Artist Grayson Perry has designed a special holiday home in Essex, part of a special commission by Living Architecture, and developed in collaboration with the FAT architectural firm. Appropriately titled A House for Essex, the home boasts a golden copper alloy roof, and a secret narrative incorporated into the space by Perry, focused around an imagined previous inhabitant. (more…)
The New Museum has collaborated with Chapman Skateboards to create 150 skateboards inspired by the museum’s architecture. The limited edition skateboard mimics the angular profile and silver facade of the SANAA-designed building. Chapman Skateboards describes the skateboard as “a nod to the ingenuity of skate culture” and “a tribute to the narrow, skated backstreets of the neighborhood the New Museum calls home”. (more…)
Sterling Ruby has launched his collaborative fashion project with designer Raf Simons this week, with an online store titled inthenameof.be. The site will look to launch weekly products, starting this week with a work shirt and jeans spattered with typically messy splashes by Ruby. (more…)
Several artists have redesigned classic British battleships in London and Liverpool commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of the start of WWI. The designs pay homage to the practice of “dazzle” paint jobs on battleships, designed to confuse attacking German U-Boats. (more…)
Antony Gormley has created a special architectural installation for The Beaumont Hotel in London, using his trademark figuration to create an illusive luxury hotel suite. Titled Room, the suite is modeled after one of Gormley’s squatting figures, and contains a full luxury apartment inside, which has also been meticulously shaped by the artist. “Shutters over the window provide total blackout and very subliminal levels of light allow me to sculpt darkness itself,” Gormley says. “My ambition for this work is that it should confront the monumental with the most personal, intimate experience.” (more…)
Architect Peter Zumthor has altered his plans for the expansion of the LACMA campus, taking into account its close proximity to the La Brea Tar Pits, and instead has shifted the design to snake around the museum campus, avoiding the pits altogether. “The original design would have severely impacted six of the nine active tar pits,” said Jane Pisano, director of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, which oversees the tar pits. “We are so pleased, I do believe this design direction preserves and protects the tar pits.” (more…)
This year’s temporary summer pavilion by the Serpentine Gallery has opened in Hyde Park, an enormous rounded structure likened to a doughnut, and designed by Chilean architect Smilijan Radic. The rounded fiberglass space is designed to act as a public social space, and will remain open through October.
A new slide sculpture by Carsten Höller has opened in Rhein, Germany, installed on the Vitra campus. The slide tower is designed with a rotating clock mechanism atop its structure, which is arranged to form the Vitra logo for a few minutes everyday. “A slide is a sculptural work with a pragmatic aspect, a sculpture that you can travel inside,” Höller says. “However, it would be a mistake to think that you have to use the slide to make sense of it.” (more…)
Part of the fanfare surrounding Jeff Koons’s retrospective at the Whitney, H&M will turn its 5th Avenue shop into a miniature Jeff Koons exhibition, featuring a special purse branded with the artist’s signature Balloon Dog. “The partnership with H&M was really exciting for me,” Koons says, “and the chance to showcase one of my most popular works to a new generation of people was inspiring.” (more…)
The New York Times profiles Gertrude, a recently organized project that holds salons for the viewing and discussion of art. Taking famed art its and Paris social lynchpin Gertrude Stein as its inspiration, the organization allows interested groups to gather for the appreciation and examination of art. “If you do a high-level description of what the art world is, you have the commercial side of the art world, which is about selling art work, and then you have institutions on the other end of the spectrum, with education as the main goal,” said founder Kenneth Schlenker. “What we want to offer is something in the middle that’s an educational experience and a social one.” (more…)
Yves Klein, Painting of fire (1961), via Art Observed
Skarstedt Gallery has joined the crowd in Chelsea this month, opening its new W. 21st Street space with a selection of unorthodox paintings by Yves Klein and Andy Warhol, created using human urine, oxidized metallic paints, water and fire. Spread among the high-ceilinged rooms of the new space, the show welcomes an intuitive look into the pair’s interests not only in non-art materials and processes, but particularly those closest to the human condition.
Andy Warhol, Oxidation Painting (diptych) (1978), via Skarstedt (more…)
Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Moisant Weyl Gallery in Chelsea opened its “Art on Color” show this past Thursday, June 8th, a show that challenges the traditional white-walled gallery notion by introducing bold colors on its walls. A colorful palette of oranges, yellows, and greens backdrops artworks by represented artists: John Baldessari, Ann Hamilton, David Hockney, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Man Ray, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist and Joel Shapiro. “[David Hockney] pointed out to us that when you look at art on a white wall the first thing you see is the frame, but when you look at art on a wall with color, the first thing you see is the art,” Peter Stamberg, one of the gallery’s architects, explained at the opening.
