sculpture

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Art

Found Domestic Furniture Transformed Into Raw Architectural Models by Ted Lott

Sculptor Ted Lott builds wooden artworks based on one of human beings’ most fundamental requirements, exploring the different ways in which we’ve devised shelter as a product of the industrial revolution. Lott examines modern architecture at its core by building tiny scale models without the decorative designs imposed by exterior siding and paint. He then combines these bare yet elegant structures with domestic furniture, fusing the basic necessities of home with the comforts provided from within.

To build his works, Lott uses a bandsaw as a scaled sawmill to generate miniature pieces of wood and other proportioned raw materials. Found and vintage furniture provide the base of his structures which are then lit from within as if someone is home.

“Like us, these structures are regular, nevertheless they strive to be unique, transforming their everyday bones into something beyond the banalities of basic needs,” Lott explains in his artist statement. “To me, this is the reason for making objects, to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. Through this process we point to the complex interaction of necessity, artistry, economy, function and beauty present in the original objects, while highlighting the possibilities of transformation and growth that are a requirement for the continuation and evolution of life.”

Lott received his BFA from the Maine College of Art and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. You can see more of the artist’s hybrid wooden works on his website and Instagram.

Art

Human-Bird Hybrid Sculptures by Calvin Ma Interpret Social Experiences

“This Is Me Today”, all images courtesy of Calvin Ma

Sculptor Calvin Ma channels his experience of social anxiety into imaginative ceramic sculptures that fuse human characters with birds. The avian elements act as suits of armor, protecting the person from the outside world, and reflect Ma’s personality in fight or flight situations. Carefully articulated feathers cover the surface of each sculpture, from the mask-like bird headdresses to the arms and torso of the humanoid figure. In previous bodies of work, the artist has used houses as his metaphor with walls, windows, and chimneys forming the protective outer shell of each sculpture.

“I never really felt comfortable in my own skin in social settings, so I created these characters to help tell stories about it,” Ma tells Colossal. “Each piece is meant to act out a specific social anxiety related experience. I try not to get too dark or serious with the work and really try to have fun with it.”

The Bay Area-based artist has a two-person show with Erika Sanada (who is also married to Ma) at Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus, Ohio from July 28 to September 3, 2019, and a solo exhibition at Antler Gallery in Portland, Oregon opening on November 28. Alongside these shows, Ma will also be sharing pieces in at SOFA Expo in Chicago and at Haven Gallery in Long Island, in late October and mid-December, respectively. You can explore more of the artist’s sculptures on Instagram.

“Butterflies”

“In The Clouds”

“One Of The Crowd”

“Flight”

“Caught Up”

“Bloom”

“Take The Leap”

“Forager”

Art

Fantastical Mechanisms of Land and Sea Built from Cardboard and Hand-Blown Glass by Daniel Agdag

“The Latitudinal” (2019), Cardboard, trace paper, mounted on timber base with hand-blown glass dome, 23” x 12” x 12″, all images provided by the artist

Australian sculptor and filmmaker Daniel Agdag (previously) builds fictionalized architectural objects that could find their home in the sky, on land, or under the sea. The cardboard, timber, and hand-blown glass structures are inspired by the hidden mechanics found in everyday industrial forms, and consist of miniature models of fans, gears, and pumps. Inflated balloons like The Southeasterly carry small ship-like vessels, and a 2018 work titled The Second State looks like an early roller coaster model complete with billboard-like signage that spells out the word “LUCKY.”

Agdag received a Master’s degree in Film and Television from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2007. His recent solo exhibition States wrapped at Messums in Wilshire on June 30, 2019, and selected sculptures from the exhibition will travel to the gallery’s London location from July 3 to 13, 2019. You can and see more of Agdag’s sculptural objects on his website and Instagram.

“The 2nd Tulip” (2019), Cardboard, trace paper, mounted on timber base with hand-blown glass dome, 23” x 12” x 12” (L), “The Buoy” (2019), Cardboard, trace paper, mounted on timber base with hand-blown glass dome, 23” x 12” x 12” (R)

“The Second State” (2018), Cardboard, trace paper, mounted on timber base with hand-blown glass dome, 23” x 12” x 12”

Detail of “The Second State” (2018), Cardboard, trace paper, mounted on timber base with hand-blown glass dome, 23” x 12” x 12”

“The 2nd Round Car” (2019), Cardboard, trace paper, mounted on timber base with hand-blown glass dome, 23” x 12” x 12” 

Detail of “The Latitudinal” (2019), Cardboard, trace paper, mounted on timber base with hand-blown glass dome, 23” x 12” x 12”

“The Southeasterly” (2019), Cardboard, trace paper, mounted on timber base with hand-blown glass dome, 23” x 12” x 12”

