Fashion Pixel: Art

Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Yenz Lin: From Architecture to Jewellery Design And Beyond

published in: Accessories, 01 Nov 2011

Through this fashion website, I have been very fortunate to meet some of the brightest and most interesting people in fashion and design. Taiwanese jewellery/conceptual designer Yenz Lin is definitely one of those people. Yenz graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martin's with a BA in Jewellery Design, after having studied earlier for four years architecture in Taiwan's Tunghai University. As Tunghai University was the first place where Yenz got into design, it has affected her tremendously. "Accurate attitude, method of operating design, paying attention on the interaction with the user" have become key components of Yenz's later work.

After completing her degree in Architecture, Lin moved to London in 2008. During studying in Central Saint Martin's, Yenz had the chance not only to learn technical skills, but through the freedom given by CSM she managed to explore and focus on the things that caught her attention. An inquisitive spirit, Lin always asks questions about social phenomena, such as education, marriage etc. "Why do that? Why choose that? What one expects to gain from this choice?" She believes that we all live in the context of particular racial, ethical, and social cultures, which though they are positive from a legal, moral or ethical point of view, they also act as shackles. In her opinion people should have the freedom to accept and conform to society’s explicit and implicit 'rules' by which to live, but also the freedom to attempt to break out yet with a look in our previous position. According to Lin "we might see our lives and options more clearly, or this might stimulate other inspirations".

Lin through her final jewellery collection aims to deliver a concept that there are still many other possibilities which can be found, if one tries to figure them out by thinking out of the box or breaking the limited visions. An object, interpreted from different points of view, can inspire different perceptions. "The intended audience is the one which puts on this object. It can be observed that the object appears different on different wearers, which can not be wholly grasped in the eye of a third-person beholder," explains Lin. The formal elegance and delicate, fragile linear details are the characteristics of her design. She makes jewellery as a messenger to communicate with people indirectly with her own voice. By combining innovative architecture with contemporary jewellery design, Yenz's work is characterized by airy sculptured objects that drive their origin from an interest in space perception and three dimensions. Her exceptional design and craftsmanship earned her the "Cool Diamond Award 2011".

Yenz's goal is to have enough support to keep creating the messages she would like to convey, "playing with the conclusions above, reminding people to always keep jumping out and looking back to the position they used to be". In the near future, as a large scale piece of work, Yenz would like to create a public installation or sculpture between buildings that interacts with pedestrian through the glass surface of the building and the walking movement of the pedestrians. The idea is for the glass surface to act as a mirror during the day so people can see their reflection, and to allow the light that comes out from the building during the night and create the shadow of the piece. She would also like to create some salable accessories, and in general be able to survive as an artist designer or conceptual designer.

Yenz Lin's collections of jewellery are intelligible, variable and memorable, as they all have different identities and specialties. Due to their spacial and polymorphic nature they also act as sculptures and Haute Couture jewellery. All Yenz needs is people to believe in her work and support it in order to flourish, and we are sure that it will...

Related links: Showtime

All images courtesy of Yenz Lin©

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

Kobi Levi Footwear: Wearable Sculptures At Your Feet

published in: Accessories, 05 Oct 2011

Coffee? Porcelian version, 2011, Leather

Kobi Levi is not your average freelance footwear designer. Looking at his shoes one might think of him also as an artist/sculptor extraordinaire. Levi graduated from Bezalel academy of Art & Design in 2001, with a degree in footwear and development.

Coffee? Diner version, 2011, Leather

He views the shoe as a canvas. The trigger for Levi to create a new piece comes when an idea, a concept and/or an image comes to his mind. The combination of the image and footwear creates a new hybrid and the design/concept comes to life. Most of the inspirations are out of the "shoe-world", and give the footwear an extreme transformation. The result is usually humoristic with a unique point of view about footwear.

Contemporary Chinese for The APM mall exhibition in Hong Kong, 2011, Leather

Another aspect of the creation for Levi is the realization. All the pieces are hand-made in his studio. The challenging technical development is the key to bring the design to life in the best way," he explains. Each part of the shoe is made from the start: heels carved by hand, pattern cut, stitching and assembling, all with great attention to detail.

