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    Color-Changing Canopies Glow with LED Lights in a Fantastical Meadow in San Francisco

    
    Art

    #installation
    #LED lights
    #light
    #trees

    May 24, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Entwined Meadow” at Golden Gate Park. All images © Charles Gadeken, shared with permission. Photo by Allen Mort
    Charles Gadeken’s “Entwined Meadow” converted an outdoor greenspace at Golden Gate Park into an enchanted grove of color-changing light. Branching 30 feet across in thick canopies, three metal trees and scattered shrubbery populated the whimsical garden that merged nature and technology to create an otherworldly environment. Thousands of flickering LED cubes topped the plant forms, which stood as high as 20 feet, casting Park Meadow in a kaleidoscopic glow.
    “Entwined Meadow” recently closed at the San Francisco space, although Gadeken says the installation might make another appearance at the location in the future. See more views of the illuminated project, in addition to an archive of the Bay Area artist’s light-based works, on Instagram.

    Photo by Jason Chinn
    Photo by Jonathan Condit
    Photo by Jason Chinn

    #installation
    #LED lights
    #light
    #trees

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    Hundreds of Minuscule Paper Cranes Perch in Bonsai Trees in Naoki Onogawa’s Sculptures

    
    Art
    Craft

    #miniature
    #origami
    #paper
    #sculpture
    #trees

    April 5, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Naoki Onogawa, shared with permission
    Using just his hands, Tokyo-based artist Naoki Onogawa folds scores of origami cranes with wingspans that never top a single centimeter. He then fastens the minuscule birds to asymmetric tree forms, creating bonsai-like sculptures engulfed by hundreds of the monochromatic paper creatures.
    Onogawa tells Colossal that he began crafting the tiny birds following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake that devastated parts of southern Hokkaido and Tohoku, which the artist visited the next year. As he walked around the city of Rikuzen Takata, he spotted 1,000 paper cranes at the site of a school demolished by the tsunami. “I found myself in terror of how powerless we humans are in the face of nature’s wonder; yet at the same time, I felt empowered by the power of life, vitality, that shined so brightly in the aftermath of its wrath,” Onogawa says. He explains further:
    It was like witnessing the result of a desolate ritual where people channeled their unsettled feelings into these cranes. And here they exist, spirited with prayers that they would go back and forward to and from a world beyond here. I struggle to find the words to describe it, but I think that maybe the cranes that I fold now come from that place of solemn prayer.
    Onogawa’s cranes are on view at the Setouchi City Museum of Art alongside Motoi Yamamoto’s sprawling salt installation through May 5. Browse available artworks on Picaresque, and explore a larger collection of his pieces on Instagram. (via designboom)

    #miniature
    #origami
    #paper
    #sculpture
    #trees

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    Illuminated Streaks Appear to Fall from Trees in Light Paintings by Photographer Vitor Schietti

    
    Art
    Photography

    #Brazil
    #light
    #light painting
    #trees

    March 25, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Vitor Schietti, shared with permission
    In Vitor Schietti’s Impermanent Sculptures, thick treetops and branches are swollen with light that appears to drip down in incandescent rays. Each photograph frames the nighttime scenes in a dreamy, energetic manner as the glowing beams both outline and obscure the existing landscapes. Schietti shot the pieces shown here in February and March of 2021 around his hometown, Brasília, but the ongoing series first was developed in 2015.
    Although some of the long-exposure photographs are taken in a single shot, many are composites created from various light paintings. He explains:
    Apart from this process and color and contrast adjustments, the result is conceived entirely from real action with fireworks, a performance that shifts between spontaneity and control… To paint with light in a three-dimensional space is to bring one’s thoughts from unconscious realms into existence, only visible as presented through long-exposure photography.
    Schietti sees the luminous series as a celebration of the Brazilian city, which he describes as a tree-filled oasis of birds and cicadas that’s “often integrated with the genius architecture of Oscar Niemeyer…Appreciating their hidden expressions, or imagining the life force that pulsates and emanates from them maybe a little less ordinary, so here (the) images play an important role: inspire and foster imagination.”
    Check out the catalog of available prints on Schietti’s site, and head to Instagram for more of his photographs featuring Brazil’s lush landscapes and natural life.

