Thom Gorst – Ruins of Empire

There are only just a few days left to visit the Thom Gorst exhibition Ruins of Empire that will be on at the Anise Gallery in London till the 31^st of March.

The paintings of the exhibition investigate the aesthetic quality of industrial and maritime ruins and have emerged as part of Gorst’s research through practice. Although the canvases portray details of metallic maritime surfaces that are corroded, overpainted or just abandoned they truly emit a sense of authentic, as-found beauty.

I had the pleasure to attend a talk by Thom Gorst a few weeks ago at the Anise Gallery, where he explained his approach to painting maritime ruins. Interestingly Gorst has trained as an architect, which is quite evident in the fact that most of his paintings at the exhibition look like a fragment of a ship’s elevation.

I would highly recommend a visit to the Anise Gallery to view this fantastic Thom Gorst exhibition.

For more details click here: www.anisegallery.co.uk

Toyo Ito wins the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize

Museum of Architecture (images via: archdaily)

Yesterday it was announced that Japanese architect Toyo Ito will receive the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is often called architecture’s Nobel Prize as it is the most highly regarding architectural prize in the world.

Toyo Ito’s work is universal and timeless. Although his buildings are all very different in style and they respond perfectly to their context, a sense of calmness and tranquility present in all of his buildings. Toyo Ito’s overall work has been praised for its fluidity, beauty and balance between the physical and virtual world but I find his following quote typifies his architectural ethos:

“When one building is completed, I become painfully aware of my own inadequacy, and it turns into energy to challenge the next project. Probably this process must keep repeating itself in the future. Therefore, I will never fix my architectural style and never be satisfied with my works.”

Here is a selection of my favorite buildings by Toyo Ito.

Mikimoto 2 (images via: openbuildings)

Tama Art Univesity Library (images via: openbuildings)

Za Koenji Public Theatre (images via: openbuildings)

Ken Iwata Mother and Child Museum (images via: openbuildings)

Inspiring Blog Award

I was recently contacted by Jessica and Rachel from the CMYfabriK blog, who kindly informed me that they had nominated Architectonista for the Inspiring Blog Award! I’m really happy for the nomination and I think it’s a great opportunity to connect with other bloggers.

There are a few rules to accepting a blog award:

1. Display the award image on your blog page.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. State seven facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.
5. Notify your bloggers of their nomination and link to their posts.

Here are 7 facts about myself:

1. My favorite female artist is Tamara de Lempicka.
2.  “Blind” by Hercules and the Love Affair is the most played song on my itunes.
3. Le Corbusier is my architectural hero.
4. I read about 20 magazines per month ever since I was in elementary school.
5. Mad Men is my favorite tv show.
6. I would happily live in a strictly black and white interior.
7. Haribos are my weakness.

The 15 blogs that I’ve nominated:

1. Cococozy
2. Design Hunter
3. CMYfabriK
4. Hoolaboola
5. Pattern of Life
6. Black White Yellow
7. Coffee with an Architect
8. Arianna Interiors
9. French by Design
10. Bodie and Fou
11. Daily Icon
12. Unhappy Hipsters
13. Design Files
14. Emmas Blogg
15. The Sweetest Digs