Kengo Kuma - Shizuoka International Garden

Designed by Kengo Kuma for the 2004 Shizuoka International Garden and Horticulture Exhibition in Hamamatsu, the pavilion features a regular grid of suspended bamboo sticks blending visually together into a veil that provides the temporary structure with a subtle yet very superficial physical presence.

Like many buildings in Kengo Kuma’s vast portfolio, this design displaying’s the best of Japanese simplicity and effortless chic, with its blend of natural materials against industrial form. The arrangement of bamboo sticks echoes similarities to the Starbucks designed by Kuma (Seen in previous review).

Lutz Bacher

Ever since her career began in the 1970s, Californian artist Lutz Bacher has drawn upon fragmented information from popular culture and her own life to produce work. Her ability to feed of the popular zeitgeists within western culture is notably seen at her recent show at the Ratio 3 Gallery, in which at first glance appears to be a completely black photograph. Look harder and staring out at you is an enlarged photograph of Edward Cullen, the tween-heartthrob character played by Robert Pattinson in the blockbuster adaptation of the Twilight series.

Bacher’s books, installations, sculptures, videos, photographs, paintings and screenprints, use a varied combination of imagery and objects in a physical, visceral manner, as well as using text to alter context or the views perception of a subject. Bacher does not encourage the viewer to understand the work, by excluding explanations of her pieces and often no titles or information offered online. 

Lutz Bacher feeds of what is around us in our everyday fabric of western culture and symbolism, alterations and twists in context, forces the viewer to ‘join the dots’ when searching for meaning and understanding within the work.

Katja Novitskova

Katja Novitskova is an artist who I have always felt is part of the ‘new wave’ of great artists of our generation. Born in Tallin, Estonia and currently based in Amsterdam, her work emphasizes the nature of the synthetic and man-made in contact within our relationship with the natural world. Her creations are often framed in a way that connects to the worlds of advertising, consumerism, history and nature.

Novitskova’s manipulation and presentation of form and nature create compositions as contemporary still-life objects encourage us to think about the world around us. Instantly recognisable symbolism found within consumerism are altered and reflect in a more organic way. Her work raises questions within the boundaries of an increasingly humanised, natural world.

‘We as species are able to manipulate matter in advanced ways, making it unrecognizable as nature even to us.’

Taking full advantage of digital mediums, Novitskova often combines imagery and text collected from the internet.  This is most notably seen within her ‘earth calls’ composition, which comprises of collages assembled from Google Earth landscapes, along with images of young men found on Tumblr, part of the E-publication from Badlands Unlimited, How To Download a Boyfriend.

Kateja Novitskova’s take on the culture in which we live, is refreshing. She utilises modern technology and symbolism to create art that is truly contemporary. One to watch and soon to become a rising star in the art world. Check out her Website for more information.