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      10,000 Letters Dangle from the Ceiling in an Immersive Installation by Artist Chiharu Shiota

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      Art

      #boats
      #installation
      #letters
      #thread

      March 12, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “I hope…” (2021), rope, paper, steel, installation view at König Galerie, Berlin. All images by Sunhi Mang, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, courtesy of the artist, shared with permission
      A towering expanse of red thread, a new installation by Chiharu Shiota (previously) suspends 10,000 letters within the nave of Berlin’s König Galerie, a Brutalist-style space located in the former St. Agnes church. The immersive construction runs floor to ceiling and is awash with notes from people around the world who share their dreams following a particularly devastating year. Aptly named “I hope…,” the large-scale project hangs two wire boats that appear to float upward at its center, evoking travel into an unknown future.
      For this collaborative installation, the Japanese artist, who’s lived in Berlin for the last two decades, draws on a similar piece from 2015 titled “The Key in the Hand.” That earlier work similarly utilizes gathered objects and bright red thread, although it trapped 50,000 keys in a web that swelled from a wooden boat. In this iteration, however, Shiota lets the strands fall loosely and connects them to paper notes, leaving the individual elements open to movement and change.
      “I hope…” is on view through March 21, and there’s a video tour of the staggering project if you can’t see it in-person. Follow Shiota on Instagram to keep up with her sweeping installations that weave common objects into vast networks of fiber. (via designboom)

      #boats
      #installation
      #letters
      #thread

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      A Monumental Collection of Slouching Figures Considers the Effects of Aging on the Body

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      Art

      #aging
      #body
      #felt
      #sculpture
      #thread

      February 1, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art
      Nicole Havekost describes her towering figures as exhibiting the contradiction of “sublime embarrassment… Bodies are magical and glorious and gross and bewildering. Bodies are civilized and feral.” Through hand-sewn sculptures, the Rochester-based artist explores the ways aging affects peoples’ figures and the emotional process of adjusting to a new reality.
      She stitches large anthropomorphic works from industrial felt, shaping bodies that are bulging and covered with knots and uneven seams that serve as a reminder of restoration. Havekost explains:
      These are the visible representations of the making and mending, repairing and refinishing, we are engaged in as human beings on a daily basis. It shows where we have been and marks where we are going. My figures show their imperfect repairs outwardly, unlike most of us who put on our best public faces. As I have aged, I have become more of a partner to my body. To have a body and accept its imperfections is a privilege and that is what I continue to explore in my work.
      Coupled with the varying stitches are the figures’ loping movements and gestures: they lean against the wall, slouch on the floor, and stretch stiff limbs, exposing their “lived-in bodies. They are soft but hold their shape and are in poses open to nurturing and comfort though they have already given so much. They are protectors that need protection,” the artist says.
      Although much of Havekost’s work centers on smaller creatures, this collection is monumental in scale and a natural progression from the doll-sized pieces she’s made previously. The nondescript works loom within the 18-foot gallery at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where they’re currently on view through June 26, 2021. “The idea of these figures really owning the space, of the audience having to adjust to their size and presence is what really drove the increased scale and bulk of the pieces. I owed it to the figures to let them be as big as they needed to be,” she says.
      Explore Havekost’s larger body of work on her site, and follow her latest projects on Instagram.

      #aging
      #body
      #felt
      #sculpture
      #thread

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      Trimmed in Gold, Ceramic Vessels by Artist Yurim Gough Challenge Notions of Gender

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      Art

      #ceramics
      #gender
      #gold
      #identity
      #sculpture
      #thread

