Admins needed!

Hello there!

As you have perhaps noticed, Toginis was left unwatched for about a month. Due to my lack of time, mostly, which I very much regret, seeing how many great fans we have acquired last year.

Therefor, I am currently looking for a person to co-write this blog with me. How much is to write is up to you - the choice of your topic is also (mostly) free, as long as it belongs to the categories talked about on this blog.

So, why not? Do you have something to show the world (or at least those few thousand who visit us each month)?

Write now ;)

Mashallah Design

Perhaps believing in good design is like believing in God, it makes you an optimist.

Terence 

Mark Powell

For me the individual is a fascinating thing. Each person is as important or irrelevant as the next.

Get up and create! Or how I fight procrastination.

Chris Gilmour's cardboard objects

Besides sharing a surname with a famous guitarist, Chris Gilmour is recognized for a mastery in cardboard and glue, proving that you can master anything if you really want to. Subtle, yet curious on not only technical level - deconstructing the form and then renewing it in a completely unsuitable material is somehow reverse approach to design - how it forces us to re-think our frames and boxes and embrace the useless ideas, only to find out that uselessness is subjective.

Geometry Daily

If you, like me, happen to be a fanatic of clean, geometric shapes and simple colours, you will love this site. Geometry Daily is a tumblr blog created by a German design professor dedicated to proving the world with a new composition every day. Great inspiration for ascetics and simplicity lovers.

Magda Przybycien - photography

 

I believe that simple is the best. If something's functional, the aesthetics will find themselves in austerity. Art's a bit more complicated than that, because it lacks defined function, therefore fanciness sometimes indeed is a requirement. But not here. Kept as a kind of journal, these photographs surprise with the story behind them, their elements held together guide us through some kind of visual journey. Yes, right, I know, ninety-eight percent of photography does that. But not as cleanly and neatly as those. Something that Henri Cartier-Bresson called the Decisive Moment. Wouldn't you agree? Sometimes, they also resemble the great Urban Patterns series, but that's wholly different thing...

I promised not to share her webpage.

Krzysztof Mezyk - painting

Once, my design teacher told me that a good design occurs when a layman sees it and says: "I could've done that in five minutes." Krzysztow Mężyk's works certainly do not follow the traditional approach to painting - not only the composition, but also the structure seems messy, random. Dirt. It's important here, where the paints are left half-mixed on the canvas and the lines or stains are almost unrecognizable. While this effect cannot be an expression itself, it can surely help the artist to convey it.

Jean-François Rauzier - Hyperphotography

What's the best resolution a modern camera can achieve? Do you know? If you do, forget it - that's the past now, as French photographer Jean-François Rauzier will beat it. This hardened by his countless achievements fanatic spends few hours scanning a place with his camera and few hundreds more blending images seamlessly into one, grand fantastic landscape  Unique, surreal, time-consuming work. And the effects.

Don't watch them here. Go to his website where you can zoom and wander around them!

"The Way Things Go" - by Peter Fischli and David Weiss

I don't usually post videos. But an exception proves the rule. Or, judging by what I want to show you today it will become a rule. Because the Swiss artist duo Fischli&Weiss made something so exceptional that it has left me with my jaw dropped.

They specialize in making art out of trash - and this installation is too, made out of elements found on a junkyard.

from dan balul on Vimeo.

John Grade - Sculpture

These grand, biomorphic structures hanging above your head are the work of John Grade, an American sculptor. After drawing intricate sketches and making medium-sized models, he proceeds to make his art from natural materials. Clean, minimalistic forms are warming and slightly overwhelming - just like the nature itself.

Vania Zouravliov - Illustration

Vania Zouravliov is a Russian illustrator and graphic designer. After showing signs of talent from his early age, he was exposed to a lot of famous artists and art in general, scoring his first exhibition at the age of thirteen. Now, Zouravliov creates graphic novels and illustrates for, for example, National Geographic.

Jean Shin - sculpture

Artists who use a variety of media are always hard to put here. From a rich collection I am forced to choose ten pictures and present them with few sentences. And that was the case with Jean Shin, who draws, prints, photographs, sculpts, records and does other great stuff - so I chose her sculptures. Trophies for ordinary workmen, lottery tickets cities and deconstructed clothing - conceptual, thought-provoking, good art.

Kiwilicious Jewelery #16 - Melanie Muir

It's hard to find someone who had no plasticine as a kid. There are people who continue to play with it as adults, such as Melanie Muir, who is working on a colourful polymer clay. After finishing Glasgow School of Art (with honors) she decided to stay in Scotland and work on minimalistic designs and pastel colours, which she combines as well as a professional painter. A real art in design.

Classic Artist of the Week #16 - Hans Holbein

If you read this rubric at least a few times, you know that we try writing about more modern artists from the late nineteenth or twentieth century. But it is not a rule, so I don't have to make an exception here (if it was, I'd still make an exception). Ladies and gentlemen - Hans Holbein the Younger. One of the most recognized Renaissance painters and the earliest professional designers. Undobtful master and a hipster of his times (unlike others, Holbein never founded a school). Would you agree that he deserves a place here?

