Colossal | A blog about art and visual ingenuity.

Relativity: Surreal Paintings of Indecision and Uncertainty by Alex Hall

Relativity: Surreal Paintings of Indecision and Uncertainty by Alex Hall surrealism painting birds

After graduating college Nashville-based artist Alex Hall found himself on an uncertain path, overwhelmed and unsure of what was going to happen next. In an attempt to visualize his emotions and inner turmoil he set about creating a series of surreal oil paintings titled Relativity depicting anonymous people in similar forms of free-fall and indecision. Just looking at these images I believe Hall has an extremely promising career ahead of him. All of his new works are currently available as giclee art prints, and if you own a gallery I might consider getting in touch with him.

The Book Vase by YOY

The Book Vase by YOY plants books

The Book vase by YOY Design Studio (previously) is a house planter camouflaged as a book. Made of PMMA and PVC for water proofing the vase can be opened up to reveal the dirt inside and when closed can be inserted amongst the rest of your books to save desk space. (via fuck yeah book arts)

By Christopher on April 26, 2013 • books plants

Miniature Melbourne: A Tilt-Shift Video of Melbourne Having Too Much Fun

Miniature Melbourne: A Tilt Shift Video of Melbourne Having Too Much Fun tilt shift Melbourne Australia

Photographer Nathan Kaso spent almost 10 months making this fun tilt-shift video of Melbourne with a special focus on the city’s annual festivals and other outdoor events. This is where I always make some snarky comment about how I’ve seen enough tilt-shift work, but this video proves that when it’s good, it’s good and the manner of shooting or production just doesn’t matter. Music by Tom Day.

By Christopher on April 26, 2013 • Australia Melbourne tilt-shift

Bottom Feeders: Ceramic Objects Encrusted with Marine Life by Mary O’Malley

Bottom Feeders: Ceramic Objects Encrusted with Marine Life by Mary OMalley sculpture ocean nature ceramics

As if lifted from the wreckage of the Titanic, ceramic artist Mary O’Malley creates sculptural porcelain teapots, cups, and vases adorned with barnacles, tentacles, and other living sea creatures (she refers to them as “porcelain crustaceans”). Many original works from this series titled ‘Bottom Feeders’ are available over on Etsy. (via laughing squid)

By Christopher on April 25, 2013 • ceramics nature ocean sculpture

Gorgeous Pen and Ink Wildlife by Si Scott

Gorgeous Pen and Ink Wildlife by Si Scott insects illustration black and white animals

Manchester-based designer and illustrator Si Scott is known for his energetic and flowing style of illustration that has graced the packaging and advertising for some of the world’s top brands including Nike, Dove, Coca Cola, and many others. Among some of his most impressive works are his stylized illustrations of insects and other wildlife, drawn by hand with pen and ink. I strongly urge you to check out his Resonate series for Silent Studios/Silent Records, and there’s plenty more to see over on Facebook.

By Christopher on April 25, 2013 • animals black and white illustration insects

An Interactive Forest of Musical Lasers by Marshmallow Laser Feast

An Interactive Forest of Musical Lasers by Marshmallow Laser Feast trees light lasers interactive installation

Laser Forest is the lastest creation from a creative studio known as Marshmallow Laser Feast comprised of Memo Akten, Robin McNicholas, and Barney Steel who have focused almost exclusively on creating interactive experiences over the past two years. This latest installation involves a forest of 150 interactive rods installed in an empty factory space that when touched trigger both light and audio cues, effectively creating a large interactive instrument. Laser Forest was commission for the STRP Biennale in Eindhoven last month, and you can learn much more about at the Creators Project.

By Christopher on April 24, 2013 • installation interactive lasers light trees

Realistic Birds Made from Paper and Watercolor Paint by Johan Scherft

Realistic Birds Made from Paper and Watercolor Paint by Johan Scherft watercolor sculpture realism paper birds

At the age of 14 Johan Scherft made his first papercraft bird which he colored with a pencil, modeled after the flying paper models of english artist of Malcolm Topp. His self-created models along with his drawings gained him admittance to the royal academy of arts in The Hague where he perfected his painting and sculptural techniques. Nearly 30 years later the Dutch artist has become a master of the medium creating a wide variety of objects including dinosaurs, animals, boats, and especially birds. Scherft uses a computer to aid in the initial steps of creating the paper blueprints but everything else is done by hand, a painstaking process that can take several days and occasionally up to a full month to complete.

If you want to explore a bit more head over to his Facebook page and read a bit more about his process on My Modern Met. Scherft also keeps an active YouTube channel where he’s filmed numerous tutorials; don’t miss his solar-powered hummingbird.

By Christopher on April 24, 2013 • birds paper realism sculpture watercolor

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub ‘Les Bains’

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub Les Bains street art Paris
Seth

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub Les Bains street art Paris
Jeanne Susplugas

Philippe Baudelocque

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub Les Bains street art Paris
Philippe Baudelocque

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub Les Bains street art Paris
C215

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub Les Bains street art Paris
Dem189

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub Les Bains street art Paris
ZeeR

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub Les Bains street art Paris
Thomas Canto

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub Les Bains street art Paris
YZ

Fifty Street Artists Descend on Condemned Parisian Nightclub Les Bains street art Paris
Sambre (work in progress)

Built as a municipal bathhouse in the late 19th century, Les Bains-Douches would eventually become one of the hottest night clubs in Paris known simply as Les Bains, a destination for the likes of Kate Moss, Mick Jagger, Johnny Depp and even Andy Warhol. Due to some faulty construction in 2010 the building was declared a safety hazard and is now slated for complete renovation in just a few days to pave way for La Société des Bains, a new space that will open in 2014. In the meantime, owner Jean-Pierre Marois turned over the building to 50 street artists commissioned by Magda Danysz Gallery who have been working since January to turn the decaying building into an endless canvas of artwork.

While the entire space will unfortunately remain closed to the public, photographers Stephane Bisseuil and Jérôme Coton were allowed in to shoot many of the artworks in progress. Above is just a small selection, head over to Les Bains “One Day One Artist” page to see much more. (via creative review)