      January 22, 2021
      Christopher Jobson

      All images courtesy of Paradigm Gallery, shared with permission
      Through nine ceramic bowls, Yurim Gough untangles the complex narratives surrounding performance, appearance, and gender fluidity. Her identity-centric pieces—which are infused with layers of pencil renderings, thread, and other materials that can require nearly a dozen rounds of firing at multiple temperatures to complete—depict figures outfitted with ostentatious costumes and elaborately painted faces. Drawing on aspects of queer culture, Gough’s vessels are disruptive and revisionary, simultaneously exposing the dated and constructed nature of traditional gender categories while reveling in the history of those who’ve subverted norms.
      Gough’s gold-trimmed collection will be on view as part of Salvage, a group exhibition curated by Colossal’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief Christopher Jobson at Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia. Opening tonight, January 22, Salvage shares how artists are revitalizing fragments of tradition and culture that were destined to be lost, relegated to the periphery, or buried forever. The exhibition, which you can tour virtually, launches with a live talk with Jobson, Gough, André Schulze (previously), and Debra Broz (previously)—tickets are available on Eventbrite—and runs through February 20.
      Now based in the U.K., the South Korean artist has a background in fashion. Explore more of her work, which includes a variety of self-portraiture and considerations of contemporary culture, on her site and Instagram.

      #ceramics
      #gender
      #gold
      #identity
      #sculpture
      #thread

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      Vibrant Botanic Embroideries Embellish the Dried Leaf Sculptures of Hillary Waters Fayle

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      Art
      Craft

      #embroidery
      #found objects
      #leaves
      #sculpture
      #seeds
      #thread

      December 29, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images via the artist and Momentum Gallery
      Merging traditional craft techniques and the natural world’s abundant materials, Hillary Waters Fayle (previously) meticulously stitches brightly hued florals into found camellia leaves and other foliage. From simple lines and ribbing to fully rendered botanics, the thread-based embellishments interrupt the fragile matter. The resulting sculptures evidence nature’s durability while juxtaposing the organic material with the fabricated additions.
      In the interview below, Waters Fayle describes how she gathers leaves and seed pods from areas around her home in Richmond, Virginia, and notes that her practice is rooted in sustainability. By using materials that are already available, like thread from her grandmother, the artist strives for zero-waste in her practice. Overall, her intention is to “bind nature and human touch,” magnifying how the two interact.
      Head to Waters Fayle’s site or Instagram to view a larger collection of her embroidered works. You also might enjoy Susanna Bauer’s crocheted leaves.

      “Inherent,” hand-stitched camellia leaves, 5 x 5 inches
      “Implications,” hand-stitched camellia leaves, 4-3/4 x 4-3/4 inches
      “Circle Inscribed,” hand-stitched camellia leaves, 5 x 5 inches
      “Reaching Toward The Other,” hand-stitched camellia leaves, 4-1/2 x 2 inches
      “Flora Series 7,” hand-embroidered foliage, 6 x 6 inches
      

      #embroidery
      #found objects
      #leaves
      #sculpture
      #seeds
      #thread

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      Arresting Sculptural Reliefs by Artist Anne Samat Layer Everyday Objects with Meticulously Woven Threads

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      Art

      #beads
      #family
      #fiber art
      #identity
      #sculpture
      #thread

      November 18, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly” (2020), rattan sticks, yarn, rakes, washers, plastic swords, toy soldiers, beads, metal and plastic ornaments, 131.5 x 141.75 x 11.75 inches. Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: “We Do Not Dream Alone” at Asia Society Museum, New York. Photograph by Bruce M. White. All images courtesy of Asia Society, shared with permission
      In her fiber-based reliefs, Malaysian artist Anne Samat disrupts classic woven patterns with unusual objects: toy soldiers, rakes, and plastic swords are intertwined in the multi-color threads that fan outward and billow down onto the floor. Comprised of a trio of wall hangings and a free-standing sculpture, “Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly” meticulously juxtaposes beadwork and traditional South Asian weaving techniques with common items, a project that questions the boundaries of craft and art.
      Each section is incredibly complex and infused with references to Samat’s family, identity, and experiences with loss. The largest work, for example, features five sections, with the innermost piece paying homage to her late brother who recently died after a long illness. Flanking the central portion are two stately pillars with pink and blue details that represent her mother and father. The outermost layers that sprawl from floor to ceiling evoke the artist herself and her sister, who are the only two living members of her family. Even the title is derived from advice Samat received from her father before he died.
      “Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly” is on view through February 7, 2021, as part of the Asia Society Triennial.

