Architects of Air

Inside a luminarium, via AoA visitor photo gallery Photo: richardosborn.com

Nottingham UK's Architects of Air (AoA) create 'luminaria,' walk-in sculptures which they alluringly define as "dazzling mazes of winding paths and soaring domes where Islamic architecture, Archimedean solids and Gothic cathedrals meld into an inspiring monument to the beauty of light and colour." These technicolor sanctuaries have toured 37 countries on 5 continents in 500 exhibitions since 1992. Their latest luminarium Miracoco can currently be seen in Lisbon, Portugal. Unfortunately the tour indicates no planned U.S. dates, but see their extensive flickr gallery here.

Cordially Yours

Liam Wylie, Untitled (2010) via Liam Wylie

To enter a gallery and engage in a warm chat with the curator is unusual. But when Enrico Gomez detailed the concept of the current show at Camel Art Space, this refreshing welcome suddenly made sense.

All too familiar with closing phrases of letters requesting consideration for exhibition, the artists who run Camel decided to help water these budding portfolios of potential. The aptly named Cordially Yours is a show made up of cold submissions from emerging artists, democratically selected by the staff after careful consideration of each portfolio submitted the past year. They each made a list of favorites, then voted on the best from each other’s lists based solely on the work itself rather than names, resumes or personalities.

Cosmic sculptures and collages from Ontario’s Liam Wylie stole the show. But the whole of this global collection of seven emerging talents is worth a look.

Cordially Yours is on view until August 14th at Camel Art Space in Williamsburg.

Live and Let Die

Video still from Nadja Verena Marcin's Grand Slam. Photography by Jessica Benett via NURTUREart

In the current installment of NURTUREart’s weekly exhibition series We Are:, Guillermo Creus of Fortress to Solitude curates “Live and Let Die.”

This week, three artists exhibit one work each that combine to fill the gallery with an unsettling tension. Sarah Frost’s paper sculpture of a machine gun is the first sight upon entering the space. It sits low to the ground, stark white and menacing. Upon visiting her website, it seems to be a piece from her larger installation “Arsenal” at The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

Taking perhaps one of the most direct approaches to addressing the relationship of art and money, Ash Sechler stacks a thousand one dollar bills in a neat (surprisingly short) pile in the middle of the gallery floor, forcing the viewer to call into question the value of the piece.

In Nadja Verena Marcin’s video performance, Grand Slam, the artist plays a one-sided tennis match projected high on the gallery walls. In hectic hand-held camera shots, her high-contrast black and white figure ricochets in a blank, indecipherable space. Diegetic echoes of grunts and racket strikes and the echoes the video creates in the high ceiling of the gallery, coalesce into a single anxious soundtrack to the show.

Each piece exudes a matter-of-fact bravado that underscores the visceral reaction their forms incite. See more from each artist below:

Sarah Frost

Ash Sechler

Nadja Verena Marcin

“Live and Let Die” is on view at NURTUREart Gallery in Bushwick.

Light Hits

Installation view via Cinders Gallery

Kelie Bowman "An Opening" via Cinders Gallery

The duo known as Light Hits, Kelie Bowman and Jessie Rose Vala, have put together a feast for the eyes in their latest exhibition Horus' Daughter. Inspired by the Egyptian Myth of Osiris and Isis, they have shot a 27-minute hyper-sexualized Brooklyn summertime re-telling through live action, animation, and shadow puppetry, all backed by an original moody score. The highlight, though, are costumes and props from the video which have a DIY-McQueen vibe. Also on display are colorful watercolor paintings and drawings that round out this beautiful, dark, twisted fantasy (sorry, that's exactly what it is).

Horus' Daughter is now on view at Cinders Gallery in Williamsburg through August 7th

Ira Glass on Storytelling

Since Musea provides a platform for emerging artists, we thought these words of advice and wisdom from Ira Glass felt appropriate to share. It's boiled down from Current TV's four-part interview with the This American Life host, who riffs on creativity, taste, and how to close the gap between creative ambitions and creative work.

Brea Souders

"French Bed With Moon" via Brea Souders

Brooklyn-based photographer Brea Souders has a truly special eye. Though viewing her somewhat abstract images may require a squint and tilt of the head, it's hardly a confounding or isolating experience. The consistent vibrance and refinement of her vision makes each photo feel like an invitation to distinguish and appreciate her artistic perspective.

"Yellow Paint Samples (creating light post-breakup)" from photo series Constellation via Brea Souders

Souders' work often takes on autobiographical themes, from her heritage to concrete experiences. Above "Yellow Paint Samples (creating light post-breakup)" for example is an ode to the urge to paint her kitchen yellow after ending a six-year relationship with her boyfriend. It's refreshing when an artist is transparent, isn't it?

Souders also has varied publication and fashion photography credits to her name, including New York Magazine, Paste and Vogue Paris.

See more on her website (I especially recommend Islands & Streams, her photo series that recreates scenes from dream journals of well-known figures) or at Pop-Up Show at OpenSpace in Tribeca through the end of July.

Louise Despont

Close-up view of Untitled (Clown 1) via Louise Despont

Expensive art supplies be damned. Brooklyn-based Louise Despont uses antique bank ledgers as her canvas for abstract, intricate pencil drawings. Her more minimal pieces look like architectural plans for some ancient civilization while her more colorful drawings look like ornate geometric carpets. Muted reds, blues, and graphite mimic the faded ink and pencil-stroked account balances of the raw materials. Despont's elegant detail is calming and mesmerizing. See more here.