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Art and design that challenge expectations. Discover creative works, clever concepts, and beautifully executed ideas across multiple disciplines. Designs that highlight form, function, and innovation.
Boylei Hobby Time came up with a way to enjoy an aquarium without the need for maintenance or feeding those pesky fish. Inspired by a real fish tank from Danny’s Aquariums, Boylei’s version is filled with molded resin rocks, sand, clay “coral,” and fake marine life, swimming in a solid sea of transparent resin. The
Director Sean Pecknold’s award-winning Tennis, Oranges is a wonderfully creative and heartfelt hand-animated short film about a robot vacuum cleaner that quits its job roaming the hallways of a hospital and encounters two rabbits stuck in similarly repetitive and lonely lives. But when they get together, something truly magical happens.
Artist Daniel Rozin has spent three decades making interactive displays that react to viewers’ movements. This piece features 450 penguins that rotate to create a shadow of the person beside them. Their fuzzy, black-and-white bodies are ideal for creating the illusion of light and shadow. Steve Wilson, co-founder of 21c Museum Hotels, shows how it
CWLbuilds makes tiny robot sculptures from found objects. Here, he shows how he transformed an empty bottle of face spray into a bot that looks like it would wander the wastelands in Borderlands. Like, it would walk up to you, act friendly, then explode. CWL’s YouTube channel showcases more trashbots and other fun model-making projects.
Art collective MSCHF turned two electrified Lexus vehicles into sculptures that look like someone went wild with a 3D modeling tool. MOTOMORPHOSIS includes an RZ 450e looped nose-to-tail and an RX 450h+ twisted into a spiral. The crazy cars appear alongside their production counterparts at NYC’s Chelsea Industrial from 9.24 to 9.26.26. Admission is free
After showing off their handmade morningstar, Red Forest Leather is back with another example of their craft. Using painstakingly cut, glued, and stitched pieces of leather, they created a larger-than-life sculpture inspired by a LEGO minifig. It even has articulated body parts and two heads. You can find this and other leather sculptures for sale
Chicago artist Shawn Michael Lucas makes truly unique lamps that incorporate stained glass structures sitting atop beautifully crafted hardwood bases. The craftsmanship of each piece is exquisite, with intricate details throughout, and would make a fine centerpiece in any room. The boxier lamps remind us of colorful Tetris pieces.
Andy Huot Creations shows how he made a clock that uses light-up segments and mirrors to create an infinite reflection effect. He 3D-printed its segments and added strips of RGB LEDs driven by a WLED controller. It has a solid mirror in the back and a one-way acrylic mirror in front to produce the depth
As we’ve seen before, lost-wax casting can create some amazing items. So Copper has taken the metal casting method and applied it to the making of its brass pens. Each pen has a hollow metal body with intricately-detailed scrollwork and a smooth, twist-to-open mechanism. The hollow sections reduce weight while maintaining structural integrity.
We’re used to seeing origami animals. But Siesta Origami shows how the traditional paper-folding technique can be used to make other objects, like this intricate model of a mechanical typewriter from a single sheet of paper. They’ve also made an origami fighter jet, an antique car, and a sneaker. Check out their YouTube channel for more
Visual artist Michał Ryszkiewicz creates animated music videos using long-exposure light painting. He traces the imagery for his videos using a remarkably simple light source: the LED on the back of his phone, partially covered by his finger. We can’t imagine the amount of work it must take to get those hand movements just right
Holotrigger creates live audiovisual performances and installations with lighting by Ksawery Komputery and percussion by Jacek Prościński aka wh0wh00. Among their visual feats is this ring of 144,000 LED lights that encircles the drummer. As wh0wh00 plays his electronic rhythms, the lights react in real time using custom software and hardware.