Richard Blanco is a Chicago-based painter whose geometric paintings I’m completely taken with. Some of his abstract works are for sale as prints on Society6, while others remain as paintings on canvas and paper. A lot of his pieces make me feel like I’m staring in a kaleidoscope and I like it! Check out his Tumblr page for more work.
I think waxing just got a bit more fun. Wax Revolution in Mexico City was designed by ROW Studio as a way to set a new standard for people’s idea of hair removal and it looks like they knocked it out of the park. The space was originally dark and rundown in a partial basement that was hidden from view on the street.
IN-EI is a new collection of table, floor, and hanging lamps by fashion designer Issey Miyake for the Italian lighting manufacturer Artemide. Born from the 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE project in which clothing can be folded flat but also become a three-dimensional form, Miyake and his research team Reality Lab. naturally transitioned into lighting. The fixture’s material is made from recycled PET plastic bottles and diffuses light beautifully. “IN-EI” is Japanese for shadow, and with the pleating of the material each lamp becomes a striking sculpture when lit.
Masterpiece is a sculpture made of painted acrylic that resembles a cloth-covered painting, which has yet to be revealed. The artist, who goes by “Whatshisname,” is saying that regardless of artworks that have already been created, with every new generation of artists, there are new masterpieces yet to be discovered.
For this week’s Deconstruction, Danish designer Cecilie Manz shares numerous sketches of her new chair for Fritz Hansen, the Minuscule, which won the 2012 ICFF Editor Award in New York City this week. The name Minuscule represents the informal and understated style for which the Scandinavians are known. Although the notes that accompany Manz’s sketches are sparse (much like the chair itself), she talks more in depth in the video. Manz describes the chair as a formal design, meant for informal situations. She likens its rounded shape to a beach stone, and points out that the rounded back provides a sphere, or protected space for the person sitting on it. It’s a beautifully designed piece, very, very thin, thanks to current technology, but with hand stitched upholstery that harkens back to Old World tailoring. Follow its conception below.
Spain-based designer Ander Lizaso presented his newest piece of furniture at SaloneSatellite in Milan at the Fukuroo stand. Bai means yes in the Basque language (where Ander is from). The Bai dining chair features a cross legged beech frame and a seat shell upholstered in Bute tweed that combines concave and convex shapes.
Israeli designer Hilla Shamia uniquely joins the materials of aluminum and wood in this Wood Casting series. Using a whole tree trunk, Shamia pours molten aluminum directly onto the wood, which burns the surface and darkens the wood. The wood gets cut up lengthwise and put into a mold to form the frame and legs of the piece.
Italian designer Diego Grandi does a little bit of everything – surface design, interiors, and even exhibition design. Prove di Stampa is an exhibition he designed for the 15th year celebration of SaloneSatellite 2012 and it’s all about a print laboratory.
Los Angeles-based earthnform designs a line of porcelain that is both sculptural and architectural. What’s unique about them is that they design the pieces from package material. If you think about how much plastic is produced and where it goes after you’ve opened whatever it is that you bought, it’s quite overwhelming. Well, earthnform wants to bring the issue to the surface while at the same time “producing functional pieces cast from found plastic.” By reusing the packaging material, they in turn, create art.
Suspension, 20 x 15 inches, ink on paper, 2010
Portland, Maine-based artist Joe Kievitt’s abstract works are what he describes as “drawings with ink and acrylic on paper.” I call it colorful patterning at its best. He uses tape that he cuts at various widths with a custom-made tool to isolate areas for ink and paint washes to be applied. The patterns in each piece are perfectly imperfect (which happens to be my favorite kind). The asymmetrical works are done by hand and become an anxiety-ridden process due to working with unforgiving mediums such as ink and liquid paint. The outcome, however, is well worth it.
