Alyson Provax plays with words

The wordy work of Portland-based Alyson Provax sent me on a pinning frenzy this morning. I had come across her "Time Wasting Experiment" series some time ago, and was so happy to find myself there again (thank you @tappancollective instagram!). I love how she explores inner doubt, and also what appears to be bits and pieces of conversations out in the world. According to her bio, Alyson is interested in "conversational language, the experience of moving through time, and the occasional sublime."

torne valley

Odette NY's Torne Valley lookbook (named for the fertile river valley that lies at the border of Sweden and Finland) is perfect for an after-the-rain Los Angeles - fresh, clean, soothing. Looking forward to more rainfall this evening; boy do we need it.

Ana Teresa Barboza

Peruvian artist Ana Teresa Barboza's embroidered landscapes are......... spectacular. I'd seen some of her stunning body-focused embroidery work before, but these are new to me. I love how they overflow beyond the confines of the embroidery hoops. I love how she used embroidery hoops - yeah, this ain't your great aunt Gertrude's cross stitch, that's for sure.

marble magic

Marble print, in all of its gorgeous, swirling glory, has been on my mind these days. It's not every day that something can evoke the elegance of ancient Greek architecture, and, on the other side of that same coin, Ken Kesey, psychedelia, and ooooh yes, "Further," the Merry Pranksters' technicolor school bus. Lately I've been starting a bit of a marbled object collection, somewhat accidentally, somewhat with intention because oh, it's just so good. DIY marbled paper is up next. Below, some of my favorite eye treats.

All images and objects can be found over at my Pinterest.

Peter Alexander

The California-based Light and Space movement of the 1960s and 70s (to which James Turrell belongs) is so fascinating to me - an ever-unfolding landscape of work I love discovering and learning more about. A recent find for me is LA artist Peter Alexander's luminous resin sculptures which seem to be crafted from colored (negative) space and light itself. So cool! These pieces are certainly very much about the way that light strikes their surfaces in a certain space - so I'm sure seeing them in person is an entirely different animal - but I think these images evoke a good deal of the magic, genius, and subtlety of Alexander's work.

drift // a playlist!

A nice evening listen: not too mellow, not too Katy Perry (erm, sorry KG), relaxing but hopefully won't put you to sleep. Who knows though. Would that be the worst thing in the world? The new albums from Bombay Bicycle Club and Gardens & Villa have been on repeat this week, and I still can't get away from that damn Devendra song. It's just so sultry. Hope you enjoy! Happy weekend.

DRIFT.

1. Home By Now // Bombay Bicycle Club

2. The Things You Tell Us // Radiation City

3. Street Joy // White Denim

4. Harmonia // Cass McCombs

5. Won't You Come Home // Devendra Banhart

6. Devil or Angel // Lou Doillon

7. Great Escape // Washed Out

8. The Coral Route // Lanu

9. gun-shy // Grizzly Bear

10. Cavalier // James Vincent McMorrow
10. Love is Overtaking Me // Arthur Russell

11. Purple Mesas // Gardens & Villa

12. In the Kingdom // Mazzy Star

⌇listen to Drift on 8tracks⌇
⌇listen to Drift on spotify ⌇

all music is for sampling purposes only. please, buy the artists’ records & support them at shows!

Alexander Calder's mobiles

I visited LACMA last week to see the Alexander Calder exhibit, Calder and Abstractionism: From Avant-Garde to Iconic, and let me just say, I was bowled over by the experience. Seriously. It was something special. Starry-eyed I wandered through the curving white space of the gallery, gazing up at the slowly oscillating, suspended figures. I circled the gallery three or so times, feeling almost love-struck as I studied the curvatures and angles of each piece, pausing for minutes at a time to watch their ever-so-delicate movement. I could not believe the simple, yet profound whimsy and joy contained within these bowing forms - the spacial and, really, emotional impact of them. The smallest flash of red or cobalt amidst an otherwise inky palette of shapes was a revelation; the glint of sunlight reflected in the unassuming recycled bits of colored glass hanging from a long, iron arm in 1941's 'Tree,' utterly spell-binding.

Around 1931 or 1932, Dadaist artist Marchel Duchamp suggested the name "Mobile" for Calder's unprecedented kinetic sculptures drifting sweetly on the air. The idea that the mobile - you know, that little cluster of airplanes or birds or any such thing that crowns just about every newborn's crib - simply did not exist until Calder became curious, and explored how one might translate line drawing into sculpture, what might happen if motion, and change, and point of view, were inextricable from the work of art itself, just blows my mind. Mind: blown.

I love this quote from Jean-Paul Satre, regarding Calder's mobiles: "Although Calder has no desire to imitate anything—his one aim is to create chords and cadences of unknown movements—his mobiles are at once lyrical inventions, technical, almost mathematical combinations and the perceptible symbol of Nature: great elusive Nature, squandering pollen and abruptly causing a thousand butterflies to take wing." Divine.

Calder posing in 1975 with the first ever "art car," a BMW 3.0 CSL. Calder was the first artist to participate in the BMW Art Car Project commissioned by French racer and auctioneer Hervé Poulain.

I was able to snap one photo myself of 'Snow Flurry,' created in 1948. This was definitely against the rules. But oh, how could I resist. The light was hitting it just right.

Below, Calder performing his handmade, miniature circus in 1955. I mean...

And, a playful homage by Carl Kleiner, posted over at The Nowness.

If you are in Los Angeles, or nearby, I'd highly recommend you see this one. It's open through July, no excuses!

eric trine

Editing down a big 'ol pile of amazing images is not my blogging strongpoint - I have a hard time choosing favorites between a batch that are all so freaking wonderful. I want to share them all! So, if you'll excuse me... I'm coming up against this short-falling of mine with the so-good portfolio of Portland, OR-based Eric Trine (discovered on Instagram!), an "object based studio artist and designer," or, as he offers more simply, a maker of things. On his website, Trine situates his work with a question I quite like: "What if Charles Eames, Buckminster Fuller, and Sam Maloof were surfing buddies?" What indeed. I love his woven leather chairs so much it hurts. One day, one day.

ps/ I'm enjoying sharing colorful bits with you each Friday in the hopes of getting you excited for the weekend... maybe I'll make it a tradition!? Happy Friday!