Studio Visit

Ouattara Watts

in coolhunting.com

by Karen Day

While we all like to tap into an artist's brain, find out exactly what goes on in their mind to make them create what they do, sometimes there isn't really more behind a work of art than simply a vision that a p

erson is unable to explain through words. The different approaches to making art—from pragmatic to utterly emotional—is part of what keeps the field perpetually intriguing.

A reticent painter originally from Côte d'Ivoire, Ouattara Watts recently opened up his studio to Cool Hunting for a preview of the newly formed works comprising his forthcoming exhibition. The lar

ge, garage-like space is located in an industrial part of Brooklyn between Williamsburg and Bushwick that's home to numerous emerging artists. With both the Whitney Museum and Venice biennials on his résumé, the veteran painter may hold more clout than his neighbors, but his artistic spirit seems unaffected by his widespread success.

Biomimetic lamps created from leaf-based algorithms

Hyphae

by Karen Day
in coolhunting.com


Design studio Nervous System's new Hyphae lamps uses a complex 3D computing process to mimic the naturally beautiful and unique structure of plant leaves. Each lamp is grown through a controlled process based on the Auxin Flux Canalization theory, positing that vein formation occurs from the growth hormone auxin which flows "where it has flowed before and cells with high levels of auxin differentiate into vein cells." The two MIT grads behind Nervous System translated this computer model (devised by the University of Calgary's Algorithmic Botany group) into an algorithm for creating physical objects, with no two pieces ever the same just like veins on a leaf.

Studio Visit

Vanessa Prager

by Karen Day
in coolhunting.com

Working out of her garage on a quiet street in the heart of Silverlake, Los Angeles-based artist Vanessa Prager gleefully creates her curious paintings and ink pen drawings. We caught up with the bubbly creative just a few days before her new solo show at ADBD Gallery, dubbed "Across The Universe." Like many of her shows, it is a one-night-only affair with a special guest host and immersive installation piece, which Prager says helps create a relaxed atmosphere and draws the viewer into her illusory world.

The lucky winner will take home their favorite Mini

Mini Photo Box

by Karen Day
in coolhunting.com

For the next two weeks people passing through Berlin's Kurfürstendamm shopping boulevard will notice a giant campaign from Mini, telling them "It's Personal." The BMW offshoot is hitting Germany's capital with an interactive Photo Box, a booth that captures the faces of Mini fans and blasts them onto a massive video screen along with each participant's favorite Mini model for a chance to win their preferred car.

Eli Ping

Moody sculptural paintings by an emerging NYC artist

by Karen Day
in coolhunting.com

Stark yet colorful works that fall somewhere between painting and sculpture, NYC-based artist Eli Ping's practice is a study of unexpected tension in form, subject and tone. Ping says he's "ultimately interested in materials and process, and accomplishing a form that conveys energetic resonance to the viewer," a feat accomplished by keeping spontaneity alive in otherwise highly-considered compositions.

Beyond Coal

by Karen Day
in coolhunting.com

The comfy underwear brand with a mission, Pact recently teamed up with like-minded environmentalists the Sierra Club to do something about one of the leading causes of smog, acid rain, global warming and air toxins. Tapping college universities as a way of galvanizing cities to reduce their carbon footprint, Pact and Sierra Club have led a series of protests and petitions encouraging the schools to abandon using coal power. Sierra Club's Mary Anne Hitt expains, “These college campuses are burning coal in spite of the fact that they are building tomorrow’s leaders, who overwhelmingly look to cleaner technologies to power their future.”With underwear as the tangible representation of their message and 10% of the proceeds supporting the Club, together they're promoting clean air and responsible action. The "Beyond Coal" collection is just one reminder of the environmental impact this antiquated energy method has on the earth.

The 3D Type Book

Typography's new creative shapes

by Karen Day
in coolhunting.com

Apart from a brief foreword by Andrew Byrom, the reference book relies on strong imagery (over 1,300 photos in total) to show the wildly creative variety of works inspired by the shape of letters. Byrom—whose "Interiors" furniture font is also featured— says of the impressive breadth of ingenious ideas, this is not simply "Helvetica rendered in pebbles, neckties, venetian blinds, socks or cheese." Stunningly inventive works like "Typeface in Skin" by Dutch designer Thijs Verbeek are a good example of Byrom's positioning of the phenomenon as really "a reaction to the limitations and constraints of unexpected materials and processes that help shape—or often force—the outcome."

Bos Iced Tea

A wholly indigenous iced tea

by Karen Day
in coolhunting.com

that reflects South Africa's bold spirit

Bold "Afro pop" graphics set the tone for South Africa's newest cold beverage, an iced tea bursting with fruit flavor. Utilizing the region's indigenous Rooibos plant, Bos offers five caffeine- and preservative-free blends—Peach, Apple, Lemon, Energy and Slim—each mixed with spring water from Western Cape's Cederberg mountains.

Things which cannot be seen

Nothing Happens For A Reason

by Karen Day
in coolhunting.com

German artist Tobias Rehberger likes to shake things up. Since stepping on the scene 15 years ago, he's turned to a variety of mediums to toy with perception, consistently challenging his audience to see the "things which cannot be seen." His latest work transforms the interior of a cafe in Finland's cultural capital Turku into a mind-boggling display of criss-crossing lines, an installation he conceived in collaboration with Artek.