QLOCKTWO by Biegert & Funk

For those of us who have still not gotten over the trauma of learning to read a numbered face-clock in first grade, this sleek, type-based clock by Beirgert & Funk seems like a comforting resolution (although it may not have become useful until 2nd grade advanced reading class). The front panel of this stunning piece is made of polished acrylic glass and the frame, from lacquered wood.

QLOCKTWO makes you pause and allows a different view of time. The typographic front combines the moment with the written word and makes it a statement. „It is half past eight.“

This clock forms a perfect square and seems to hover freely at the wall. A matrix with symmetrically arranged characters constitutes another square in the interior. Some of these characters shine in pure white to form words that describe time. - QLOCKTWO

The front surface is made of polished acrylic glass. The lacquered wooden body supports it by means of eight magnets. That way the front surface can be replaced without visible attachments. There are satin stainless steel or five colours of polished synthetic glass to choose from, each generating contrasts or consistencies in interplay with their surroundings.

When it is activated, the timer sets itself exact to the second and adjusts the brightness of the characters to ambient light. QLOCKTWO is available in several languages, you only need the appropriate front panel.

All colours are each available in german, english, french, italian, dutch, russian, danish, norwegian, swedish, arabic, swiss german, portuguese, catalan and spanish.

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Matthew Palladino

In Matthew Palladino ‘s most recent work, surreal-esque renderings come to life in watercolour on cold pressed paper.

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Staff Profile: Ariel Grue Lee

There’s some fantastic personalities here at Farmboy Fine Arts, and its high time everyone got to know us. Staff were asked a slate of 60 odd questions, and answered a minimum of 20 of their choice. Consider this a bit of a personality test of sorts, but without the satisfying score at the end.
What is your name? Ariel
What do you do at Farmboy (what’s your title)? Project Manager
What does that mean in plain English? A little from colum A and a little from column B… but essentially I manage the workflow of projects at the design desk and head up any special projects (internal, marketing, art consulting etc).
What are you really good at? Telling you what to do
What neighborhood do you live in? List three things that make you want to live there? West End
My apartment building, the Beaconsfeild
Walking by the dog park on the way to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday
Guu, Don Guacamole’s, Mis Trucos, 1181, Jang Mo Jib, Nook, Market all within a 6 block radius.
Where did you go to school? UBC
What did you study? Art History
Book you’re reading right now: “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” – John Le Carre
What is your guilty pleasure? US Magazine on Saturday morning on the couch, brainless but so so good.
One thing you would change about Vancouver: Parking meters until 10pm? No thank you
What are you most proud of? My family
Favourite Movie character: Cher from Clueless pretty much shaped my entire adolescence
Default junk food of choice: Chinese take-out
The career path you considered but never followed: International Law
The thing you’re addicted to: Power…and grapefruit juice…
First three things you do in the morning: Shower, check email, kiss BF goodbye
Default drink of choice: le gizz fizz s’il vous plait
First thing you notice in the opposite sex: Brains
Phrase, word or cliché you use way too often: “You know what I mean?”
Dish you cook that you’re most proud of: Enchiladas, from scratch.
Name three things you can’t live without: Art, my family, adventure
Person you most admire: My sister
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Hoover Dam

I have a bit of a concrete fetish. I’ve always admired the way architects like Arthur Erickson use this material in their work.  So when I spent some time in Nevada recently, a trip to the Hoover Dam left me breathless.

www.melissamercier.com

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Jordan Tull squares off

Jordan Tull‘s sleek, seductively sinister sculptures have no obvious function. Yet they imply a range of possible purposes. Subtle and stylish, Tull leaves the onus on viewers to make their own private assumptions and associations. While some of the Portland-based artist’s pieces contain overtly sexual forms, such as phallic protrusions and interlocking parts, the sexual subtext to his more subversive work lies in its sterile, stiff, formal beauty and ominous aura.

With their strict, complex geometry and aggressive metallic surfaces, Tull’s sculptures pose possible threats – yet their physical sophistication evokes an unnerving desire to touch them. The sculptures could be high-end design items, but their most practical objective is to unsettle and stimulate more than just an appreciation for their fine lines and sensual aesthetic attributes. - Ana Finel Honigman

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Sebastian Vallejo Paintings

Sebastian Vallejo (b. 1982, San Juan, Puerto Rico) lives and works in New York. He received his MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2009, and his BFA from the University of Puerto Rico. Selected group exhibitions include: New York-San Jose, Galeria Bickar, San Jose, Costa Rica, 2010, Panamerica, Sullivan Galleries, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, 2009, and Terruno y Paraiso Perdido, Museo de Las Americas, San Juan, P.R., 2007.

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Olivier Valsecchi

No words are required.

Olivier Valsecchi: http://oliviervalsecchi.free.fr

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Kwon Kyung Yup portrays delicate head wounds

Kwon Kyung Yup, a graduate of Sejong University in Korea, begins her process by taking photographs first; this captures all the details and expressions. She then makes a draft of the photo and paints in on canvas with oil. Although it seems unorthodox, this technique was employed in the beginning stages of photography. Before photography was possible to print, they were used as a research tool in developing wood engraved illustrations. During the 1860s and 1870s, wood engravings were drawn from photographs and they became prevalent in mass communication. Kwon is ideally using photography in the same light but transferring onto canvas. Although printing photography is simple today, Kwon paints to layer what photography cannot, her arduous strokes, layers of meaning and passion with her hands. ( www.yatzer.com )

(c) Kwon Kyung Yup, 2010

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A Cowboy’s Dream

Located in Alamo, NV this 18,997 square-foot hoteldeveloped by Ginger Tharp and Kuro Interactive Creative Agency. www.cowboysdream.com

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Chris Vicini’s Idiotheim

Chris Vicini is a Sweden based artist that explores Nordic mythology, working exclusively in porcelain and and a fantastical altered state of mind. Vincini explains his concept further here:

Id-i-ot: 1. A foolish or stupid person.
2. A person of profound mental retardation having a mental age below three years and generally being unable to learn connected speech or guard against common dangers.

Heim: Suffix, German/Norwegian word meaning home or abode

“The definition of insanity is repeating the same action over and over again and expecting a different result”. Albert Einstein.
Conceptually I borrowed from the Norse Mythos. There are nine worlds, which compose the Norse Universe. The most well known are Asgaard (home of the Aesir gods), and Midgaard (Earth). The lesser-known worlds Hellheim (home of the dead), Alfheim, (home of the Elves) most often use the suffix noun heim meaning home.
Joseph Stalin famously said “One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic”. This cynical quotation elegantly describes humanities inability to grasp the true importance of events beyond our own circle of influence. This is quite possibly our most tragic flaw as a species. It cripples our ability to mange resources for future generations, and leaves us with little empathy for humanity on the whole.
I created my own world in porcelain. The 10th world, Idiotheim. It is a world where insanity always triumphs over reason, and idiots rule. It is a world consuming itself even as it struggles to be born.
Hieronymus Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights” was a strong influence. An incredibly detailed triptych, depicting the ruin of mankind, and its descent, and torture in hell. The painting has a surrealistic tone, which is unprecedented for the time period, but was executed with the skill of an old master. One gets the impression when viewing the painting of seeing through a looking glass into the heart of insanity
For this body of work I tried to examine the human animal as both a rational and emotionally driven being. Once again I have used animals as a representations of human physiological states.

from… chrisvicini.com

images © Chris Vicini

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