The Cavernous Bat Trang Pottery Museum Swells Upward Like a Hand-Thrown Ceramic Vessel

All images © 1+1>2

The historic village of Bat Trang in northern Vietnam has been a hub for ceramic production since the 11th century. Home to vast reserves of white clay, the town’s economy is still deeply rooted in creating and selling various functional and decorative objects, while becoming increasingly popular for tourism.

In homage to the village’s enduring traditions, the architects of 1+1>2 studio designed the Bat Trang Pottery Museum, a spacious, four-story venue devoted to sharing the history of the region and offering a space where local artisans can showcase their works. Constructed with fiber-reinforced concrete, the building swells upward in tiers to evoke the shape of vessels thrown on a potter’s wheel, while the terracotta color references the earthen material and bricks used in kilns.

Comprised of seven segments, the museum is a multi-use space. Exhibitions, festivals, and studios occupy much of the building with a restaurant and auditorium on the fourth floor. Lush with potted plants, the rooftop features a workshop, play area, and space for people to gather in the open air.

Find more about the project on the studio’s website. (via designboom)

 

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A Major Retrospective Celebrates Iris van Herpen’s Mesmerizing Designs at the Intersection of Art, Fashion, and Science

Carla van de Puttelaar for Iris van Herpen, various collections (2020). All images courtesy of Musée des Arts Décoratifs, shared with permission

Water, skeletons, and the origins of life usher in a major retrospective of the exquisite, otherworldly garments of Iris van Herpen (previously). On view now at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Sculpting the Senses is a celebration of the Dutch designer’s groundbreaking contributions to fashion, particularly her collaborative sensibilities and interest in working across art and science.

Van Herpen founded her eponymous brand in 2007 and has since created a vast oeuvre embracing the beauty of the natural world. Her “Arachne bustier,” part of the Meta Morphism collection, for example, features a sculptural form evocative of wings atop a gossamer bodice. Other works are similarly shapely, like those in Hypnosis, which feature bulbous skirts and mind-bending patterns that sway with mesmerizing movement.

“Dynamic tension, fluidity, delicacy, and complexity, as well as poetry and philosophy: these are the main elements of the dialogues she establishes between body and clothing, which allow her to convey a new, rich, enthusiastic perspective on the world to come,” writes curator Cloé Pitiot.

In addition to van Herpen’s designs, the exhibition also includes works by artists like Casey Curran, Rogan Brown, and Janaina Mello Landini, who have either inspired or collaborated with the designer over the years.

Sculpting the Senses is on view through April 28 in Paris. Pick up the accompanying monograph, which contains a forward by Tilda Swinton, from Bookshop.

 

“Epicycle” dress, ‘Hypnosis’ collection (2019), glass organza, crepe, PetG, mylar. Image © Dominique Maitre

Luigi and Iango for Iris van Herpen, “Skeleton Dress,” in collaboration with Isaie Bloch, ‘Capriole Collection’ (2020)

Left: “Suminagashi” dress, ‘Hypnosis’ collection (2019), polyurethane, mylar, tulle. Image © Dominique Maitre. Right: “Epicycle” dress, ‘Hypnosis’ collection (2019), glass organza, crepe, PetG, mylar. Image © Dominique Maitre

Iris van Herpen in collaboration with Perry Hall, “Fractal Flows” dress, ‘Sensory Seas’ collection (2020), glass organza, Komon Kobo, tulle. Image © Dominique Maitre

“Arachne bustier,” ‘Meta Morphism’ collection (2022), polyester silk, mylar, tulle, Swarovski crystals, embroidery thread, stainless steel. Image © Dominique Maitre

David Uzochukwu for Iris van Herpen, “Hydrozoa Dress,” ‘Sensory Seas’ collection'(2020). Right: David Uzochukwu for Iris van Herpen, “Sensory Seas Dress” and “Nautiloid Dress,” ‘Sensory Seas’ collection (2020)

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Love Hultén Merges Audio-Visual Experiences with Mid-Century Aesthetics in His Elaborate Synthesizers

“T E G E L,” sound sculpture based on biodata. All images © Love Hultén, shared with permission

Whether ocean-themed, compact with a slide-out keyboard, or installed vertically on the wall, Love Hultén’s elaborate custom synthesizers (previously) are one-of-a-kind. Combining a love for woodworking and sound art, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based artist and designer merges electronic elements with a wide range of console designs evocative of early computers and mid-century industrial control systems. Incorporating playful elements from video games or aesthetic themes—”C O U S T E A U” features oxygen tank details and a custom MIDI crab—Hultén activates each sculptural instrument into original audio-visual experiences.

