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      Six Quirky Houseplants Made from Collaged Photos Spring from a Pop-Up Book by Daniel Gordon

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      Art
      Photography

      #books
      #collage
      #fruit
      #paper
      #plants
      #pop-ups
      #sculpture

      March 9, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      From Daniel Gordon: Houseplants (Aperture, 2020). All images © Daniel Gordon/Aperture, photographs and video by Black&Steil/Aperture
      Say goodbye to the days of buying succulents only to watch them wilt and shrivel. Just flip open a pop-up book by photographer Daniel Gordon, and find a collection of forever-perky shrubs and greenery sprouting from the pages.
      Published by Aperture, Houseplants features quirky still lifes of potted vegetation and fruit that Gordon developed using photographs found online, a process that’s central to his overall practice. The obviously constructed forms, which were created by self-described paper engineer Simon Arizpe, juxtapose the realistic nature of the plants with saturated colors and unusual depth, resulting in scenes that are distinctly informed by the internet and the melding of digital and analog techniques. “The seamlessness of the ether is boring to me, but the materialization of that ether, I think, can be very interesting,” Gordon says in a statement.
      To add the sculptural greens to your collection, pick up a copy of Houseplants from Aperture or Bookshop, and explore more of the Brooklyn-based photographer’s vibrant, collaged projects on his site and Instagram. (via Juxtapoz)

      #books
      #collage
      #fruit
      #paper
      #plants
      #pop-ups
      #sculpture

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      Poetic Sculptures by Valérie Hadida Cast Composed Women with Coiffed Hair in Bronze

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      Art

      #body
      #bronze
      #hair
      #sculpture

      March 2, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Seaside,” bronze, 42 x 23 x 15 centimeters. All images © Valérie Hadida, courtesy of Galry, shared with permission
      For Valérie Hadida, the deep, protective partnerships fostered between women provide the foundation for her practice. The French artist casts bronze sculptures that are poetic and nuanced, depicting female figures wearing contemplative and composed expressions. “Coming from a large family where women reign supreme and play a key role, they have established a bond of serenity, trust, and complicity with me,” she tells Colossal. “The heroines of my works are always women because I am deeply convinced that it is they who will change and save the world.”
      Hadida begins with a sketch before building the figures that eventually are covered with green patina. In recent years, the size of the sculptures has grown from smaller works into those that stand more than a meter high, an expansion that brings the scale of the works closer to a human body. “I prefer to work on the curves, the flesh more than the muscles. These seem to me disabling because they are hard and violent,” she says. Most of the sculptures depict teenage years or middle age, a time that’s marked with transition and change.
      Generally seated, the figures’ poses and gestures appear temporary as if the woman has just shifted or is precariously settled on a stone. Although the bodies are still, their curls often swell upward to imply movement and sometimes are embedded with smaller silhouettes like in “Nocturna.” Their locks “typify each woman in her origins, in her age… The hair moves like the branches of a tree,” the artist says, noting that the plumed strands both accentuate and stabilize the figures’ supple curves, elongated fingers, and overall shape. “These women are marked by life. I do not represent perfect or idealized figures. These silhouettes are on the contrary very marked, very cut out. But their imperfections highlight their femininity,” she says.
      Hadida is represented by Galry in Paris, and you can find a larger collection of her elegantly sculpted works on Artsy.

      “La grande zénitude” (2021), bronze, 39 2/5 × 31 1/2 × 13 4/5 inches
      Detail of “Nocturna” (2017), bronze, 25 1/5 × 17 7/10 × 7 9/10 inches
      Left: “La rêveuse” (2018), bronze, 32 7/10 × 8 3/10 × 10 1/5 inches. Right: “Nouvel Amour” (2020), bronze, 29 1/2 × 11 4/5 × 11 4/5 inches
      Detail of “Trio de femmes” (2018), bronze, 21 3/10 × 15 × 7 9/10 inches
      “Trio de femmes” (2018), bronze, 21 3/10 × 15 × 7 9/10 inches
      “Nocturna” (2017), bronze, 25 1/5 × 17 7/10 × 7 9/10 inches
      Detail of “Nouvel Amour” (2018), bronze, 75 x 30 x 30 centimeters
      Detail of “Nouvel Amour” (2018), bronze, 75 x 30 x 30 centimeters

      #body
      #bronze
      #hair
      #sculpture

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    • 138 Shares129 Views

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      Intricate Paper Animals Spring from Textured Sculptures by Artist Calvin Nicholls

