The Rising Universe Sculpture

Also known as the Shelley Fountain, the "Rising Universe" sculpture isn't for the faint of heart. It's a towering mass of energy in the form of a spherical globe. I guess you could say that this sculpture could also be labeled as a form of kinetic art because of its interesting mechanical nature. The sphere is built to condense with more than 6 tons of pumped water from the artwork's base. Once the quota has been filled, the once-descending spherical mass then jets upward, pouring all the stored-up water out from below it. The fountain sculpture was made in 1992 to make way for the bicentenary of the birth of Percy Bysshe Shelley, a famous poet. The structure is located at Horsham, West Sussex, England for all to see and appreciate.

The artwork was made by Angela Conner, a renowned sculptor. Despite its large and daunting size, many initially saw it as a sign of distress. The piece was originally planned for the city of Cambridge, but the public protested its construction there. In 2006, the water of the fountain was switched off for conservation. Despite its usage of recycled water, it loses about 180 gallons a day to filtration and evaporation. Although it was soon switched on again, it had to be fenced off in 2009 due to hydraulic repairs. Despite all of this, the creativity involved with making such a monument has to be commended, so I believe Conner did a marvelous work with fabricating such a one-of-a-kind work of art (that flies off water!).

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Layered Sculpture and The Glass Paintings of Our Time

When thinking about the growth of modern art today, China seems to be inching ahead of the rest because of their growing economy. In this age, artists like Xia Xiaowan incorporate new and exciting styles to dramatic genres in the hopes that people will stop and stare at something totally new. Xia creates very striking human-centered masterpieces that are set across several planes of glass. Each individual plane holds a part of her composed artwork. She creates using a structures system of hologram-like layers that combine through the eye and showcase a bold three-dimensional subject.

Xia's "spatial paintings" as they are often called, are portraits of anatomical complexities. Her almost horror-like style appeals to many in today's contemporary Chinese market, and even her peers abroad. Artists like David Spriggs from Canada are deeply involved with Xia's type of sculptural craft as well. Spriggs is famous for his fireworks-like bursts with a similar technical style to Xia's glass planes.

As China soars to new heights in the field of contemporary art, we now see an emerging population of new talents in and around the Asian societies.

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Marcus Levine and Painting with Nails

Usually we don't blog as much about painting, but in a sense, this is more like sculpting anyway. Marcus Levine is a true construction genius, implementing a knowledge of chiaroscuro into each and every one of his fantastic grayscale artworks. The catch here is the media that he makes use of.

Marcus sculpts (or paints?) with nails. That's right, industrial grade nails that we normally use for hanging or shutting things around the house. This artist has turned an ordinary utility into an extraordinary possibility. The proximity of one nail in relation to the next gives the ability to create "shades" in every piece Marcus makes. As a contemporary artist, he joins the ranks as being an sculpture innovator for 2012 (at least in our book).

In the second photo above, Marcus Levine is seen with his work, "Tamas Study 4". The artwork contains 26,600 nails and is on sale for £26,500 at the Hammered exhibition at Gallery 27, in London.

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