Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Build Your Own Bismuth Crystals With Nervous System’s Miniature Geometric Puzzles

All images © Nervous System

Among the Earth’s metallic elements, bismuth is one of the most beguiling. Rarely encountered in nature, it can be synthesized for a wide variety of uses in medicine, cosmetics, and casting for things like printing type. When the material forms into hopper crystals—a stair-stepped pattern with a loosely conical shape—the oxide film on its surface interacts with light to produce astonishing iridescent colors. These patterns provide the basis of the latest miniature geometric puzzles by Nervous System (previously).

Each plywood jigsaw is about nine square inches and contains 157 pieces, which are cut in a matrix to mirror bismuth’s crystalline network. And like most of the studio’s designs, each puzzle contains a playful whimsy piece. Get yours from Nervous System.

 

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A Heartfelt Stop-Motion Animation for Apple Reminds Us to Be Kind This Holiday Season

Karma comes quickly for the Scrooge-esque character in Anna Mantzaris’ “Fuzzy Feelings,” a touching stop-motion animation about loneliness and compassion. A holiday ad for Apple that’s set to George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity,” the short film features the Swedish animator’s signature felted cast (previously), particularly a gruff, selfish man who steals change from a charity and experiences fast retribution. As we soon learn, though, that character mirrors the curmudgeonly boss of a young woman, who’s created the fictional scenes to take imagined revenge on her superior. The story turns heartwarming when the woman realizes that her boss is alone for the holidays and uses her animated characters to remedy the problem.

Peek into Mantzaris’ process in the behind-the-scenes video below, and check out our conversation with the animator about her love for humor. (via Creative Boom)

 

an animated image of a snow plow dumping snow on a man with no pants in the street

a character walks along a snow street in front of a santa

an animated gif of a felt snowball hitting a man with glasses in the face

a still showing a computer screen with video editing software and an image of a felted character lying on his back in a body of water

an animated gif of a felted character plugging in a string of lights and getting eletrocuted

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article A Heartfelt Stop-Motion Animation for Apple Reminds Us to Be Kind This Holiday Season appeared first on Colossal.



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Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Fleshy Gills and Spotted Caps Sprout from Ann Wood’s Lifelike Paper Mushrooms

a hand holds a pink platter with a selection of paper mushrooms

All images © Ann Wood, shared with permission

You don’t need to head out to the forest to find plump morels or chanterelles. After years of cultivating a robust collection of paper flowers and produce, artist Ann Wood (previously) has turned her focus to fungi, sprouting myriad specimens within her Minneapolis studio. White-spotted red caps of the fly agaric mushroom, plum-colored mushrooms with thick, fleshy gills, and bright yellow spores spring from patches of moss and dried leaves or rest on a platter as if ready to eat.

Wood has a background in painting and wood sculpting, although she began working with paper exclusively eight years ago. She’s since crafted more than 300 lifelike renditions of flora and fauna. Each piece is the result of study and observation, and she grows many plants from seeds in her backyard, which then serve as models for her recreations. “Throughout the years, I’ve basically tried to cover as much of the natural world—butterflies, bees, various other insects, all kinds of flowers, branches, leaves, birds, bulbs with roots, and various types of root balls that are attached to garden plants,” she says.

The mushrooms shown here are life-size or larger, and Wood is particularly adept at capturing the fleshy gills that often hide underneath the cap, along with the fringed, peeling layers of the woody stems. “It’s my goal to create that magical feeling that you get by finding mushrooms out in nature. They are fragile and startling when you come across them. I hope my paper versions inspire that same emotion,” she says.

Explore more of the artist’s paper cultivars on her site and Instagram.

 

two red capped mushrooms with white spots and dense white gills sprout from a mossy base

a collection of paper mushrooms rest on a blue table

four images of paper flowers, a paper swan with white fringed feathers, and a yellow and black bird perched on a branch

five pink, yellow, and white mushrooms grow from a wood base

two heavily gilled purple mushrooms grow from dried brown leaves

an assortment of paper vegetables and fruits arranged as a flat lay with cut watermelon and citrus on a wood platter at the center

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Fleshy Gills and Spotted Caps Sprout from Ann Wood’s Lifelike Paper Mushrooms appeared first on Colossal.



