So Hot Right Now // String & Thread Installations.

You guys would’ve probably noticed that we freaking LOVE a good roundup around here, right? When asked how I come up with all the content for Yellowtrace (and don’t I ever run out of ideas) I reply with – “I have far more (awesome) content & ideas than time”. This is 1000% true. Relentless daily research and an insatiable thirst for extraordinary projects can do that to a person. Another question I often get asked is  – “What is your favourite Yellowtrace post?” Ummm…like, all of them. Srsly now guys – how could I possibly choose? But if I did have to choose a type of post, or a particular category, then Stories on Design would have to be it. Which means today (and every third Friday) is especially exciting for me, as we get to saturate you in our latest Story – in this case String & Thread Installations.

As someone who regularly seeks out unconventional mind-bending inspiration, I am incredibly interested in the idea of installations that redefine spaces. Lately I’ve been noticing a whole heap of amazing examples that do just that, utilising modest materials such as strings, threads, ropes, metal chains etc. These interventions often allow colour and light to manipulate their surroundings, and push the very concept of space and our experience within it. To me, they almost appear as three-dimensional drawings, or an AutoCAD hatch gone wild. More importantly, many of these are such compelling examples of experiential art which honour their context, elevating the idea of existing space with their own composition & interpretation – the ultimate “collaboration” between space & art.

Related Post: Sculpting & Manipulating Space With Light.

“GRACED WITH LIGHT” BY ANNE PATTERSON // SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

Image courtesy of Anne Patterson. Photography by Fiestaban Photography.

The “Graced With Light” art installation consists of approximately 1,100 strands of ribbon, with colours inspired by stained glass, cascading from the church’s vaulted ceiling arches. Anne Patterson envisioned it as “a series of light pathways, connecting heaven and earth, manifest as ribbons. The ribbons carry our prayers, dreams and wishes skyward, and, in turn, grace streams down the ribbons to us.”

“PLEXUS NO. 19” SERIES BY GABRIEL DAWE // COMO, ITALY.

Images © Gabriel Dawe.

Mexican artist, Gabriel Dawe, creates colourful site-specific installations using bright gradients of suspended thread. Dawe, formally trained as a graphic designer, generates work as an extension and intersection of his interest in the connection between fashion and architecture. The contrast of the coloured thread and the classical architecture of the Villa Olmo in Como, Italy are somewhat unusual but works beautifully.

“PLEXUS NO. 12 SERIES” BY GABRIEL DAWE.

Images © Gabriel Dawe. Photography © Carlos Aleman.

Primarily focusing on the exploration of the textile medium, Gabriel Dawe uses the “Plexus” series to exercise a form of pedantic obsession, assembling thousands upon thousands of coloured thread to build a shimmering, vibrant sculpture.

‘BANG’ BY RYUJI NAKAMURA AT THE CNAC LAB // TOKYO, JAPAN.

Bang by Ryuji Nakamura – polyester ribbon installation for the Italian fashion brand CoSTUME NATIONAL at the CNAC LAB in Tokyo, Japan. See previous post about this work here.

KINETIC SOUND INSTALLATION BY DAVID LATERLLIER // CAEN, FRANCE.

Caten is a kinetic sound installation by French born artist, David Letellier, created for the Saint Sauveur chapel in Caen, France. See our previous post & video about this installation.

“EUPHONY” BY BENJAMIN BALL AND GASTON NOGUES // NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

Image courtesy of Ball-Nogues Studio.

Ball-Nogues Studio, a collaboration between artists Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues, decorated the Music City Cennter in Nashville with this colourful, free-flowing interior sculpture. Entitled “Euphony”, 1,141 stainless steel ball chains descending from a ring beam, then draping back upward to form the geometric patterns of reflecting light and colour. The piece is part of the studio’s ongoing work that intersects architecture with art.

“TOO MUCH TIME, AGAIN” BY PAE WHITE.

Images courtesy of Pae White.

“Too Much Time, Again” is a thread installation by Los Angeles-based artist Pae White that stems from her own experiences with insomnia, which was on display at the South London Gallery in 2013. The installation geometrically spells out the words “TIGER TIME” on one wall and criss-crosses with a parade of strands that connect to the word “UNMATTERING” on the opposite surface. The large-scale structure echoes one’s endless stream of thoughts when they are robbed of a good night’s rest and come face to face with too much time to themselves.

