Art

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Art

Mercurial Emotions Carved into New Glitched Sculptures by Yoshitoshi Kanemaki

Japanese sculptor Yoshitoshi Kanemaki (previously) captures the emotional complexities of youth in his glitched 3-dimensional portraits. Kanemaki carves tree trunks into figures—often young women—whose faces are multiplied in expressions that range from distressed to joyful in a single sculpture. The figures’ casual, natural poses seem to capture them in real time: some of the artist’s characters perch on chairs mid-conversation, and others gesture with their arms to express confidence or bashfulness. In his finished works, Kanemaki usually uses lifelike coloring, but for one recent sculpture shown in detail below, the artist experimented with creating the sensation of an out-of-focus image by using soft, blurred shapes and colors to complete the expression. See more of the sculptor’s finished and in-progress works on Instagram and Facebook. (via Hi-Fructose)

Art

Monochrome Figures Drip and Slice Into Chromatic Layers by Gina Kiel

Wellington, New Zealand-based artist and designer Gina Kiel creates large-scale murals of black and grey figures with layers of concentric colors bursting from their core. The works are often set against a bright blue background which blends the colors of New Zealand’s sunny skies with its surrounding sea. Kiel’s psychedelic palette also includes an array of yellow smiley faces, which can be found layered behind realistic human faces or other segmented body parts. You can see more of her murals and design work on her website, Instagram, and Behance.

Art

Twisted and Layered Balloons Form Eye-Popping Animal Sculptures by Masayoshi Matsumoto

Master balloon artist Masayoshi Matsumoto (previously) continues to amaze with his incredibly intricate animal creations. Using only balloons—the artist abstains from using any additional materials like markers or adhesives—Matsumoto shapes his raw materials to mimic the unique limbs, spikes, and wattles of a wide range of animals. The graceful silhouettes of birds and insects with their textural exoskeletons frequently appear in the artist’s body of work, but he also tackles flora including pitcher plants and cacti, and other creatures from mammals to maggots. Discover more of Matsumoto’s inflatable menagerie on Instagram and Twitter.

Art

Pejac Partners with Inmates to Transform a Prison Into a Gold Mine

Pejac (previously) recently spent some time inside one of the oldest continuously running prisons in Spain. The prison, El Dueso, is a hulking structure built on the ruins of Napoleon’s fortress. True to his efforts to create and place his work in unusual settings and initiate conversations about unpopular subjects, the Gold Mine project resulted in three interventions that the artist realized in collaboration with inmates. “A prison itself is a place wrapped in harsh reality,” Pejac explained. The artist continues, “At the same time, I feel that it has a great surrealist charge. It is as if you only need to scratch a little on its walls to discover the poetry hidden inside.”

Making a connection between the sterile isolation inside and the lush nature surrounding the facility, the biggest and arguably most striking piece is an immense tree, a metaphor of ultimate, unspoiled freedom. The Shape of Days serves as a monument to the most cherished virtue: perseverance. It is entirely built from countless hash marks that reference an age-old method of keeping track of time away from the real world. Making an analogy between the tree leaves as the symbol of growth and marks as the symbol of extreme restraint, the majestic image captures the passage of time while providing hope.

Placed in a sterile, newly built corridor that connects the cells and outdoor areas, Hollow Walls is a poetic illusion of sliding doors made from the blank concrete walls. Through minimal artistic intervention, the artist added a sense of depth and perspective, creating a distraction for those walking along these walls daily. Once again using one of his most recurring images, a soaring bird, Pejac created an atmosphere of reachable yet fictional freedom.

The final piece, Hidden Value, also uses an element that artist has introduced in his previous work: a peeled off corner of an existing object suggesting an alternative reality. Working with people whose everyday life is stripped of life’s basic pleasures, Pejac wanted to provide some sense of luxury to the basic and highly restricted routine of the inmates. Using real 22-carat gold leaf and a trompe l’oeil technique he’s used before, he created an illusion of the basketball board revealing a large gold plate under its familiar surface. Challenged by taking everyday items and creating an alternative reality around them, the artist explored the previously mentioned idea of scratching under the surface and discovering that “sometimes, it is gold that does not shine.”

Explore more of Pejac’s thought-provoking work, ranging from site-specific installations to gallery pieces, on Instagram.

Art

The Square Wave Kinetic Sculpture Forms Complex Geometric Patterns as it Spins

A recently launched Kickstarter campaign introduces a five-dimensional sculpture said to be inspired by mathematics and the Fibonacci sequence. Square Wave, the first in a collection from artist Ivan Black (previously) and Atellani, is an object constructed out of 21 precisely bent and connected metal rods with no hidden mechanical components. The toy fluidly transitions into various shapes and patterns based on the amount of kinetic energy applied and the way it is held and turned.

According to the campaign, Black’s work is inspired by natural forms and the mathematical patterns found in nature. Designed in the UK and built in Italy, the optical illusion creating the Square Wave sculpture is a hypnotic amalgam of those two elements. It is meant to be handled and observed often. The sculptures are available in three finishes (lunar gold, metallic silver, and eclipse bronze) and are currently only available to those who back the campaign with a pledge. To see more of Ivan Black’s work, check out his Instagram.

Art

Building Bridges: Six Sets of Reaching Arms Clasp Hands Over a Venice Waterway

In 2017, one of the most talked-about works seen during the Venice Biennale was Lorenzo Quinn’s Support, which was not an official part of the iconic art fair. The sculptural installation of hands emerged from Venice’s waterways and appeared to hold up an old building. His follow-up piece to Support, which has been installed with backing from London-based Halcyon Gallery, is again not officially associated with the Biennale. Constructed with white resin, Building Bridges features six sets of reaching arms with hands clasped over a waterway, meant to represent people and cultures coming together over differences.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Quinn explained, “Humanity has never grown by creating barriers. It always grows when it opens up its borders and it welcomes new cultures. Venice is a testament to that… It has been a driving force of European growth always.” The location of the towering white appendages at a former shipyard provided viewers with multiple vantage points, and at night Building Bridges was illuminated from below. A photo gallery on Quinn’s website shows the artist at work on his large-scale sculptures, and you can follow along with his new projects on Instagram.

Art

A Fleeting Dandelion Wish Processing Facility Appears For Two Days Outside of Los Angeles

A recent two-day installation in Commerce, California afforded visitors an opportunity to evaluate and deposit their secret wishes. Dandelions, which was organized by the anonymous artist group The Art Department, took place in an administrative building at the Laguna Bell electrical substation from May 11-12, 2019. The cavernous space was transformed into a secret wish processing facility, where visitors submitted their wishes for questioning and analysis before receiving a dandelion to send their wish in a whoosh down a chute of either slam dunks or long shots. Writer Renée Reizman, who had a chance to visit the fleeting facility, explains the guided performance art in depth on Hyperallergic. Explore more of The Art Department’s previous projects on their website and Instagram.