Aug 5, 2013 | sculpture
Jeffro Uitto scours the Washington coast for perfect pieces of driftwood, then spends years combining and carving them into wondrous works of art. He makes functional pieces like extravagant chairs, benches and tables, and his animal sculptures have garnered a lot of press lately, but I think his conceptual sculpture is where it’s at.
The wood is so polished and smooth, it’s like nature’s been brought to perfection, especially since a lot of the works stand tall just like trees would. He photographs the works on the beach too, taking them back to the place where he first found the wood to begin with and making his whole artistic process cyclical and complete.
His website reads,
“Wherever he might be, Tokeland, WA is where Jeffro’s heart is. While enjoying the sound of the waves, Jeff will be working away at his next creation… Visitors are surprised to see that many of Jeffro’s tools are hand made by the artist himself. After you get to know him this isn’t surpising at all. Jeffro has a creative fire that burns hot and it keeps him going full speed when he’s working (and playing). ”
“See Life”
detail, “Andromeda” (6 feet tall)
“Andromeda” (6 feet tall)
To see more of Jeffro Uitto’s work, see his website and Facebook page.
Aug 1, 2013 | art history, sculpture
Antonio Corradini lived from 1668 until June 1752, and he worked as a Rococo sculptor in Venice. There’s not a lot known about him, but he’s most famous for his veiled women, and it’s not hard to see why.
Her smooth skin shines right through the thin ripples of the veil resting softly – it spills off noses and ears like tiny waterfalls of marble. But the eyes can always be seen so clearly, closed against the veil pressed against them.
Bust of a Veiled Woman (Puritas), 1717-25
Marble
Museo del Settecento Veneziano, Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice
source.
Corradini played a huge role in solidifying the role of sculptors as ‘artists’ in the early 18th century. In 1723 he is supposed to have been the first person to legally separate the professions of sculptors and stonemasons, creating a school for sculptors and developing it as an official artistic profession.
His “Portrait of Modesty” (below) lives in the Naples museum, Cappella Sansevero, and her posture and accessories make it look like she was made for a church, even though she’s nearly naked through that thin thin veil – standing casually beautiful with eyes closing.
“Modesty,” 1751
Marble, Cappella Sansevero, Napoli
source.
Full disclosure: all info from Corradini’s Wikipedia page.
Jul 24, 2013 | sculpture, typography
Ole Ukena is a German artist who uses simple, modern conceptual works to make a point. He lives and works between Berlin and Bali, and he’s shown his work all over Thailand, India, Germany and France. Although not all his works involve typography, they do have a distinctly clean look that’s only emphasized with big, bold lettering.
His artist statement reads,
“I am not limiting myself to one medium. I simply can’t. It’s a constant adventure, finding new materials in the countries in which I travel, encountering objects or phrases that can be transformed into specific, meaningful pieces. While my work often displays a strong conceptual nature, I am also very drawn to the intuitive.This balancing energy forces me to step out of my mind and just create. These forces are like my left and right hand. My works try to create a map of the human mind, in an attempt to tell a tale about the very nature of it with all its possibilities, limitations, irritations, and hopes.”
“Burnout Syndrome” burned matches, canvas, 2012
Made up of more than 9,000 matches, the matches in the last WORK‘s are struck and the smoke simmers upwards.
“Trust” nails, wood, 2012
Comprised of more than 15,000 nails, “Trust” shows where it’s safe to sit.
“Giving up is not an option” zinc letters with black lacquer paint, 2012
Giving up is always an option, apparently. The last three letters didn’t make it to the wall, still lying, barely painted on the ground.
See more of Ole Ukena’s conceptual typographic sculpture on his website.
Find him on Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook.
May 14, 2013 | sculpture
Ron Mueck’s new solo exhibition at Paris’ Fondation Cartier includes this incredible work where a man and a woman have been isolated from the rest of the world and are still happy about it after decades. Simply titled, “Couple Under An Umbrella,” it’s one of three new pieces in a show made up of bizarrely scaled sculptures that present people so real you wonder why they’re not breathing – hyperrealism in a contemplative way. My first impression is to relate the sculpture’s size to the person’s character or circumstance, and here the couple’s love is bigger than they are so their bodies follow suit.
Fondation Cartier writes,
“They seem to be frozen moments of life, each capturing the relationship between two human beings. The nature of their connection to each other is revealed by their actions, small, ordinary, yet intriguing. The precision of their gestures, the true to life rendering of their flesh, the suggestion of suppleness in their skin makes them seem completely real.
These works describe situations which are imaginary but their obsession with truth indicates an artist in search of perfection and with an acute sensitivity to form and material. By pushing likeness to its limits Ron Mueck creates works that are secret, meditative and mysterious.”
Ron Mueck’s solo exhibition at the Fondation Cartier in Paris in on view until September 29, 2013.
For more information, see their website.
Image source: Yatzer.
Apr 30, 2013 | sculpture
Ellen June Jewett’s sculptures turn animals even wilder, transforming their bodies into futuristic mini-masterpieces that balance and burst with motion. A cheetah has front legs just a little too long, and uses the extra length for more spring, his hair thickened like tentacles as they fly back in the wind. Wings erupt from the shoulder blades and turn into white tethered plants with their own thick tentacles, and tiny white birds fly alongside. Each creature is given their own set of intricate detail that springs from somewhere organic, revealing trees, leaves, flowers and birds.
It’s an ultramodern world where animals adapt and fuse with other elements. Some border on surreal: an owl with its wings holding dreamcatchers out wide, and a fox with flags strung between its tail and body.
Ellen is a Canadian artist with a degree in Biological Anthropology and Art Critique. She began sculpting as a child, and her Etsy page reads,
“To Ellen sculpting has always been about life, biological narratives and cultural statements. The tedious hours of labor act as the mysterious foundation from which each sculptures’ personality springs forth…
When working in her studio Ellen enjoys the company of animals and listens to audio books and podcasts. She finds this immersion in thought and ideas helps create the depth of spontaneity in her sculptural narratives.”
These sculptures are a part of Ellen’s series Creatures from El, the project she’s been working on since 2005.
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[/zl_mate_code] See more of Ellen June Jewett’s work on her website.
Source: vainamoinenka.tumblr.com
Apr 29, 2013 | sculpture
Kelly Campbell Berry brings stories to life by turning books into a visualization of what’s within them, creating characters that float before the very text that breathed imagined life into them in the first place. The books open and the centers of their pages are ripped out to create a stage for the dynamic jumbled scenes of collaged settings and characters, whose illustration styles match the style of writing within them. The Wizard of Oz is colorful and young, and The Tales of Shakespeare is reminiscent of the Renaissance and based in realsim. Gulliver’s Travels is the only closed book and the characters seep out of the sides of it like the cover’s illustration is leaking.
The best part about these book sculptures is that they’re for sale at Kelly’s Etsy shop for less than you’d expect, ranging from Arabian Nights at $150 to Peter Pan and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea at $200.
Kelly said,
“I am truly amazed at the ability some people have to arrange words in such a way that we, the readers, can actually ‘see’ into the imagined world of the writer. We relate, feel, and become invested in the characters so deeply that we are pulled into their world for a brief moment of escape. My book sculptures are my way of showing what the words on the pages create in the imagination of the readers.”
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See more from Kelly Campbell Berry on Etsy and on her Tumblr.
Source: My Modern Met
