Humorous Sculptures Twisted Into Unconventional Forms by Sergio Gomez

Dallas-based artist Sergio Garcia creates simple, yet surreal moments within his sculptures, often incorporating realistic hands that are paused in the act of forming a bubble, or spray painting a wall. In one sculpture in particular, By Any Means, a miniature hand reaches out from a pencil’s eraser as it is being sharpened, almost as if to stop the mechanism in which the utensil is trapped.

“I have always enjoyed the use of the unconventional as a base for my artwork,” says Garcia in an artist statement. “I enjoy creating art that people can relate to and that stimulates the creative subconscious. Not only to create an emotional relationship between art and viewer, but to conjure up questions of how and why. It is this desire to create a connection with the viewer that fuels my creativity.”

Another subject matter Garcia focuses on is tricycles, creating sculptural versions of the childhood toy with loops, hearts, and figure eights in place of the traditional frame. The bright red and pink works range from life-size to palm-size, yet when photographed each appear incredibly realistic.

You can see more work form the Cuban-American artist on his Instagram and website.

Colorful Crystal Explosions on Ceramic Vessels by Collin Lynch

It’s probably not advisable to grab hold of one of Collin Lynch’s blinged-out crystal cups before you’re fully awake. Working under the name Essarai Ceramics, Lynch specializes in oversized coffee mugs, each one a delightful riot of color and texture, with iridescent prismatic crystals seeming to explode off the surface.

Lynch works from his home studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the he allows each crystal formation to take shape as it is constructed. In addition to alluring surface aesthetics, Lynch also finds inspiration his efforts to “unveil perfection through imperfection, which is where Truth lies. Nature, being the most delicate yet enduring example of this paradox, is where through the rough surfaces and shattered angles, we are reunited with ourselves.”

These oversized mugs and other small home goods are inspired and named for specific stones like Smokey Quartz and Amethyst. Pieces are available for purchase on Lynch’s Etsy shop, and you can follow his works in progress on Instagram. (via My Modern Met)

A Panoramic Full Eclipse Composite with Star Trails Captured by Stephane Vetter

Photograph © Stephane Vetter

In this beautifully rendered “little planet” image, photographer Stephane Vetter fuses both night and day captured from a single location at Magone Lake in Oregon during the August 21st solar eclipse. The shot required tons of careful planning, and here’s an explanation of how he did it via Astronomy Picture of the Day:

This featured little-planet, all-sky, double time-lapse, digitally-fused composite captured celestial action during both night and day from a single location. In this 360×180 panorama, north and south are at the image bottom and top, while east and west are at the left and right edges, respectively. During four hours the night before the eclipse, star trails were captured circling the north celestial pole (bottom) as the Earth spun. During the day of the total eclipse, the Sun was captured every fifteen minutes from sunrise to sunset (top), sometimes in partial eclipse. All of these images were then digitally merged onto a single image taken exactly during the total solar eclipse. Then, the Sun’s bright corona could be seen flaring around the dark new Moon (upper left), while Venus simultaneously became easily visible (top). The tree in the middle, below the camera, is a Douglas fir.

So, just your typical full eclipse, little-planet, all-sky, double time-lapse photo by a fir tree, really. You can see more of Vetter’s photography on his website.

Miniature Installations of Decorative Doors Hidden in Plain Sight on the Streets of Atlanta

Tucked under tunnels and nestled in public parks are several miniature doors, tiny installations built with stoops, welcome mats, and even tinier dog doors. The Atlanta-based works are part of artist Karen Anderson’s Tiny Doors ATL, an art project that aims to bring a bit of curiosity and wonder to the city’s inhabitants.

The project began in the summer of 2014, and since its launch has installed 12 six-inch doors throughout Atlanta. To keep with Tiny Doors ATL’s mission of being dedicated to free and accessible art, a digital map found on the project’s website serves as a guide to each door’s location.

For each new door Anderson hosts a miniature ribbon-cutting ceremony, a way to present the work to the public, while also connecting community members and fans of the miniature works. “I love the potential for art to build community,” Anderson told Instagram’s blog. “And I especially love how impactful that art can be when it’s free, public and accessible to everyone.”