The Eli Broad Museum, is suing German architectural fabricator Seele over the still-unfinished steel facade of the museum, which has allegedly delayed the opening of the museum until 2015. The $19.8 million lawsuit “speaks for itself,” says Broad Foundation spokesperson Karen Denne. “We are fairly confident that the museum will open in 2015, and we will announce an opening date later this year.” (more…)
The Guggenheim officially opened its call for design entries for its Helsinki Museum outpost yesterday, judged by a staff of architects, museum employees and and politicians, including jury chair Mark Wigley, the Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University; Ritva Viljanen, the Deputy Mayor, City of Helsinki; and Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Guggenheim Foundation. “This competition promises to be extremely exciting,” says jury member Erkki Leppävuori, President and CEO of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. “The site, which is rich and varied as a cultural and environmental setting, poses potentially productive technical challenges to architects and structural engineers, who also must address the high expectations and lively opinions of our citizens.” (more…)
As Brazil prepares to host the World Cup this summer, Brazilian artists Os Gemeos have created a custom design for the plane used by the Brazilian team, featuring the pair’s signature style. “Everyone has thought about walking on clouds. And this is only possible with a plane and faces painted on it,” says Otavio, one half of Os Gemeos. (more…)
Martino Gamper, L’Arco della Pace, all images Courtesy of Serpentine Galleries
Following 2009’s Design Real, curated by Konstantin Gricic, Serpentine Galleries is hosting its second major design exhibition. Titled design is a state of mind, the exhibition emphasizes London-based, Italian-born designer Martino Gamper’s curatorial vision with a selection of major design works brought together by the renowned designer. Gamper, reminding viewers of the emotional charge of design works are capable of beyond their mere functionality and surface presentation, aims to underline the multiplicity of perspectives when appreciating design. (more…)
Fifty years after Frank Lloyd Wright unveiled the groundbreaking design for the Guggenheim Museum, museums around the world are embracing dramatic designs for housing their collections, such as the subtle flow of The Curve at the Barbican in London. “When we first embarked on this, people thought of this space as very awkward and difficult,” said visual arts head Jane Alison. “You don’t see everything at once. Now artists are very keen to be in the Curve and recognize the potential of it.” (more…)
The London Underground has released a new brochure and map for the Tube, featuring design by artist Rachel Whiteread. The new map design features a series of holes on the front cover, offering snapshots of the routes listed inside. “As a sculptor I cast empty spaces,” Whiteread explained. “It therefore seemed appropriate to make some holes in London which theoretically could be filled up.” (more…)
Corresponding with the opening of Mike Kelley’s retrospective at MOCA in Los Angeles, Opening Ceremony has released a series of t-shirts featuring artwork from Kelley’s works. Graphics from The Poltergeist, Monkey Island, and other early projects will adorn shirts and bags, now on sale at the MOCA Store and at the Opening Ceremony locations. (more…)
In collaboration with the City of New York, Fabergé is launching a large-scale egg hunt this Easter season, placing 22 artist-designed eggs around the city, for participants to track down. The selection of eggs are specially designed by artists Jeff Koons, Julian Schnabel, and Bruce Weber, among others. (more…)
Arcangel Surfware, the line of internet inspired clothing and accessories by Cory Arcangel will see release at a one-day pop-up shop at the SoHo Holiday Inn, the artist has announced. “I’ve always looked to disperse my artwork in as many different arenas as possible. I’ve been surfing the world wide web nearly since its inception, and I just haven’t seen a fully integrated and consistently designed line of products aimed at making the experience more comfortable, more personal, and ultimately more relaxing,” Arcangel says. (more…)
Opening Ceremony has unveiled its collection of designs influenced by Rene Magritte, featuring a full line of apparel and footwear branded with the artist’s signature surrealist exercises. The capsule collection was launched during London Fashion Week, and will be available starting in May 2014. (more…)
Chilean architect Smiljan Radic has won the competition to design the 2014 Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Hyde Park, set to open June 26th. Radic’s design, resembling a series of large stones and pillars, will be semi-translucent, and will host a number of events and site-specific projects. “Radic is a key protagonist of an amazing architectural explosion in Chile,” the Serpentine said in the statement. “While enigmatically archaic, in the tradition of romantic follies, Radic’s designs for the Pavilion also look excitingly futuristic, appearing like an alien space pod that has come to rest on a Neolithic site.” (more…)
The Armory Show’s commissioned artist Xu Zhen has unveiled a plan for New York’s Citibike program during the art fair next week, covering a 10 bikes with a special graphic. 20 fair attendees who ride to the Armory Show on the bikes and post an image to social media of the bike at the fair will earn free admission to the event. (more…)
