Saturday 5 September 2009

Bitter Suite by Timothy Horn

Bitter Suite, exhibition at the de Young Museum, San Francisco 2008
Bitter Suite, exhibition at the de Young Museum, San Francisco 2008.
Photo by Jason Schmidt for the New York Times

"The Australian artist Timothy Horn has a fondness for taking historical objects out of context and altering their scale and materials. He made a Chippendale-inspired sconce in rubber, and has enlarged 18th-century jewelry in scale to create large wall pieces. But he has outdone himself with “Timothy Horn: Bitter Suite,” an exhibition that opens June 14- October 12, 2oo8 at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The three large-scale works that make up the show were inspired by objects in the decorative-arts collections of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (which include the de Young and the California Palace of the Legion of Honor), and by the rags-to-riches story of Alma Spreckels, the colorful collector whose sugar fortune was used to found the Legion of Honor museum, which opened in 1924.

Sugar, not surprisingly, is a dominant theme. “Mother-Load,” shown here, is a child-size Cinderella carriage encrusted in crystallized rock sugar. It is Horn’s take on a gilded 18th-century Neapolitan sedan chair that Spreckels used as a phone booth in her Pacific Heights mansion. Sugar also sparkles on “Diadem,” a 300-pound chandelier; only “Sweet Thing,” a giant drop-earring that draws on the tradition of ormolu-mounted Chinese porcelains, is sugar free. Horn also makes reference to the 16th-century practice of creating elaborate table decorations out of sugar. But as someone who describes his work as exploring “refinement versus vulgarity,” he was fascinated by Spreckels’s not-quite-fairy-tale life (she had distant relationships with her children and struggled for acceptance by San Francisco society). “What we strive for and what we get are two different things,” Horn said. Bittersweet indeed."
- Pilar Viladas, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, June 1, 2008.
Mother-Load 2008 1Mother-Load 2008 2
Mother-Load 2008
Crystallized rock sugar, ply-wood, steel
9ft.6in. x 6ft. x 5ft. 6in.
Photo by Jason Schmidt


Mother-Load (detail)
Mother-Load (detail)
Photo by Jason Schmidt


Diadem 1Diadem 2
Diadem 2008
Crystallized rock sugar, steel, shellac, electric light fixtures
9ft x 5ft diameter
Photo by Jason Schmidt


Diadem (detail)
Diadem (detail)
Photo by Jason Schmidt


Sweet Thing 1Sweet Thing 2
Sweet Thing 2008
Mirrored blown glass.nickel-plated bronze
50 x 36 x 9 inches
Photo by Jason Schmidt


SweetThing (detail) 1SweetThing (detail) 2
SweetThing (detail)
Photo by Jason Schmidt

a+. timothy horn
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Friday 4 September 2009

Sony Playstation by Design Research Studio

Sony Playstation 1
For their Playstation 3, Sony were keen to showcase their new product in a more domestic environment , therefore, they commisioned Tom Dixon to design a glamourous yet fun interior that not only showcast the popularity of the product itself but would allow users to fully appreciate all functions of the newly launch Playstation 3.
Sony Playstation 2Sony Playstation 3Design Research Studio:

Design Research Studio, under the creative direction of the internationally renowned designer Tom Dixon, specializes in high concept interiors, large scale installations and architectural design. SInce it inception in 2oo2, Design Research Studio has been involved in important commissions in the UK, Continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Do check out more on Design Research Studio.

a+. design research studio
a+. tom dixon
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Thursday 3 September 2009

Fossil by Atelier Van Lieshout

Fossil 1Fossil 2
Designed by Atelier Van Lieshout, the Fossil series consists of several chairs, chaise longues and sofas. The Fossils are reminiscent or recall a primitive shape, half natural, half manmade. They have an outline that vaguely looks like a remnant of a human shape or a body. Like a fossil, these nomadic pieces reveal the identity of the pre-historic host but also resemble and may be seen as rocks or volcanic stone.

The fossils are provocative and thoughtful sculptures, which function as sitting places or pieces of furniture, inspiring visitors to nestle and offer an interesting place to gather, read, have a pick-nick, and dream away with the movement of the clouds or the sounds of the city.
Fossil 3Fossil 4The designer:
Atelier Van Lieshout (AVL), founded by artist Joep van Lieshout (1963) in 1995, is a multidisciplinary art practice encompassing installation, design, furniture and architecture. The name Atelier Van Lieshout emphasises the fact that the works of art do not stem solely from the creative brain of Joep van Lieshout, but are produced by a creative team of artists, designers and architects.
The works of art are practical, uncomplicated and substantial. The work varies from sculptures and furniture, bathrooms and mobile home units to large installations and complete architectural refurbishments. One of the many applications and techniques used by AVL are the large polyester constructions in striking, bright colours. These polyester constructions, of which the large mobile home units are the best known, form the AVL trademark. Recurring themes in the work of AVL are autarky, power, politics and sex. Works of AVL can be found in private collections and several museums. Please check our exhibition agenda on the news page for current and coming exhibitions. If you have any questions about Atelier Van Lieshout and our works, please contact us via our office in Rotterdam.

a+. atelier van lieshout
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Tuesday 1 September 2009

'View House' by Johnston Marklee & Diego Arraigada Arquitecto

View House Exterior 1View House Exterior 2View House Exterior 3
Image © Gustavo Frittegotto

In collaboration with Diego Arraigada Arquitecto, L.A. based architects Johnston Marklee & Associates completed a new private dwelling with another signature of monolithic appearance of Johnston Marklee in Rosariom Argentina.

'Designed for an ecologically rich site on the Argentine plains near Rosario, this 3,000 square foot house optimizes a compact dwelling space by maximizing the experience of the surrounding views and prioritizing environmental performance. The taurus shape creates expansive spaces by layering volume and view within and throughout the house. The siting, orientation and form of the house minimize dependence on mechanical systems, making use of natural light, air flow, and alternative energy systems to create a dynamic living experience directly engaged with the local site conditions.'
View House Interior 1View House Interior 2
View House Interior 3View House Interior 4View House Interior 5View House Interior 6
Image © Gustavo Frittegotto

View House Exterior 4View House Roof-top View
Image © Gustavo Frittegotto

a+. johnston marklee
a+. diego arraigada arquitecto
a+. gustavo frittegotto via dailytonic
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Monday 31 August 2009

Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture

Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 1Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 2Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 3
Image © designboom

Ahmed askalany, born 1978, in Qena, Egypt has his recent work of weaving sculptures using natural colored palm leaves exhibit at egyptian pavilion at venice art biennale 09. By using techniques as simple and similar as weaving a girl's hair, the artist work presents itself as an empty appearance, displaying fragility. The exhibition titled, 'lightly monumental' was commissioned by an egyptian artist, adel el-siwi.

Askalany's work aims to captivate the essential gestures and shapes of a humanity free from aggressiveness and a dark side.

'Simplicity is my philosophy – to convey the idea directly to the viewer without
going into detail.' - Ahmed Askalany.
Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 4Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 5Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 6Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 7
Image © designboom

Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 8
Image © designboom
Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 9Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 10Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 11
Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 12
Image © designboom
Ahmed Askalany's Weaved Sculpture 13
Image © designboom

Ahmed Askalany
Image © designboom

a+. ahmed askalany
a+. designboom via u-magazine
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