To see more images of Tiny Doors ATL’s public installations, and keep up-to-date with upcoming openings, take a look at the group’s Instagram and Facebook. (via Instagram)

Innovative New Playscape Designs by MONSTRUM Appear in Playgrounds Around the World

For the last several years, Danish design firm MONSTRUM (previously) has constructed wildly imaginative playscape features for playgrounds around the world with an intense focus on both artistic and architectural quality. The playgrounds are designed and built locally in their large studio just outside Copenhagen and then shoppied in components to sites around Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and even Dubai. The design studio has a strong background in theatrical set design which lends itself to their thematic playscapes, one of our recent favorites being the “Justin Beiver” playround in Partille, Sweden. Collected here is a sampling of designs from the last few years, but you can see more on their website.

Studio view

Lisa Ericson Imagines Fantastical Ecosystems Carried on the Backs of Turtles

“Migration,” acrylic on wood panel, 12″ x 16″

Portland, Oregon-based artist Lisa Ericson blends her hyperreallist painting style with a vivid imagination, resulting in fantastical combinations of plants and animals. Ericson tends to focus on one specific flora/fauna combination at a time, like hybrid mouserflies or coral fish. Her most recent series, Mobile Habitats, highlights turtles that support small ecosystems on their shells. From mossy knolls surrounded by fireflies to gnarled trees leafed with monarchs, each turtle-world evokes a specific time and place.

Ericson chronicles her work on Instagram, where she shares, “these pieces are all about turtles and what they can carry on those amazing half-a-globe shells, and about things that need saving.”

The acrylic-on-panel paintings are featured in her solo show, currently on view at Antler Gallery. All of the originals have already sold, but the gallery is offering a limited edition of 50 full-sized, signed and numbered prints.

“Island,” acrylic on panel, 12″ x 12″

“Carrier,” acrylic on panel, 16″ x 12″

“Raft,” acrylic on panel, 12″ x 12″

“Terrarium,” acrylic on panel, 12″ x 12″

“Migration II,” acrylic on panel, 12″ x 16″

A Giant Worm-like Sculpture Loops Its Way Through the Worcester Museum

Shih Chieh Huang, “Organic Concept” at the Worcester Art Museum (photograph by Kim Noonan; image © Worcester Art Museum)

For the final iteration of his performance series Organic Concept, artist Shih Chieh Huang filled the Renaissance Court of the Worcester Art Museum with a gigantic worm-like sculpture. The work loops its way around the room’s staircases and columns, pulsing with the pressure of several box fans that keep the structure alive. For the last 15 years he has filled gardens, roadways, and malls with similar pieces, allowing rolled painter’s plastic to flail its way through each space it inhabits.

This particular installation was created for his recent solo show at the museum titled Reusable Universes: Shih Chieh Huang. Similar to the intestine-shaped sculpture, the pieces within his exhibition are made from common materials. Huang transforms ubiquitous objects into novel and complex forms, creating kinetic works that whir, blink, and subtly change colors in the museum’s darkened gallery.

“Sometimes when I look at these pieces,” Huang explained to Artnet about his installation, “I just see trash bags and fans, controlled in a certain way so that they’re moving; it’s very straightforward. But sometimes, I think that’s a cell, heart, a lung, a sea creature. I don’t want to tell the viewer how they should be looking.”

The installation is his most ambitious yet, with over one hundred various components. Formed mostly from plastic, the sculptures are not a comment on sustainable practices, but rather an exploration of the mechanical properties of each of his sourced gadgets. He hopes his low-tech works inspired a curiosity for experimentation in his audience, one akin to tinkering with modes of early technology.

Reusable Universes: Shih Chieh Huang will run through November 12, 2017 at the Worcester Art Museum in Maine. You can hear him speak more about the connections between his mechanical creations and undersea life in this TED talk. (via Hyperallergic)

Shih Chieh Huang, “Organic Concept” at the Worcester Art Museum (photograph by Kim Noonan; image © Worcester Art Museum)

Image © Worcester Art Museum Facebook

Shih Chieh Huang, T-24-L, 2017, 8 x 13 x 9 feet, Mixed media, photo: Megan Paetzhold, Courtesy of the artist and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York

Shih Chieh Huang, VT-36, 2017, 10 x 10 x 12 feet, mixed media (L), VT-34-BTB (red angel eye), 2017, 12 x 13 x 3 feet, mixed media (R) photos: Megan Paetzhold, Courtesy of the artist and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York

Shih Chieh Huang, Reusable Universes, installation view (image © Worcester Art Museum)

Shih Chieh Huang, Reusable Universes, installation view (image © Worcester Art Museum)

Shih Chieh Huang, Reusable Universes, installation view (image © Worcester Art Museum)

Shih Chieh Huang, “Organic Concept” at the Worcester Art Museum (photograph by Kim Noonan; image © Worcester Art Museum)