You know just how much I love art that’s something other than first perceived. Dana Hargrove‘s pieces are acrylic paint on wood, but you might think some of them are stacks of colorful blocks and I wouldn’t blame you. My favorites are the in situ pieces as well as the installations hung to show off their shadows.
Labokoff is a project combining outdoor photography and painting that artist Fabienne Rivory started back in 2007. Each piece is part reality and part interpretation, playing on what we visually perceive as well as our underlying emotions.
Three words: birds. driving. cars. Vivienne Strauss‘ affection for the small animals is apparent in her meticulously executed collages, each with a sense of whimsy. The surface of another planet, plants and other ephemera strapped to the roofs of cars and trucks, and tiny feathered friends having a rest inside teacups all find a home inside Vivienne’s lovely art.
At first glance I assumed Shane Griffin‘s Chromatic series were paintings, but nope. (I kind of love when art deceives me.) Care to venture a guess? They were created by exploring light transitions through glass. As Griffin says, “the failure of colors to converge through the lens creates beautiful emissions of the spectrum.”
There’s something special about Julie Cockburn‘s art, the way the rainbow of embroidery floss works its way across the surface of each faded vintage photograph. Circles, geometric patterns, and imagined cages cover the found images, giving a previous person’s art new life in the form of Julie’s work.
Ten years ago this month I started Design Crush as a place to gather inspiration for my day job as a graphic designer, and five years ago it became my full-time job. To thank you all, as well as highlight some of my favorite sponsors from over the years, we’ll be hosting ten days of giveaways in celebration of ten years of this little site that could.
Krist Kohut is a longstanding favorite artist of mine who has been featured on the pages of Design Crush more than once. Her mixed media art makes me smile time and time again, whether it’s a piece from her intricate Agate collection or the more freestyle Color Field body of work. I feel like I just get Kristi’s work and in turn she must get me – and that’s a great feeling no matter where it comes from!
Krist‘s multi-media art is inspired by nature and she uses any number of mediums to create it, including acrylic, watercolor, ink, pastels, and glass beads. In 2007, in addition to her art practice, she founded Kristi Kohut Home, a design studio dedicated to making high-end fabrics, pillows, poufs, and wallpaper featuring her signature work.
“My work is influenced by color and pattern in the world all around us. A permeating crack on the sidewalk, the vibrant layers of agate rock, the exotic clothing of a faraway place, are my muses. I love the color and effect created when unexpected colors and textures are combined. The glossiness of an acrylic paint next to the chalky texture of a pastel. Or an iridescent blend next to a thick, velvety smudge of oil pigment.
My process is an intuitive dance of play, working until I find just the right combination of color and texture. I know when it is done, when it elicits a feeling inside, a zing, a ping of joy or pleasure that often comes with that final touch or pop of color, suddenly transforming the piece. That feeling is a connection to something more, something that is not of the day-to-day routine of life. The antithesis of routine. A hint at what’s on the other side of this world.”
I own three pieces of Krist Kohut‘s art, as well as a pillow and a scarf. Since releasing her line of wallpaper it’s become a goal to deck out one of my bathrooms with some of her pattern there as well. Of course we’re not leaving you out of the fun – Kristi is kindly gifting one reader with their choice of either one huge 37 x 57-inch print OR two 22 x 30-inch prints! You’ve got 22 chances to enter and 48-hours to make it happen, you know the drill.
Posted In behind the scenes, create, mixed media, paper goods, prints, series, shameless plug, win it
San Diego-based artist and designer Andrew McGranahan creates both handcut and digital collages using old magazines that you’re likely familiar with like Life and National Geographic. These scenes are meant to feel familiar yet otherworldly all at the same time, creating a sense of discomfort that leaves you searching every piece for details divulging more information.
Uta Barth has a wide breadth of work that is ever-evolving with influences of painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. Engagement and perception play big roles in her work, exploring the way the human eye might view something versus the camera, and Barth’s latest two projects – In the Light and Shadow of Morandi and Untitled 2017 – press her forward on that journey. In the first she pays homage to Morandi’s love of repetition, light, and form, while in the second Barth’s focus is on attention to detail in photography.
Don’t you want to put one of these in your mouth and suck on it like candy? These mixed media installation pieces by Michelle Benoit combine lucite, wood, paint, and mixed media before being assembled, adhered, and recut into their final forms. The bold, saturated colors make my mouth water!
Nadine Geopfert is a Berlin-based textile designer whose work focuses on the materiality and structure of textiles. Her Permanent Compression series of vacuum-packed garments more closely resemble abstract paintings than the pieces of clothing in your own closet. Knowing what each fabric feels like from memory and not being able to reach out and touch them makes for a strange visceral feeling indeed.
