Place yourself in time and space

Alicja Kwade (b. 1979) from Berlin works mixed media. Through her works she manipulate the mental perceptions of how a boby places itself in time and space. 

Double Fortune 2013

Double Fortune 2013

Angst 2013

She works with sculpture, installation, work on paper, photography and painting. 

Stay tuned for more on her website or take a chance on Google - place yourself in time and space 

Self portraits in chains

Afruz Amighi lives and works in NY. This is some of her art from 2012. Go see her own site. It's simple and peacefull and we are digging it. Have a great weekend! Love Stella. 

Self portrait in chain 2012

Self portrait in chain 2012 

Portraits painted with words

Take a look at these fine images made by John Sokol (b. 1947). We absolutely love the way he combined the author with his or hers written works by painting their portrait using their own words. 

John Keats as Lamia 

Samuel Beckett as as waiting for Godot

Walt Whitman as Leaves of grass

Find your own favorite among the greatest! 

Anticipation creating atmosphere

Russell Gordon-Jones is painting sort of surreal spaces where the mere anticipation creates an very interesting atmosphere.

Russell just recently took his BA in fine art from Oxford school of fine art and we are intrigued by the atmosphere and his interest in Lynch and Hitchcook. Have a look for yourself and find the inspiration.

Human desires from porcelain pieces

Her name is Louise Hindsgavl (b. 1973). She is a Danish porcelain artist and among other things she makes human desires from porcelain pieces. 

Her art pieces are quite remarkable, weird and then most of all they are beautiful to look at, as if a partly fairy tail universe and partly human universe is unfolding before your eyes. It's quite remarkable and we love it! 

Her works are nothing like the porcelain pieces you find in the window at your grandparents house. They have a different story and tell and so much more than what meets the eye at first glance. 

Louise's works contain both entertainment and reflection for an afternoon out of the sun thinking about our desires in a sort of mash up. 

Take a look for yourself at Louise's HP and drop a comment below. 

Have a happy summer. Love Stella. 

Two sides of every body

Gracia Hagen (self-taught artist from Chicago) took some wonderful photos of different models from two very different perspectives. One of them sowing them off the models as pretty as ever and the other one showing the same body but from a less fortunate position, or? The point is very different! 

Gracia Hagen wants us to understand that every person can look extremely attractive under the right circumstances and two seconds later transform into something completely different.

The series 'Illusions of the body' was made to tackle the supposed norms of what we think our bodies are supposed to look like. Now she even turned the pictures into a book. 

Most of us realize that the media displays only the prettiest photos of people, yet we compare ourselves to those images. We never get to see those photos juxtaposed against a picture of that same person looking unflattering. That contrast would help a lot of body image issues we as a culture have.

Text and photo © Gracie Hagen 2014

The candid personality of children

Here is the story of photographer Emily Kornya for you. 

Since I was a very young child I had always been intrigue by images, whether that be photography or art, I was always fascinating in trying to discover the story each photo told. 

The feeling has stuck with me and as I got older I started to become very interested in photography as it just such a realistic and personal (as the people you capture are all unique individuals) art form. 

Since I was 12 I had dreams of one day becoming a children's fashion photographer (I have always loved to work with kids, and love their imaginative and genuine nature) and at age 17 I took a photography course while traveling through 10 cities in Europe. On this trip I felt such a thrill and happiness from capturing the moments of people's lives/stories I decided that I wanted definitely pursue this. 

What is most important to me for my own photography is capturing a persons true personality. I like to shoot very candidly and watch how the models interact with each other and see the stories and bonds they have created. Its pretty magical to see this and how much happiness the kids are experiencing. 

Have a visit at Emily's Facebooksite for more inspiration. 

Arty Smarty all the way

Looking for nature inspired jewellery objects to express who you are? This is the handcraft of the company artysmarty. The designer and owner of the company is Angela Cuthill based in Dublin. 

Necklace

 Angela likes her jewellery to be both fun and entertaining. Still they are very simple. 

Earrings

Animal necklaces

Angela uses simple materials and represents them in new ways. Wood, fabrics and resin form the basis of material which are produced by hand into contemporary objects. 

Check out her facebook site and the shop.

Photos in which nothing is too clear

It's Friday and it is all about Sofia Borges (b. 1984) a visual artist and photographer living in São Paulo. 

With her photos she walks across the diversity of art and photo trying to make the 'object' and the meaning of it speak together in unity. In her photos she always try to describe a relation and always choose photos in which noting is too clear.  

 Sofia graduated as Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fine Arts from the University of fine arts in São Paulo in 2008.

Sofia in her studio in Sao Paulo

Rhythm and movement. Meet Elaine Cameron-Weir.

Elaine Cameron-Weir (b. 1985) is a New York based artist practicing sculptural art. She is especially fascinated by rhythm and movement. 

Ozonic Bar, 2013. Collaboration with BEN SCHUMACHER
unlit neon letters, glass hardware, seaweed

Using both elegance and everyday as expression, her works place themselves in between two opposite positions. We sure like what we see and experience in her universe. 