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      Art
      Craft

      #animals
      #birds
      #paper
      #sculpture

      March 1, 2021
      Anna Marks

      All images © Calvin Nicholls, shared with permission
      In Calvin Nicholls’s sculptural forms, feathered and furry creatures are meticulously crafted from small pieces of white paper. When viewed up-close, their texture resembles the fullness of a wintery landscape, but in full form, the Canadian artist’s animals are so vivid that they appear as though they could leap, fly, and spring out of the canvas. Nicholls (previously) seamlessly examines and sculpts every detail of an animal’s body, from the difference in plume texture in doves to the strained muscles of a giraffe to the intoxicating stare of a tiger stalking its prey.  
      Every work is crafted from archival cotton paper that prevents yellowing and fading. Nicholls uses minuscule amounts of glue to secure the individual pieces, employing knives and texturing tools to precisely sculpt each delicate part. For the artist, crafting fur and feathers are equally challenging, and how long a piece will take is difficult to predict. He shares:
      The largest sculptures I’ve done require several hundreds of hours while the more modest pieces keep me busy for two or more weeks. Familiarity with the subject is a big factor as well. My love of birds often propels me through pieces much faster than when sculpting subjects with (an) emphasis on musculature and structure.
      Nicholls’s fascination with paper as a medium stems from graphic design classes in college, in addition to later collaborations with a colleague. These experiences further forged his interest in experimenting with various materials and papers that he had become familiar with through the graphics trade.
      Follow additions to Nicholls’s monochromatic menagerie on Behance and Instagram, and see the originals and prints he has available in his shop.

      #animals
      #birds
      #paper
      #sculpture

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      Countless Paper Seeds Comprise the Fluctuating Landscapes in Ilhwa Kim’s Sculptural Works

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      Art

      #abstract
      #paper
      #sculpture

      February 24, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Space Sample 36” (2020), 164 x 132 x 15 centimeters. All images © Ilhwa Kim, shared with permission
      In Ilhwa Kim’s sculptural landscapes, innumerable paper seeds form precise rows, indented pockets of densely packed folds, and multi-color valleys that wind through the feet-wide works. The South Korean artist arranges individual units of the rolled material in a staggered manner, meaning that the color, shadow, and texture of the final pieces shift with each viewing. “I am probably a sculptor of senses. I have been very curious how my senses are being organized when I perceive a thing or a location. The order, priority, and the way of being assembled together surprise me. How the senses reunited keeps evolving from initial contact to temporary goodbye,” she says, noting that change and perception play a central role in her practice.
      Each composition begins with blank, white paper that Kim dyes and rolls into tight tubes that can be sliced only with heavy machinery. She forgoes gluing any of the seeds prior until the entire piece is complete. “This working process gives big freedom to make meaningful changes even when very close to the final stage,” the artist shares. “That is how a child plays, as well.” The comprehensive process transforms the original material into durable units that resemble the organic lifeform and ultimately grow into larger sculptures.
      Based in Seoul, Kim has a solo show slated for September 2021 at HOFA Gallery in London, and you can see a larger collection of her works, including shots of pieces-in-progress, on Instagram. (via Cross Connect Magazine)

      Detail of “Space Station Sample” (2016), 192 x 334 x 12 centimeters
      “Space Station Sample” (2016), 192 x 334 x 12 centimeters
      Detail of “Space Sample 36” (2020), 164 x 132 x 15 centimeters
      “Seed Universe 108” (2019), 184 x 152 x 15 centimeters. Image via HOFA
      “White Portrait” (2019), 184 x 152 x 15 centimeters
      “Space Sample 30” (2019), 119 x 186 x 15 centimeters
      “Seed School 3” (2019), 114 x 234 x 13 centimeters
      Left: “Seed School 7” (2020), 114  x 234 x 13 centimeters. Right: “Seed universe 83” (2018), 184 x 132 x 15 centimeters
      Detail of “Space Station 5” (2019), 192 x 224 x 15 centimeters
      “Space Sample 45” (2020), 184 x 152 15 centimeters

      #abstract
      #paper
      #sculpture

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      Fiery Crayon Sculptures and Busts by Herb Williams Confront the Climate Crisis

