Mondrianesque Metal Shelving By Andrea Branzi Incorporates Real Birch Trees.

above: Tree 4, 2011, Anodized aluminium, Birch wood, Edition of 12, H 110 / L 250 / W 27 (cm), H 43.31 / L 98.43 / W 10.63 (inches)

“When birch tree forests are pruned or agricultural cultivations of fruit trees are picked, they are dispersed or burned. I have always been fascinated by these parts of nature, that continue to give off a grand expressive force, more powerful when they are combined with modern, perfect and industrial materials. They become mysterious, always diverse, unique, unrepeatable and somewhat sacred presences. Trees, trunks and branches are part of our ancient culture but also of actual culture, because in the age of globalization, design searches to trace recognizable ‘anthropological’ platforms. The collection, ‘Trees’ consists to place simple, everyday objects, books, and images next to the strange presence of branches and trunks, like in the reality of the world.” - Andrea Branzi

Italian architect and designer Andrea Branzi melds metal and nature in his latest series of shelving, Trees. On exhibit now through May 16th at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris, the seven functional art pieces are sold in editions of 12.


above: artist, designer and architect Andrea Branzi

press release: In a short time, Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris has already treated us to a regular and rich demonstration of Design Art: in March Andrea Branzi was given space to express himself as a free and committed thinker with this new collection, « Trees ».


above: Tree 1, 2010, Anodized aluminium, Birch wood, Edition of 12, H 100 / L 120 / W 27 (cm), H 39.37 / L 47.24 / W 10.63 (inches)

above: Tree 8, 2010, Anodized aluminium, Birch wood, Edition of 12, H 205 / L 140 / W 35 (cm), H 80.71 / L 55.12 / W 13.78 (inches)

In a space that was once the Galerie de France, a place where contemporary art flourished, Catherine Thieck will come back to pose a few objects from her own collection on the shelves of Andrea Branzi. Works by Marcel Duchamp, Constantin Brancusi, Méret Oppenheim and Rebecca Horn will fill the shelves of an artist whose personality and preoccupations have remained consistently at the avant-garde of the architecture and design world.


above: Tree 3, 2010, Anodized aluminium, Birch wood, Edition of 12, H 80 / L 165 / W 27 (cm), H 31.5 / L 64.96 / W 10.63 (inches)

The Italian architect and designer Andrea Branzi, born in 1938, was ahead of his time in Florence in 1966 when he set up Archizoom associati, the first, internationally renowned avant-garde group. In order to define this remarkable character, one must use the vocabulary of projects: theoretical research, new design, experimental laboratory, leeway, mass creativity, new organisation… He also knows how to share his battles, he coordinates and curates exhibitions, he regularly exhibits his personal work, publishes manifestos, teaches generations of students and participates in conferences all over the world. In fact, multiple spaces would be needed to cover all angles of the man: a screening room, an auditorium, a museum and more than a few metres of shelf space.



above: Tree 9 (closed and open), 2010, Anodized aluminium, Birch wood, Edition of 12, H 252 / L 140 / W 35 (cm), H 99.21 / L 55.12 / W 13.78 (inches)

Andrea Branzi is passionate about the morphology of urban space; he breaks down the accepted codes and vigorously shakes the foundations of the ever-present conventions. Today more than ever, this insatiable troublemaker continues to disrupt the status quo and places humans and nature at the centre of his thinking.


above: Tree 2, 2010, Anodized aluminium, Birch wood, Edition of 12, H 100 / L 120 / W 27 (cm), H 39.37 / L 47.24 / W 10.63 (inches)

« Trees » represents a continuation of his thinking on architecture. He creates a minimalist space of shelves, veritable pieces of micro-architecture made from aluminium that spread out in neo-plastic bursts like a Mondrian. However, through the splits in the frame, Andrea Branzi introduces trunks and twigs gathered in the wild. This strange encounter that began in the eighties with « Animali domestici », questions the duality of the nature-culture relationship.


above: Tree 5, 2010, Brilliant polished aluminium, Birch wood, Edition of 12, H 300 / L 200 / W 27 (cm), H 118.11 / L 78.74 / W 10.63 (inches)

With « Trees », he adds a dimension, an extra slice of soul, as nature becomes art, a contemporary icon, an emotional window linked to the knowledge of the vital importance of this precious, common heritage.



Pieces on show:
Seven shelves, in different shapes and formats, in aluminium (annodized and polished) and birch wood.


ANDREA BRANZI / TREES
PARIS / SATURDAY 10 MARCH - 16 MAY 2012
OPENING/ SATURDAY 10 MARCH / 4 - 9 PM
carpentersworkshopgallery.com
54 rue de la Verrerie Paris 75004

A Mash Up of Banksy's Art and Academy Award Winner Tom Hanks = Hanksy.

above: Banksy's Flower Thrower becomes Tom Hanks chucking Wilson, the volleyball that kept him company in Castaway

Street Art and Graffiti often tends to be tongue-in cheek to begin with. Add another layer of puns and fun and you've got Hanksy's work - A mash up of the street art by Banksy and the movies of award winning actor Tom Hanks.



The street art references Hanks' roles in films such as Big, Catch Me If You Can, Forrest Gump, Castaway, A League of Their Own, Apollo 13 and The Money Pit to name a few. The familiar Bansky stencils are modified to include Hanks' head and lines relating to the movies, infused with puns and wordplays.


above: the Hansky exhibit at Krause Gallery

The images and work of Hanksy have appeared on the streets of New York and Chicago and New York's Krause Gallery featured much of his work on paper in a recent exhibit.

The following images are from that show.













