New York City Ballet Art Series Presents DRIFT’s ‘Shylight’

DRIFT’s “Shylight” (development 2006–2014), aluminum, polished stainless steel, silk, LEDs, robotics. On view at three special NYC Ballet Art Series performances in January and February 2023. All photos by Ossip van Duivenbode

Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta are DRIFT, a multidisciplinary group that creates experiential sculptures, installations, and performances, uniting audiences with moments that inspire a reconnection to our planet.

For New York City Ballet’s Art Series 2023, the duo curates their “Shylight” installation into a site-specific, performative sculpture, merging the movement of industrial motors with silk, multi-layered chalice-like structures. The pieces move with the grace of a dancer into a natural choreography, manifesting live emotion and personality in an inanimate material. With custom choreography supervised by the artists themselves, the works’ unpredictable, natural-looking movements become an object that feels alive as it descends to blossom in all its glorious beauty, before closing and retreating upward again.

The installation will be on view at three special NYC Ballet Art Series performances on January 27, February 3, and February 9, and all tickets are $38.

Performances are on sale now at nycballet.com/artseries.

 

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Evoking Organic Growth, Toru Kurokawa’s Ceramic Sculptures Stretch and Swell into Abstract Forms

“Visceral vision.” All images © Tour Kurokawa, shared with permission

The natural growth process, which begins with the replication of a single cell and eventually produces bodily systems and lifeforms, informs the practice of artist Toru Kurokawa (previously). Based in Kyoto, Kurokawa transforms amorphous hunks of clay into organic sculptures that bow and bend. The malleable material stretches to reveal pockets of negative space or to generate undulating edges, and once fired, the works appear to freeze those movements. “I would like to create a space that fuses the two things, existence and non-existence,” the artist tells Colossal. “I am conscious of that connection.” Glazed in textured, neutral tones, the resulting forms are abstract and biological, conveying the tension and strength of change.

Kurokawa is currently considering how mathematics and physics can influence the geometries of the works, and you can follow that progress on Instagram.

 

“Earth pot”

“Aggregate β”

“Holosroidea”

“Black garden”

“Threshold”

“Aire”

“Protocell J”

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From Junk Drawers to Phone Books, Artist Bernie Kaminski Captures the Nostalgia of Banal Items Through Paper Mâché

All images © Bernie Kaminski, courtesy of Turn Gallery, shared with permission

A stack of worn phone books, a neatly folded button-up, and a junk draw filled with receipts, batteries, and takeout remnants capture the playful nostalgia of Bernie Kaminski’s paper mâché sculptures. The artist, who began working with the humble craft after his daughter brought home a seahorse she made in school, is driven largely by curiosity and a desire to explore the potential of the material, and he tends to recreate the objects he finds around his home. An orange dutch oven sits atop a shelving unit stocked with pantry items and cookbooks, for example, and books like Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White and John Berger’s A Painter of Our Time find their place among other classic texts.

Kaminski gravitates toward authentic interpretations of generally banal items, although the subtle ripples and creases of the material remain visible. He generally coats a cardboard and tape base with the wet paper mâché, before letting it dry and painting on logos, signatures, and other details. Imbued with a playful sense of nostalgia, the sculptures “look fake in a way that somehow reflects how I feel about the real thing,” the artist tells It’s Nice That.

Be sure to visit Kaminski’s Instagram for an archive of the lighthearted wares. (via Kottke)

 

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Precise Details and Architectural Contrasts Highlight Layla May Arthur’s Narrative Paper Sculptures

“Where We All Meet” (2022), paper sculpture, 1 x 1 x 1 meter. All images © Layla May Arthur, shared with permission

Wielding the fundamentals of set design, Layla May Arthur assembles elaborate architectural spaces and visual narratives from paper. The Netherlands-based artist focuses on the interplay between light and shadow in intricate, three-dimensional dioramas that emphasize storytelling in window displays, brand identities, and gallery presentations. In pieces ranging from delicate, individual sculptures of staircases to large-scale, immersive installations, she instills a sense that the viewer is a part of the interactions of figures within each scene.

Since graduating from university in 2021, Arthur has focused on projects that emulate the visual drama of theatrical presentations, setting the stage for products in boutique windows and brand collaborations in addition to museum exhibitions. “I really enjoy being able to handcraft artworks to be used in photoshoots or installations where my work reaches an audience who might not ordinarily seek out art in an art space,” she tells Colossal. “I have had incredible clients so far who have given me huge creative freedom in acting as both art director and artist.”

Arthur emphasizes each incision, angle, and pattern of the meticulously cut pieces of white paper by spotlighting or illuminating from within. “I love being able to create an artistic experience which is part of the everyday and highlights the possibilities of craftsmanship,” she says.

Find more of Arthur’s work on her website, Behance, and Instagram, where she often shares videos of her process.

 

“THE STORYTELLER, THE LISTENER, AND OUR STORY” (2021), paper and light Installation

“Where We All Meet” (2022)

Details of “Where We All Meet” (2022)

“Shop Window Set Design for Mary Jane Schoenenboetiek” (2021), paper sculpture

Details of “THE STORYTELLER, THE LISTENER, AND OUR STORY” (2021)

Detail of “THE STORYTELLER, THE LISTENER, AND OUR STORY” (2021)

Detail of “THE STORYTELLER, THE LISTENER, AND OUR STORY” (2021)

Detail of “THE STORYTELLER, THE LISTENER, AND OUR STORY” (2021)

“Forgotten Places – Remembered“ (2022), paper sculptures, 20 x 20 centimeters

Detail of “Shop Window Set Design for Mary Jane Schoenenboetiek” (2021), paper sculpture

“Jersey; My Childhood Home” (2019), paper cutting, circumference 754 centimeters x 200 centimeters

Panels from “Jersey; My Childhood Home”

Installation view of “Jersey; My Childhood Home”

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Freewheeling Hares and Bespectacled Kangaroos Hop Into Hugo Horita’s Playful Wooden Menagerie

All images © Hugo Horita, shared with permission

Although they are carved from timber, the personalities in Hugo Horita’s growing menagerie are far from wooden. An adventurous camel, a sheep in a sweater, and a deer that’s quick on the draw are just a few of the characters the Buenos Aires-based artist has introduced. “I like to bring ideas and shapes to a three-dimensional language, and I chose wood because it is a very noble and warm material,” he tells Colossal.