Sandra Backlund's crochet creations

Fashion? Yep. Fashion. Why? Because it is a kind of design - wearable art is, after all, usable art. Therefore, design. And Sandra Backland's creations deserve recognition not only as "clothes", but as sculptural forms, made entirely out of wool. I would love to see these outfits made for men, but for now, I'll have to be glad with my own crocheting skills...

Sherif Elhage - Photography

These are all real. That is how I'd like to start before you start viewing the photographs. Left unmodified, those half-abstract shots are made using only a camera and the natural surroundings. The white stripes in the middle of a picture? Flag poles. Black outlines? A cave. Very imaginative use of the world, however weird it sounds. Wonderful imagination of a young French photographer, Sherif Elhage who worked on nearly everything in the wide "world of art" - from advertisements to fashion.

Chris Trueman - Paintings

We all know that there are many approaches to painting - the genres, changing through the history. Art of a Californian painting teacher is somewhere between pop art (with the print-like imagery), abstraction and neo-industrialism. The repetitive motifs of stripes try to conceal the colours, but they enhance them instead. Wonderful compositions, soothing yet sharp. Mr. Trueman is certainly one of my favourite contemporary painters. Do you agree?

Kiwilicious Jewelry #15 - Denise Julia Reytan

Light, energetic, always positive. That's what appears to be Denise Julia Reytan, that's what her creations certainly are. Denise is an artist living in Berlin, working on jewelry, installations, assemblages and styling. Her work has been featured in many prestigious galleries - it is even available in Centre Pompidou!
Saturated colours, variety of materials, original forms, shapes and compositions. The world looks sweeter already! 

Heiko Mueller - Paintings

If you, like me, love walking in forests, there is a chance that you've encountered the natives of those - the wild animals. A small squirrel escaping through branches or a regal deer staring into your eyes. But behind this serene facade, what is really going on? A Hamburg-based artist Heiko Mueller is puzzled by this question and tries to answer with paintings about strange creatures fighting with each other in a fierce manner. And, a few dogs. But a great and unique technique!

Brian Donnelly - Paintings

The ancient peoples loved human-animal hybrids to the extent of making them represent certain gods. Brian Donnelly is a Toronto-based painter who picked up the idea - but mostly inspired by dr. Frankenstein. What are they about? Going back to our roots? Animistic instincts buried deep in our brains? Shocking? Whatever the purpose is, someone who creates a special e-mail address for "Complaints, Insults, and General Distaste" has my respect.

Clara Mata - Illustration and collages

Clara Mata is a Spanish industrial designer who started as an illustrator, working with manual collages. I always liked this kind of artistic expression - ready-made pictures combined in non-obvious, thought-provoking combinations. The themes, as you can see, are ranging from technology and money, through human condition to nearly abstract compositions that evoke different meanings depending on who sees them. But they always show a lot of sensitiveness towards the form.

So... we're back!

Yes, we are! After nearly three weeks of cross-Europe tour and countless adventures I am ready to get back to writing.

Except more. Soon.

Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin - me and the Master

A bit of news - Toginis Europe Tour!

Hello there ladies and gentlemen!

I have already written about it on the fanpage, but I feel I should make a special post about it. Unfortunately, there will be no posts in two weeks. I, the main writer of Toginis is starting a hitch-hiking trip across Europe in search for more awesome art and design.

Perhaps you will even stumble upon me on the way - or some day you'll find the remains of my travel in the form of a sticker. I come prepared!

I hope to update a bit on the way. Until then - keep being awesome! Thank you all and see ya!

Interview #13 - Nicole Hyde

What got you started? What keeps you in?

I dabbled in a variety of creative pursuits before settling into oil painting. In my late thirties, I left the corporate life behind, moved from Vancouver, Canada to Denver and married an artist (Wes Hyde). Suddenly I had access to an in-house studio, a constant source of art supplies and encouragement. So I began. My first painting ended up in a gallery in Santa Fe. The flood gates were blown open and I haven't looked back since.

Laurent Chehere - Photography

Laurent Chehere is a man who follows his dreams. Working as a photographer, traveling around the world. And when living a dream, it is easy to be inspired by one - and that seems to be the case with his "Flying Houses". Edited pictures of Parisian buildings mid-air with ropes attached to them are certainly imaginative!

Kiwilicious Jewelry #14 - German Kabirski

For the first time here I present you a Russian artisan. German (yes, that's a name, even quite popular in Russia) Kabirski created very intricate and exclusive compositions out of both noble stones and wood, enamel or nacre. While his jewelry I find marvelous I am puzzled by the artist's initials composed into some of his designs. The techniques he is using have been featured before in an array of different artisans, but Kabirski enchanted me with originality and most of all bold combining of the materials. It is hard to be bored while browsing his shop!

Chet Zar - Paintings

Art can cover many topics and we all know that. So, today's topic is horror! And who might be better at painting horror themes than Chet Zar, a man who devoted his life to creating special effects in blockbusters such as The Ring and paintings inspired by Bosch and Giger? His twisted visions of monsters evoke this mysterious thrill scrolling down one's spine, combining both fear and... fascination.

