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)
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.
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.
Artist Vik Muniz (previously here and here) has three new works made from gold scrap metal that will be on view as digital prints at the Armory Show in New York starting March 7th, 2013 through Rena Bransten Gallery. Muniz is known for creating images using multitudes of discarded objects and trash, and you may have seen his work in the 2010 documentary Waste Land.
Side note: for the first time ever the Armory Show has partnered with Artsy to offer a gorgeous full-blown preview of the fair featuring hundreds of works in beautiful high-definition. For those of us who can’t make it to many of the art fairs, more like this please? (via hyperallergic)
According to the New York Times sculptor Mario Ceroli is one of the least known yet most influential artists of the Italian post-war scene. His work spans over forty years and I encourage you to take a deep dive into his website to explore his wide range of installations and sculptures. Two of his most beautiful works depict crashing waves sculpted from thin layers of precisely cut wood and glass titled La Vague and Maestrale. The energy present in the works is remarkable as if any moment the materials are going to crash into the gallery floor. Also, if you’ve ever been to the Adelaide Botanic Garden in Australia you may have seen a similar piece by sculptor Sergio Redegalli called Cascade. (via connaissance des arts, claudio, and tate_ellen)
Towering 23 feet (7 meters) into the sky, Karma is a recent sculpture installed in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art by Korean sculptor Do Ho Suh (previously). Captured here in a series of photographs by Alan Teo, the piece depicts a tower of piggy-backed men, each successively covering the eyes of the man below him, creating an illusion that the blinded tower seems to stretch to infinity like a fractal, although technically it was made from 98 cast stainless steel figures. The artist is known for his work with multiple figures, creating tornadoes, chain link fences, and frequently multiple small figures supporting the weight of what appears to be a pair of corporate or governmental shoes. A smaller broze version of Karma is also on view at the Albright Knox Museum in Buffalo. (via my modern met, alan teo)
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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.
