This gave me chills. Can you guess what that blinding band of light represents?

“The installation explores the the catastrophic impact of our relationship with nature and its long term effects. The work provokes a dialogue on how the rising sea levels will affect coastal areas, its inhabitants and land usage in the future.

This is specifically relevant in the low lying island archipelago of Uist in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, and in particular to Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre in Lochmaddy where the installation is situated. The centre cannot develop on its existing site due to predicted storm surge sea levels.”

This powerful light installation, titled “Lines (57° 59′ N, 7° 16’W)”, is a collaboration between Finnish artists Pekka Niittyvirta & Timo Aho for Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre. Heartbreakingly beautiful.

{via designboom}

Oh my word! This is the latest work by Canadian (currently based in Amsterdam) artist Jessica Bell. I’ve been a fan of Jessica’s work for years, and when I saw these floor quilts, well, this post started writing itself! Here is a description about this work:

Forty Days and Forty Nights (Making the bed) (2018) / Jessica Bell presents, on the floor, an enormous quilt made entirely by hand. Laborious and careful at the same time, it consists of 40 patchworks of muslin fabric meticulously dyed and painted, one by one, at the artist’s home. Using a traditional quilt design — Drunkard’s Path — and through means of repetition, Bell constructs, deconstructs and reconstructs her painting gestures into a plethora of pictorial surfaces that behave like sculpture. The distinct forms of each piece converge into abstract patterns subjected to manipulation and transformation and are only temporarily assembled for the moment of the exhibition. In anticipation of possible iterations, the quilt remains formally and physically tangible: manageable, flexible and moreover fragile.

Sigh. Beautiful. Happy Monday.

Oh, Vancouver based artist Ben Skinner. One of my favorite artists, ever. In fact, on February 22, 2009, I wrote my first post on The Jealous Curator and, yes, it was about Ben. Well, here we are TEN YEARS LATER (!?), so I thought it was only fitting to write about him again. He’s the king of materials, and his brain is filled with the most wonderful words… and the manipulation of those words. “ALL OF MY HEROES ARE WOMEN” is a stunning infinity mirror piece Ben created for a show I curated (in honor of Gord Downey, the lead singer / songwriter of The Tragically Hip) in the summer of 2017. For obvious reasons, I love this piece more than I can explain.

So, ten years. Thank you for coming on this decade-long ride with me! When I wrote that first post (while my two year old was napping), I never could’ve predicted what this site would grow into. Books, a podcast, workshops, etc – yes – but more importantly, all of you. All I ever wanted was a community of like-minded people who “got” what it was like to be an artist – the blocks, the golden zone, the thrill of walking into an art supply store, the frustration of rejection, the pure joy that comes from creating something that wouldn’t have existed without you. Because of this journey, I’ve made lifelong friends, and I’m making art again… and actually showing it to people! I’ve never been happier as an artist than I am at this moment, and that has so much to do with you. Thank you. Here’s to many more years of creative adventures! ~ Danielle xo

Gasp! So there I was, wandering through the San Francisco airport when I was stopped in my tracks by this colorful, glittering masterpiece! This is the work of San Francisco based artist Leah Rosenberg, and I can tell you, this post does not even close to do it justice. Here are Leah’s words about this fantastic, color-coded project:

EVERYWHERE A COLOR // San Francisco International Airport

Damn. How did I miss this? ‘For All We Know’, an exhibition by American artist Oliver Jeffers just came down from the walls at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery {NYC} on February 16th. I love everything Oliver does – from his oil paintings to his absolutely fantastic kids books – and this show is no exception. Here is a description of this latest body of work:

“This series of paintings illuminate a dream-like nocturnal world populated by astronauts, deep-sea divers, sinking ships, floating pianos, and burning matches. Omnipresent throughout are the night sky and the ocean – the two great and unknown frontiers – glittered with the imaginary lines that create constellations, serving in this case as a mysterious key to unlock our world … Jeffers’ work follows the logic of dreams, of symbolic objects coming into relation with each other, and of the feelings that these objects hold. At the center are the themes of perspective and connectedness: the Earth as seen from the Moon, the stars as they appear from the face of the Earth, our minuscule presence in the greater universe, and how we relate to it all. The existential loneliness of the astronaut in Lost At Space, or of the deep-sea diver peering through his helmet in The Rescue, is portrayed in sensuous twilight shades. These recurring characters are seen together in A Break with the Unknown, sharing a cup of tea that neither can drink, watching the same bonfire reflected in their masks but seeing different things. Throughout this new collection, Jeffers looks at how humankind has always attempted to make sense out of chaos, has always made connections between himself and everything else. These connections, both real and imagined, suggest we are no more than the stories we tell, and the stories we are told. Stories that are brightly vivid, but all too brief.”