    #Brazil
    #light
    #light painting
    #trees

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    Uncoiled Rope Sprawls Across Canvases and Open Spaces in Organic Forms by Artist Janaina Mello Landini

    
    Art

    #installation
    #neural networks
    #rope
    #sculpture
    #trees

    September 3, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Ciclotrama (expansão)” (2019), 4 Ciclotramas of “expansion” series with varied sizes, black and blue ropes, 270 x 600 x 400 centimeters. Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Gui Gomes. All images © Janaina Mello Landini, shared with permission
    Janaina Mello Landini (previously) unbraids lengths of rope to create fibrous labyrinths that breach canvases’ edges and crawl from floor to ceiling. Including both sprawling site-specific installations and smaller pieces confined to a few dozen centimeters, the São Paulo-based artist’s body of work is broad. All of her projects, though, explore tension and space as they spread into arboreal forms or perfectly round networks.
    Her recent works include a massive tree-like installation that fans out across Zipper Gallery’s floor and walls into delicate, tape blossoms. Another is a smaller, numbered piece that was born from the artist’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  “My days are quite slow now, no more assistants around, but I’m still working and thinking a lot,” she shares with Colossal and notes that at the beginning of lockdowns, she completed “Ciclotrama 177 (Fibonacci),” which is shown below.
    Since 2010, Landini has been contributing to her Ciclotrama series, a moniker that defines each piece. “The social cartography of individual networks shows the infinite interconnectedness of personal trajectories throughout a system, society, and the world as a whole. The movement of bodies (ropes) and the relationship between rhythm and time are also fundamental aspects of these series,” she says.
    To dive further into Landini’s work, check out her Instagram or Artsy, and take a virtual tour of her recent show at Zipper Gallery.

    “Ciclotrama 177 (Fibonacci)” (2020), cotton threads and acrylic pen on canvas, 1.7 x 1.7 meters. Photo by Lucas Cimino
    “Ciclotrama 177 (Fibonacci)” (2020), cotton threads and acrylic pen on canvas, 1.7 x 1.7 meters. Photo by Lucas Cimino
    “Ciclotrama 141 (épura)” (2019), 20 meters of handmade cotton rope diameter 24 centimeters and 2880 meters of paper tape, 700 x 800 x 1600 centimeters. Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Gui Gomes
    Left: “Ciclotrama 153 (aglomeração)” (2020), rope on canvas, 43 3/10 × 43 3/10 inches. Right: “Ciclotrama 124” (2018), Dipado rope sewed on natural linen, 78 7/10 × 78 7/10 × 2 inches
    “Ciclotrama 141 (épura)” (2019), 20 meters of handmade cotton rope diameter 24 centimeters and 2880 meters of paper tape, 700 x 800 x 1600 centimeters. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama (expansão)” (2019), 4 Ciclotramas of “expansion” series with varied sizes, black and blue ropes, 270 x 600 x 400 centimeters. Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama (expansão)” (2019), 4 Ciclotramas of “expansion” series with varied sizes, black and blue ropes, 270 x 600 x 400 centimeters. Zipper Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama 141 (épura)” (2019), 20 meters of handmade cotton rope diameter 24 centimeters and 2880 meters of paper tape, 700 x 800 x 1600 centimeters. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama 141 (épura)” (2019), 20 meters of handmade cotton rope diameter 24 centimeters and 2880 meters of paper tape, 700 x 800 x 1600 centimeters. Photo by Gui Gomes
    “Ciclotrama 174 (impregnação)” (2019), 50 meters of black nylon rope 40 millimeters diameter and 4.200 black nails, 6 x 7 x 5 meters. Photo by Gui Gomes

    #installation
    #neural networks
    #rope
    #sculpture
    #trees

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    Thick Clusters of Wooden Birdhouses by London Fieldworks Sprawl Across Tree Trunks

    
    Art

    #architecture
    #birdhouses
    #birds
    #installation
    #public art
    #trees
    #wood

    August 20, 2020
    Anna Marks

    “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven.” All images © London Fieldworks
    In London Fieldworks’ delicate creations, architecture meets nature. Its installations feature pine-colored clusters of minuscule wooden forms that appear to grow upon vast tree trunks. Founded by artists Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson, London Fieldworks is a collaborative and multidisciplinary arts practice with projects at the intersection of architecture, sculpture, installation, and film. 
    Each of the homes has rounded windows and doors, while those on large evergreen trees resemble natural objects, such as wasp and hornet nests or even fungi and mushrooms. From reflecting Clerkenwell’s urban renewal to offering new habitats for animals, the sprawling birdhouses fuse architectural ideas with nature and art, resulting in sculptures that integrate effortlessly in both natural and urban spaces. Through its installations, the practice explores its concern with the climate crisis through the lens of history, the environment, and culture.
    One work, “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven,” references opposite sides of London: Duncan Terrace Gardens in the east and Cremorne Gardens in the west. The installation is constructed from hundreds of bespoke bird boxes reflecting the forms of the local architecture—a combination of Modernist 60’s social housing and Georgian townhouses. 
    Explore more of London Fieldworks’ projects on its site. You also might enjoy this similarly dense complex for avian neighbors.