Trained as an illustrator, Horita’s work often rests squarely in the digital realm, and he sought a creative outlet that involved using his hands. While some ideas can lead to a new piece in just a few days, sometimes the process takes months, beginning with a sketch on paper or a virtual vector image. He then carves the toy-like sculptures with an emphasis on the details of the grain to accentuate joints and muscles and often incorporates other found elements like pencils. Preferring to use scrap pieces that others have thrown away, which allows for various tones and textures, Horita completes each animal with the cartoonish addition of wheels, spectacles, or skis.

Find more of the spirited critters on Behance and Instagram.

 

Sheep sweater made in collaboration with cAlma mía

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Ann Weber Elevates Discarded Cardboard Boxes and Staples to New Heights in Billowing Sculptures

“You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows” (2020), cardboard, staples, and polyurethane, 101 x 44 x 20 inches. Photo by Ray Carofano

Exemplifying the possibilities of combining humble materials with a good dose of resourcefulness, Ann Weber’s monumental sculptures find their beginnings in discarded cardboard boxes. The San Pedro, California-based artist parlayed her training in ceramics into a focus on the everyday material, initially inspired by architect Frank Gehry’s cardboard chairs, which transformed utilitarian, heavyweight paper into a structurally sound and visually appealing functional object. Weber echoed a similar intention when she decided to eliminate the inherently cumbersome process and weight of clay in exchange for a lightweight material that could be scaled up.

The artist scours the neighborhoods of Los Angeles for boxes, paying special attention to those with printed surfaces; she carefully considers the colors of graphics and text and incorporates them into the overall composition of each work. In the studio, she begins by building an armature with larger pieces of cardboard to create the silhouette. She then applies layers of strips cut from other boxes and staples them into place in a repetitive, textured pattern.

While the forms billow, bulge, and tower overhead, the artist doesn’t want to obscure the ubiquitous material; instead, Weber invites the viewer to consider the substance in a way they might not otherwise, saying “cardboard has taken on more complex meaning in the 21st century with the hyper-capitalistic proliferation of excess shipping materials.” Paper accounts for more than a quarter of the waste in landfills globally. “The sculptures can be viewed as a critique of contemporary consumerist culture, but that is not my sole intent,” she continues. “They are instilled with a psychological component neither entirely representational nor abstract, but something in between.”

Weber recently wrapped up a major exhibition at Wönzimer Gallery in Los Angeles. Explore more of her work on Instagram and her website.

 

“You’re My Butterfly” (2012), found cardboard, staples, and polyurethane, 88 x 30 x 20 inches and 88 x 36 x 23 inches. Photo by Sibila Savage

Left: The artist’s studio. Right: “Almost 16 & 15 and 1/2” (2002), found cardboard, staples, polyurethane, and steel base, 182 x 48 x 49 inches and 177 x 38 x 38 inches. Photo by M. Lee Fatherree

“Gothic on Grand” (2018), found cardboard, staples, and polyurethane, 98 x 166 x 14 inches. Photo by Ray Carafano

“Happiest Days of Our Lives” (2018), found cardboard, staples, and polyurethane, 96 x 124 x 10 inches. Photo by Ray Carofano

“Hallelujah” (2016), found cardboard, staples, and polyurethane, 30 x 46 x 10 inches. Photo by Ray Carofano   

“Pedro Boogie Woogie” (2019), cardboard, staples, and polyurethane, 104 x 48 x 28 inches. Photo by Ray Carofano

Installation view at Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco (2012). Photo by Sibila Savage

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Discarded Scallop Shells Combine with Recycled Plastics in the Waste-Reducing ‘Shellmet’

All images © Quantum and TBWA\Hakuhodo

The village of Sarufutsu in Hokkaido, Japan, is known for bringing in some of the country’s biggest hauls of scallops. Unfortunately, when the bivalves are processed for the food industry, they generate about 40,000 tons of discarded shells annually. The village teamed up with product design startup Quantum and plastics manufacturer Koushi to tackle the ever-mounting quantities in local landfills. Along came Hotamet—a portmanteau of “hotate” (which means scallop) and “helmet”—alternatively known as Shellmet. The marine-inspired, eco-friendly safety accessory incorporates discarded, crushed scallop shells into a protective covering.

A main component of seashells is calcium carbonate, a compound also found in hard materials like eggshells, pearls, and some rocks and minerals. Combined with recycled plastic, the substance produces a tough material that Quantum and Koushi could form into headgear. “Based on the idea of biomimicry, Shellmet incorporates a special rib structure in its design that mimics the structure of scallops, which are part of the material. As a result, we have achieved a strength approximately 33 percent greater than normal,” Quantum says.

Originally designed as a protective hat for the fishing community, Shellmet will also come in handy when Japan mandates that all bicyclists must wear protective headgear starting in April this year. You can find more information on the company’s website. (via Spoon & Tamago)

 

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