The frames are made by the artist, too.

Classic Artist of the Week #15 - Roy Lichtenstein

 I always had problems with understanding the paintings of Roy Lichtenstein. Comic book strips made by a guy named like a European country - big deal. But now, after examining them once again I think I got it and you might tell me if I'm right or wrong.

Bruce Munro

Bruce Munro started to create after hitting forty, but based on the sketches he made in his teenage years. What might come out of it? As it turns out, something lively, colourful, light and playful, but in mature, experienced way. His installations are sure to bring attention to wherever they are being set.

Artist's page.

Weekly Interview #12 - Jake Wood Evans

Tell us about yourself and your work.

I’m a painter based in Brighton, I’m all about the Aesthetic. I guess I want to learn the craft of painting, learn how to paint like the old masters, ability gives you freedom to express yourself more poetically. take realism turn it upside down, throw in a handful of expressionism and mix in some minimalism for good measure. Who knows what the day will bring?

Robert C. Jackson - Painting

Robert Jackson is a contemporary realism painter. Born in 1964, he fully devoted to art only in 1997 and before that he was a minister with an engineering diploma. Jackson's art is rooted in real life (and clearly inspired by Magritte), but there's a strange feeling of oddity in his works - that unusual atmosphere that makes you wonder - is it the composition, the things portrayed, the colours? I think it's all of that and this is yet another artist that tries to tell us "so you say there's nothing special in usualness? just watch."

Classic Artist of the Week #14 - Piet Mondrian

Not often do we have a chance to, when discussing an artist, observe a clear journey in a style. We are left under impression that they were born great, on the outbreak of their careers experimented with few so-called "periods" and then marched on with the Great Art that we watch with awe today. Yet every painter, sculptor, designer and everyone else had to learn and it is clear upon seeing the chronological works of Piet Mondrian - a man who traveled around the world seeking for his unique means of expression, his new aesthetics and who finally became one of the most recognizable artists of the twentieth century.

Tim Bavington - Painting

Many artists tried to combine few senses and mediums in their works to completely surround the viewer/listener/receiver and get the desired effect on them. But this England-born American artist tried it a little subversive way - Tim Bavington intended to transfer music on canvas. And we don't mean the synesthetic exploration of vibrations, but rather more scientific approach of addressing each sound a corresponding specific colour. The results? Right here. I wonder if you can guess the songs from individual paintings.

Jeremy Forson - Illistration

A San Francisco-based (although he lived for a year in France when he was ten) illustrator and web designer who worked for many major and smaller companies, both in America and abroad. Through the years Jeremy Forson worked on his individual style, successfully combining classic ligne claire  style and painterly expression, resulting in not often obvious, but expressive works. The icons of pop culture are funny and surprising, containing the essence of the character.

Kiwilicious Jewelry #13 - Paolo Scura

This time - a man. It seems that they can be as successful in this field as they are in the other areas of art and design. Paolo Scura. An Italian currently living in London where he produces unique jewelry for galleries, boutiques and Simon Harrison Ltd. - landing his works in the most prominent fashion industrialists. For his inspiration Scura wanders around and tries to observe - most of the time streets, walls, buildings, surfaces of all texture and colour. The products seem rough, damaged, scratched - the beauty captivated in anti-aesthetics.

Nathan Skiles

Nathan Skiles is a sculptor from Florida, whose main series of works consist of fancy clocks. Apart from constructing these often perverse devices he often creates sculptures and abstract, black and white collages. And while the clock are funny, often a bit perverse pieces, in my opinion Skiles' skill is seen in the sculptures - simple, unique style and a meaningful message underneath it. What do you think?

Classic Artist of the Week #13 - Chaim Soutine

You like tragic bohemian artists from the beginning of the twentieth century, don't you? There is certainly something about that time - the specific, somewhat enchanting Zeitgeist. Pride in poorness, rebellion against traditional art, debauchery, drugs and alcohol. We had all of that in the character of Modigliani, whom we featured last week - today's artist is a bit different.

Bonsoir Paris - Duramen sculptures

Bonsoir Paris is a French (if it's not obvious) multi-art collective of two designers. They produce design in a means of graphics, products and interiors, as well as installations and sculptures. Yes, the sculptures. Dali-esque, melting wooden frames, dripping suspended in time. This idea might've been used a lot, but the execution here is flawless and produces a surprising, aesthetically pleasing effect.

Weekly Interview #11 - Daniel Ciprian

Tell us about you and your work.

I was born in Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelona) in 1978. I´ve quit my studies of mechanical engineering and started studyingphotograph, as I realized mathematics were not for me. I graduated in photography and digital creation on 2005 an I haven´t stopped photographing ever since.

I started as an assistant for fashion and advertisement photographers, and I´ve been very lucky, as I have had the chance to work with spain´s finest photographers.  Over a year ago, I´ve started a fashion and advertisement digital retouching company together with fellow photographer Xavi Bou.