A Year In Knots

New Classical Paintings Reimagined as Part of Modern-Day Italian Life by Alexey Kondakov For his latest works in the ongoing series Art History in Contemporary Life, Ukrainian artist and designer Alexey Kondakov has staged classical paintings in scenes from modern day Naples, Italy. The figures effortless merge with their present day surroundings, two women looking perfectly bored flipping through comic books in the back of a dusty book store, while a different woman takes a nap beside a latte and half-eaten sandwich.    Artist Windy Chien Unearths Obscure Knots Everyday for an Entire Year In January of 2016, artist Windy Chien devoted herself to learning a new knot every day for a year, tying a total of 366 by December 31st (2016 was a leap year). The daily ritual was both meditative and informative for the Apple project manager turned artist, allowing Chien to access an energetic flow, while also giving her a chance for constant experimentation with line and form.   Observe the Aurora Borealis From Snøhetta's Swedish Treetop Cabin Gazing up, the first thing you notice when viewing the 33-foot tall cabin, The 7th Room, is its base, an aluminum covering featuring black and white images of the pine trees that surround the structure. Used as camouflage, this exterior panel immerses the treetop cabin into its environment, blurring the boundaries between the building and forest. Designed by architecture firm Snøhetta, the structure is also intended to bring visitors closer to nature, built with a suspended net at its center, and several floor-to-ceiling windows that allow for multiple viewpoints of the Aurora Borealis overhead.   A Sprawling Coral-Like Structure Suspended Above an Orlando Convention Center by Marc Fornes An interconnected pathway of tubular branches hangs above the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, an installation produced from perforated aluminum by architect Marc Fornes and his studio The Very Many. Under Magnitude, which appears like a large segment of bleached coral, is composed of over 4,600 strips of metal, each just a millimeter thick. When formed into tubes however, the material increases in strength, allowing it to be walked over without damage.   Patiently Arranged Dandelion Works by Botanical Artist Duy Anh Nhan Duc Self-taught botanical artist Duy Anh Nhan Duc uses a steady hand to arrange dandelion blossoms in artful imitations of their flight through the air. His monochrome works are each reminiscent of a universal childhood urge to scatter a dandelion's seedlings with a single blow, eager to watch the feathery pieces take flight in the wind. With this in mind he carefully dissects a dandelion's fluff, placing individual seedlings in concentric patterns. In many works gold leaf is used to single out some of the miniature components, adding another layer of precision to his patiently executed fields of flora.   New Geometric Paper Sculptures from Matthew Shlian Paper artist Matthew Shlian combines his talent for sculpture with a knack for engineering, producing geometric works that are composed of tight-knit tessellations. Shlian's receptively folded works have lead to collaborations with scientists at the University of Michigan, together working to visualize research by translating paper structures to micro folds.   From The Colossal Shop: Musically Inspired Sweets A clever mash-up of sweet Colombian obleas wafer cookies and the Beatles song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, the Oblea Di Oblea Da chocolate bar contains single-origin Colombian cacao, pecans, and bits of wafer cookie. Perfect for your V-day sweetie and now available in The Colossal Shop!