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      Art

      #climate change
      #crayons
      #fire
      #sculpture

      February 18, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “First Fire.” All images © Herb Williams, by Hannah Deits, shared with permission
      Herb Williams addresses some of the most pressing issues of our time—uncontrollable fires, hurricanes, and an impending lack of natural resources, to name a few—through an unusually playful medium. The Nashville-based artist creates colorful sculptures and busts from innumerable crayons, assembling textured works that simultaneously display the ubiquitous childhood tool while confronting the ongoing effects of the climate crisis.
      Similar to the large-scale flames he created in response to Texas wildfires nearly a decade ago, Williams’ new pieces, like the river-stone-encircled campfire above, are based in collective experience. He writes:
      The epic catastrophes, disasters, and pandemic are virtually impossible to navigate as adults, so I am trying to create works that will help children understand and eventually deal, most hopefully solve what we can’t one day. I’m exploring the myths we cling to comfort, deny or manage our way through without losing our collective humanity.
      “First Fire” pairs with Three Graces of Climate Change, a trio of figurative sculptures that reinterpret the “Venus de Milo” through the lenses of wildfires, glacial melt, and deforestation. In one piece, bright blazes erupt from the shoulder and hip, and in another, the figure is sliced in two to reveal age rings similar to those of a tree.
      Williams currently is working on six sculptures that’ll be on display at Atlanta International Airport. He’s also the curator at Nashville’s Rymer Gallery, where you can find a larger collection of his works.

      “Venus of Wildfires”
      “Venus of Glacial Melt”
      “Venus of Deforestation”

      #climate change
      #crayons
      #fire
      #sculpture

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      Abstract Masses of Porcelain Consume Embracing Figures in Sculptures by Artist Claudia Fontes

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      Art

      #body
      #porcelain
      #sculpture

      February 5, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Claudia Fontes, shared with permission
      Argentina-born artist Claudia Fontes (previously) continues her Foreigners series with small sculptures of figures enveloped by plumes of porcelain. Recent additions to the expanding collection are more abstract than previous iterations, which often revealed the body’s curves and gestures, although all of the works feature limbs embracing within or attempting to escape from the textured clouds. The pocked surface resembles organic matter, like sea sponges or coral, and seamlessly merges life forms into a cohesive structure.
      Fontes tells Colossal that this shift in focus was inspired by a desire to see “the material as the main protagonist of the piece, steering away from representation.” She explains that by “piercing the porcelain in different ways and exploring the possibilities that come with grouping the figures, I have realized that I am paying more attention to the material as a fictional membrane, which mediates between figure and background.”
      Currently, Fontes is incorporating two colors into her otherwise white porcelain in order to create new works that evoke sedimentary rock. She’s also preparing for a solo show at Cecilia Brunson Projects in London and a group exhibition at Stuk in Leuven, Belgium, and some pieces from the Foreigners series will be part of Simbiologías at Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires this April. Until then, follow the artist on Instagram or head to her site to see more of her sculptural work.

      #body
      #porcelain
      #sculpture

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      Delightful Nighttime Landscapes Nestle into Stacked Wooden Boxes in Allison May Kiphuth’s Dioramas

      by

      
      Art

      #animals
      #dioramas
      #found objects
      #miniature
      #mixed media
      #nature
      #sculpture
      #watercolor

      February 3, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Allison May Kiphuth, shared with permission
      Allison May Kiphuth (previously) shrinks the expansive landscapes found throughout the eastern United States into picturesque dioramas brimming with natural life. Through layered watercolor and ink renderings, the Maine-based artist creates a mix of quiet forest scenes and ocean habitats often under a dark, nighttime sky. She then stacks the outfitted wooden boxes, blending the marine and land-based pieces in varying positions that create new ecosystems with every combination.
      Although Kiphuth derives much of her subject matter from the area around her home, she shares that experiencing new scenes is essential to her practice. “I haven’t been outside of Maine in over a year, and while this landscape is usually so expansively beautiful to me, without the contrast of other landscapes for perspective, it’s been feeling incredibly small,” a feeling that’s amplified by her living and working from a tiny home that’s just 8 x 20 feet.
      The artist has a solo show slated for August at Antler Gallery in Portland, and limited edition prints of the piece above are available from Nahcotta. Get a glimpse into Kiphuth’s process and views of the scenery she references in her works on Instagram.

      “Bond,” watercolor, paper, and pins in antique box, 4 x 6 x 2 inches
      “Defense,” watercolor, paper, and pins in antique box, 4.625 x 7 x 3.75 inches
      Left: “Den” (2019), watercolor on layers of hand-cut paper, sealed with encaustic, 6 x 6.5 x .5 inches
      “Nightlight 2,” Watercolor, paper, thread, and pins in antique box, 6.25 x 4.875 x 3.25 inches
      “Observation” (2019), watercolor on layers of hand-cut paper, sealed with encaustic, 6 x 6 x .5 inches
      “Defense” in progress

      #animals
      #dioramas
      #found objects
      #miniature
      #mixed media
      #nature
      #sculpture
      #watercolor

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