I’m really enjoying these kinetic sculptures by artist Laurent Debraux who works primarily with magnets, metallic objects and ferrofluid. The artist was just exhibiting at the Kinetica Art Fair in London and if you missed it head over to YouTube channel where you can catch over 30 videos of his work.
Bergère / 2012 / Various papers / 26 x 26 x 36 in.
Shirt & Tie / 2010 / Mulberry and various other papers / 23 x 30 x 4 in.
Wallet / 2011 / Paper, nylon thread / 4 x 3 x 0.5 in.
Paper Museum Bench / 2013
Americana, paper jeans / 2011 / Paper, canvas, silk and nylon thread / 15 x 9 x 11 in.
Americana, paper jeans / 2011 / Paper, canvas, silk and nylon thread / 15 x 9 x 11 in.
Paper Eames Chair LCW / 2012 / Various papers, hand painted / 22 x 23 x 28 in.
A dusty old chair, a wrinkled pair of jean shorts, or the classic shape of a wooden Eames chair, common items you might encounter every day without giving them a second thought. But try to sit on that worn Corbusier bench or wear that pressed white shirt and you might be shocked as they tear or disintegrate before your very eyes because, amazingly, they are made almost completely with paper by Los Angeles-based artist Vincent Tomczyk. Via his artist statement:
My art centers on objects to stimulate visceral connections. These compositions represent biographies of people, experiences and interpretations of intangible ideas. Although my work can be categorized as realism, my intention is to distill the emotion of an object, then through expression, reconstruct it into my view of its essential self – free of function. [...] As an artist working primarily with paper, my art requires me to be part craftsman and part engineer. I learned a lot about how to construct things by working at my father’s side, in his workshop. I’m compelled to produce work that is visually poetic by using a medium that defies perceived limitations.
Tomczyk tells me that he doesn’t do much sketching before he embarks on each artwork, but spends his time formulating ideas in his head and developing a list of needed materials and measurements. The objects are carefully crafted by hand, all of the colors you see are hand-painted and he never relies on any sort of digital printing. Translation: these take a lot of time. The jean shorts alone with functional pockets and realistic textures took over 100 hours.
If you want to see more, Tomczyk has a solo show opening May 4th, 2013 at Gallery 825 in LA and you can also see many more of his paper works on his website. If you enjoy this kind of realism, also check out Randall Rosenthall’s wood carvings. (via colossal submissions, thnx shane)
As part of the 2012 Festival Arbres en Lumière, an outdoor tree light festival in Geneva, Switzerland, artist Cédric Le Borgne (previously) installed a pair of large birds just off Rue de la Fontaine. Titled Le Désir et la Menace the birds were constructed from wire and lit
from below in a style previously seen in his figurative works giving the forms a glowing, weightless appearance. See much more over on his website. (via ruines humaines)
Skull No. 3 / Flameworked borosilicate glass, ionized neon and mercury, wood, electronics. 14″x14″x14″. 2013.
Skull No. 3 / Detail.
Skull No. 3 / Detail.
Skull No. 1 / Flameworked borosilicate glass, ionized neon, wood, electronics. 14″x14″x14″. 2013.
Skull No. 1 / Detail.
Skull No. 1 / Detail.
Skull No. 2 / Flameworked borosilicate glass, ionized neon and krypton, wood, electronics. 14″x14″x14″. 2013.
Skull No. 2 / Detail.
Skull No. 2 / Detail.
Portland artist Eric Franklin (previously) just completed three new works, a trio of neon glass skulls lit internally by ionized neon, krypton, and mercury. The structure of each human skull is deviously complex, made from a network of glass tubes that have to be perfectly sealed to create the vacuum necessary to light them, a process that leaves the figures somewhat misshapen and admittedly a bit creepy. A completely amazing sort of creepy. All three artworks are currently available for acquisition through Chris Forney over at Artworks Gallery. All images courtesy the artist.
Every single day in 2013 San Francisco-based artist Klari Reis is creating an abstract painting inside the confines of the humble petri dish, a cylindrical container used by biologists to culture the growth of cells and algae, something the paintings seem to directly resemble. Called ‘Daily Dish 2013‘ the project is a continuation of a series Reis completed back in 2009, but at a cursory glance I’m already enjoying the 2013 series much more. Despite the limitation of medium and space, it’s amazing to see the variation of color and depth each painting has, for some reason it reminded me of Jason Fried’s 2007 SvN post about the variation of watch faces. (via coudal)
While living in Beijing several years ago German artist Wolfgang Stiller acquired several head molds and large pieces of wood. After experimenting with the various components the artist struck on an idea to create several large-scale burnt matches where the charred remains of each tip appeared as the face of a human, a series he calls Matchstickmen. While Stiller leaves the meaning of the artworks open for interpretation the pieces exist in a surprisingly strange area between morbid and humorous. At a distance each match seems almost laughable in its appearance almost like a toy bobblehead, but up close the somber, lifeless faces often resting in coffin-like matchboxes are pretty disconcerting. The Matchstickmen will be on display again in just a few days starting March 8th, 2013 at Python Gallery in Zurich as part of the show Burnout which runs through April 20th.(via lustik, designboom, lustik)
Unstable Matter is kinetic sculpture by Finnish artists Tommi Grönlund and Petteri Nisunen, a.k.a. Grönlund-Nisunen. The moving table contains thousands of small ball bearings that move and crash within the confines of a giant wobbly table, sort of a modern take on a rain stick. The table is part of several kinetic and magnetized works by the duo that were recently on view at Esther Schipper in Berlin.
With over 100,000 followers on Tumblr, Boston-based motion graphics designer Matthew DiVito (aka mr. div) is probably one of the most popular artists making animated gifs today. DiVito works with a combination of After Effects and Cinema 4D to create each image which appear to be inspired by 1970-80s era motion graphics with a distinctly modern twist. These are just a few of my favorites, but you can see dozens more right here.
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© 2010-2013 Christopher Jobson, all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. I try my best to attribute images, videos, and quotes to their creators and original sources. If you see something on Colossal that's misattributed or you would like removed, please contact me. The Colossal logo and name Colossal are the trademarks of Christopher Jobson.
