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    14,000 Prescription Lenses Dangle like Dewdrops in a Lush Japanese Forest

    All images courtesy of Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett, shared with permission

    14,000 Prescription Lenses Dangle like Dewdrops in a Lush Japanese Forest

    October 15, 2024

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    Suspended like a vortex of rain, a new installation from Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett ushers viewers into a shimmering enclosure.

    “A Whisper in the Eye of the Storm” dangles 14,000 prescription lenses from a pair of concentric circles. Created for the Northern Alps Art Festival in Omachi City, the site-specific work evokes the region’s historic relationship to water.

    Blanketed with heavy snow in the winter and drenched during rainy summers, the city experiences several wet seasons. Situated at the base of the Japanese mountain range, it boasts natural features like lakes, hot springs, and hydroelectric dams. Omachi has also seen its population rapidly dwindle in recent years.

    Brown and Garrett have previously worked with found, recycled objects like lightbulbs and telephones. Nested behind Nishina Shrine along the shore of Lake Kizaki, this new piece repurposes eyeglasses that catch and refract sunlight and magnify the surrounding cedar forest, focusing viewers’ gazes on the enlarged natural world around them.

    “The work invites visitors to look at the landscape (and each other) with fresh eyes, seeing differently and peering deeply into the ancient and evolving landscape,” the artists say.

    “A Whisper in the Eye of the Storm” is on view through November 4. Find more from Brown and Garrett on their website.

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    A Fleet of Aging Cars Takes a Chromatic Turn in Fred Battle’s Caravan-Sized Color Chart

    All photos by Agency.WTF, courtesy of Fred Battle, shared with permission

    A Fleet of Aging Cars Takes a Chromatic Turn in Fred Battle’s Caravan-Sized Color Chart

    October 15, 2024

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    In an old French scrapyard, Fred Battle hits the brakes on a fleet of aging cars. For his 2019 installation “Solara,” the artist painted the exteriors of 144 dilapidated vehicles from the 60s to 90s with vibrant colors. Hoods, roofs, and trunks shine once again with bold hues corresponding to an RGB color value, their codes written on the bonnet.

    “I decided to create this color chart by observing the action of the sun on the horizontal surfaces of these cars,” Battle wrote. “As each of these cars has had its proper life as an object, then applying one specific color on each reveals its singularity, its personal and particular use.”

    Enveloped by lush foliage, the automobiles are parked in chromatic rows, creating an enormous, outdoor swatch book best viewed from above.

    Battle frequently works on walls, vehicles, and canvases, painting bright, dynamic works that grapple with movement, public space, and gathering. Find much more on his Instagram.

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