Explore many more of Hultén’s musical creations on his website and Instagram.

 

“C O U S T E A U,” ocean-themed setup including JU06-A, Reface CP, V256, Oceans 11, and a custom mechanical MIDI crab

Detail of “C O U S T E A U”

“W A L L S Y N T H,” Waldorf String Machine, Waldorf Blofeld, C&G Video Scope, Hologram Microcosm, Tape Echo, Waldorf Pulse 2, Strymon BigSky, Korg SQ-64, Korg Minilogue XD, Erica Synths Matrix Mixer, Arturia MiniFreak, and a custom MIDI patchbay

“O S M O S E,” custom-made Osmose synth with stereo looper and tape echo

“A T O M – I C,” Syntrx2, LXR-02 and Fusion Delay from Erica Synths, Moog Theremini, Arturia Keystep, T-Rex Replicator, and Befaco Spring Reverb

Detail of “A T O M – I C”

“C O S M,” Mother-32, TR-08, Microcosm and a pull-out keybed

Detail of “C O S M”

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A Trippy New Book Surveys 100 Years of Art Since the Birth of the Surrealist Movement

Glenn Brown, “When We Return You Won’t Recognise Us.” Image © Glenn Brown. All images courtesy of Monacelli, shared with permission

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of surrealism, an enduring movement the poet André Breton sparked in 1924. Countless artists across disciplines have been inspired by the uncanny, unconscious, and fantatstic, a few of which are celebrated in a forthcoming book written by Robert Zeller.

New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting, published by Monacelli later this month, chronicles the history of the artistic and political movement from its birth amid World War I to more contemporary interests. Featuring major influences like the aforementioned Breton, Sigmund Freud, and the Dadaists, the 336-page primer travels through the century to highlight the artists, exhibitions, and events that profoundly impacted the genre. The book highlights surrealist icons like Remedios Varo, Salvador Dalí, and Leonora Carrington, along with artists working in the tradition today, including Arghavan Khosravi, Miles Johnston, and Ewa Juskiewicz, whose portrait of a swathed woman graces the cover.

An insightful survey that illuminates the connections between art and politics, New Surrealism is a valuable overview of one of the most influential movements in Western art history. Pre-order your copy on Bookshop.

 

Arghavan Khosravi, “Ascension.” Image courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery

Miles Johnston, “The Would”

Lenz Geerk., “The Game.” Photo by Robert Wedemeyer, image © Lenz Geerk

Alessandro Keegan, “Lumen”

Pierre Roy, “Danger on the Stairs.” Image © MOMA, Artists Rights Society, New York

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A New Film Documents Kerry James Marshall’s Dynamic Stained Glass Windows for the Washington National Cathedral

How do you revise a narrative that some still believe true? And, how do you change that story to focus on perseverance and reform when the fight for justice is ongoing?

In 2017, two stained glass windows commemorating Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson were removed from the Washington National Cathedral. When Kerry James Marshall (previously) was commissioned to create their replacements, he grappled with these questions, ultimately offering a dynamic pair of works installed this September.

A new short film for Art21’s Extended Play series documents the artist’s process and thinking behind the monumental windows, which were made in collaboration with stained-glass artisan Andrew Goldkuhle. The vibrant pieces depict anonymous protestors engaged in a peaceful demonstration. Some figures holding signs saying “No,” “No Foul Play,” and “Fairness,” slogans inspired by a speech by Chicago’s first Black mayor, Harold Washington. The phrases connect a basic principle of the U.S. Constitution with that of dishonesty and crimes and reflect the need to redress wrongs.

“We tend to make celebrities the focal point of any kind of achievement when for the most part, almost all the achievements we experience are the work of a vast number of anonymous and unidentified people who put in the work on a day-to-day basis,” Marshall says. The title of both the windows and the documentary, “Now and Forever,” reflects this dedication to showing up and striving for a better world each day.

No matter how much progress we make, the artist reminds us, “achievement doesn’t necessarily mean complacency.”

Watch the full film above and find more about the project on Art21.

 

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Hugh Hayden Untangles American Mythology with Overgrown Sculptures and Skewed Installations

Installation view of “The end,” NGV Triennial, Melbourne. Photo by Sean Fennessy. All images shared with permission

In a trio of ongoing exhibitions, Hugh Hayden (previously) tackles American myth-making, unraveling the incomplete and ignored narratives that ground our politics and culture.