    “Spontaneous City: Clerkenwell”
    Right: “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven”
    “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven”
    “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven”
    “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Lebanon”

    #architecture
    #birdhouses
    #birds
    #installation
    #public art
    #trees
    #wood

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    Lush Florals and Ripe Fruit Sprout from Lustrous Glass Trees by Artist Debora Moore

    
    Art

    #flowers
    #glass
    #sculpture
    #trees

    July 17, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Debora Moore, shared with permission
    Combining traditional glassblowing techniques and sculpting methods, Debora Moore forms lustrous glass sculptures that resemble mossy branches, fleshy petals, and entire trees. The St. Louis-born artist began by creating orchids with bulbous centers before expanding her practice to larger, organic forms. In her recent collection, Arboria, Moore sculpted delicate magnolias, plump plums, and the lavender tendrils of the wisteria.
    The fragile artworks create a tension between the delicate material, the fleeting lives of flowers, and the strength and durability of nature. Moore likens her process to that of painting, where glass is used similarly to produce depth. “The material’s inherent ability to transmit and reflect light, as well as its variations from transparency to opacity, lends itself perfectly to achieve desired textures and surfaces,” she says in a statement.
    To dive further into Moore’s process and see her studio, check out this interview and her site.

    Left: “Purple Lady Slipper,” blown and sculpted glass, 35 x 21 x 8 inches. Right: “Paphiopedilum Epiphyte,” blown and sculpted glass, 35 x 9 x 9 inches
    “Magnolia” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 104 x 112 x 30 inches
    “Winter Plum” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 72 x 101 x 23 inches
    “Winter Plum” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 72 x 101 x 23 inches
    “Blue Lady Slippers” from Gigantica, blown and sculpted glass, 19 x 20 x 11 inches
    “Wisteria” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 93 x 86 x 36 inches
    “Wisteria” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 93 x 86 x 36 inches
    Left: “Blue Orchid Tree,” blown and sculpted glass, 42 x 35 x 10 inches. Right: “Pink Lady Slipper,” blown and sculpted glass, 62 x 43 x 8 inches
    “Blue Epiphyte,” blown and sculpted glass, 22 x 9.5 x 7.5 inches
    “Magnolia” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 104 x 112 x 30 inches
    “Blush Epidendrum,” blown and sculpted glass, 23 x 17 x 9 inches

    #flowers
    #glass
    #sculpture
    #trees

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    Multi-Layered Ceramics by Artist Heesoo Lee Express the Movements of Land and Sea

    
    Art
    Craft

    #ceramics
    #landscapes
    #leaves
    #nature
    #oceans
    #trees
    #vessels
    #water
    #waves

    July 9, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Heesoo Lee, shared with permission
    Heesoo Lee has spent years carefully layering blades of grass, pine trees, and cherry blossoms to construct botanic entanglements that crawl across ceramic mugs and bowls. Inspired by seasonal woodlands and aspen forests, the Montana-based artist recreates bright pockets of landscapes that capture small motions, like falling fronds or rustling branches. “There is movement in trees, but it is slow and subtle, a leaf in wind, the slow growth of new leaves in spring,” she says.
    While Lee has continued this tradition with many of her recent pieces, she’s expanded her source material to the ocean. For seven years, the artist lived in Maui, where she often surveyed the water. “I could sit on a beach all day and watch the waves, observe them, and feel calmed by them but also respectful of their energy and force,” she says. The memory has inspired a textured piece that swells upward to form a cavernous bowl. “Even in a small object, the waves are powerful and convey so much. For me, the waves connote freedom, the freedom to express myself and take risks,” the artist writes.
    Diverging from land posed new challenges in Lee’s process. For landscapes, the artist repeats elements in layers to create a fully formed piece, but the same technique didn’t translate to water. “The first time I tried to make waves I failed. I failed over and over and over after that. There were cracks, pieces broke off,” she says. “I realized the feeling of making a wave is so much different from making a landscape.” Instead, Lee retrained her hands to follow the movement of the water, using slip casting, carving, and a series of manual techniques to capture its energy and force. Her color palette changed from amalgamations that evoked seasons to a precise set of blues.
    Despite her forays into aquatic forms, Lee maintains an affinity for grassy fields and windswept boughs, which she explains:
    My seasonal work, landscapes that focus on all four seasons, are still a mainstay of my practice. The memories that fuel the images are so powerful for me, and it gives me great pleasure to share my interpretation of those memories with people… I have heard from people that drinking from a cup I made helped them channel their own memories of the outdoors and the seasons, even during a time when they are stuck inside.
    To purchase one of the artist’s organic works, follow her on Instagram, where she often shares shop updates, in addition to early looks into her process.

    #ceramics
    #landscapes
    #leaves
    #nature
    #oceans
    #trees
    #vessels
    #water
    #waves

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    Precise Angular Stitches Encase Found Twigs in Natalie Ciccoricco’s New Embroideries

     All images © Natalie Ciccoricco Stitching lengthy, varicolored rows around found twigs, Natalie Ciccoricco juxtaposes the organic forms of nature with her meticulous embroideries. The California-based artist has been crafting her Nesting series on white, handmade paper with unfinished edges. The stark backdrop complements the precisely laid thread that seems to suspend each twig, […] More