“IN SILENCE” / BLACK STRING INSTALLATION BY CHIHARU SHIOTA.

Image courtesy of Chiharu Shiota.

Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota presented “In Silence”, a site-specific installation for Art Basel 2013, featuring an abandoned/ burnt down piano concert that has been wrapped a thick layer of black thread.

DECONSTRUCTED RUGS BY FAIG AHMED.

Faig Ahmed Faig Ahmed Deconstructs Traditional Azerbajani Rugs to Form Unconventional Sculptures.

“OPTICAL DISORDER” / INTRICATE STRING INSTALLATIONS AND GEOMETRIC DRAWINGS BY SÉBASTIEN PRESCHOUX.

Image courtesy of Sébastien Preschoux. Photography by Ludovic Le Couster.

Sébastien Preschoux is a French artist and designer that developed several new thread sculptures and ink drawings. He develops his sculptures spontaneously, starting with a centre point in which affixes a gathering of string, leading out to various endpoints from this epicenter.

ECO PAVILION 2011 BY MMX STUDIO // MEXICO CITY.

Photo © Yoshihiro Koitani.

Each year, the ECO Experimental Museum in Mexico City organises a competition for its temporary pavilion. In 2011, the winning design was dreamed up by estudio MMX who created a temporary space made entirely our of rope. See our previous post about this cooltown project here.

PATKA RESTAURANT BY EL EQUIPO CREATIVO // BARCELONA, SPAIN.

Images courtesy of Equipo Creativo.

Design studio El Equipo Creativo reinterpreted traditional Peruvian cloth-weaving equipment to create angled panels from thick threads stretched across timber frames. Some of the frames are twined with white cords to contrast with the colourful sections threaded around looms to envelop this Barcelona restaurant.

“TRANSLATION” 3D THREAD INSTALLATION BY KENDRA WERST.

Image courtesy of Kendra Werst.

“Translation” is a site-specific thread installation by Kendra Werst, that works on a three-dimensional plane to redefine space. Using colourful strands of thread affixed to the adjacent walls in the corner of a room, the multihued strings weave in and out of a plexiglass panel to create a sculptural structure embellished with abstract accents.

ANNE LINDBERG TRANSFORMS SPACE WITH THREAD.

Images courtesy of Anne Lindberg.

Anne Lindberg’s recent work essentially redefines space using thread, allows colour and light to manipulate the hundreds of millimetre thick strands of string. Each of her pieces is specific to the place in which it is situated, no two identical based on the architecture, due to its lighting conditions and the space’s use.

THE “RAINBOW ROOM” INSTALLATION BY PIERRE LE RICHE.

Image courtesy of Pierre le Riche.

The”‘Rainbow Room” installation by Pierre Le Riche takes a critical look at the sociological implications of Afrikaner masculine hegemony on homosexuality in post-apartheid South Africa. The intervention, built from 17km of acrylic thread, represents a traditional Afrikaan family living room in the midst of the 1995 rugby world cup final match. Through an implementation of colourful and playful yarn bombs onto traditional pieces of furniture and over 150 rugby balls, the concept of homosexuality and masculinity is juxtaposed, questioning the acceptance of same-sex relations.

BROKEN STRING INSTALLATION BY ANNA KOSTREVA.

Image courtesy of Anna Kostreva.

Berlin-based architect Anna Kostreva created an interactive installation that pushes the boundaries of viewing experiential art. Over six thousand soft vertical strings fill the gallery as an explicit spatial volume where gradients of light, colour, and mass emphasise existing thresholds of transition in the room. The piece was designed to be the setting of a dance party at the wand project space, to provoke people to play and intervene in their surroundings.

“SINE” YARN DRAWINGS BY ALYSON SHOTZ.

Image courtesy of Derek Eller Gallery.

Since 2008, Alyson Shotz has been creating intriguing works which are composed of yarn wound around thousands of tiny pins. For Derek Eller Gallery in New York, she created “Sine”, a monumental wave that moved across two gallery walls, using yarn and pins, the shadows created the illusion that people were witnessing a 3D form.

NOT GUILTY RESTAURANT BY IPPOLITO FLEITZ GROUP // ZURICH, SWITZERLAND.

