Andy Gilmore

Fascinating geometric compositions, inspired by the physics of sound and acoustic. From amazing portfolio of Andy Gilmore, a talented designer and a musician. I could actually "hear" the music...

Surrealistic menagerie: François-Xavier Lalanne

“Everyone can recognize animals... You don’t have to explain what they are or mean.” Ancient Egyptian and Greek gods, Celtic Mythology, medieval bestiary, Indian totems... animal symbolism has been engrained in all cultures and religions. We are mesmerised over and over again.

Lalanne's whimsical sculptures achieve record prices at art auctions. His work became very popular in 1976, when French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg published his album with the title and cover inspired directly by one of the sculptures - "The man with the head of a cabbage".

Inspired by Brancusi, Ernst, Man Ray and Duchamp, Lalanne created his own brand of surrealism, inhabited by herds of sheep, iron rhinoceroses, dinosaurs and baboons. His work was also influenced by ancient Egyptian and Assyrian art, seen everyday at the Louvre, where he worked as an attendant for a short period. 

Lalanne's works are almost impossible to classify, balancing somewhere on the border between fine art and design. They were created with childlike joy and surreal sense of humour, and I think this is why we find them so intriguing...

images via: The Selvedge Yard

A flock of sheep: Hans-Peter Krafft and François-Xavier Lalanne

For everyone, who just like me, shivers at the thought of the real ones stuffed: cute and cuddly, hand-made wooden sheep-stools by Hans-Peter Krafft (design: 1982, manufacturer: Meier)

... or something from surrealist art world: Les moutons created by amazing 60's artist François-Xavier Lalanne. I discovered his animal sculptures recently, quite captivating!


Interiors: Shawn Henderson and Pamplemousse design

But if you prefer cute piglets instead (!!!), have a look here: Still lives by Yvonne Fehling & Jennie Peiz

images via: desire to inspire and design elements

Thin Black Lines exhibition

Japanese design studio Nendo presents an exquisite collection entitled Thin Black Lines at the Saatchi Gallery in London. The exhibition is open until October 31st, so if you are around, drop by!

read more about the exhibition here: Thin Black Lines by Nendo

New Folk

I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed recent design trends turning more and more often towards folklore and native craftsmanship traditions. We all begin to honour the beauty of folk patterns, embroidery and handmade lace from all over the world. Traditional craft is a box full of trasure!

New Folk furniture collection designed by Anna Stępkowska is one of the first signs of awakening fascination with polish cultural heritage. Not only the form of individual furniture pieces but also all the decorative elements were inspired by motifs from polish regional craft.

The collection was accompanied by unique art project: a photography series "Borders". Both authors, a photographer Piotr Sikora and an artist Piotr Bondarczyk live and work in New York. And both, of course, are Polish. The idea was conceived by multi-talented Piotr Bondarczyk, a painter, graphic designer, photographer, actor and stylist. The series tell a story about opening Polish society, once closed and homogeneous, now growing from cross-cultural interaction. Beautifully photographed by Piotr Sikora, the intriguing portraits of foreigners in national Polish folk costumes symbolize the unity between the past and the future.

Bathboat by Wieki Somers

"The Bathboat turns out to be a vehicle on dry land where the mind can drift away, or drift home after a full day of shiploads of information. It will wash away the dust of the city."

Bathboat by Dutch designer Wieki Somers is a part of the collection of the museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. It was also exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum's Telling Tales exhibition. 

photo: Elian Somers

Ryuji Nakamura

Subtle, ethereal designs and instalations of Japanese architect Ryuji Nakamura take us to the world of silence and contemplation. The works are elaborately constructed from very fragile materials, like paper and ribbons. And not without a sense of humour!

www.ryujinakamura.com

Surreal, on the phone

When Alexander Graham Bell invented the first phone, it was perceived by many as a mysterious object equipped with magical powers. Ironic, time likes to draw circles and again we end up longing for the imaginary magic, now enclosed in charming vintage objects, like these black bakelite phone lamps from Crosby Street Hotel, in New York.

...................................................................................................................................................................... The real bakelite telephone lamp was designed by lighting artist Alex Randall, as a part of the 'reclamation and renovation' series.

"The Bakelite Telephones were my first lighting piece and have been our best seller ever since. The phones are such wonderful pieces in their own right that it's wonderful to be able to return them to a useful purpose. I think people love them so much because like me, they remind them of past times. For me, I remember using my grandparents'. When they upgraded to a touch-tone phone my sister and I inherited the old phone for our playhouse. I remember all those times in there talking on the phone to the make-believe characters who were coming round for a cup of tea!"

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And the real surreal: Aphrodisiac Telephone by Salvador Dali, 1938.