sculpture

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Art

Mimicking Architectural Sketches, Artist David Moreno Forms Sculptures of Countless Metal Strips

All images © David Moreno

Rotterdam-based David Moreno (previously) prefers his spatial pieces to oscillate between initial sketches of architectural projects and fully-realized constructions. His steel sculptures are comprised of lengthy metal strips and piano strings that are arranged to form building complexes, cathedrals, and steep flights of stairs. Despite being three-dimensional artworks, they mimic an architect’s outlines with their swooping lines and grid-like qualities. Moreno shares a plethora of his imaginative projects on Behance, in addition to some progress shots on his Instagram.

Art Craft

Neon-Illuminated Glass Orchids by Laura Hart Consider the Flowers’ Fragility and Resiliency

“Orchis Exotica Cattleya Amethyst,” fused and sculpted glass with neon, 44.5 x 47.5 x 17 centimeters. All images © Laura Hart, shared with permission

Made of translucent glass, Laura Hart’s brilliant orchids appear to be the paragon of delicacy: the fleshy petals and neon-illuminated columns are in full bloom, representing a fleeting stage of life that’s modeled with an easily breakable substance. The Suffolk-based artist, though, is more concerned with the floral family’s historical resilience and aptitude for survival.

There are 28,000 known species of orchids, which 100-million-year-old fossil records prove were the first to bloom. “Representing a quarter of the world’s flowering plants, there are four times as many orchid species as there are mammals and twice as many birds,” Hart says. In her newest series, Orchis Exotica—which debuted earlier this year as part of Collect 2020 with Vessel Gallery—the central neon light is a nod to orchids’ efforts to attract necessary pollinators to ensure their survival. These successful strategies prove their adaptability, Hart says, a move she connects to Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theories.

Manacled by religious dogma of his time, he risked a charge of heresy had he cited another organism equally successful in achieving global population through adaptability. Though there is very little anecdotal record of his personal resolve that humans were the ultimate example of his revelatory theory, there can be no doubt he believed it to be so…The bi-coloured neon centres illuminate the uncanny resemblance between orchid and human reproductive organs; a parallel unlikely missed by the great man himself.

Orchis Exotica is an extension of Hart’s previous flowers that had similarly perfect symmetry but lacked the glowing portions. Despite LED lights being simpler to use, Hart tells Colossal she prefers the traditional mechanisms. “Why neon? Well, I am a lover of the light/art form; very much a rarity in itself these days with the advent of LED neon tube usurping traditional glass,” she writes. Constructed with a combination of 3D design software and traditional technique, each piece is hand fused and slumped to create the half-meter-wide flowers. They undergo multiple firings.

Of course, unlike living orchids, Hart’s sculptures prove their durability by their failure to wilt. Head to Instagram and Facebook to follow her vibrant works, and see which are available for purchase from Vessel Gallery.

“Orchis Exotica Cattleya Pink striker,” fused and sculpted glass with neon, 44.5 x 47.5 x 17 centimeters

“Orchis Exotica Cymbidium Baby Pink,” fused and sculpted glass with neon, 47 x 57 x 17.5 centimeters

“Orchis Exotica Cymbidium Baby Pink,” fused and sculpted glass with neon, 47 x 57 x 17.5 centimeters

“Orchis Exotica Cymbidium Black Knight,” fused and sculpted glass with neon, 47 x 57 x 17.5 centimeters

“Orchis Exotica Phalaenopsis Appaloosa,” fused and sculpted glass with neon, 48.5 x 51 x 18 centimeters

“Orchis Exotica Phalaenopsis Violet,” fused and sculpted glass with neon, 48.5 x 51 x 18 centimeters

Art Craft

Extraordinarily Intricate Cardboard Robots by Greg Olijnyk Feature Embedded Lights and Moveable Limbs

All images © Greg Olijnyk, shared with permission. Photographs by Griffin Simm

Imbued with a penchant for adventure, Greg Olijnyk’s cardboard robots are ready to zoom around on a Vesbot or dodge oncoming bumper cars. The fully operative sculptures have bendable limbs, spinning wheels, and glowing LED lights that add an ambience to “Speedybot Dodgem” and serve as functioning headlights. Olijnyk also created a robotic dog that’s perched on the back of the scooter as an intrepid companion.

The artist’s recent sculptures are similar to his previous projects that are influenced by science fiction. He tells Colossal that he has “a fascination with mechanical shapes, girders and, of course, robots, resulting in original works that hopefully, tell a bit of a story.” Each piece has a potential for movement, whether it be a figure who’s descended into a crouch or another with its hands positioned on its hips.

Based in Melbourne, Olijnyk is a full-time graphic designer and says he transitions to 3D, analogue projects as a way to contrast his daily digital work. Follow him on Instagram to see step-by-step process shots and check out the playful escapades his mustachioed robots and their pets undertake next.

 

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A post shared by Greg Olijnyk (@gregolijnyk) on Aug 13, 2018 at 10:41pm PDT

Art

Textured Paper Sculptures by Zai Divecha Emphasize Shadow and Light

“Draco” (2019), paper, wood, LEDs, 40 x 72 x 3 inches. All images © Zai Divecha

San Francisco-based artist Zai Divecha fashions countless pleats, creases, and flaps for her monochromatic paper sculptures. From geometric tessellations to flat sheets with dozens of rounded cuts and points, Divecha’s pieces accentuate the relationships between light and shadow and natural and manufactured elements.

