Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy until 13 December

"Ai became widely known in Britain after his sunflower seeds installation in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2010 but this is the first major institutional survey of his work ever held in the UK and it bridges over two decades of his extraordinary career.

Curated in collaboration with Ai Weiwei from his studio in Beijing, we present some of his most important works from the time he returned to China from the US in 1993 right up to present day. Among new works created specifically for our galleries and courtyard are a number of large-scale installations, as well as works showcasing everything from marble and steel to tea and glass. 

With typical boldness, the chosen works explore a multitude of challenging themes, drawing on his own experience to comment on creative freedom, censorship and human rights, as well as examining contemporary Chinese art and society."

It's recommended that you book ahead of time.

Royal Academy

Burlington House

Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD

more here and here.

Installations by Cornelia Parker

"For some years Cornelia Parker’s work has been concerned with formalising things beyond our control, containing the volatile and making it into something that is quiet and contemplative like the ‘eye of the storm’. She is fascinated with processes in the world that mimic cartoon ‘deaths’ – steamrollering, shooting full of holes, falling from cliffs and explosions. Through a combination of visual and verbal allusions her work triggers cultural metaphors and personal associations, which allow the viewer to witness the transformation of the most ordinary objects into something compelling and extraordinary."

not by Parker, but undoubtedly influenced by her:

for more.

Aesop Store by Tacklebox

In this video Jeremy Barbour of Tacklebox explains the approach to the design of the Nolita Aesop store.

See more of Aesop's Taxonomy of Design videos here.

Joseph Cornell Exhibition at the Royal Academy 4 July — 27 Sept 2015

"Wanderlust brings together 80 of Cornell’s most remarkable boxes, assemblages, collages and films, some never before seen outside the USA. Entirely self-taught, the independence of Cornell’s creative voice won the admiration of artists from Marcel Duchamp and the Surrealists, to Robert Motherwell and the Abstract Expressionists, with echoes of his work felt in Pop and Minimalist art."

at the Royal Academy of Arts
4 July — 27 September
Saturday – Thursday 10am – 6pm
Friday 10am – 10pm

more here.

The work of artist Clay Ketter

"The former carpenter Clay Ketter constructs walls in the space between house-like interiors and modern abstract painting.

Ketter constructs flat sculptures, installations and three-dimensional paintings – or a compound of all three categories. His striking painting-cum-sculpture-cum-installations principally recall interior design. They capture moments in condemnation or rebuilding usually of limited duration but here freeze-framed in art. The walls exist in a permanent limbo between the presence of demolition and the eternity of art." from ARKEN

His earlier works included the Gulf Coast Slabs, a series of overhead photographs taken of structures after the passage of hurricane Katrina in 2006, one of which is shown above.

Thanks to Clay Thompson who spotted Ketter's work via SOCKS.

Jenny Sabin Studio

Pictured above: 'Branching Morphogenesis' installation, 2008

The studio investigates the intersections of architecture and science, and applies insights and theories from biology and mathematics to the design, fabrication and production of material structures. They collaborate with scientists and engineers and employ architects, designers and artists. Their applied projects are diverse and operate across multiple length scales including adaptive materials, tapestries, rugs, installations, pavilions and architectural interventions.

More here.

'Second Nature'

Second Nature is a 20-minute documentary on skater and budding landscape architect, Janne Saario of Finland. The short film allows a glimpse of Saario’s thoughts and dreams, which float between design, art and skateboarding. Though it also reveals the important concurrence of post-industrial areas, sustainable concepts and natural environments, and unfolds the demanding obligation, towards today’s generation and those to come, to create positive and inspiring, local communities.

Dwell says: "Saario started skating when he was six, eventually got sponsored, and through his experience riding around the world he developed an interest in designing landscapes. He's got his own firm now, with a specialty in skate parks."

Turning Weapons Into Instruments: Pedro Reyes “Disarm”

Artist Pedro Reyes, and new media studio Cocolab, are turning dismantled weapons into mechanized musical instruments.


more and a video at BOOOOOOM.

New Issue of a + t: RECLAIM

It publishes a+t magazine - whose issues are edited in thematic series - and books on collective housing and public space.  With this start to the Reclaim series, a+t interprets the works analysed and organizes its discourse on the basis of Re- actions, using these actions to create a body of knowledge applicable to any project.

Reclaim has the environmental sense to reclaim the territory, the objects, the infrastructures and the materials yet it also is a call to reclaim dignity and citizen rights. It is a wake-up call to morally reclaim society using theRe- processes as atonement.

Remediate Reuse Recycle interprets and compares actions extracted from the projects and classifies them into three Re-processes:

Remediate: acting on the territory
Reuse: acting on the building
Recycle: acting on the material

more info at a+t

Theo Jansen's Strandbeests

Artist Theo Jansen makes self-propelled kinetic sculptures, primarily constructing them out of PVC pipes.

Hotel Gent by Tazu Rous

The Japanese artist Tazu Rous (aka Tatzu Nishi, Tazro Niscino, Tatzu Oozu and Tatsurou Bashi) creates spatial ‘encounters’ with unusual proportions using iconic objects taken from public space.  He is constructing a hotel room setting around the tower of Sint-Pieters Station. The division between public and private space is eliminated, because the huge clock that normally towers high above the people will now come palpably closer. In the intimacy of Rous’ room, the visitor comes face to face with a public monument which, in the course of his daily routine, he always observes at a distance, only half consciously and in a fraction of a second.

from archdaily.

BA Interior Architecture at OPEN 2012

A few photos by recent graduate Olivia Dunin of the current BA Interior Architecture installation at University of Westminster's OPEN exhibition.  The installation, which re-purposed discarded office chairs and incorporated student designed and fabricated frames from The Tell-the-Tale Detail Exhibition, will be transported to Freerange at the Truman Brewery and then on to the VOLA London Showroom as part of the London Design Festival. 


See a photo of last year's installation here.

‘Anemone’ Installation: Oyler Wu Collaborative

from archdaily:

Anemone is an art/architectural installation by Oyler Wu Collaborative aimed at weaving together aesthetic experience and tactile engagement.

 Upon first glance, the piece is meant to be viewed as a relatively simple, elegant object, with subtle undulations that wrap its walls and smooth bent corners. Given a closer look, however, one discovers that, like the bristling tentacles of its namesake, the sea anemone, the surface is actually a build-up of thousands of transparent flexible rods.

more at archdaily.