art shows & news

There’s a lot of crap on Tumblr. Here’s our weekly update that sorts through the crap to bring you the best of the week. (Click here to add us on Tumblr.) This is a big week for photography, so hopefully you like that!

There was a time when 3-dimensional-crafted shapes were all the rage on the internet and gracing the covers of electronic albums everywhere. For large part, that trend died down due to the fact that the shapes started looking much too artificial; they were unsophisticated polygons with no real textures or moods other than “metallic” or “clean.” Paul Lee has managed to take these polygons, manipulating them in a way that keeps them current.

Photography by Swedish multi-disciplinary artist John Falk Rodén, who runs his own creative company with his partner, Andreas Lewandowski, called Ajja.

Minimalistic photography that will take your breath away, by Thorsten Konrad. Oceans are frequently calming, but this takes that almost to another level.

Buttonmooon weeds through vintage cameras and film to create images like this that are basked in saturated colors. This could quite possibly be the album cover for the latest indie singer-songwriter.

Al Magnus combines photography with manipulation to create that walk the line between fantasy and reality. (And maybe gives a heads up to Wizard Of Oz?)

Gunta Stölzl, German artist. This is a wall hanging from 1931; she was ages ahead of the current hipster trends in textile art and patterning. Ages!

UK-based illustrator (and former Redefine cover designer) Andrew Wheatley now has some pretty cool items available for sale through Envelop, a site that allows artists and designers to put their works on a wide array of cotton products (largely household items, for the domesticated art freak). Wheatley’s items include his almost Alice-in-Wonderland-like Tea Party Tote Bag and his amusingly political Love And Hate Apron, both of which make boring items completely desirable with their off-kilter designs.

www.andrewwheatley.co.uk
www.envelop.eu
www.envelop.eu/shop/articles/details/p/tea-party-2
www.envelop.eu/shop/articles/details/p/love-and-hate

The YYYs have put out a request for fans to design the t-shirts for their next tour! View the full details are at http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/tshirt/, but here’s what Miss Karen O has to say about it:

“Hey Folks, all us YYYs have been avid collectors of t-shirts over the years, what can we say, WE LIKEY A GOOD T-SHIRT. In our travels many of you have chucked a homemade YYY tee on the stage or what not and all the shirts have always been unique and poured over with loooooove. So it got us thinking: how about giving you the fans a crack at coming up with a fresh new blitzin’ YYY T-shirt design! It’s a natural fact that YYYs have amongst YOU a whole heap of ART STARS! So school’s out for the summer and we want you to spend a hot lazy afternoon throwing something together for us YYYs to REPRESENT! And I got a hunch you’re gonna bring it! And if you do we’ll bring back a little something in return…!! Luv, YYYs”

The winner will get a bunch o’ signed stuff from the band and will have their tshirt printed + sold on the upcoming YYYs tour and online.

Designs must be submitted by July 22nd, 2009.

http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/tshirt/

No one should be able to accuse illustrator Travis Lampe of not working hard enough, because it’s quite clear from his show at Roq La Rue that Lampe has got his shit together and his vision clear. As if coming up with a dozen amazing paintings isn’t enough, Lampe presents us with wood-cut panels and stuffed creatures that absolutely solidify the necessity for his twisted world of fairytale. All of his pieces are also connected by a queer little rainbow that makes the whole show have continuity. My favorite, although not pictured, is Lampe’s depiction of the standard hunter’s trophy animal head — only Lampe’s is a sagging head of clay, textile, and paint.

Showing alongside Seattle’s “Bag Painter”, Chris Crites, this show at Roq La Rue is not to be missed. It is positively delightful.

www.travislampe.com
www.bagpainter.com
www.roqlarue.com

Subscribe to PlazmThread’s T-Shirt Of The Month Club by June 1st and get six limited edition t-shirts for $99! That’s less than $17 a shirt! Here’s what you can expect in the months to come:

(JULY) A conspiracy theory homage by Seattle’s Art Chantry.
(AUGUST) A complex geometric offering by London’s Kate Moross.
(SEPTEMBER) A neon, beachy throwback by 70 year old designer and teacher, Ed Fella.
(OCTOBER) A ornamental serpentine piece by Los Angeles’ Hannah Stouffer (shown above).

November and December’s shirts are still up in the air, leaving a slight bit of mystery to this t-shirt deal! Sign up now and be amongst the first to get in on this awesome idea.

www.plazmthread.com
www.artchantry.com
www.katemoross.com
www.edfella.com
www.grandarray.com

JAPANESE FABRIC PATTERN SET (RED)
Set of 4 Prints, 18 x 18 each, Edition of 100

Get your pockets ready for some emptying (as if they weren’t already empty, right?).
This Friday, time unmentioned, Obey releases four backdrop-worthy prints that are sure to set your room on fire.
Now if only the Boston PD could be so kind with the releasing…

www.obeygiant.com
www.woostercollective.com for the Shepard Fairey drama.

Most of us have probably been to craft fairs. They’re usually the same ol same ol rehashing of vendor after vendor setting up on fold out table after fold out table. Raised in Craftivity, curated by Maria Buszek, features crafty art that is less practical and more exciting. Whether it be embroidery, woodworking, beadwork, ceramics, or knitting that artists like Elaine Bradford, Orly Cogan, Maggy Rozycki Hiltner, and KnittaPlease embrace, literally every one of the artists on display are ridiculously inventive with their creations. Raised in Craftivity is a long-running show for a reason; it not only tells, but shows visitors that crafts can result in much more than tea cozies and aprons.

The show is on display from now until March 7th, 2009, at the Wignall Museum in Rancho Cucomonga, California.

Elaine Bradford’s Locked Antlers features yarn and buttons wrapped around real deer heads.

Orly Cogan creatively embroiders naked beings over pre-printed fabric in Butterfly Song Triptych.

www.chaffey.edu/wignall/upcoming.shtml

Industrial artist Reis Niemi makes some interesting art. He welds his own guns, makes embroidered underpants, and creates images of wigs serving as hair for cellphones. It seems only natural that he would purchase handkerchiefs from a 100 year old man’s garage sale and attempt to make art out of it. His newest show, Invisible Forces, will begin on display at the Punch Gallery on First Thursday, February 5th, and will feature fabric sculpture, forged ironwork, and painted liquor bottles — all guaranteed to be pieces that are slightly curious.

www.punchgallery.org
www.riesniemi.com

Camilla Diedrich is a Swedish designer who does all sorts of installation and textiles works, including some pieces for IKEA (what any good Swede should do)! Wallpapers, in their current common incarnations, haven’t quite lived up to their previous glories during the Renaissance and Victorian eras, but Diedrich’s newest “Nature Ray Charles Wallpaper” is bringing wallpapering into a new age. This wallpaper is lit by fiber optics to create luminescent florals that will help make any living room whimsically compelling. Available in six different colors in panels of 260cm x 135cm. One panel is available for 1699 Swedish Kroner (205 USD / 158.56 EURO) through her website.

www.camilladiedrich.com
online.diedrich.se

Arbito’s Cosmic Hobo toy!

Arbito and Snaggs will have a show at Schmancy (1932 2nd Ave, Seattle), this Friday, November 14th, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. The husband-wife duo will have new works on display, and one can expect textile arts, paintings, sculptures, and plushes, all bursting with colors!

Snaggs