With a turtle-like face and ten udders hanging from its undercarriage, "Skywhale" has a strangely serene presence that belies its somewhat grotesque form. Through the unmistakable maternalism of the giant floating creature, Piccinini asks viewers to question the relationship between people, nature, and technology as well as contemplate issues relating to genetic engineering and biotechnology.
Just days before it was due to go on view at Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, puzzle master Dave Evans's chef d'oeuvre, a 40,000-piece jigsaw puzzle celebrating the queen's Diamond Jubilee crashed to his studio's floor (see video below), instantly undoing more than 200 hours of work.
The last decade has been a veritable roller-coaster ride for the Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci, whose ever-popular name and work have landed him on countless oddball spin-off products and projects, from the ubiquitous Dan Brown novel to the new Starz action series "Da Vinci's Demons." Now, the latest Leonardo-branded whatsit is an actual roller coaster.
Few museum exhibitions are ever visited by 4,000 people in one day, let alone a gallery show, and yet that has been a recurring attendance figure on Saturdays at Gagosian's 24th Street megaplex since its mini-retrospective devoted to Jean-Michel Basquiat opened on February 7 -- an opening that brought out thousands, who dutifully lined up down the block.
An hour from bustling Vienna, Erwin Wurm's home and studio sit in the scenic Austrian countryside, behind a locked gate and down a gravel path lined with young elms that give way to topiaries trimmed into perfect cubes. Only when one peers out from the allée does it become apparent that this is no ordinary schloss. On one side of the lawn stands a headless figure in a pastel-pink suit. Opposite him, a giant pickle perches on a pedestal.