the towering optical illusion appears to ascend into the sky at an incline, although the 4.5-meter-tall work actually lies on a flat plane. Van der Merwe partnered with Taiwanese artist Chou Sheng-hsien to create the trippy sculpture for the Nanhui Art Project in Taiwan, which commissioned 14 public works to be installed throughout Taitung County.
      Built with steel square tubing that weighs about 240 kilograms, “Staircase to Heaven” is modeled after van der Merwe’s 2016 project, “Sculptures on the Cliff.” For more of the artist’s site-specific works and sprawling land art, check out his site. (via Laughing Squid)

      [embedded content]

      #installation
      #public art
      #sculpture
      #site-specific
      #stairs
      #steel
      #video

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      A 14-Foot Box Truck Transforms into an Intimate Glimpse of Domestic Life in Swoon’s Mobile Sculpture

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      Art

      #family
      #installation
      #painting
      #sculpture
      #trucks

      November 10, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images by Lauren Silberman, © Swoon, shared with permission
      Exploring trauma and addiction through intricate paper cuttings, pasted murals, and mythical stop-motion animations is at the heart of Caledonia Curry’s practice, and the Connecticut-born artist, who works as Swoon (previously), extends that approach in a mobile sculpture that peers into the intimacy of family life. Produced last year in collaboration with PBS American Portrait, “The House Our Family Built” transforms a 14-foot box truck into a roving domestic scene comprised of a cab cloaked in patterned wallpaper and a trailer split open to reveal a house-like environment.
      Within the vehicle are objects synonymous with home life, including framed photos, children’s toys, and furniture, while a fence lines the perimeter in front of the truck. A family of two-dimensional painted figures from multiple generations occupies both the indoor and outdoor spaces, and  Swoon says the outdoor installation “asks viewers to consider the legacy of ancestral histories—whether through traditions, trauma, or repeated narratives—and the ways in which they inform how we understand and talk about ourselves.”
      “The House Our Family Built” is on view this week at Nasher Sculpture Center as part of the Dallas Art Fair, and you can follow Swoon through the making-of process on PBS. Find an archive of her imaginative projects on her site, YouTube, and Instagram. (via Artnet)

      #family
      #installation
      #painting
      #sculpture
      #trucks

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      Otherworldly Hybrid Characters by Toco-Oco Consider Human Existence Through Emblems and Myth

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      Art

      #animals
      #clay
      #resin
      #sculpture
      #wax
      #wood

      November 8, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Toco-Oco, shared with permission
      Lara Alcântara and Guilherme Neumann, the duo behind the fantastical figurine maker Toco-Oco, envision an alternate world populated by curious animalistic creatures. Sculpted from a combination of wood, resin, fabric, clay, and wax, the hybrid characters wear garments and masks imprinted with emblems and child-like doodles and express a vast array of emotions that grapple with the strange universe they find themselves in. “It is a world very similar to ours, full of injustices but full of hope,” the pair says in an interview with WePresent. “Our work has reverence for the mystical, natural, and spiritual, trying to rescue this greater connection.”
      Based in Brazil, Alcântara and Neumann root each figure in larger narratives often tied to human existence. One character, for example, lugs an oversized, hollowed-out head filled with kindling on its back, a metaphor for a mind overwhelmed by emotion and worries for the future, while smaller busts function as totems with chest cavities and torsos marked by gaping shapes or mythological symbols. A tension between civility and natural instinct is a prominent feature and references “the wild, raw, ruthless, predatory, insatiable, powerful side which is repressed—or worse, is disguised—by the false idea of ​​consciousness,” they say.
      Toco-Oco’s sculptures sell out quickly, although they have a pre-sale slated for November 15. Follow updates on that new piece and see more of the otherworldly figures on Behance and Instagram.

      #animals
      #clay
      #resin
      #sculpture
      #wax
      #wood

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