Her inspiration is wide-ranging and includes “bathroom tiles, clouds, storm drains, the ‘skeletons’ of dead cactuses, peeling bark, raindrops on a car window, rock formations, ornate screens in Islamic architecture.” The artist also has woven data into her textured pieces, creating four artworks that represent HIV and AIDS diagnoses in San Francisco from 1992 to 2018. Each piece contains a series of cut flaps to visualize the number of cases.

In a statement, Divecha said her fascination with paper is derived from transforming an ephemeral, mundane substance into a permanent artwork. Only recently has she employed a single color. “The all-white palette allows me to create pattern and texture with just light and shadow alone, which feels soothing to me. I aim to create work that makes people feel centered, quiet, and focused,” she said. “I want my work to feel like a respite from an overstimulating world.” The move coincided with a switch in her personal life to limit her sensory input, meaning she forgoes fragrance and sets strict boundaries on the noises she consumes.

Keep up with Divecha’s crimped and twisted work on Instagram, and take a peek at these tutorials she released on making paper stars and garlands.

“Draco” (2019), paper, wood, LEDs, 40 x 72 x 3 inches

“Canis Major” (2019), paper, wood, LEDs, 31 x 93 x 3 inches

“Canis Major” (2019), paper, wood, LEDs, 31 x 93 x 3 inches

“Canis Major” (2019), paper, wood, LEDs, 31 x 93 x 3 inches

“Aids Diagnoses in San Francisco, 1992” (2019), paper, 11 x 14 x 0.5 inches

“HIV Diagnoses in San Francisco, 2009” (2019), paper, 11 x 14 x 0.5 inches

Art Design History

Artist Ruth Asawa’s Mesh Wire Sculptures Adorn New Stamps from USPS

All images © United States Postal Service

Soon you’ll be able to mail a letter to a friend—or realistically, pay a bill—with a hint of art history. The United States Postal Service announced this week that it’ll be releasing 10 stamps inspired by renowned sculptor Ruth Asawa. The neutral-toned collection contains mostly her bulbous hanging pieces that appear to swell and contract in vertical lines.

Born in 1926, Asawa was forced into a Japanese internment camp by the U.S. government with her family during World War II. She learned to draw during her detainment, before eventually attending Black Mountain College, where she studied with Josef Albers and began to delve into wire weaving and sculpture. Later in her career, Asawa described her looped artworks as “a woven mesh not unlike medieval mail. A continuous piece of wire, forms envelop inner forms, yet all forms are visible (transparent). The shadow will reveal an exact image of the object.”

The forthcoming stamps feature photographs by Dan Bradica and Laurence Cuneo, with the selvage image taken by Nat Farbman for a 1954-issue of Life. To see more of Asawa’s wire works before you pick up the postal packet, check out the Instagram account that her estate manages. (via Artsy)

Art Craft

A Thick Braid Cascades Down a Marina Abramović-Inspired Porcelain Collection

All images © Aylin Bilgiç

Despite lacking any distinct facial features, porcelain figures by Istanbul-based ceramicist Aylin Bilgiç have one unmistakable, defining characteristic: The lengthy braid resting on their oversized bodies evokes performance artist Marina Abramović, who is known for donning similarly styled locks. In another of Bilgiç’s pieces, two heads are back-to-back with their hair wound together, resembling Abramović’s 1978 collaboration with Uwe Laysiepen.

The monochromatic collection was designed specifically for Akış / Flux, an exhibition surveying Abramović’s work and offering 15 live performances. It is now on hold because of the global coronavirus pandemic. If you’d like to purchase one of the figurative pieces or a square pin, they’ll only be available in Sakıp Sabancı Museum’s shop, although they aren’t online just yet. See more of Bilgiç’s work on Behance and Instagram.

Art

Neon Drips, Blobs, and Squishes by Artist Dan Lam Pour Over Shelves and Plop in Puddles

“Optimize Opportunity,” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic, 22 x 30 x 11 inches. All images © Dan Lam

When a gloopy substance runs over a countertop or other surface, a common reaction is to grab a towel and wipe it up before it spreads farther and makes a mess. But for Dallas-based sculptor and painter Dan Lam (previously), the more dripping and oozing the better. The artist creates technicolor sculptures made of polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic onto which she pipes small spikes.

Categorized as drips, blobs, and squishes, Lam’s neon gradients appear to gush over shelves and drop into rounded puddles. Most are paired with optimistic names, like “Strong Genes” and “Just Lovely,” and consider the relationships between “attraction and repulsion, motion and stillness, seriousness and playfulness, softness and hardness,” said a statement about her work.

If you’re in Portland, Lam’s solo show Supernatural is on view at Stephanie Chefas Projects by appointment through April 25. Otherwise, follow the artist on Instagram, where she’s even given a peek at some of her upcoming plans to create phone cases that change colors and are covered in small points.

Left: “Strong Genes,” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic, 16 x 14 x 13 inches. Right: “Good Traits,” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic, 15.5 x 15 x 16 inches

“Signalling Theory,” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic, 35 x 30 x 6.5 inches

Left: “He’s So Picky!” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic, 8.5 x 11 x 6 inches. Right: “Just Lovely,” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic, 9 x 9 x 5 inches.

“Hidden Preference,” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic, 39 x 42 x 9 inches

“Just Think,” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic, 9 x 14 x 7.5 inches

Left: “#5,” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic, 3.5 x 3 x 1 inches. Right: “#24,” polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic
4.5 x 4 x 1.5 inches