More stories

  • in

    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

  • in

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

    
    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

    Do 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

  • in

    Fragmented Garments and Body Parts Drift Away From Steel Sculptures by Regardt Van Der Meulen

    
    Art

    #body
    #sculpture
    #steel

    January 28, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Untitled” (2018), mild steel, 1900 x 1850 x 900 millimeters. All images © Regardt Van Der Meulen, shared with permission
    Regardt Van Der Meulen is concerned with the ephemerality of human life, a fascination that manifests in his sweeping steel sculptures. Fragmented and oversized, the works juxtapose the unyielding material with the movement inherent in the figures’ poses and the shapes of their garments. Each of their bodies is incomplete, whether through a bisected limb or torso gaping with negative space.
    Based in Johannesburg, Van Der Meulen shares that much of his work exposes the vulnerability of the body and how both minute and drastic changes alter its presentation. Branches, geometric pieces, and erosion interrupt the nondescript figures, serving as a metaphor for their mental and physical instability, as well as the precarious state of the natural world and civilization. The artist writes:
    I am fascinated by human mortality and the fleeting moments we spend here. One often forgets how fragile life and our environment is. We think we are part of a binary relationship with nature when in fact we are one. Sudden changes in our environment or experiences can instantly shift our perspective on how we view life and our role in it.
    Find more of Van Der Meulen’s fractured sculptures on Instagram. (via Cross Connect Magazine)

    “Twigs” (2017), mild steel, 2,300 x 1,600 x 1,200 millimeters
    Detail o f“Twigs” (2017), mild steel, 2,300 x 1,600 x 1,200 millimeters
    Detail of “Shadow,” steel, 2.8 x 1 meter
    “Shadow,” steel, 2.8 x 1 meter
    “Unravel,” steel, 2,200 x 1,600 x 600 milimeters
    Detail of “”Untitled” (2018), mild steel, 1900 x 1850 x 900 millimeters
    Detail of “Deteriorated” (2020), steel, 2,020 x 520 x 520 milimeters
    “Dematerialising” (2020), steel, 2050 milimeters

    #body
    #sculpture
    #steel

    Do 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

  • in

    Welded Stainless Steel Creatures by Georgie Seccull Twist and Unfurl in Eternal Motion

    
    Art

    #animals
    #metal
    #metalwork
    #sculpture
    #steel
    #welding

    August 27, 2020
    Christopher Jobson

    Zenith & Nadir, 2020. All images by Andrew J Bourke, © Georgie Seccull, shared with permission.
    Australian sculptor and installation artist Georgie Seccull creates large-scale stainless steel sculptures of animals and other creatures seemingly locked in motion. Comprised of numerous pieces cut from metal sheets, the materials lend themselves to organic forms like feathers, scales, wings, or the armaments of crustaceans. Seccull’s work scales up dramatically in her installation practice where she’s filled entire rooms and atriums with suspended pieces.
    “We are born out of chaos in darkness and come into the light—my process is much the same: I begin with a thousand pieces scattered on the ground, then working almost like a jigsaw puzzle, I pick them up one by one and allow each piece to come together organically and dictate the outcome,” the artist shares in a statement.
    One of Seccull’s most recent sculptures has been nominated for a Beautiful Bizarre People’s Choice art prize, and she has an upcoming solo show at the Gasworks Art Park near Melbourne. You can see more of her work on Instagram.

    The Beyond
    Cancer Rising
    Dancing in the Dark
    The Gatekeepers, detail
    Through the Dark
    Resistance, 2019
    Return to the Source
    Artist Georgie Seccull in her studio.

    #animals
    #metal
    #metalwork
    #sculpture
    #steel
    #welding

    Do 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