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Faith XLVII Engages Humanity’s Shadows Through the Delicate Interplay of Light and Dark

a black and white drawing of kids watching two kids box

“A Study of Light and Shadow V.” All images © Faith XLVII, shared with permission

Artist Faith XLVII (previously) describes a recent body of work as “a kind of scratching into the chiaroscuro of our souls.” Titled Clair-Obscur, the collection comprises wax-crayon drawings, stitched-map tapestries, installations, videos, and Polaroids that reflect on the fundamental duality between light and dark. Invoking the Jungian notion of shadow selves—the idea that people repress what they don’t like to acknowledge—Faith XLVII conjures both nature’s cycles and social and political issues, including environmental degradation, tyrannical rule, and human rights violations.

Works include a triptych of the moon’s phases that progress from light to dark, along with renderings of the 2020 MV Wakashio oil spill off the coast of Mauritius and two teens boxing in front of a younger audience waiting their turn. This latter piece depicts “the ‘Colonia Dignidad’ compound in Chile in the 1970s which became a notorious cult center under the rule of Pinochet,” the artist says. Often simply titled “A Study of Light and Shadow,” the works investigate various interpretations of darkness from the physical to the metaphorical. Together, the pieces suggest that recognizing the realities, atrocities, and hardships some would rather conceal is an essential step in our collective healing.

After debuting earlier this year at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Nancy, France, Clair-Obscur will open on December 2 at Danysz Gallery in Paris. Faith XLVII is widely known for her murals and public works around the world, which you can find on Instagram.

 

three black and white drawings of the moon. each gets progressively lighter

“A Study of Light and Shadow X”

a black and white drawing of soldiers kneeling near a horse

“A Study of Light and Shadow II”

two black and white drawings roots and branches

Left: “A Study of Light and Shadow II.” Right: “A Study of Light and Shadow VI”

a black and white drawing of ship at sea

“A Study of Light and Shadow XI”

three stitched works that fade from blue to beige. the left has a circle at the bottom, the middle has two circles at the top and bottom, the left has a circle at the top

“Chaos Theory XXI”

a detail shot showing map fragments sewn together

Detail of “Chaos Theory XXI”

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Studio Ibbini Juxtaposes Negative Space and Botanical Filigree in New Laser-Cut Paper Works

two hands hold a rectangular floral work that appears to grow vines

All images © Studio Ibbini, shared with permission

Artist Julia Ibbini and computer scientist Stéphane Noyer of the Abu Dhabi-based Studio Ibbini (previously) continue to collaborate on intricately constructed works that fall at the intersection of art and mathematics. The duo creates vessels and flat pieces by layering laser-cut papers into complex structures replete with floral filigree and ornate patterning.

While many of their three-dimensional sculptures appear to twist upward in tight, perfectly aligned rows, the pair incorporates more negative space into their recent pieces, many of which seem to morph from architectural or ornamental motifs into wild, botanical growths. Ibbini tells Colossal that this requires finding a delicate balance between the frail material and the resulting form to maintain the work’s structural integrity. She explains the process:

In the pieces that seem to be fading away, hand-made drawings are turned into computational tree structures and density maps on which graph theory and probabilistic algorithms are applied. Through this, we are able to manipulate the geometry of the work so that it looks almost as though the details are slowly eroding into empty space in the final piece.

Studio Ibbini will show works with Long-Sharp Gallery at Art Basel Miami starting next week and in a group exhibition at Sharjah Art Museum from December 13 to January 21. Keep up with the duo’s latest sculptures on Instagram.

 

a hand touches a swooshing vessel with tessellating patterns

a hand holds an elaborately designed vessel

a detail of ornate patterns layered on top of each other to create an intricately motif on a vessel

a hand touches a vessel with negative space

a detail of a vase with floral filigree

a rectangular work on a blue backdrop. the piece appears to fade in parts

two architectural works in white that appear to fade

a detail of delicately layered floral filigree

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Studio Ibbini Juxtaposes Negative Space and Botanical Filigree in New Laser-Cut Paper Works appeared first on Colossal.



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Monday, November 27, 2023

In ‘Nature Mart,’ Geoff McFetridge Queries Human Responsibility and Connection Through Minimal Paintings

a silhouette of a person made out of smaller people

“Person Person” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 50 X 40 inches. All photos by Jessann Reece, courtesy of the artist and Cooper Cole, Toronto, shared with permission

Canadian artist Geoff McFetridge is known for his distinct aesthetic that privileges feeling over visuals, all conveyed through minimal shapes and clean lines. In his latest body of work titled Nature Mart, McFetridge takes on connection, empathy, fear, and exploitation as he explores what it means to be in a community.

