Antony Gormley

Good afternoon contemporary art lovers!
For those who stay in New York this summer, I greatly encourage you to stop by Union Square and Madison Square Park among other places. 31 body form sculptures are installed randomly in Manhattan. Made by Antony Gormley (an English sculptor born in 1950), sculptures are a part of the exhibition called Event Horizon, which runs until August 15.

One of them is installed right in front of the iconic Flatiron building. The sculpture is made of iron and fiberglass and cast from Gormley's own body. This is very funny because while you are walking in the street you run into that "guy" who's actually the "iron man" made in Manhattan! You can also catch sight of someone on the top of one of the buildings at Union Square (I think it's the one in front of the W Hotel!). Nobody is suicidal, it's just another sculpture!!

Gormley is one of most celebrated British artist. Through this exhibition, he's finally introduced to the American public. Over the last 25 years, he was focused on the revitalization of the human body and its image in sculpture. He drastically investigates the human body as a place of memory and uses his own body as a subject, tool and material.

Have fun trying to discover where the sculptures are hidden!!!

Cakes, chocolate and candies

Good evening contemporary art lovers!
As you may know it was my b-day a few weeks ago. I was definitely inspired! Did you know that many artists used candies or chocolate to made their works?? Regression to the past, desire to be in a world out of any preoccupation (like the childhood), volition to point a society corrupted by mass consumption, economic disparities or any kind of problems related to food and malnutrition...

Born in 1981, Vincent Olinet is a French artist who lives and works between Brussels and Singapore. His works of art, mostly photographs or sculptures, make us thinking to a fantasy world: we have in mind the pirates's boats and treasures, the Sleeping Beauty Castle... He's obviously inspired by Walt Disney and all the other fairy tales! He said once: "I like to make shiny, colorful art pieces that appeal to our dreams and urges but actually deal with decay or disillusion". His sculptures are made of real ice sugar and flour, cake decorations and doilies, however the main base of his cakes is polystyrine...

Many conceptual artists also use chocolate as a source material for making pieces of art. Vik Muniz, a Brazilian photographer born in 1961 and best known for his portraits of Marilyn Monroe or Liz Taylor made of diamonds, also produced several pieces which are his "Pictures of Chocolate"! This series reproduces well-know imagery and famous portraits in chocolate syrup painted over a light box. His process is to take picture of his "creation" just before the melting of the chocolate. Works of art made by Chuck Ramirez, an American artist who lives in San Antonio and who is best know for his giants "portraits" of purses, call attention of desire and gluttony and point economic disparities. He makes chocolate boxes made out of chocolate but they are always empty. As if he wanted that we maybe pay attention to emptiness of a certain part of our society...

Some other prefer candies... Felix Gonzales-Torres, a Cuban artist, combines his personal experiences, his reflexions on art history, his views on politic...His work is the reflection of his life in the society. His "Candies Piles" are monumental and very attractive for the viewer. They are also interactive artworks since people are allowed to take some candies from the pile and supposed to eat them. It is never totally stable and constantly refreshed... Born in Bourges (France) in 1965, Laurence Jenkell is fascinated by the alchemy of sugar. Declination and sublimation of candies are the main purpose of her work.

All of those works look appetizing and joyful but they are actually full of social and economic symbols. Olinet's cake breaks down, Muniz's photograph is a reproduction of a weel-known image, Ramirez's chocolate box is empty, Gonzales-Torres's pile isn't stable, Jenkell's sweet refers to sugar which can disappear and change all the time...