Metropolitan Museum of Art Unveils Mannequins Based on Real Human Forms
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Art exhibition revolutionizes fashion display with 14 mannequins sculpted from real human bodies. This innovative approach, led by sculptor Frank Benson and artist Samar Hejazi, moves beyond idealized forms to showcase diverse physical conditions, including pregnant, corpulent, and disabled bodies. Mirrored heads engage visitors, creating a shared visual experience and fostering a deeper connection between art and observer.
EcoLogicStudio's Living Architecture: Integrating Microalgae for Sustainable Urban Environments
EcoLogicStudio, led by Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto, pioneers a revolutionary approach to architecture by integrating living organisms, particularly microalgae, into urban structures. Their projects move beyond traditional static designs, envisioning environments as dynamic, evolving systems that actively purify air, regulate climate, and engage human and non-human actors in a continuous process of maintenance and care. This innovative practice highlights interdependence and ecological sensitivity, showcasing a path toward sustainable and breathable cities.
Iris van Herpen's Airo Dress: A Fusion of Fashion, Science, and Art
Fashion designer Iris van Herpen, in collaboration with AA Murakami, unveiled the "Airo" dress at the Met Gala. Worn by Olympian Eileen Gu, this haute couture piece is adorned with 15,000 iridescent glass spheres and features hidden microprocessors that release gas, creating an illusion of the dress dissolving into air. The design, a blend of couture, science, and computational design, embodies the Met Gala's theme of "fashion is art" and reflects Gu's agility as a freestyle skier.
The "Komorebi" collection, conceived by the design duo A+A Cooren (Aki+Arnaud Cooren), presents a captivating array of illuminated artistic creations that delve into the dynamic relationship between light, various materials, and the surrounding environment. Drawing its inspiration from the Japanese term for sunlight filtering through foliage, this project utilizes this natural phenomenon as a foundational principle for its visual and architectural arrangements.
Showcased at the esteemed Carpenters Workshop Gallery, this artistic endeavor expands upon the designers' ongoing Ishigaki series. The pieces in this collection are deeply influenced by observations made during freediving expeditions near Ishigaki Island, where the perception of light from beneath the water's surface manifests as a concentrated, ever-shifting radiance. Each sculpture is meticulously crafted with an upward-directed light source integrated into a carbon-metallic base. This thoughtful design projects illumination towards the ceiling, generating subtle, diffused shadows that evoke the circular light patterns observed underwater, thereby emphasizing the interplay of projection, reflection, and the illusion of spatial depth.
The creative partnership of A+A Cooren skillfully employs bamboo stalks, linen fabrics, and precisely applied pigments to manipulate both the emitted light and the textural qualities of the surfaces. These components are deliberately chosen to echo the visual characteristics of coral formations and the suspended particles found in aquatic environments, effectively translating natural ecological motifs into meticulously constructed artistic forms. The lamps, each a unique, hand-crafted piece from the studio's Parisian workshop, seamlessly merge organic elements with a refined design aesthetic. The exhibition features seven floor lamps, each presented in a spectrum of hues reminiscent of coral ecosystems, establishing a cohesive link between color, structural design, and conceptual origin.
The "Komorebi" presentation serves as a profound inquiry into illumination as a defining spatial condition, illustrating how light, shadow, and physical materials interact within a meticulously structured framework. This compelling exhibition will be open for public viewing in London until May 30th, 2026.