The Art Institute of Chicago Public Domain Collection

The Art Institute of Chicago has announced a redesign of its website, which entails the opening of its digital archive to the masses. Now, anyone will be able to download, print, or use its new public domain collection of 52,438 artworks and counting. Read more

Liu Xue’s Humanimal Sculptures

Chinese Sculpter Liu Xue created a beautiful series of human-animal hybrids that he calls “We Are The World.” Most feature obese caricatures of bald men supported under the legs of walruses, bull frogs and pigs. Others include lithe contortionists with bird legs, and a wispy crooked man shrugging over a poised greyhound body.

The entire set of 63 photos is here, and I’ve included my favorite shots above.

Takahiro Iwasaki

Japanese artist Takahiro Iwasaki creates sculptures from the unexpected materials like electrical tapes, toothbrush bristles or towels. His recent works like “Floating Reflected Temples” (below) made of Japanese cypress exhibited on The 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.

Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak (a mountain in Hong Kong) on a roll of vinyl electrical tape by the artist Takahiro Iwasaki. Read more

Dalton Getty’s Pencil Lead Sculptures

If you think that pencil is a tool for drawing, painting or writing notes – you’re wrong! 45-year-old carpenter, Dalton J. Paul Getty for 25 years turns ordinary pencils into incredible miniature sculptures. Without using a magnifying glass. “When I was a schoolboy, – says the master, – I made gifts to my friends, carving out their names on a pencils. Later, I decided to try sculpture, and after a long searching the choice fell on a pencil lead.” For such work Dalton uses blades, sewing needles and special knives for the sculptures. However, the material is too fragile and can not allow mistakes: at home Mr. Getty has more than 100 unfinished or broken sculptures. “At first I had a few broken figures, later I decided to keep them all in memory. I call this “cemetery collection”: they are all dear to me, yet I spent alone with them a few months.” Artist could spend a few months at one sculpture. For the creation miniature alphabet Dalton spent 2,5 years. “My patience is simply amazing people, because nowadays everyone wants to be quicker, faster and faster.”

See more pictures »

Pete Goldlust

Artist’s statement: For several years, my work has explored a sculptural landscape where human urges (libidinous, predatory and monstrous) are acted out by half-recognizable, otherworldly surrogate creatures. The work reflects my interest in mutated, hybrid forms, and the disjunctive psychological states that they represent.

I’ve explored these themes using a variety of media. These have included traditional studio techniques, digital imaging, industrial manufacturing processes, and children’s arts-and-crafts materials. A sense of play is key to each of these creative strategies. For several years, the work has been largely focused on polymer clay sculpture.

Since 2005, I have worked with painter Julie Hughes to create collaborative mixed media installations that reflect our shared fascination with reconstituted, fragmented biomorphic form. Installations typically interweave Julie’s paintings on shaped sintra panels with my own polymer clay and mixed-media sculptures across a backdrop consisting of cut vinyl wall drawings. These environments explore the gray areas between seemingly distinct states of being: the alluring and the repulsive; the playful and the threatening; and the natural and the synthetic.