Rendered in bold, flat panes of color, his acrylic paintings feature nondescript figures joining arms, hopping a fence, and haphazardly tucked head or foot first into a silhouette evocative of a Trojan horse. While some works, like “Group Hug,” portray people seamlessly joined as if fused together indefinitely, others show a separation as in the mirrored “Thruwall,” a piece that depicts two nearly identical figures approaching the wall that divides them. Many of the paintings ask what our responsibility as humans is to each other and the species we share this planet with, which McFetridge broaches through his unornamented visual language.

Nature Mart is on view through January 20 at Cooper Cole in Toronto. Find more from the artist on Instagram. (via Juxtapoz)

 

a woman touches a horse and they both have round, brain-like shapes on their heads

“Horse Brainz” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 30 x 26 inches

four people connect arms in a circle

“Group Hug” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 30 x 36 inches

a gray cat covers a person in a red shirt and blue pants

“Protected by Lion” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 50 X 40 inches

a horse figure made of people

“Horse That Jack Built 2” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 inches

two people climb over a pink fence

“Over Fence” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 50 X 50 inches

an abstract silhouette of a figure holding a yellow ball in their mouth

“Tennis!” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 50 x 40 inches

two people hold their hands to the same wall while on opposite sides

“Thruwall” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article In ‘Nature Mart,’ Geoff McFetridge Queries Human Responsibility and Connection Through Minimal Paintings appeared first on Colossal.



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Ranjani Shettar’s Delicate Sculptures Entwine with the Lush Plant Life of the Barbican’s Conservatory

suspended organic and floral sculptures in a lush green conservatory

“Cloud songs on the horizon” (2023). All images are installation views of ‘Ranjani Shettar: Cloud songs on the horizon,’ Barbican Conservatory, © Max Colson, Barbican Art Gallery, courtesy of Barbican Centre, KNMA, Ranjani Shettar, shared with permission

Emerging from the lush, jungle-like conservatory at the Barbican is a collection of otherworldly sculptures that transform the venue into a site of metamorphosis. Largely made of muslin, reclaimed teak, and steel, the works were born in the rural Karnataka, India, studio of artist Ranjani Shettar, whose interest in nature’s resilience and adaptation is on full display at the iconic London space.

Shettar is known for her use of organic and industrial materials that she fashions into delicate, sometimes abstract, sculptures. In her solo exhibition titled Cloud songs on the horizon at the Barbican, the artist suspends pieces that appear like seed pods, plants, and other organisms within the 23,000-square-foot space. As viewers move along the pathways, the works seem to morph into different creatures and reflect the ways changes occur over time.

The Barbican’s glass ceiling plays a crucial role, as well, as it shifts perspectives depending on the time of day. Shettar softly illuminates some of the works when under the dark cover of night, adding that “natural light had to become an active ingredient of the sculpture-making, not a passive (one) that would happen later on. I had to consider it as a medium itself,” she says.

Cloud songs on the horizon is on view through March, and you can find more of Shettar’s works from Talwar Gallery.

 

botanical, organic sculptures suspended in a lush, green conservatory

“In the thick of the twilight” (2023)

viewers look at botanical, organic sculptures suspended in a lush, green conservatory

“In the thick of the twilight” (2023)

a viewer looks at botanical, organic sculptures suspended in a lush, green conservatory

“Cloud songs on the horizon” (2023)

three flower sculptures in a lush, green conservatory

Detail of “Cloud songs on the horizon” (2023)

botanical, organic sculptures suspended in a lush, green conservatory with a water fountain in the foreground

“Moon dancers” (2023)

botanical, organic sculptures suspended in a lush, green conservatory

Detail of “Moon dancers” (2023)

white and yellow paper sculptures

Detail of “Cloud songs on the horizon” (2023)

illuminated sculptures suspended in a dark conservatory

“In the Wings of Crescent Moons” (2023)

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Ranjani Shettar’s Delicate Sculptures Entwine with the Lush Plant Life of the Barbican’s Conservatory appeared first on Colossal.



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A Knotted Octopus Carved Directly into Two Pianos Entwines Maskull Lasserre’s New Musical Sculpture

“The Third Octave” (2023). All images © Maskull Lasserre, shared with permission Behind the hammers and pins of most upright pianos is a ...