Courtesy of Marela Zacarias

Courtesy of Marela Zacarias

Courtesy of Gehard Demetz

“His sculptures of children are at the same time attractive and disquieting and rendered with an amazing perfection that is by no means rhetorical or classical. One of the most startling technical features is the construction using small woodblocks and juxtaposing finely polished parts to very rough and sketchy surfaces. This particular construction and treatment render his sculptures absolutely unique in the domain of contemporary wood sculpture and is partly responsible for the great curiosity aroused by the appearance of his work in the art world.” Gehard Demetz

Courtesy of Gehard Demetz

Courtesy of Hyundai + WHITEvoid

WHITEvoid:

A seemingly floating point cloud above a water pond and consisting of 12,000 translucent spheres marks the heart of the installation. Due to a complex computer algorithm the spheres are arranged seemingly random within the cloud. At the same time the algorithm observes the positions and projection angles of eight high-speed laser projectors that are being arranged around the artwork.

Courtesy of Hyundai + WHITEvoid

They are sending out beams scanning through the arrangement of the cloud. Generating bright and dim light points, this creates a highly organic and natural distribution of voxels (3D pixels). Emerging lines and shapes finally form graphical compositions without any sweet or blind spots. Keeping the same density and intensity the FLUIDIC graphics enables their viewers to observe and interact with it from every point of view.

By Danya Hakky

Courtesy of Hyundai + WHITEvoid

Courtesy of terrain:loenhart&mayr

Terrain:loenhart&mayr;  architects and landscape architects out of Munich, have created an incredible piece of architecture that is so delicate and transparent. From simply looking at it you can almost see the pattern of human movement through the structure and you can sense how the tower engulfs it snuggly.

Courtesy of terrain:loenhart&mayr

Inspired by the historical double spiral staircase in Graz Castle the observation tower has two separate staircases, one for ascending and the other for descending which adds interest, comfort and a unique layer of experience.

By Danya Hakky

Courtesy of terrain:loenhart&mayr

Courtesy of David Černý – Photographer  metalmorphosis-RFL

But this isn’t your average chubby baby or marble dolphin fountain; this is a colossal, stainless steel head that spits water into the pond it sits in. If you watch the fountain long enough, you might even get to see the seven horizontal segments rotate 360 degrees until the face is an unrecognizable miss-match of reflective features. This giant stainless steel monument was originally unveiled in 2007 but has regained the attention of art-enthusiasts recently.

Courtesy of David Černý – Photographer  metalmorphosis-RFL

The fourteen tons of steel layers then realign to create the anonymous head and continue to spout water from its mouth, as if it didn’t just have its nose facing the opposite direction of its eyes.

Courtesy of David Černý – Photographer  metalmorphosis-RFL

This fountain is bizarre to say the least, but poses an interesting take on identity and how we feel when we lose it. The perpetual rotation of the head and the way it reflects the mood of the sky says a lot about how our atmosphere can affect our outlook. Černý comments on this, “This is how I feel; it is a mental self-portrait.” Metalmorphosis can be seen in Charlotte, North Carolina or on the 24/7 webcam that is pointed at the fountain at all times of the day.

By Veronica Mattaboni

Courtesy of David Černý – Photographer  metalmorphosis-RFL

Courtesy of  Henning Larsen Architects

Henning Larsen Architects describe the project in the following words:

Situated on the border between land and sea, the Concert Hall stands out as a large, radiant sculpture reflecting both sky and harbour space as well as the vibrant life of the city. The spectacular facades have been designed in close collaboration between Henning Larsen Architects, the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and the engineering companies Rambøll and ArtEngineering GmbH from Germany.

Courtesy of  Henning Larsen Architects

The Concert Hall of 28,000 m2 is situated in a solitary spot with a clear view of the enormous sea and the mountains surrounding Reykjavik. The building features an arrival and foyer area in the front of the building, four halls in the middle and a backstage area with offices, administration, rehearsal hall and changing room in the back of the building. The three large halls are placed next to each other with public access on the south side and backstage access from the north. The fourth floor is a multifunctional hall with room for more intimate shows and banquets.

Courtesy of  Henning Larsen Architects

Seen from the foyer, the halls form a mountain-like massif that similar to basalt rock on the coast forms a stark contrast to the expressive and open facade. At the core of the rock, the largest hall of the building, the main concert hall, reveals its interior as a red-hot centre of force.

