shadows

Posts tagged
with shadows

Art Illustration

Dense Cross-Hatching Adds Deceptive Volume to Albert Chamillard’s Geometric Drawings

On vintage ledgers and notebooks, artist Albert Chamillard (previously) harnesses the power of crosshatching and simple outlines to render flat, geometric shapes that appear to emerge from the page. The meditative works utilize varying densities to add depth and volume to clusters of cylinders or undulating, ribbon-like forms. By rendering each piece in a monochromatic palette of black or red, the artist draws attention to the meticulously laid lines and deceptive dimension of the forms.

Currently, Chamillard is preparing for a solo show opening on December 3 at Etherton Gallery in Tucson, where he lives. He’s also been collaborating with Hermès on a series of works soon to be released, and you can follow updates on those pieces and find an archive of his painstaking drawings on Instagram.

 

Illustration

Digital Illustrations by Eiko Ojala Layer Timely Metaphors in Paper-Like Compositions

Using his signature style of paper-like cutouts, Estonian illustrator Eiko Ojala (previously) digitally renders works that play with shadow and depth. He frequently collaborates with well-known publications like The Guardian and The Washington Post, among others, on editorial projects that unpack the legacy of James Joyce’s Ulysses, recount the experiences of pandemic meetups, or dive into political analyses. Ojala’s timely works are colorful and minimal, with each piece based on a strong visual metaphor.

You can find more of the illustrator’s recent commissions and personal projects on Behance, and browse available prints on Saatchi Art.

 

Art

Ethereal Paper Sculptures and Large-Scale Installations by Ayumi Shibata Play With Light and Shadow

Japan-based artist Ayumi Shibata (previously) designs intricate landscapes using layers upon layers of white paper. Some of her sculptures are miniature, whereas others are immersive installations, and all are brought to life with the play of light and shadow, which create “movement” throughout her pieces. The works feature architectural domes, cave-like forests, and swirling suns hovering over tree-filled cities. These picturesque places aren’t based on a particular location but what the artist “hopes and believes the future of the planet could look like”.

Shibata’s ethereal landscapes envision a world in which humans and natural forms coexist, and she describes her pieces as having a “Yin and Yang” element. Paper represents Yin, the material, and the ways the works emit shadows correlates to Yang, the invisible world. “The light represents spirit and life, how the sun rises and breathes life into the world,” she explains. “I believe my pieces are a place to observe the material world and the visible one.”

The physical elements have a deeper meaning for the artist, as well: In Japanese, Kami means god or spirit but also paper, a sacred material in the Shinto religion. “Invisible ‘Kami’ spirits dwell in various objects and events, places, as well as in our houses and in our bodies,” she says. “I use my technique to express my thankfulness to the Kami spirits for having been born in this life. Each piece of paper I cut is a prayer.”

 

Shibata began constructing these sculptures when living in New York. She would visit a church to meditate and escape the noise of the city, and it was when she observed light illuminating stained glass that she was reminded of her love of working with paper. The artist explains:

The city was full of noise. Everything, people, time goes so fast and moves rapidly, and I needed a quiet space to go back to myself. One day, I opened my eyes after meditation and saw colorful light flooding the floor through the stained glass. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It reminded me of a memory from childhood where I used to cut black paper and stick colored cellophane behind it to make a ‘paper’ stained glass piece. I got the tools on my way home and tried it that night. From that moment, I continued to cut paper.

Currently, Shibata is working on an installation called “Inochino-uta, Poetry of Life,” for an exhibition later this year. The large-scale project is made out of 108 pieces of paper connected by strings and suspended from the ceiling. To view more of the artist’s work, visit her Instagram or website.

 

Illustration

Imaginative Doodles by Vincent Bal Recast Shadows as Witty Illustrations

Belgium-based illustrator and filmmaker Vincent Bal (previously) sees the playful potential of shadows cast by eyeglasses, a peeled clementine, and other household objects. Completed with minimal sketches in black ink, Bal’s reimagined scenes transform the holes of a colander into winter snowfall, an open headphone case into a glum dog, and the translucent blue light from a plastic cup into a swimming pool. His clever illustrations are part of an ongoing Shadowology project, which includes the inventive pieces shown here and a short film about a boy whose doodles come alive. You can shop prints, postcards, and other goods on Etsy, and keep an eye on Bal’s Instagram for information about upcoming exhibitions in London and Seoul.

 

Illustration

Timely Editorial Illustrations by Eiko Ojala Elegantly Explore the World’s Most Pressing Topics

Climate change, the pandemic, politics, and social unrest: these are just a few of the topics artist Eiko Ojala (previously) has been asked to depict for some of the world’s largest and most respected publications. Using his immediately recognizable style of paper and shadow, the Estonia-based illustrator wants the viewer “to have a feeling that they would like to touch the illustration with their fingers.” As the world has grown in complexity over the last decade, so has Ojala’s work. His most recent pieces for Apple, The New Yorker, and New Scientist contain multitudes of layers and symbols that crystalize around a central metaphor.

Outside of editorial work, Ojala also focuses on personal work, such as his Hugs series that helped raise money for Peaasi, an organization that supports mental health issues amongst Estonian youth. You can explore more of his work on Behance and pick up select prints on Saatchi Art.

 

Art History

Learn the Shadow Puppetry of Japan’s Edo Period with Hiroshige’s Delightful Woodblock Prints

Master the playful art of shadow puppetry with a little help from Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858). The prolific ukiyo-e artist, who is best known for his poetic woodblock prints of the Tōkaidō and views of Edo, also created an instructive series of omocha-e, or toy pictures intended for kids, that demonstrates how to twist your hands into a snail or rabbit or grasp a mat to mimic a bird perched on a branch. Appearing behind a translucent shoji screen, the clever figures range in difficulty from simple animals to sparring warriors and are complete with prop suggestions, written instructions for making the creatures move— “open your fingers within your sleeve to move the owl’s wings” or “draw up your knee for the fox’s back”—and guides for full-body contortions.

Prints of the eight-figure chart shown above, which Hiroshige released in 1842, are available from Flashbak, and you can explore a massive archive containing thousands of his works on The Minneapolis Institute of Art’s site. (via Present & Correct)