For the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial, Hayden installed “The end,” a grade-school classroom complete with wooden desks and a mirrored blackboard. Educational settings are a recurring in the artist’s practice, and he pairs the motif with three dodo skeletons. The flightless birds were native to Mauritius and one of the first species to go extinct because of European hunting and deforestation on the island.

Tying this colonial eradication to academics, Hayden roots out the ways colonialism and its tenets continue to undermine the educational system and highlights the loss inherent within the African diaspora.

 

“Huff and a Puff” (2023), deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Photo by Mel Taing

“Huff and a Puff” similarly probes historical narratives. Permanently installed at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusettes, the small wooden cabin is a replica of Henry David Thoreau’s home at Walden Pond. Slanted a surreal 20 degrees, the building skews what’s typically thought of as a birthplace of American self-reliance, environmental consciousness, and capitalist critique.

“‘Huff and A Puff’ is about perspective, not only in terms of its physical experience but also conceptually, given that for some people, the world is not so easy to live in,” the artist says. Given its angled construction, the cabin would be uncomfortable, if not impossible, to occupy without bending or contorting one’s body to fit.

 

Installation view of ‘Hugh Hayden: Hughman’ at Lisson Gallery, Los Angeles. Image © Hugh Hayden, courtesy of Lisson Gallery

And finally, in his first solo show in Los Angeles, Hayden considers “the prosthetics of power,” or the artificial structures that can be weaponized for control and authority. Titled Hughman, the exhibition is entirely hidden behind a row of black bathroom stalls that must be opened to see the works, an act associated with privacy and rife with discrimination given the current proliferation of bathroom bills.

Inside is the artist’s play on an origin story. A twist on the anatomical models found in doctors’ offices, “Eve” is a wooden sculpture of a pregnant body with a baby curled inside. Other works include various types of seating—a director’s chair, school desk, and toilet—made impossible to use by branches jutting out from their sides or their flimsy, bristle construction.

Hughman is on view through January 13 at Lisson Gallery, while “The end” is up through April 7 in Melbourne. For deeper insight into Hayden’s work, pick up American Vernacular published earlier this year and also on Colossal’s Best Books of 2023 list, and find more on Instagram.

 

Installation view of “The end,” NGV Triennial, Melbourne. Photo by Sean Fennessy

Installation view of “The end,” NGV Triennial, Melbourne. Photo by Sean Fennessy

“Huff and a Puff” (2023), deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Photo by Mel Taing

“Brainwash” (2023),
PVC and nylon bristles, 33 x 26 x 29 inches. Image © Hugh Hayden, courtesy of Lisson Gallery

“Eve” (2023), cherry bark and acrylic on resin, black walnut,
25 x 15 x 10 inches. Image © Hugh Hayden, courtesy of Lisson Gallery

Installation view of ‘Hugh Hayden: Hughman’ at Lisson Gallery, Los Angeles. Image © Hugh Hayden, courtesy of Lisson Gallery

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Expansive Landscapes Spill from Tiny Frames in Detailed Miniature Dioramas by A House of Wonders

All images © House of Wonders, shared with permission

“I didn’t really set out with the intention of making miniatures. They just turned out that way,” says artist Caroline Dewison of A House of Wonders. For several years, the Warrington, England-based artist experimented with beads and clay to make small sculptures, but she was never quite satisfied. “It began with making little mossy patches on clay pieces, sourcing materials I found in model railway layouts, which I immediately fell in love with,” she says. “Seeing how others recreated such realistic scenes was really inspiring, so I bought some scenery supplies, and the ideas just grew.”

Small enough to hold in the palm of your hand, Dewison’s vistas open up far into the distance. Inspired by the woodlands around her home and holiday walks through the Lake District, the artist began to recreate mystical scenes of streams, shorelines, and hills. “The natural world has always filled me with a sense of wonder,” she says. “I grew up in the days where you could disappear all day as long as you were home for tea, and I spent a lot of my time exploring the woods and fields near our house.”

Using Jesmonite—a mixture of gypsum and water-based acrylic resin—to fashion frames, plus a lightweight MDF for the backgrounds, Dewison sources a range of small boxes, model-making supplies, and acrylic paints to create each intricate scene. For landscapes, she particularly enjoys using a type of clay that melds the malleability of clay with the strength of epoxy, plus a favorite 3D-printing pen. “I’m amazed at the fact you can just press a button and magic something out of thin air,” she says.

Find more of Dewison’s work on A House of Wonders’ Instagram and website.

 

 

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