Antony Gormley shares seven-day Instagram diary of life in lockdown

British sculptor Antony Gormley is among a handful of artists who have collaborated with White Cube gallery to document their life and work in lockdown via Instagram, in a bid to stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic.

From miniature versions of Gormley's blocky human sculptures to a sneak peak of a family activity pack that he is making, each of the Instagram snapshots aim to offer a more "intimate" insight into the artist's life.

As Susan May, artistic director at White Cube, told Dezeen, the seven-day diaries were part of the gallery's attempt to keep people connected to art and its creators at a time when they are unable to visit exhibitions.

 

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"When lockdown first began, it was clear we needed to think about innovative ways to try to stay connected with both our artists and audience, and digital channels are one of the best tools to achieve this," said May.

"We thought that a daily dispatch on Instagram would be a good way for followers to get a more intimate insight into our artists' lives both inside and outside of the studio, depending on where they are isolating," she continued.

"The message that we hope to send is that during these challenging times, everyone can help each other by staying connected."

 

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Day one at Gormley's workbench saw the artist work on a family activity he is making for the Firstsite art gallery in Colchester, England, which is putting together a free downloadable pack of activities for kids and parents staying at home.

The second day, on the other hand, saw Gormley repairing nine of the "squashed lead cases" from his One Apple artwork, which comprises 53 pieces wrapped in lead set out in a line that record the stages of the season's growth from the blossom to the fruit.

 

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For day three, the artist created a miniature version of his Hold sculpture from 1986 that depicts a figure crouched down on the floor cradling their head in their hands. He recreated this sculpture in 2018 from various cubic forms.

"In a way, these insights into artists' lives offer a sense of collective experience and show that art and artists can in some way try to help us make sense of the situation and, in doing so, hopefully maybe even inspire the audience to get creative themselves," May told Dezeen.

 

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On day four Gormley created six biscuit (also known as bisque) fired plates, and by day five the squashed lead cases he was fixing had been mended, to form complete apples.

On the penultimate day Gormley showed his process of making a dolomite-black glaze and weighing out the powdered rock, while the final day saw him create another miniature sculpture of a reclining figure from terracotta-coloured clay, titled Slip.

British artist Tracey Emin also participated in the seven-day diary series, sharing images of her paintings in progress and paragraphs of her thoughts and feelings during the lockdown.

"Today I would be happy... today I would celebrate my solitude... if I were not filled with an over powering sense of fear... A darkness... that has made me want to live more than ever," reads one entry.

Another day she shares an unfinished painting she has been working on for nearly six months, having painted over it five times before.

 

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Other artists that have taken part in the Instagram, diary include American artist Sarah Morris and installation artist Theaster Gates, whose previous work has seen him convert an abandoned Chicago bank into a public arts centre.

There will be more diaries to follow from Indian artist Raqib Shaw and Korean painter Park Seo-Bo.

Earlier this year, Gormley created an installation in New York's Brooklyn Bridge Park, made up of 18 kilometres of wound aluminium tubing arranged like a giant scribble.

Titled New York Clearing, the installation was designed to be an interactive public work, facing the Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn Bridge.

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Ron Arad launches "Smile for our NHS" fundraiser with masks featuring famous artists

Celebrities including Stephen Fry, David Baddiel and Elizabeth Hurley have modelled face masks designed by Ron Arad that will be sold to raise money for the UK's National Health Service.

The cotton masks are printed with portraits of famous artists including Picasso, Matisse and Dalí.

Launched today, the Smile for our NHS campaign aims to help healthcare workers treating coronavirus patients.

Stephen Fry (top) and David Baddiel (above) are among the celebrities modelling Arad's masks

"We're doing masks to raise money for the NHS," Arad told Dezeen in a video interview on Thursday during which he wore a prototype of a mask featuring a drawing of William Shakespeare by Arad.

"People cover their faces and I thought it would be a nice idea to have the bottom part of the face cheering people up."

"There'll be lots of art on faces; there'll be lots of Picassos, Matisses, Dalís," Arad told Dezeen. "Hopefully, it will be very successful and raise a lot of money for the health services."

Newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky wearing one of Arad's masks

Celebrities including actor and comedian Stephen Fry, actress and model Elizabeth Hurley, comedian David Baddiel and TV presenters Natasha Kaplinsky and Robert Peston have endorsed the launch and modelled the masks.

"These amazing masks, designed by Ron Arad, raise a smile, protect others and raise money for the NHS," Fry tweeted.

"People look funny in the masks," Arad added. "People like the idea."

Political journalist Robert Peston is among the figures supporting the fundraiser

Face masks can help protect people from contracting coronavirus and help prevent those with the virus from infecting others.

"Besides the benefits of limiting harm from coughs and sneezes, and reducing the instances of people touching their faces, the primary benefit of these non-medical face masks is to others: these designs turn them from something impersonal and frightening into coverings that will make people smile," said the campaign.

Actress and model Elizabeth Hurley

"Discussions are underway to make the masks available to members of the public, both in the form of ready-made masks and by making the designs available for home-made assembly."

The UK's taxpayer-funded NHS has suffered shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks.

"Crucially, the project plans to bring new manufacturers on stream, to ensure there is no diversion from valuable NHS supplies," said the campaign. "Proceeds raised will be in aid of the NHS and causes dealing with the Covid crisis."

The project is a collaboration between Arad and the Ostro Fayre Share Foundation.

“I wanted to do something to use the power of art to help in this terrible crisis," Arad said. "We all have a duty to use our creativity, resources and compassion however we can. Hopefully, this project will support our wonderful NHS, as well as provide some cheer and amusement.”

London-based Arad is an industrial designer, artist and architect. He explained his latest project, a range of hand-finished moulded chairs called Don't F**k With The Mouse, in a video made for Dezeen's Virtual Design Festival.

Other key projects by Arad include the Tom Vac chair, the Big Easy chair and the Rover Chair.

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Alejandro Sticotti's holiday home in Uruguay teams weathered wood and textured concrete

Argentinean architect Alejandro Sticotti has elevated a wood-clad box above the glazed kitchen and dining room of his family's holiday home on the coast of Uruguay.

Sticotti designed the house in Le Pedrera, a village and resort on the Atlantic Coast in Uruguay's department of Rocha.

Located a five-minute walk from the beach, the house serves as a holiday home for his family, which includes his graphic-designer wife Mercedes and their four children.

"We currently live in Buenos Aires, but we travel a lot to La Pedrera to vacation, relax, go to the beach, cook, read and paint," Sticotti said.

"We used to spend all our summers there in the last 20 years, and as soon as I found this land it was love at first sight."

Chilean photographer Cristobal Palma recently captured the house, which Sticotti officially completed in 2015 but has continued to update.

"It's hard to say we finished when you're the architect of your own home haha," Sticotti joked.

Named after its location, Le Pedrera comprises a house for the couple and a separate guesthouse that can be used by their children.

The main residence features a mix of materials including board-marked concrete walls, floors and ceilings, which are textured from the imprint of timber boards. While these are left exposed throughout the private areas of the house, the upper-level walls that are viewed from the street are covered in slender weathered-wood panels.

Weathered wood walls wrap the ground floor, which accommodates the kitchen and dining area. There are large expanses of glass that include doors that open onto a deck featuring a hammock and greyed wooden furniture, and the rear garden. The elevated volume above hosts the lounge and bathroom with windows offering views of the sea.

"The ground floor, an area with the kitchen an a deck, we use it mostly during the day," Sticotti explained. "In the first floor, we have the living room and the master bedroom suite where we have an incredible view to the sea."

The living areas of the main residence are also shared with the small, two-storey guesthouse at the other end of the garden, which features two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms.

Sticotti said that he worked with his wife to complete the decor of the property. "I'm the architect of the house, but whom made the final touches is my wife, Mercedes, who is a graphic designer," he said. "We are both in design thinking."

On the ground floor, these materials are paired with pale white tiles and a large number of wooden details like the dining table and shelving. Brighter pops of white are brought in by a large stone sink kitchen cabinetry and sofa.

