Illustrating summer - Ekaterina Koroleva

Feeling like summer yet?

Born in Russia but living and working in Berlin today, Ekaterina Koroleva is one talented illustrator. I love how she uses color to accentuate in a way that feels dreamy and light.

Her illustrating style seems so free, so effortless like a summer breeze.

Some of my favorites are below but you can check out more of her work here. Take a look, you won't regret it. 

Have a great day everyone!

Dreaming of the Ocean

The hot weather right now makes me want nothing more but take a trip to the seaside and stick my feet into the  cool blue ocean...

                        

Josiah McElheny- Some Pictures of the Infinite

Ready for a glance at infinity? The new exhibition "Some Pictures of the Infinite" by Josiah McElheny opens tomorrow (June 22nd) at the Boston ICA (through October 14th 2012) 
Born in Boston in 1966, Josiah McElheny lives and works in New York City today and creates stunning pieces out of glass, mirrors and chrome.

Trained under master glassblower Ronald Willkins, McElheny worked as an apprentice to renowned glassblowers Jan-Erik Ritzmna, Sven-Ake Caarlson, and Lino Tagliapietra. 


His often massive sculptures are inspired by the enormity of the universe, and phenomena of astronomy, a fascination that was nurtured through a long-term collaboration with the astronomer David Weinberg. Their partnership has resulted in multiple artworks, like the sculptures below, picturing his interpretation of  the origins of the universe, in particular the Big Bang theory. 

Josiah McElheny, Island Universe, 2008. Handblown and press-molded glass, chrome-plated aluminum, electric lighting, rigging. Dimensions variable; largest element: approx. 12 feet in diameter; smallest element: approx. 7 feet in diameter. Photo Credit: Todd-White Art Photography, London

Josiah McElheny, Scale Model for a Totally Reflective Landscape (Industry), 2007. Handblown mirrored glass, low-iron industrial mirror, wood, 13 x 44 x 20 inches. Private collection. Photo Credit: Tom Van Eynde

Josiah McElheny, "Island Universe" (installation view), 2009. Courtesy the artist, Donald Young Gallery, Chicago, and Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York.

Josiah McElheny: Some Pictures of the Infinite 
On view from June 22nd through October 14th 2012
Institute of Contemporary Art 100 Northern Ave.Boston, MA 02210(617) 478-3100

Unexpected Treasures - The Geode Project

What an awesome and surreal feeling would it be to walk around the city and suddenly stumble upon a cluster of golden crystals peeking out of a random brick wall?

If you are in LA you can go on the hunt and find them!   "The Geode Project"  is a street art project that scatters 3D sculptures in the shape of crystals and geodes around the Los Angeles area for everyone to find and experience the feeling of stumbling upon an unexpected treasure.

" You might go hunting for treasures but you generally happen upon them during your adventures or casual interaction with the environment. I enjoy the fact that many people will not notice these, but some astute people will; that these will not last forever and the weather will affect them as naturally as it might in nature."

Can please someone do this in NYC??

Happy (sunny) Sunday!

The rain and drizzle finally gave way to some gorgeous sunshine around here and I am planning on soaking up some serious rays today.
How about you?

via: http://www.escapadeblog.com

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.” 

― Audrey Hepburn

                                                via : http://camillestyles.com

                                                   via: oceaniaislandliving.com.

Porcelain by Meyer Lavigne

I wish I could eat from this plate everyday. I think my food would just automatically taste twice as good. 

It's from Meyer Lavigne, a small design firm that specialises in whimsically decorated porcelain, sculptures and textiles. 

Gold Sea Platter, recycled porcelain, hand-cut hand drawn

The duo behind the Copenhagen based company Meyer Lavigne is Kristine Meyer and Sabine Lavigne, both graduated from Denmark’s School of Design in Ceramics and Glass Design. 

The trademark of Meyer-Lavigne is their focus on the decorative and the unique expression. It is most important to them that their desig adds something distinctive and personal to the piece so that each piece seems to tell a story of its own. 

"Happy Days", "Rainy Days", "Winter Days", vases/tealight holders

This large hand modulated owl sculpture was part of the group exhibition in Århus in Lynfabrikken Box in 2009. 