Beautiful. ps. Here are a few photos from the show… that I missed!?

“So far, so good”, indeed! This is the vibrant, joy-filled work of Miami based artist Alex Yanes. I found his work via Wednesday’s post, and then proceeded to fall down an absolutely gorgeous rabbit hole. Sculptural paintings, installations, sharks and oh so many good vibes.

“Since he decided to pursue art full-time in 2006, his work has become his autobiography, speaking volumes about who he is and what he has seen. A son of the city, his story is influenced by his Cuban roots and an ever-growing curiosity about all the things Miami had to offer him during the 80’s and 90’s. Yanes’ work is the result of years spent immersed in skateboard, tattoo, hip-hop and rock culture during his teenage years, but says he felt the stirrings of creativity at a young age. He won his first art contest at age six and claims that one of his greatest accomplishments was building his own tree house at the age of 10; a feat he accomplished with the knowledge and tools imparted on him by his father and grandfather. Now a father himself, Yanes spends his time making art and raising his family in the city that raised him. Where he once worked on canvas, his art has taken on a life of it’s own, coming alive via wood, acrylic, resin and enamel into three-dimensional installations.”

Happy Friday.

I’m in Hawaii! And of course, I wish you were here…

A post shared by Matthew Tapia (@matthewtapia) on Apr 4, 2016 at 9:32am PDT

Okay, I’m not even on the same island as this fantastic piece of artwork… which I’m guessing is probably the most Instagrammed pool in Hawaii! This is just one of many fantastic projects by Honolulu based lettering artist, Matthew Tapia. He applies his work to signs, clothing, walls and, in this case, the bottom of a pool at the Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club in Honolulu.

Also, look what Matthew does when he’s at the beach, or waiting for the bill to arrive at a restaurant:

Okay, and also a few good vibes thrown in for good measure! Aloha!

ps. All of the pool images were taken from the Surfjack’s Instagram feed, and the video is by @vforvincent

Gasp! 16,000 paper cherry blossoms hanging from the gorgeous, light-filled, domed ceiling of Frederik’s Church {affectionately known as The Marble Church} in Copenhagen… oh my word, yes. “Cherish” is the installation work of Danish artist Veronica Hodges. Clearly, it’s breathtaking, but her reason behind the project is just as beautiful:

“We want to create an installation in Marmorkirken out of paper, where thousands of pink cherry blossoms will be hanging from the ceiling to remind us of the spring we love, the world we live in, and to cherish it while we still have it. The thousands of cherry blossoms are folded by crepe paper, during a series of workshops and “community-workshops” in collaboration with the church and local institutions and schools. This ensures that the project has a local anchorage so that people will meet and start a conversation. Commitment free perhaps, but carried by the intimacy and engagement that occurs when you sit down with something (other than the mobile phone) between your hands. We want to mix the cards, the generations, the children and the adults, the believers and the non-believers. The cherry blossoms in the installation remind us of, that we are a part of nature and that it may not be so for very long, if we as humans do nothing to slow down the climate change and help the earth to regain its balance. We must appreciate the earth we still have.”

Amen.

{All of these images were found on Veronica’s gorgeous Instagram feed – some photos were taken by her, others were taken by visitors to the installation.}

Everything. Everything about the installation work of Argentina born, New York based Liliana Porter thrills me. I saw her work {the last piece shown above, titled ‘Man With Axe’} at the Venice Biennale, and yes, my heart skipped a beat. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen my personal work but, to me, these works felt like my 2D collages come to life … x 5000! Here are Liliana’s words about her installations:

“In the last years, parallel to photography and video, I have been making works on canvas, prints, drawings, collages, and small installations. Many of these pieces depict a cast of characters that are inanimate objects, toys and figurines that I find in flea markets, antique stores, and other odd places. The objects have a double existence. On the one hand they are mere appearance, insubstantial ornaments, but, at the same time, have a gaze that can be animated by the viewer, who, through it, can project the inclination to endow things with an interiority and identity. These “theatrical vignettes” are constructed as visual comments that speak of the human condition. I am interested in the simultaneity of humor and distress, banality and the possibility of meaning.”

Sigh. Love.

Feather-covered, rainbow-hued, life-sized polar bears… oh my word, yes! This is the work of Italian artist Paola Pivi, from a 2013 show at Perrotin, New York. The solo exhibition was titled, “OK, YOU ARE BETTER THAN ME, SO WHAT?”, and yes, I love everything about it.

ps. This is some of Paola’s newest work, seen in Miami December 2018 {fabulous gifs via Designboom}

Feathers and bicycle wheels! LOVE. Happy Friday.