A metallic staircase with wooden treads leads to the first floor. Wooden floorboards that continue onto the adjoining bedroom mirror the exposed concrete ceiling above. The space is detailed with bookshelves and long desk facing a window. The stair then continues onto the rooftop.

Other houses in Uruguay include a concrete house designed by local firm Masa Arquitectos and a black house that FRAM Arquitectos and Delfina Riverti detailed with wood stripes.

Photography is by Cristobal Palma.

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Fringed Orange Apparel Knit Entirely From Rubber Bands by Rie Sakamoto

All images © Rie Sakamoto

At first, the garments look as though they’ve been spun with a traditional medium—wool or yarn—but on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the thin and springy mesh-like material is composed of thousands of elastic bands that have been knitted together. Made by Japanese designer Rie Sakamoto, the handmade collection is composed of a jacket and dress, each of which illustrates the diverse functionality of stationery items like rubber bands. 

Sakamoto’s “rubber collection” initially was exhibited at Tama Art University in Toyko as part of a graduate exhibition and the garments, which took Sakamoto half a year to make, reflect on how overlooked materials and objects can have diverse uses in fashion, contemporary design, and art. 

The flexibility of the soft bands allows Sakamoto to stretch the rubber to make different-sized garments that are adaptable to various bodies. Similar to how wool garments are created with needles, Sakamoto makes each garment by knitting the rubber bands together. When closely observed, the materials are a matte, sand-like color, but when thousands are merged together into textiles or fashion pieces, an earthy orange emerges. When Sakamoto’s garments are held up in the light, they become almost iridescent

To keep up with the designer’s inventive apparel, follow her on Instagram. (via designboom)

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Odami creates a furniture collection from one dying tree

Canadian studio Odami has used wood from a 130-year-old red oak tree to design furniture and lighting.

Case Study 01: On Mass used the trunk of a dying red oak tree to construct three pieces, including this prism-like lamp

Case Study 01: On Mass comprises an armchair, lamp and table made from the trunk and limbs of a dying red oak tree.

Odami worked with Patrick Murphy, owner of One Wood, a woodworking company to realise the three unique pieces that aim to explore the concept of mass.

The armchair features a curved seat, straight back and two rounded arms on each of its sides

"As simple compositions of heavy masses, each piece is an expression of this strength and power," Odami said. "With timeless simplicity, each piece is a humble celebration of material richness and craft, and a study of the coziness of mass."

The tree came from Murphy's parents' property in St Anns, Ontario. One of its limbs had already fallen and rotted, but the team was able to preserve a majority of its main trunk and use it to create the pieces.

Black markings on the bowed seat show the areas where the wood stretched and cracked

"These pieces don't simply make use of its material, but attempt to harness this vitality, and embody the stability and weight of its lost presence," the studio added.

After the red oak was chopped down, the wood was dried and then cut into the new shapes causing it to stretch, warp and crack. In total, the fabrication process was carried out over a period of eight months.

On the lamp, light shines through the thin opening between a square-shaped rod and rounded column that front the piece. A rectangular block forms the top and base of the prism-shaped work.

The curved seat and straight-edged back of the armchair are set at angles from one another and attach between the two rounded arms on each side of the design.

The low table has chunky legs and a flat surface that extends beyond the two legs

Black markings visible on the front of the seat indicate the areas where the wood stretched and cracked from being worked into the bowed shape.

The low-lying table has chunky legs attached to its centre. A flat surface extends beyond the two legs to form the tabletop. In this middle is a small lid that lifts off the top to reveal a tiny compartment built into the table.

A rectangular lid lifts off the table to reveal a tiny compartment

Odami is an architectural, interior, and furniture design studio founded in Toronto founded in 2017 by Spanish architect Aránzazu González Bernardo and Canadian designer Michael Norman Fohring. Its previous projects include Toronto restaurant Sara, which features curving plaster walls.

Other wood furniture pieces include a collection Bowen Liu Studio imagined for a fictional artist and a series of chunky pine chairs by Studio Sløyd.

Photography is by Kurtis Chen.

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