Assorted porcelain vases

Assorted porcelain plates, hand drawn

Check out their blog here: http://meyerlavigne.blogspot.de/

Opening tonight: June 14th

It's Thursday again and that means it's the best night to get out of the house and sip some free red at various opening receptions around the city.
Here are my picks of this week:

Awul Erizku: "Awul Erizku" at Hasted Kraeutler

Girl with a Bamboo Earring, 2009 Digital chromogenic print  50x65"  ed 2

Hasted Kraeutler 
537 West 24th Street, 212.627.0006
Chelsea
June 14 - July 20, 2012
Opening: Thursday, June 14, 6 - 8 PM

 Seung Woo Back: "Memento" at DOOSAN Gallery

A-#008 (21th, Nov, 2001), 2011 Digital print 16.5 x 11.7 inches

Doosan Gallery 
533 West 25th Street, New York, NY, 212 242 6343
Chelsea
June 14 - July 14, 2012 
Opening: Thursday, June 14, 6 - 8 PM

Erik Schoonebeek: "Phantom Hand" at Jeff Bailey Gallery

Erik Schoonebeek ,Untitled (C-18.5), 2010, gouache and acrylic on book cover,, 5.1875" x 5.375"

Jeff Bailey Gallery 
625 West 27th Street, 212-989-0156
Chelsea
June 14 - July 13, 2012 
Opening: Thursday, June 14, 6 - 8 PM

Have a great Thursday everyone!

WATCH YOUR STEP in Chelsea

Stop looking at facebook for a moment, don't update your twitter and refrain from checking in on fourssquare. Be careful where you put your feet at the new exhibit of the FLAG Art Foundation at the Chelsea Towers.
You have  until August 24th to check out (and stumble over) some great pieces like the ones below.

Grimanesa Amoros, Uros, 2012. LEDs, diffusion material, vinyl, custom lighting sequence, electrical hardware, 5 x 7 x 1 ft

“Watch Your Step” examines the relationship of the work to the floor and how the viewer experiences the work, shifting one’s perspective from eye-level to start from the ground. Various works emanate directly from the floor, while others use the space between ground and wall to increase one’s perception of the horizontal plane and the architecture. " 

So put that phone away for a while and enjoy works by: Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Polly Apfelbaum, Lynda Benglis, Patricia Cronin, Tara Donovan, Steven & William Ladd, Richard Long, Michael Phelan, Kiki Smith, Julianne Swartz, Richard Serra, and Corban Walker.

Lynda Benglis, Untitled , 1970 Pigmented polyurethane foam; Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York

Michael Phelan, Tomorrow's a new day... (No.5) , 2009-2011. Glass; Courtesy of the artist

Kiki Smith, Untitled , 1992. bronze with patina; © Kiki Smith, courtesy The Pace Gallery Photo by: Sarah Harper Gifford / Courtesy The Pace Gallery

FLAG Art Foundation
June 7 - August 24, 2012
Watch Your Step 
545 West 25th Street, 9th Floor

HOURS: During the Summer FLAG is open to the public every Wednesday through Saturday in June and Tuesday through Friday in July and August, 11am to 5pm.

Cyan Dreams - Casey Roberts

Fascinating, colorful and dreamlike is how I would describe the paintings by Casey Roberts.

She uses a method called "cyanotype" a photochemical process from the Civil War era that results in those vibrant blues you see in her work.
She says:

"My work illustrates a fantastic landscape. It represents nature's subtle way of dealing with the peculiar aspects in the relationship with mankind. A giant glow-in-the-dark heart, or a pile of precious gems tells us that we are loved, just as blood squirting from an oak tree trunk says, all is not well. I am inspired by my conversation with the landscape, I imagine long monologues when pine forests make me laugh and mountains test my patience."

Casey Jex Smith at Allegra LaViola

Originally from Detroit, Casey Jex Smith graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute and has since showcased in numerous exhibitions all over the U.S and since last Thursday you can see his work here in NYC.
Intricate drawings combined with bold colors and influences from his ex-Mormon missionary past set his work apart and are just fascinating to look at. 

Smith is represented in NYC by Allegra LaViola  Gallery and his new exhibit "Gird Your Elves, and Be Broken In Pieces "  opened last Thursday (through July 11th)

From the Press Release:

"In ‘Gird Your Elves And Be Broken In Pieces’ Casey Jex Smith deals with personal identity and finding meaning in three seemingly disparate worlds; religion, sci-fi/fantasy, and “high-art”.
The individual pieces become blends of appropriated imagery and ideas from illustrated Bibles, Dungeons & Dragons manuals, Durer etchings, Agnes Martin paintings, Mormon architecture, NASA photos, The Lord of the Rings, and Sunday School flannel-board cut-outs which are all entered into semi-cohesive narratives. Finally these are framed within stories and inspiration taken from Scripture as well as Casey Jex Smith’s personal experience."

Altar, 22 inches x 22 inches, pencil and color pencil on paper

Church Drawing, 8 x 6 inches, pen on paper 

Church Drawing, 8 x 6 inches, pen on paper

So check out his new work at Allegra LaViola on the LES.
The gallery is conveniently located about 5 minutes from Babycakes NYC. Just saying...




Casey Jex Smith 
Gird Your Elves, and Be Broken In Pieces 
June 6 - July 11, 2009 


Allegra LaViola Gallery
179 East Broadway  New York, NY 10002
(917) 463-3901