And here are some shots of Hanksy's work in situ:




Tom Hanks isn't the only celebrity in the work by Hansky, check out his street art of Ted Danson, Ryan Gosling (Drive-Thru), Bill Cosby (Jello) and Erkel (Cheese):





The text below is courtesy of the Krause Gallery:
A street artist is doing some amazing new street art in and around NYC.
He goes by the name of HANKSY.
Add the overwhelming popularity of Tom Hanks to the cool factor of the most famous street artist of all time, Banksy, and you get HANKSY. HANKSY has become a social media phenomenon with his imaginative street art spoofs by taking images of Banksy’s work and adding in references from Tom Hanks’ films.

“People have speculated whether HANKSY is just a play on words or perhaps something a bit more, does he hate Banksy? Is it homage to one of the greatest street artists and actors of our time? Maybe it’s an attempt to subvert the subversive or perhaps it plays on the uniquely American pleasure the public finds in trivial imagery. Maybe in the end its much more straightforward? Add a certain ‘sometimes’ vowel at the end of a specific actor’s surname and it sounds an awful lot like the world’s most well-known street artist. (via Krause Gallery)

The Awl has an interview with Hanksy here

You can see several of the Hansky graffiti work in situ here at flickr.

Flight BA2012 - Pop-Up Venue Features British Airways Great Britons' Art, Film and Food.

above: Pascal Anson and Tracey Emin with the Dove, inspiration for a special art decorated aircraft for British Airways

FLIGHT BA2012 SET TO POP UP!

British Airways will launch an exclusive airline themed pop-up venue – ‘Flight BA2012’, celebrating the best in British talent in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Open on select weekdays from April 4 to 17, the three-in-one art gallery, cinema and dining lounge will showcase the works of the BA Great Britons who were mentored by Richard E. Grant, Tracey Emin and Heston Blumenthal.


above: Richard E Grant, Tracey Emin and Heston Blumenthal launch the BA Great Britons Heroes programme (Getty Images)

Artist-designer Pascal Anson, screenwriter Prasanna Purwanarajah and Michelin-star chef Simon Hulstone beat hundreds of incredible entries to be selected as British Airways Great Britons 2012 and will have their work featured in the pop-up venue. Purwanarajah, Anson and Hulstone have created Olympic Games themed film, art and food respectively- a short-film named Boy, ‘Dove’ artwork livery for the celebratory aircraft and a bold British menu.

The airline-themed venue, hosted in East London, has been exclusively designed to recreate a premium flying experience and will offer guests a sneak preview of the Great Britons works before they are rolled out on flights beginning this month.

ART:


Flight BA2012 includes artwork from artist-designer Pascal Anson from Brighton, who was mentored by Tracey Emin on his ‘Dove’ design for a range of celebratory aircraft displayed in the gallery.



above: Pascal Anson and Tracey Emin look over Dove artwork (Pic: Nick Morrish/BA)

above: Dove drawings by Pascal Anson (courtesy of the artist)


FILM:


It also features short film ‘BOY’ starring Timothy Spall, written by screenwriter Prasanna Purwanarajah under the mentorship of Richard E. Grant, which will be screened in the cinema.


Trailer for 'BOY':



DINING / FOOD:


Guests will also be able to sample a bold British menu created by Michelin-star chef Simon Hulstone, who has produced an Olympic Games inspired menu under the guidance of Heston Blumenthal. (Unfortunately, tickets to the Flight BA2012 dining lounge are already sold out).



above: Not your normal airline food - Simon Hulstone's Fish Pie is a work of art (photo courtesy of Jim Wileman, British Airways)

above: Simon Hulstone at work

above: Heston Blumenthal and Simon Hulstone devised the Olympic-themed menu

Frank van der Post, British Airways managing director of brands and customer experience, said: “We wanted to bring the flying experience to the public, allowing guests to preview our in-flight entertainment, celebratory aircraft livery and on-board menus in anticipation of the London 2012 Games. This is going to be an exciting year for the capital and this is just the very start of our take-off!”

• Flight BA2012 is located at 3-10 Shoreditch High St, East London, E1 6PG.

• For £50, guests will receive entry to the gallery and screening room, plus a welcome glass of champagne, sit down three course menu with amuse bouche, and tea, coffee and petit four. (This dining experience is no longer available /sold out)

• Flight BA2012 will be open on April; 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 and 17 only and closed for Easter and at the weekend

• The first scheduled flight for ‘The Dove’ will be in early April

• Short film BOY will be shown on all long-haul flights from April

• Simon’s menu will be available on long-haul flights departing London Heathrow between July and September (excluding certain routes such as India and Japan).

• The airline worked with LOCOG, BAFTA, the Fat Duck Experimental team and the Royal Academy of Arts on the BA Great Britons programme


British Airways is the official airline of the London 2012 Games.

information and images courtesy of British Airways and Getty Images

This Model Really Is A Heifer. Jean Baptiste-Mondino's Cow Photos For A Oh La Vache!

On display at The Milk Factory is a series of black and white photos by fashion photographer Jean Baptiste-Mondino of a Holstein Cow named Hermione donning hats designed by a UK milliner.



This series of 21 black and white photos was initially designed for an exhibit in Philippe Starck's Hudson Hotel but according to La Lettre de la Photographie, the hotel managers were not amused and the portraits were quickly relegated to the stables. Now, through the end of April, the images are on view in Paris.

"Oh la vache!" by Jean-Baptiste Mondino:




















images courtesy of The Milk Factory and La Lettre de la Photographie




Oh la vache!
Jean-Baptiste Mondino
Until April 28, 2012

A Claude Deloffre idea
Scenography by Clémence Farrell

MILK Factory
5 rue Paul Bert
Paris 75011