The Southerly

Detail of the Southerly

“The Longitudinal” (2019), Cardboard, trace paper, mounted on timber base with hand-blown glass dome, 23” x 12” x 12”

Art

A Massive Wooden Wave Surges From a Gallery Floor in an Installation by Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen

In a gallery at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) this spring, an all-encompassing wave of wood surrounded visitors as they walk across gangplanks that bisect the space. The installation, Hubris Atë Nemesis, was by Maine-based artist duo Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen. Kavanaugh and Nguyen have been collaborating since 2005 and working exclusively with paper. “One of the foundations of our collaborative art practice is the act of shared seeing, the artists shared. “We find common ground by actively investigating our own visual reference points, memories and assumptions.”

For this installation, the artists pushed their practice to include new media and techniques: Hubris Atë Nemesis is their first piece in wood, and the first in which the pathway through the piece is an actual part of the installation. The artists explained in a statement that the title and concept of the work is derived from a three-part narrative arc common in Greek tragic plays:

Hubris, characterized as an arrogant confidence, transforms to Atë, a ruinous folly or madness, then ultimately to Nemesis, a force of retribution that resets the natural order. Like many paintings of the Maine coast, we hope this work captures a moment of suspense in a dynamic system—a snapshot with an uncertain future—and that it appears to be unwritten what the restored natural order should or might become.

Hubris Atë Nemesis was created with the support of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation: Kavanaugh and Nguyen were selected from a blind jury of over two hundred applicants. The installation was on view through June 16, 2019 at the CMCA. If you did not get a chance to experience the work in person, an impressive 360° virtual tour by Dave Clough is available. You can explore more of Kavanaugh and Nguyen’s archive of monochromatic installations, like White Stag and The Experience of Green, on the duo’s website.

Art

Jen Stark Unveils Colorfully Vivid Portals Based on Scientific and Mathematical Concepts at Joshua Liner Gallery

All images courtesy of the artist and Joshua Liner Gallery

Los Angeles-based artist Jen Stark (previously) uses materials such as paper, wood, and metal to create optically-charged sculptures based on complex scientific and mathematic concepts. Layered colors with both smooth and warped edges create tunnels into the unknown, forming visual interpretations of ideas such as infinity, evolution, or sacred geometry. One wall piece by Stark lines up dozens of layers of brightly colored paper which are sliced to fold on top of each other in a descending order of size. Others hang from the ceiling, inviting observers to peer at the works from multiple angles, to understand its composition from beside, underneath, and between its layers.

Stark’s solo exhibition Dimensionality runs through July 19, 2019 at Joshua Liner Gallery in New York City. You can see more of her dizzying vortexes on her website and Instagram.

Art

New Kinetic Floral Sculptures by Casey Curran Blossom Through a Series of Wires and Cranks

Seattle-based artist Casey Curran (previously) builds sculpture environments from wire, laser cut acrylic, aluminum, sculpted brass. His works appear in a constant state of growth and bloom, opening and closing with the assistance of motors or hand-cranked systems. These interactive systems invite the audience to not only watch his sculptures, but participate in their movement.

The works are inspired by complex systems in nature, yet aren’t obvious imitations of any particular  source plant or natural object. “When conceiving my pieces I center on a hidden narrative and begin to assign visual elements that aline with the concept of the piece, often utilizing ornate structures and simple construction methods to further highlight my interests in foundation and form,” Curran explains on his website. “In the process of creating I look for patterns in nature and symmetry in ecosystems. I look for how innovation shapes itself into our ever expanding systems of complexity and knowledge.”

You can see more of Curran’s kinetic sculptures in motion on Instagram and Vimeo.

Art

Delicate Miniature Sculptures Made From Dandelion Seeds by (euglena)

Blowing the white fluffy seeds off a dandelion is a universal childhood experience. Who hasn’t delighted in watching a gentle breeze carry the bristles off into the distance. But for this Tokyo-based artist who goes by the name (euglena), the fluff serves a different, artistic purpose. She harvests them to create impossibly delicate sculptures that beg to be observed up close. Just don’t sneeze.

(euglena) uses dandelion seeds to create abstract shapes and forms that somehow manage to balance and maintain their figure. It’s difficult to fully appreciate the artist’s work in photographs because the element of air and movement is so important in the work.

In the video below, you can see the sculpture sway back and forth: a reaction to the movement and breathing of visitors observing her work.

Most recently, (euglena)’s work was on display at the 2019 Japan Media Arts Festival (through June 16, 2019) where she won Best New Artist. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with her work. (Syndicated from Spoon & Tamago)

 

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A post shared by (euglena) (@__euglena) on Nov 7, 2018 at 6:38am PST