Oh, yes! I want to swing on those swings, under those lights, surrounded by bizarre, large-scale, carousel-inspired creatures! I mentioned a pre-release print from this show a few weeks ago, but now Joyride, a new solo exhibition by Minneapolis based artist Jennifer Davis is open for business! I absolutely love every piece in this show, and I’m particularly excited about this because almost two years ago, I was sitting on a warm patio in Minneapolis having a post GIRL CRUSH dinner with Jennifer, and she told me that she was waiting to find out about a grant… a grant that would allow her to do a road trip to a bunch of US cities, that were famous for their old carousels, so that she could gather inspiration/source materials to do a huge, whimsical, solo show. A few days after I left, she sent me an email… yep, she got the grant ♥

* This show will be up at Public Functionary, in Minneapolis, until April 25th. That means you can swing on swings this weekend if you want to… Go!

Oooh… now, I know that’s how I actually start some posts, but this series by Sydney based artist Todd Robinson is actually titled “Oooh”. Yep. Colorful, squishy {yet solid?}, lazy-looking balloons made of hydrocal, polyester filler, and paint, in a series titled Oooh… I really can’t ask for much more.

*All of these images are from a show that was up last September at Galerie pompom in Sydney. Photos by Brett East.

{via Palmer Art Projects}

Je t’aime… mushroom terrariums, and perfect petals. So, so gorgeous. These little bits of nature, in textile form, are the work of Paris based textile designer/artist Lyndie Dourthe. Delicate, whimsical, and beautifully made. I know this sounds greedy, but I really truly want all of these beauties… yes, even those poisonous mushrooms. It’s ok. They’re under glass.

{via Galbie}

Now THIS is how every Monday should start! Drippy, sweet, whipped cream covered ice cream with a ceramic cherry on top… ok, it’s not really drippy or sweet because not only are the cherries ceramic, so is everything else! Yep, I am officially obsessed with this work by UK based artist Anna Barlow. Here is her description of this series:

The beauty of food left to melt and ooze holds a fascination for me. It is something that is usually over looked and temporary but this can be captured and frozen in time with clay and glaze. I have focused on ice cream as it is such a momentary and yet memorable treat that most of us have experienced and therefore can evoke memories of sensations and tastes, as well as prompt a fantasy of desired indulgences. I am firstly inspired by the materials I use. I find that clay, porcelain and glaze have so many wonderful possibilities and often translate well to represent food.

Yum. Oh, and good luck not craving ice cream for the rest of the day. You’re welcome!

{via art is a way}

Who’s up for a pool party?! Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich was the subject of one of my posts a short 10 days ago. I promised in that post that I’d be writing about him again momentarily, the reason being I had also found this pool and knew that I wouldn’t be able to control myself! It’s a permanent installation at The 21st Century Museum of Art of Kanazawa, Japan. It is titled, wait for it, “Swimming Pool” and is absolutely brilliant! It’s not a new work, but it’s new to me so I just had to share it! Here’s how it works:

In one of the Museum’s courtyards is a swimming pool framed by a limestone deck. When seen from the deck, the pool appears to be filled with deep, shimmering water. In fact, however, a layer of water only some 10 centimeters deep is suspended over transparent glass. Below the glass is an empty space with aquamarine walls that viewers can enter. The work sets up an unfolding sequence of experiences—we view the pool through the glass wall enclosing the courtyard; from the deck, looking down into the pool; and from the interior of the pool, looking up. The Swimming Pool might hence be considered a place where, slowly, with time, different perspectives and perceptions of self and others all come to intersect.

See? Brilliant.

What?! Have you seen these? You might have… this work has been all over the interweb lately, and rightly so! What appear to be plaster busts are actually bendable/stretchable sculptures made of tens of thousands of sheets of paper… sort of like giant paper slinkies… if slinkies were shaped like ‘David’!

Chinese artist Li Hongbo is the man behind this work. Wondering how he does this? Well, here he is in action:

Ah. Mazing!!!

If you are in New York before March 22, you can see these works in person at Klein Sun Gallery, 525 West 22nd St, New York, NY.

{via Colossal, Booooooom, and Don’t Panic Magazine}

Yes. I really really want to dangle myself from one of those pretty french balconies… from the safety of the floor! Leandro Erlich is an amazing installation artist from Argentina. I may have to post about him again next week because there is just so much insanely amazing stuff in his portfolio… but for today, let’s concentrate on this beauty, shall we? This work, titled Bâtiment, is not new {2004 I believe} but I’m still in complete awe. This facade was placed on the floor {at a group show in Paris}, with a huge mirror positioned above it at a 45 degree angle resulting in this gorgeous/death defying illusion! That’s right kids, don’t try this at home… unless you have a fake facade and a great big mirror.

Happy weekend : )

Sigh… I don’t know very much about this tranquil installation by New York based artist Jacob Hashimoto, but I do know that I want to go to there. Life has been crazy lately, and I think that a quiet afternoon with a few hundred sailboats suspended from the ceiling might be exactly what I {ie everyone everywhere} needs to slow things down a little. Lovely. And in action, it’s even more lovely. Watch this!

*I hear enya playing in my head {aaaand now so do you!}

When I read the materials list, and it said “drawing on glass and skin”, it was pretty safe to say that I had my next post! All of these gorgeous, furry, geometric mixed media pieces are from a series titled “Transitional” by Colombian artist Marcela Cárdenas. Here is her description of this work:

“Transitional” arises from the intention of hybridizing two opposing natural kingdoms as animal and mineral. I am interested in the contrast between the geometry suggested by the crystallographic feature organic shapes and animal skin that is a drawing motion itself. The term “Transitional” is rooted in psychology and refers to objects in infancy act as bridge between your inner world and the cultural experience. The contained animal fur, trapped in the glass refers to how man prevails and controls surrounding nature.

Gah! I love them all! But there’s so much more in her portfolio that is completely different, yet still totally amazing. Case in point:

Ok, there’s still fur involved, but this fur is gouache… many, many, many, little delicate strokes of gouache. Oh, foxes and dots {the black dots are actually perforations in the board}… sigh. So much love.

{Thanks to Valentina for sending me a link to Marcela’s site}

Nothing says Happy Valentine’s Day like a bunch of lovey-dovey words that could go up in a roaring hot blaze at any moment! US based artist Pei-San Ng creates these gorgeous pieces from vintage matches {and occasionally even lights them}. Have a lovely, romantic, passion filled day… but be careful… you know what too much passion can lead to:

Hot.