      “Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly” (2020), rattan sticks, yarn, rakes, washers, plastic swords, toy soldiers, beads, metal and plastic ornaments, 98 x 48 x 7 inches
      “Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly” (2020), rattan sticks, yarn, rakes, washers, plastic swords, toy soldiers, beads, metal and plastic ornaments, 131.5 x 141.75 x 11.75 inches.
      “Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly” (2020), rattan sticks, yarn, rakes, washers, plastic swords, toy soldiers, beads, metal and plastic ornaments, 98 x 48 x 7 inches
      “Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly” (2020), rattan sticks, yarn, rakes, washers, plastic swords, toy soldiers, beads, metal and plastic ornaments, 98 x 48 x 7 inches (left) and 131.5 x 141.75 x 11.75 inches (center)
      “Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly” (2020), rattan sticks, yarn, rakes, washers, plastic swords, toy soldiers, beads, metal and plastic ornaments, 131.5 x 141.75 x 11.75 inches
      “Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly” (2020), rattan sticks, yarn, rakes, washers, plastic swords, toy soldiers, beads, metal and plastic ornaments, 131.5 x 141.75 x 11.75 inches (center) and 105 x 48 x 7 inches (right)

      #beads
      #family
      #fiber art
      #identity
      #sculpture
      #thread

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      Swaths of Colorful Fringe Disguise Animalistic Sculptures by Artist Troy Emery

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      Art
      Craft

      #animals
      #sculpture
      #thread

      July 13, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “small sweet pink lump” (2020), polyester, polyurethane, pins, and adhesive, 40 x 44 x 39 centimeters. All images © Troy Emery, shared with permission
      Many pet owners are quick to name their dog or cat’s breed, but those bringing home one of Troy Emery’s colorful sculptures might need to figure out what species they’ve adopted first. The Melbourne-based artist creates amorphous artworks that resemble a range of four-legged friends, although their figures are enveloped with swaths of long, flowing fringe rather than distinct characteristics.
      In a note to Colossal, Emery shares that his tassel-covered sculptures consider how both fine arts and craft are portrayed broadly, in addition to the unique position non-human creatures hold as “tokens of ecological ruination… Along with the theme of animals within decorative arts, my practice plays with both scientific and cultural categorization of the ‘natural’ world, creating ‘fake taxidermy’ that falls between reality and fantasy as exotic hybrid creatures,” he says.
      Emery’s indeterminate sculptures are currently on view through an online exhibition with Martin Browne Contemporary, and more of his textile-based projects can be found on Instagram. (via The Jealous Curator)

      “Bird Catcher” (2017), rayon fringing, polyurethane, glue, and pins
      “ingot eater” (2019), polyester, polyurethane, pins, and adhesive, 78 x 98 x 54 centimeters
      “pink peony” (2020), polyester, polyurethane, pins, and adhesive, 39 x 68 x 22 centimeters
      “shadow” (2019), polyester, polyurethane, pins, and adhesive, 51 x 50 x 45 centimeters
      “savage” (2020), polyester, polyurethane, wire, fiberglass, pins, and adhesive, 32 x 90 x 40 centimeters

      #animals
      #sculpture
      #thread

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    • 163 Shares109 Views

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      Targets Mask Women and Girls in Powerful Thread Portraits by Artist Nneka Jones

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       “Shooting Range Target” (2019), hand-embroidery on canvas, 8 x 10 inches. All images © Nneka Jones, shared with permission A recent University of Tampa graduate, activist artist Nneka Jones masterfully blends embroidery thread to stitch stunning portraits of young girls, women, and the occasional celebrity. Sometimes donning a fringed shirt that cascades from the […] More