Olive Oyl, 2011, Leather

So are the shoes wearable or just a piece of art? "My designs are a combination of art, design, and fashion. I treat them as wearable sculptures. They are real shoes! They can function like real shoes, although the reason to create them is not functionality, it's creativity. Sense of humor is an important part of my work, and of me! I like to see my designs both on display, as well as on feet. They are "alive" in different ways," he says.

Blond Ambition, 2011, Leather

His pieces may be influenced by different things, however, some of them could easily be part of the collections for high fashion houses such as Moschino (see Olive Oyl design), and Jean Paul Gaultier (see Blond Ambition design). And though he has not worked for them yet, he has collaborated both with Israeli and international companies, and has also designed commercial footwear in Italy, China and Brazil.

Slide, 2010, Leather

His work has been exhibited, in group with other artists', all over the world from Tokyo to Düsseldorf, to Dongguan, Verona, Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, St. Étienne and Berlin. However, his first solo exhibition was 'Walkable', in January 2011. "I titled it "Walkable" after getting asked over and over again if my designs are walkable," he explains. "I guess people find it hard to believe that these are real. I think it makes it more fun to see it on and working." In May 2011 he exhibited his work in HongKong at the APM mall, after an invitation from the Mall's promotion department. He designed especially for this purpose the 'Contemporary Chinese' shoe, as well as another one called 'Mother&Daughter'.

Sling-Shot, 2010, Leather & wood

Levi is currently working on his women shoe line in Tel-Aviv, Israel, and selected designs are available by order directly from his studio.

Chewing Gum, 2009, Leather

For more details you can reach Kobi Here.

All images courtesy of Kobi Levi©

Market Trolley, 1998, Textile & Rubber

Wednesday, 27 July 2011

Jennifer Louise Martin: Fashionista Artist Superb

published in: Fashion Illustration, 27 Jul 2011

A few weeks back I joined a brand new social network focusing on fashion called Fashionista Central. There people from all over the world that are either professionals working in the fashion industry or fashion lovers can start their profile and connect with people that share their passion for fashion. Trough this über amazing medium/tool, created by Londoner stylist and MA student of Fashion Media Production at the London College of Fashion, Lucy Martin, members cannot only have a creative dialogue and exchange thoughts and ideas, but also, look at the work of other members. (Headline Photo: Not Just a Pretty Face by Jennifer Louise Martin©)

One of the very talented people found on Fashionista Central is the artist extraordinaire, Jennifer Louise Martin. Born in 1980, Londoner Jennifer Louise Martin was “intrigued by the glossy and alluring nature of high fashion and beauty advertising, and by society’s embrace of this unattainable ideal.” Painting being always a passion for her and a way to express herself she joined the prestigious Central Saint Martins for a Foundation in Art Studies. She later went on to earn a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art from the Byam Shaw School of Arts and a PGCE Secondary Art & Design from Middlesex University.

At the age of 25, while working at the art department of Deutsche Bank, she won a residency and her first solo show with Raid Projects in Los Angeles that catapulted her career. Her work was immediately noticed by Hollywood A-listers such as actors Samuel L. Jackson and Jack Black. Apart from her solo exhibitions, Martin has also showcased her work through group exhibitions in London and Berlin. Her sophisticated work having attracted many buyers, she now takes the next step into murals and private commissions.

Martin uses photography and 1960s fashion as a source of inspiration for her colourful paintings, where “she simultaneously builds and deconstructs [...] icons of perfection through the layering of paint, using the original photograph as the starting point, but deviating from it with abandon. While some details from the photograph are emulated, most others dissolve into chaotic and bold abstraction. Her paintings are a journey away from the illusion of perfection, allowing the viewer to see what's not supposed to be seen.”

She is currently in Berlin for a residency at the Takt Kunstprojektraum, where she is working towards a show in London at a beauty salon called 'Lost In Beauty' and will respond to the colours, atmosphere and fashion of the city.