Courtesy of  Henning Larsen Architects

The iconic facades perform another purpose alongside of show and display, they interact. The prismatic south facade punches into both interior and exterior. The other semi-random cell facades extend their mullions significantly into the interior spaces which they bound, creating the circumstances for impromptu leaning/ climbing (see pictures). They are a playful element, proving that genius can be both exciting as well as pragmatic.

By Matt Davis

Courtesy of  Henning Larsen Architects

Courtesy of Irving Harper

Harper began paper sculpting in 1964 as a method of relieving stress while working on the impressive Chrysler Pavilion for the New York World’s Fair. Since then he has created about 500 pieces which fill almost every nook and cranny of his home. Watch the excellent video below (part of Herman Miller’s Why Design series) for more insight into this living legend.

Courtesy of Irving Harper

Courtesy of Nick Ervinck

With his young but already sizeable oeuvre, the artist is purposively heading for a goal he sees clearly before him. The methodical attitude and the passion for recording which he brings to this undertaking are a tangible proof of this. Every sketch, photograph or folder is carefully scanned and filed away. He is an archivist who is devising his own filing system. In his method of continuity, one image leads to another, and so on, eventually fulfilling an ambitious long-term plan… which includes the spectator.

Courtesy of Nick Ervinck

“With a background in sculpture myself, I have always been fascinated by the way in which art has developed through the use of new materials and techniques. Somewhat disappointed by the lack of renewal in contemporary sculpture, I turned towards architecture and applied sciences, in order to find a new formal language generated by computer software, composing forms and designs that were unthinkable in all those years before.

This computer-aided designs (often referred to as ‘blob architecture’) resulting in organic, amoeba-shaped, bulging forms, were explored by the architect Greg Lynn in 1995. As a result of this new movement, architects started to remove themselves from the linear and corner-like box structures and instead turned to rounded, bulging shapes as structural forms. This constant tension between ‘box’ and ‘blob’ forms is crucial in my artistic practice.

Courtesy of Nick Ervinck

Using copypaste techniques in a 3D software environment, I’m deriving images, shapes and textures from different sources: basilicas, corals, dinosaurs, cottages, Rorschach inkblots, Chinese rocks and trees, manga, twelfth-century floral wallpaper, anatomical parts,… Simultaneously, my work holds numerous references to the tradition of sculpture, such as the work of Hans Arp, Henry Moore or Barbara Hepworth.”

Courtesy of Nick Ervinck

I often refer to a quote by Rem Koolhaas: “Where there is nothing, everything is possible. Where there is architecture, nothing (else) is possible.” I therefore try to let architecture and sculpture meet, and to explore the realm of the impossible by constantly pushing the limits of what we call ‘realistic’.

Courtesy of Nick Ervinck

Courtesy of Jaume Plensa

The Spanish artist Jaume Plensa has created and recently unveiled a large, new sculpture composed of wire mesh, at the base of Calgary’s tallest building. At the base of this landmark, The Bow, stands a massive human head- yes, if you read Alice into the form, I don’t think anyone will be offended. At over 10 meters in height, it is actually inspired by a real- life girl in Spain. But then, once, I modeled for a sculptor doing a work featuring Barack Obama doing a yoga pose, so I think the original model is only marginally important.

Courtesy of Jaume Plensa

The work features two entrances- one on either side of the girl’s neck. Because of this, visitors can cycle through the massive sculpture. In what is actually a rather surreal experience, the ‘negative’ interior of the human head is made perceptible. Human heads are certainly one of the most frequent things seen by the human race, and as such they are… not that interesting. But time and time again, things are made completely new by nothing more novel than looking at them differently. The artist sums this up, ‘My vision for Wonderland is to inspire everyone who experiences the sculpture: I believe the architecture of our bodies is the palace for our dreams’.

By: Matt Davis

Courtesy of Jaume Plensa

While typewriters have become more and more obsolete in the 21st century, Californian-based artist, Jeremy Mayer, disassembles them and creates these stunning sculptures. Mayer does not weld or glue the different parts together, he “simply” assembles them, he does not use anything for these sculptures that was not once part of a typewriter.

Courtesy of Jeremy Mayer

Courtesy of Jeremy Mayer