source: allsortsofpretty
How amazing are these string art installations by artist Aili Schmeltz? I mean, I have seen some amazing string art in my days (like THIS for example) but never in such a unique, 3-dimensional way. Aili installed these pieces in 2008 and this last piece (the final three images) is my favorite. Titled “Magic City”, it’s representative of Miami – the plywood pieces protruding from the wall represent the coast line and the nails in the wall are the tall buildings that inhabit the city and the string ties the two together literally. The neon pink/orange color of the string is a nod to the vibrant colors found all over Miami. She says, “The fractured and architectural sense of space changes and shifts with the angles of planes created by the repetition of the string lines, making it hard to focus on any one area of the landscape, a sensation similar to being within a city while trying to comprehend it’s totality.”

A very labor-intensive process, “Magic City” took about a week of long hours and late nights to complete, along with 25 boxes of nails, 35 rolls of string and lots of helpers nailing and stringing away. I can’t imagine the mind-numbing work that must have gone in to making this installation a reality, but I’m in absolute awe of the result. It’s just so freakin’ cool! :)
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source> culturepop
It takes a lot of time, practice, and perseverance to become a master of any form of art. But who wants to practice just one style for their entire career? Clearly not Aili Schmeltz. This multi-disciplinary conceptual artist hops between 2D and 3D mediums with ease, never limiting her artistic endeavors and always pushing boundaries.

The California-based Schmeltz is probably best known for her creative sculptures and installation work, building a number of inspired pieces from varied materials. Even within the confines of her three-dimensional pieces Schmeltz works with a number of different materials and techniques. She’s crafted yarn cityscapes, mirror clad rocks, epic towers of door frames and much, much more.

While Schmeltz might be best known for her 3D work, she’s also an accomplished 2D artist as well. Her body of work includes graphite drawings, collages, and printmaking that showcase her ability to master any creative medium. Recently, the creator connected with Outpost Projects, an artist-run residency and research site in Joshua Tree, California. Artists and art lovers alike can even stay at their desert site, experimenting with art while indulging in an overflow of creative energy.

So, you probably want more from this multi-disciplinary creator, right? Be sure to visit Aili Schmeltz on Instagram to keep up with her latest artistic adventures.
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source: juxtapoz
Los Angeles based conceptual artist Aili Schmeltz recently caught our eye. Her works are a constant process of research and response to natural events and phenomena that captivate and serve as an impetus to weave these seemingly isolated events into a larger contextual tale.

Schmeltz is especially interested in how the landscape and weather systems are altered by the human hand, the driving social attitudes that guide those decisions and the aftermath of those alterations in terms of natural hybridization and human lifestyle shifts.
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source: canyonsedu
Aili Schmeltz is a Los Angeles based artist that earned her MFA from the University of Arizona, holds a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and has exhibited internationally in cities such as Berlin, London, Zurich, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. Recent career highlights include a California Community Foundation Fellowship, a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Tucson, Arizona, and a Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant. Other recent awards include The Creative Capacity Fund Grant, The Durfee Foundation Grant and Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant.
Schmeltz has been an artist in residence at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Sculpture Space, Babayan Culture House (Cappadocia, Turkey) and Takt Kunstprojektraum (Berlin, Germany). She is cofounder of the Los Angeles Art Resource, a website that serves as a forum for the exchange and sharing of comprehensive arts resources.
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source: beliomagazine
Cuando hablamos de utopia, normalmente nos hacemos a la idea de que es un lugar en el futuro, pero la vida nos enseña que el futuro no existe como tal, solo el momento presente y nuestro futuro se va configurando con las acciones y decisiones que tomamos en el momento actual. Si queremos vivir en ese idílico lugar, quizás deberíamos empezar por considerar el presente como una especie de utopia, donde esculturas como las de Aili Schmeltz conforman un nuevo paisaje.

Inspirada en parte por el paisaje de Los Angeles, ciudad donde reside, y por las contradicciones inherentes a ese paisaje, entre lo artificial y lo natural, sus obras representan esa paradoja entre belleza y desecho. Tal y como ella misma lo define: “Estas estructuras híbridas son materializaciones, restos de un ideal que nunca fue y nunca podrá ser. Como monumentos caídos a una filosofía utópica, que funcionan como reliquias de un “buen lugar” y un “no lugar”. Son afirmaciones de un futuro brillante y un pasado caído, recontextualizando y recombinando materiales al mismo tiempo nostálgicos y futuristas. […] En parte arquitectónico, en parte fósil, en parte potencial: estas obras utilizan materiales de construcción desechados que parecen haber cristalizado en un proceso de estratos ‘natural’, que han experimentado una transformación filosófica aún por cumplirse.”