Ozonic Note, 2013. Collaboration with BEN SCHUMACHER
unlit neon letters, glass hardware, seaweed

Elaine Cameron-Weir graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design and achieved a MFA from the Univerity of New York. 

exhibition from Induction-Procedure at Art Concept, Paris, 2013

Plate 29, 2012
aluminium 50.5 x 30.4 x 2 cm
courtesy Galerie Rodolphe Janssen

Setting the table // Brooklyn

In Brooklyn designer Clair Catillaz is making her handcrafted ceramics. Ever since she was 12 she has had her hands in the clay and is still trying to make every piece her favorite. Well, we definitely have a few favorites among the collection! Which ones are your favorites?  

Throw all your dishes into the sea - find Clair Catillaz on Instagram /Clamlab

Clair Catillaz is the founder of Clam Lab also based in N.Y. She founded the workspace and shop after having taught a few pottery classes year back.

Infinity bowls // PINKISH TRIO

Tab bowl // OOAK

 ALL CONTENT COPYRIGHT CLAM LAB ∞

The art of making and selling hats

3-15 hours in the making in a shop in Buenos Aires Argentina leads to some of these beautiful hats. Time very well spend. 

The hats are designed by the lovely Cecil Sain with an impressing artbook of her work. All of the hats are 100% hand made and who would not love to go out wearing one of these couture babies?

Go to Cecil Sain Facebook site for more information and more photos to enjoy. Maybe it's time to wear more hats this year? 

Change the world

Thoughts and ideas can change the world. So said Jone Kvie in an interview with Jesper N. Jørgensen in 2004.  And so it is. 

His very productive artist resumé goes back all the way to 1998 and we are diggin' it. JK himself was born in 1971 in Stavanger, Norway and lives in Sweden at the moment. Have a moment of bliss enjoying some of his art with a statement to change the world. 

Atom caption

Steel untitled

Pictures are JK rights reserved.

Connected to the painting and feeling uplifted

Meet Fern Choonet - A freelance illustrator originally from Bangkok, Thailand saying it all with a thin pen and and a cool feminine expression. 

Ever since she was little she has loved to draw and doodled in between classes. She moved to Canada to continue her education and studied illustration in Toronto. 

Currently she lives in Japan. In her own words it's one of the places in the world with the best designs. 

Just like any good song, Fern believe that great art should make audiences feel connected to the images. She loves to create illustrations that can relate to people and make them feel uplifted. 

One of her favorite illustrators once said, "Illustration doesn't always have to be serious. It's okay to make images that make people feel happy!"

And so they do....enjoy!

Go to Ferns website to explore more of her universe. 

Raw beauty

Just recently we saw Janne Kruse - a Danish artist - present her work. It is both raw and beautiful and we are blown away. Here's for sharing the impression wider. 

In search of temporality

Janne Kruse (b. 2979) uses hard materials. She folds (sculptures) sheets of steel by using her body as the tool. 

In search of temporality

All of the pictures are from her exhibition in Oslo (where she is currently living). It is called Behind silence. 

In search of temporality

All photos taken by Siri Leira

It all comes from within

Christine Ay Tjoe (born 1973) is not exactly up-and-coming but an established and very talented artist who left one dream of becoming a fashion designer to go all in on her dream of becoming an artist. 

She is an Indonesian contemporary artist originally from Bandung. 

We read the nice interview from Luxury Insider, by Eugene Quek, from 2012 and were inspired to share Christine Ay Tjoe's abstract, fascinating and recognizable artworks. 

"All of my art comes from here (touches chest). My art depicts the right path, the strong path, the path I believe in. I guess what I’m trying to say is I want to convey kindness, fatherly kindness." she says in the interview. 

(The quote is not related to the pictures on this blog. Read the interview in Luxury Insider for the 2012 art)

Pictures are copyright Christine Ay Tjoe

Everyone has arrived

We all do it from time to time (well, maybe mostly us above thirty (B.I. = Before Instagram)). We open the photo album and dive into the past by watching old memories unfold. 

We remember emotions, friendships, relations and people that have passed away. It’s somehow the same feeling with the new book "Alle er kommet – portraits and parties 1983-2013" (UK: Everyone has arrived) by Sigrún Gudbrandsdóttir.

Palace Pier , Brighton 1993. Camden 1992. Symi 1990.

The pictures are portraits and party photos in the timespan 1983-20013, mainly with Sigrún behind the camera. Weddings and friends goofing around, backstage giggling and night swimming. What is not to like? Almost 400 pages. 

Jim & Sigrún Prague 1990

You may not know the people on the pictures except the few ones you've seen in the media - and so Sigrún's story becomes the story of the reader. The story of you. Years and places that have made a mark, places and people you knew during the same years, clothing trends or stereotypes you’ve meet in the street. Atmospheres... Lovestories. You name it.

Morten & Jonas Skindergade 1991

During the two next Fridays we’ll be presenting a few of the photos and stories from the book to light your fire.

Read more about the writer, photographer and artist Sigrún and her book on her website (DK). You may even want to get your own copy. Last but not least, stay tuned here on the blog You’re invited. 

All pictures are copyrighted Sigrún Gudbrandsdóttir. 

Wings to fly

The paintings by Amy Judd capture women and birds, feathers and bodies. All in all they host a very special sensual atmosphere. Is there a distance between the woman and the bird or are they one and the same? We are (almost) lost for words by the amazing paintings by Amy Judd.

Reborn

Don't ask me why

Amy was born i 1980 and is currently living and working in London (UK). Go to her website for more paintings and further information.