Images courtesy of Ippolito Fleitz Group. Photography by Zooey Braun.

The Not Guilty restaurant in Zurich by German studio Ippolito Fleitz Group features a canopy of white lacquered steel pipes that poke up through a canopy of ribbons. Diagonally and vertically strung twine in varying thicknesses is installed on the walls above dining tables to the rear of the restaurant. “The woven pattern on the walls was created from dark and light coloured henna twine, backlit with cove lighting built into the supporting frame,” said the designers.

“FEATHERED EDGE” / 35 KMS OF TWINE HANG OVERHEAD.

Images courtesy of Ball-Nogues Studio .

“Feathered Edge” is a project that was commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles created by Ball-Nogues Studio. The piece consists of 3,604 individual lengths of cut and colour saturated twine, collectively totaling a length of 35 km. Viewers can see through this piece, and the people, movement, and light create an ever-changing interaction with the space.

“LIBERTY AND ANARCHY” / GEOMETRIC SCULPTURES FORMED WITH MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS BY NIKE SAVVAS.

Image courtesy of Nike Savvas.

Australian artist Nike Savvas recently premiered many of her new works in a solo exhibition “Liberty and Anarchy”, at Leeds Art Gallery in the UK. The show featured a collection of brightly coloured, large-scale pieces including several of these captivating geometric shapes. For each design, Savvas used specific mathematical formulas to develop the three dimensional wooden structures, then covered the openings with colourful patterns of wool.

“MOVING MESHES” / FLEXIBLE BAMBOO FORMS BY MARIA BLAISSE.

Images © Designboom.

“Moving Meshes” is a series of flexible bamboo forms developed by dutch designer Maria Blaisse. The body of work lies at the intersection of design, art and movement and is composed of five delicate structures that stand as both costume and sculpture, expanding, contracting, bouncing and shifting, easily manipulated during improvisations and performances, exploring the body as a critical element in the animation of material and form. The installation of the individual pieces was developed by fellowship students of Parsons The New School for Design in collaboration with exhibition designer Mikaël Baillairgé.

“TRIANGLE OF THE SQUINCHES” / CONTEMPORARY BALLET BY CHRISTOPHER HAAS.

Image © Angela Sterling & RJ Muna.

“Triangle of the Squinches” is a collaborative, full-length, contemporary ballet created by San Francisco Architect, Christopher Haas and San Francisco Choreographer, Alonzo King & LINES Ballet. The impetus for the collaboration came from a shared interest in exploring the built environment and space within dance.

“TRACE ROOM” BY ATELIER CHANCHAN.

Image © Atelier ChanChan.

An installation commissioned by The Victoria and Albert Museum, designed and installed by London practice Atelier ChanChan, “Trace Room” explores the realms between art and architecture. It unfolds the de-materialisation of architectural elements which have traditionally defined the boundaries of a room.

FÖHR HOUSE BY FRANCESCO DI GREGORIO & KARIN MATZ / STAIRCASE WITH CABLE WIRE RAILINGS.

Image courtesy of Francesco Di Gregorio & Karin Matz.

Built on a beautiful Föhr, a small German island in the North Sea, architects Francesco Di Gregorio & Karin Matz redefined the interior of this space – combining the simplicity of the future with the rich heritage of the Friesian traditions. 500m of polypropylene blue rope were used to frame the staircase creating an illusion of a wall, which also makes the space more open.

SPUTNIK LAMPS BY JULIA LANSOM.

Sputnik Lamps by Julie Lansom. Each lamp is unique and entirely handmade at Lansom’s workshop in Paris. Made to order from timber frames and cotton thread.

“ALVI SILK CHAIR” BY ASA KARNER.

Image courtesy of Alvi Design.

Designer Asa Karner of Alvi Design unveiled her Alvisilkchair at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. The beautiful geometric chair has been built from FSC certified oak and is threaded with environmentally friendly silk tightened to a simple frame. Inspiration for this lightweight, ethereal chair comes directly from timber looms, making it a celebration of one of Sweden’s famed traditional crafts.

THREAD DRAWINGS BY STEVEN VASQUEZ LOPEZ.

Images courtesy of the Artist.

Last, but not least, thread drawings by San Francisco-based artist Steven Vasquez Lopez pay tribute to his mother and the sewing work she did. Incredible.