Michael Murphy’s solo show, LOOK, recently opened at gallery nine5 in New York. His artworks span a wide variety of media including multi-layered 3D sculptures, sound installations, and paintings with materials including nails, shadows, water, and sandblasted bullet-proof glass. Some of my favorite pieces are shown above, and you can see more in the show’s catalogue. Better yet, stop by gallery nine5 through October 6. (thnx, irina!)
I was floored to discover the work of UK artist Debbie Smyth who uses hundreds of needles and delicate lengths of thread to create wall-sized installations. Via her website:
Debbie Smyth is textile artist most identifiable by her statement thread drawings; these playful yet sophisticated contemporary artworks are created by stretching a network of threads between accurately plotted pins. Her work beautifully blurs the boundaries between fine art drawings and textile art, flat and 3D work, illustration and embroidery, literally lifting the drawn line off the page in a series of “pin and thread” drawings.
Incredibly beautiful work, I would love to see these up close. Here’s a video interview with Smyth as well as a timelapse of one of her most recent installations. (via joetta maue and rhumboogie)
I first covered the Mobile Garden project here on Colossal back in October of last year. UIC Art and Design graduate Joe Baldwin continues to pursue funding for his open-air public transit garden, but meanwhile was given the opportunity to participate in this year’s Art on Track festival last weekend by turning the interior of an el car into a fantastic sod-covered, ivy-laden garden. This car circled Chicago’s elevated downtown loop for five hours with several additional cars decorated with numerous other art installations. Photos via noisvelvet. (via inhabitat)
Artist Stephen Doyle of Doyle Partners (of paper sculpture fame) just completed this excellent anamorphic projection for the New York Times magazine using blue tape. The project involved taping the various words of traits being taught at KIPP Infinity middle school in Manhattan, of which “grit” is one. The photo is great and I also enjoyed the making-of video showing just how it’s done. (via quipsologies)
Update: Zest!
In these installations by Astrid Bucio objects dissolve before your very eyes: a chair sanded into non-existence, and a pencil exploded into the tiniest bits. I would love to see more of these. (thnx, astrid for sharing your work with colossal!)
The Tropism Well by UK-based Poietic Studio is a modernized take on the water fountain. Sensing the approach of an individual the well begins to lean automatically as water is pumped into the stem, pouring enough water to fill a glass. The motion of the fountain is really quite elegant and certainly puts a twist on a common functional object. Via their website:
Through the synthesis of nature and technology, these structures explore the relationships we have with objects and spaces that surround us on a daily basis. The simple gestural connection creates a stimulating and symbolic moment. The Tropism Well uses natural laws of physics to function. Once it has seen you, the gentle bowing motion is created simply by moving water up and down the stem.
The catch is one would need a drinking vessel to successfully get a drink, so we might not see these on every street corner soon. However, I for one welcome our new water pouring overlords.
I love this installation from the recent Dutchville exhibition at the Netherlands Architecture Institute. Photo by Gabi Helfert.
This summer artists Joakim Kaminsky and Maria Poll went deep inside the forests of Medelpad in northern Sweden to create this uncanny installation entitled Clear Cut using a mirror-coated fabric.
However eternal it may seem this is not a natural forest. Like 90% of the forests in Sweden it is used for forestry consequently being continuously grown and chopped down in a 60 years life cycle.
Joakim and Maria wanted to connect these trees to time. They wanted the installation to visualize a memory of earlier generations of pine trees that had stood here and forecast the clear cut that will soon replace them. Perhaps the mirrors could absorb the light, colors and smells of this place and save them for the future?
It really looks almost as if forest has been severed in half, the treetops hovering above the bottoms. See more of the installation here.
I found this on a new blog called Toildrops, which from glancing at just the home page could be a new favorite.
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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.
