Hasta La Ideas

A private, 178-acre lush botanical garden of 3,500 plant species, the outdoor museum Inhotim is home to commissioned and collected works from artists such as Doug Aitken and Matthew Barney. A visit to the immense Brazilian art park, an hour away from the country’s third-largest metropolis, Belo Horizonte, feels both unusual and completely natural in this breathtaking setting.

Created in 2004, Inhotim didn’t gain international fame until recent years, when the local iron magnate Bernardo Paz commissioned some high-profile American artists to make site-specific pieces. Because it expands continuously, each visit tends to be different, whether due to the opening of a new pavilion or finding that pieces from his 500-strong collection have rotated to new locations.

The quality and range of the artwork in Inhotim is truly magnificent. Coming up to Doug Aitken’s Sonic Pavilion by golf cart (some of the pieces are more easily accessed by vehicle transport) looks like you’re visiting a set of a different planet. When you enter, a buzzing sound that varies with the time of day amplifies the noise coming below the earth 300 meters deep.

Danish-Iceland artist Olafur Eliasson has several contributions here, including a large-scale kaleidoscope and a dark igloo with spurting water fountain inside. Chris Burden’s “Beam Drop Inhotim” references an earlier piece of his (“Samson”) but was created for the park using locally-sourced steel beams.

Perhaps the best non-American works come from the architecturally-outstanding Adriana Varejão pavilion, a hard-edged concrete box housing her work. Rivane Neuenschwander’s installation is another exceptional piece. A house boasting an opaque ceiling filled with tiny Styrofoam balls moves with the wind, seeming to come alive with each breeze. Tunga’s bizarre “True Rouge,” a series of suspended red nets and liquids, lives in a gallery off the edge of a pretty lake full of black swans.

Modern, sleek food stands spread throughout the grounds stock everything from beverages to hot dogs, but two chic restaurants in clear view of a Paul McCarthy sculpture, serve a delicious high-end buffet and a la carte plates.

Check the site for a list of artists and visitor info. In September, Inhotim will show permanent works from Helio Oiticica, Miguel Rio Branco and Lygia Pape.

Visitors are recommended to stay in Belo Horizonte and make the drive to the park, however, count on two to three days for the full experience.

Dutch artist Ron van der Ende beautifully transforms pieces of found wood into inventive examples of bas-relief, creating sculptures that span the traditional church to a Nascar Charger. Van der Ende displays his labor-intensive works in a new solo show, “A Shallow Wade,” currently on exhibit at Seattle’s Ambach & Rice gallery through 2 May 2010.

Exploring a “fractured American consciousness,” works included in the show demonstrate the Rotterdam-based artist’s concern for the disparate messages emanated by U.S. culture. For example, “Shotgun Shack Row” portrays an aerial view of houses from New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Seemingly viewed from a helicopter, the contorted angle reminds his audience that parts of the country still experience dread while others prosper, like in works such as “Taylor/Burton.”

A giant diamond constructed from hundreds of small pieces of salvaged wood and painted to reflect the myriad angles of the massive gem Richard Burton gave Elizabeth Taylor in the late ’60s, “Taylor/Burton” represents the excessive nature of America’s upper class. Eventually the bauble sold for over $1million, an idea that Van der Ende’s sculpture calls into question with the humble materials pointing out the absurdity of spending such a lavish amount of money on such a frivolous item.

Ironically, Van der Ende’s “On Re-Entry” depicts a giant log with glowing embers beneath its charred surface, again created from recovered pieces of wood. Like the rest of his works, the log is comprised of copious amounts of thin veneers pieced together onto plywood for an overall stunningly complex relief.

A l’occasion de l’exposition Passagen 2010, voici cette installation conçue par la société allemande Lichtfront. Baptisée “Augmented Sculpture”, il s’agit d’une multi-projection de 4 sources mêlant à la fois des formes et des textures. Les graphiques sont réalisés sous After Effects.

Previously on Fubiz

• Mercedes-Benz Sculpture
• Rankin Portraits
• Eastpack x Quinze & Milan

Présentée au Salon de Detroit, voici une superbe sculpture qui évoque la future voiture Mercedes-Benz CLS. Cette installation modélise les formes et le futur design, tout en s’inspirant du style de la marque. L’ensemble est recouvert d’un drap gris. Exemples et photos dans la suite.

Previously on Fubiz

• Mercedes-Benz Campaign
• Rethink Scholarship Book
• Riccardo Bagnoli

Nike ha recentemente commissionato all’artista inglese Benedetto Radcliffe un’enorme Air Max in occasione del lancio per la Dizzee Rascal Air Max 90 nel Nike Sportswear 1948 di Londra. La scultura è lunga 3,5 metri ed è composta solo dal tubo di ferro che, piegato lungo le linee principali della scarpa, ne riprende la forma in stile wireframe. Su SF trovate l’intervista all’artista.
[Via]